As a cancer survivor, this book is a perfect gift to a loved one who's just been diagnosed with any form of cancer or long-term illness. It reminds the patient that taking care of themselves, both spritually and physically, during the medical journey is so important. Nice illustrations with sparce words makes it a book that has great meaning with very little effort to read. I have this in my kitchen on a book stand, changing the pages frequently, to remind me that it's always good to take a few minutes to "smell the flowers" and I'm eight and a half years from my treatment. Perfect gift --- much better than flowers or candy as it lasts longer!

This is a totally enjoyable feel-good book. I loved every word and the drawings were marvelous. I cannot say enough good things about this masterpiece. If only I could give 6 stars!

Delightful is the best word to describe this charming little book. And it is a very strange word indeed to describe a book that deals with the problems of serious, chronic illness, but the combination of few words presented in lyrical style, along with beautiful, brightly-colored watercolor prints of flowers results in a delighful presentation of practical information on a very sensitive subject.
The two women responsible for the book - the author and the illustrator - have "been there, done that". Both are survivors of serious illness and have - along with their families - faced the questions that surround such illness, including the decision to use (or reject) life support and to move ahead with life despite some limitations following illness. They provide lots of practical, insightful information that can be useful to anyone - male or female - facing serious illness and/or surgery, but do so without losing sight of the inherent joy of life which, like the flowers that they use to illustrate emotions, seems to occasionally wilt as we face crisis situations.
The book is more than delightful; it is a charming, useful, practical guide to anyone undergoing a life crisis.
It seems strange to say that I enjoyed it - but I definitely did and plan on ordering additional copies to pass along to friends when they face similar situations. I highly recommend it!

I love cookbooks and own a lot of them. I bought this book two years ago and have given many copies as gifts to peple who like to cook. My family loves the recipes. We made some of the recipes for my niece's wedding brunch in Denver last year and the guests raved about the food. The recipes and instructions are well-written and the results are great.

This is a fantastic book. Lots of great recipes with new adaptions to ones that have been around for awhile. Using a different spice or combining of various ingredients gives news twists to old standbys and favorites. I am an avid reader of cookbooks and don't have that much time to cook now that my family is grown and left the nest, but with this book, I am very anxious to get back in the kitchen and create some new and exciting things. Cookbooks by Jr. Leagues always have some of the very best recipes and this one is certainly no exception. Highly recommend whether just for reading, or looking for something new and different.

Of all the regional cookbooks I own, this is one of my favorites! This cookbook has great suggestions for things to take to different gatherings from Gold Cup Horse Races to Neighborhood Picnics. I especially love the tips and suggestions at the bottom of the recipes. So far, I have tried about 20 recipes and all of them have been fabulous! The recipes are clear and easy to follow. This book is a necessity for delicious homemade treats to impress your friends. It also makes a great bridal shower and teacher gift.

Personally, I loved this book. Poor Talley falling for the bad boy. come on, girls, you know the old story. You say no, your heart says yes, you fight it it til you give in. It's love, it's life. It's crazy. It's real. It raises many new questions also in the readers mind about the skin their in, the life they lead, the lovers they have . . . . If you were Talley, you would fall to for the David with charms until you grow up and see the true thing-Victor Davis in this case-to be for you. :))

i found this book, to be a good read. i just didn't like how Teely felt under David's charm so quick.

This book is a wonderfully written book. Its realsim is astonishing.I recommend this book highly.

Since my husband and I are fans of P.D. James and other murder mystery novels, the book was "right up our alley" so to speak. Whether Tim would succeed or the fraternity would silence him permanently was well written and the suspense kept us glued to the book until it the end. The Civil War story line was thought provoking.

This book really hit me, maybe more so because I live near West Virginia. It hits on two time periods and connects them with a pretty involving mystery, plus it has some classic action elements. Overall, it's one of the coolest historical novels out there. It might not be Hemmingway, but it got me through fall break.

A great story. Kept me reading.

An extra bonus in this Henty book is that it includes both the English preface and the American one, which Henty wrote to the 'lads' who would read this book. In With Lee in Virginia Vincent Wingfield is the main character, one who lives on a plantation run by slaves, but who is strongly against being cruel to slaves. When he clashes with the overseer over Pearson having whipped a slave, Vincent never imagines it will cause such trouble. Soon, though, Vincent gets involved in the fate of the slave he saved, Tony. Will Vincent be able to help the man escape from the wicked Jackson? What about Tony's wife, who Jackson is selling for revenge? This book draws you right in plantation life in the 18hundreds, you will feel happy with the knowledge that 'your' slaves are safe, and will never even consider that you are doing wrong by keeping slaves. Vincent enlists as a volunteer after Virginia secedes and accomplishes many deeds of bravery. This is just another in a long line of thrilling books writing by George Alfred Henty, don't miss reading a single one!!!

This book is definitely one of Mr. Henty's masterpieces. It gives a clear view of the South's situation and why the Civil War was fought. I highly enjoyed this book, both for its content and the way history is mingled with a gripping plot. I can't tell you too much because I might spoil it, but it is about a young Southern man who joins the Confederate army and distinguises himself through his many adventures.

I really loved this book written from a rare Confederate view point. The author beautifully portrayed virtues such as honor and courage in the young hero, Vincent. They say these books are written for teenage boys, but I'm a twelve year old girl and I couldn't put down the book for three days. It is probably won of the most exciting books I've ever read.

With Paintbrush and Shovel is certainly a unique book. The beautiful paintings of wild flowers - 238 in all- really look more like high quality photography, they are so exquisitely detailed. The story that goes with the paintings tells an unknown story about work done by WPA women during the depression. One of the projects fostered by Roosevelt, the WPA gave work to unskilled African-American women and it was these women that cleaned up this willderness and brought the wild-flowers to Bessie Marshall to be reproduced in watercolor. The book is well-worth owning.

The wildflower paintings in this book are absolutely unbelievably beautifully detailed. When you see them you will not believe the artist could so accurately paint the tiny delicate features of each flower and could so accurately recreate the wonderful colors. If you like, forget about the wonderful story documenting the WPA project in the 1930s to create a wildflower park and document the flowers with paintings. But, if you are an artist or a wildflower lover or both you must check this out just for the wonderful paintings.

Additionally, the printers spared no expense. They used high quality paper and achieved exquisite reproduction of the paintings. I'm sure they were fearful they would be totally out classed if they did not.

This book provides a rare glimpes into the WPA projects especially designed by women. The book also illustrates the history of the park and chronicles the work of a diverse group of women who established a botanical preserve in a City Park during the 30's. The project, of national significance, was part of the WPA that provided work for African Americans and White Women during the depression. How intersting to read that the park provided an income for these deprived women, who created a wildflower/bird preserve for a small city. The beautiful botanical illustrations by B. Marshall are exquisite and the story to follow only enhances the charm of this well documented history.

The Confessions of Nat Turner audio book is a magic history lesson that is emotionally and intellectually appealing rich in detail and magnificent in scope. It is also exciting, compelling, powerful and tersely written and should be heard by anyone interested in the history of the United States. This excellent documentary should be part of all American History courses.

For those Americans both black and white, who've dared imagine the the myriad horrors of the slavery system, the audio book by Kente Classics "Americas Black Spartacus Remembered" is a compelling and vivid journey back into one of saddest moments in Americas often violent history. The tape brilliantly deals with the actual confessions given by the captured "Black Spartacus", Nat Turner to attorney Thomas Gray in November 1831 (3 months after the revolt, and just before he was to meet a certain fate of death by hanging). Gray went own to publish "General Nat's" confessions in a pamphlet which was widely read throughout the northern and southern states.

As the tape begins, we hear Gray (stage actor Michael Collins) describe Nat Turner's (stage actor Bernard Addison) entry into the interview room, in heavy chains and shackles from head to toe. From that point forward you we "transported" back in time and space to the very room itself.

One of the great advantages of the audio book as a medium, is its ability, like all great live theatre, to engage you through the aural senses to a place where you feel as though you are there witnessing the event taking place. For entire 1:30 min. playing time, this tape holds you in its grip with chilling descriptions by Turner of how he and his band of "disciples" went about their "work". The horrible result being, the ultimate death of over 30 white slave owners and their families, and the capture and slaughter of over 100 blacks in retailiation by maurauding bans of whites and militias mobilized in response. All this carnage taking place in a few days during August of 1831 in Southampton County Virginia.

Where the tape succeeds in a historical context for those interested in the episode, is we see the obvious impact the event had on the politics of the times, and the vast schism that existed between north and south on the matter of slavery.

Furthemore, because we actually hear the spoken words of Turner himself describe his motivation, objectives, and mental state for his actions, we are provided with a direct contrast to the Pulitzer Prize winning, and widely read book (a novel)"The Confessioins of Nat Turner", written by William Styron and published in 1968.

In a well written afterthought provided at the end of the tape, written by William L. Andrews, a professor at the University of North Carolina, we hear of challenges to the authenticity of Gray's confessions because Gray seems to imbue Turner with far too much intelligence and elegance of speech for a uneducated Negro. Andrews also argues convincely that the ultimate result of the Turner revolt may have mitigated southern anti-slavery sentiments to the point where the final conflict which was the Civil War was inevitable. In this, we see the validity of the comparison of Nat Turner to the Spartacus of 2000 years earlier.

The rest of the cast is equally superb, with Collins doubling as the voice of the Judge, and Shakeperean pro Allen Gilmore playing the voice of the William L. Andrews. The tape is punctuated with 2 very moving musical interludes by the great Odetta which help to add to the emotional impact of this sterling production. The tape jacket provides us with artists reproductions of the scowling Turner and a map of the country side where the revolt took place.

As has been the case with other Kente Classics audio books I have experienced, this tape succeeds because of the historical importance of the subject matter chosen, outstanding quality of the writing and editing, and the professional performances of the actors chosen for the various spoken roles.

I highly recommend this or any of the other titles from this house.

And Keep Moving On: The Virginia Campaign May - June 1864 written by Mark Grimsley is a book about the massive operation called the Virginia Campaign about ow Ulyses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee saw the war. But, this is not just a battle book, it is a book with the political context of the 1864 presidential election.

Not only the election, but appraises the motivation of soldiers, appreciates the impact of the North's sea power advantage and questions convential interpretations; andexamines the interconnections among the major battles, subsidiary offenives, and raids.

The Contents of the book is as follows:

Campaign Plans and Politics
The Wilderness
"Grant Is Beating His Head aganist a Wall"
The Collapse of Grant's Peripheral Strategy
"Lee's Army Is Really Whipped"
"The Hardest Campaign"
"It Seemed Like Murder"
The Campaign's Significance

"The art of war," maintained Lt. Gen. Ulyses S. Grant, "is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike at him as hard as you can and as often as you can, and keep moving on." Grant the bludgeoner, Lee the master of maneuver were, in reality, the two commanders were almost identical in style.

Grant took over the hard luck Army of the Potomac and Lee had his Army of Northern Virginia and that ensured that the spring campaign of 1864 would pit the Civil War's two most successful generals against one another in a duel that became legendary.

The fighting was not restricted to a duel between Grant and Lee, either. In order to maximize his chance of success, Grant put into motion virtually every Union soldier in hte eastern theater. As a result, the struggle between the main armies... eventually dubbed the Overland campaign... was only part of a larger offensive that included major expeditions in western and southeastern Virginia as well as numrous impromptu raids aimed at the Confederate transportation infrastructure. Grant and Lee not only had to take these maneuvers into account, they often supervisedthem as well. It is therefore better to think, as they did themselves, in terms of a single, massive Virginia campaign of spring 1864.

Grant confronted Lee with four subsidiary offensives in addition to the Army of the Potomac's main advance: two in southwestern Virginia against Confederate salworks, lead mines, and railroads; a third in the Shenandoah Valley under Major General Franz Sigel; and a fourth in the James River estuary under Major General Benjamin F. Butler. Grant intended these lesser offensives to divert strength from Lee's army and, if possible, to achieve significant results on their own. He had particularly high expectations of Butler, believing that Butler could threaten Richmond, interdict Confederate communications with the Deep South, and help place Lee at a ruinous disadvantage. But by shifting their outnumbered forces adroitly, the Confederates thwarted Grant's offensive at every turn, defeating Sigel and Butler and administrating sharp checks to the Army of the Potomac in the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, the North Anna and Cold Harbor.

You really get a feel for how the Virginia Campaign was fought in this book making it a definate addintion to you American History library. The narrative is easy going and the insights are engrossing, making for an informative and educational read.

Mark Grimsley does not seek to break new ground in "And Keep Moving On: The Virginia Campaign, May - June 1864". Up front he states: "This is primarily a work of synthesis. As such, my foremost thanks are due to the authors of the specialized studies on which it is based." These specialized studies are, either through their daunting size or their limited availability, unfamiliar to most persons interested in the Civil War. Mark Grimsley has performed a valuable service for such readers by drawing upon those narrow analyses to craft a comprehensive and lucid narrative about the Overland Campaign and its associated operations. In less than 250 pages of narrative text, Grimsley covers the fundamentals of not only such grand battles as the Wilderness, Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor, but also Butler's fumbled thrust towards Richmond, cavalry raids in West Virginia, and fighting in the Shenandoah Valley. Moreover, he relates the pace of military matters to the political background (1864 was a Presidential election year in the North) and to state of civilian morale.

In discussing combat, Grimsley includes sufficient first-hand detail so the reader does not lose sight of the ultimate reality that the contending armies were made up of living, breathing, dying individual soldiers. Nonetheless, the book's primary focus is on the senior commanders. Grimsley states in the preface that he "evaluated the principal leaders as sympathetically as possible, always bearing in mind that they were intelligent men who operated under extraordinary conditions and pressure ... I have encountered few historical actors - even such perennial goats as Ben Butler - for whom I could not muster at least some respect." It seems that Franz Sigel, justifiably in my opinion, fell outside the author's range of sympathy. In writing of the battle of New Market, Grimsley quotes William C. Davis with favor about that hapless officer: "Franz Sigel was not just an incompetent; he was a fool."

The results of these several weeks of combat in the early summer of 1864 are presented by Grimsley as a mixture of limited success and deeper failure for both sides. Grant sought to destroy Lee's army, but he only succeeded in depriving Lee of the initiative while both armies battled each other into stumbling weariness. Lee tired to drive his enemies back from their invasion, but only managed to resist destruction while being driven back to the static defense of Richmond. In an absorbing extension of his analysis of the results of the campaign, Grimsley discusses the historical memory of these battles as filtered through the Lost Cause mythology of the post-war South, which portrays Lee as the flawless soldier of genius and Grant as the merciless butcher who wins by numbers alone. Grimsley rightly exposes such thinking as shallow and inadequate.

In his acknowledgements section, Grimsley pays special tribute to Gordon Rhea who has, thus far, published five excellent volumes on the Overland Campaign. The influence of Rhea's work is clearly evident on Mark Grimsley's book (Rhea's most recent book, "Cold Harbor", was unfortunately published too late to influence "And Keep Moving On"; if it had been available, I believe Grimsley would have rejected tired conventional wisdom about Union casualty rates during that battle and instead would have followed Rhea's illuminating evaluation of the subject), but even an enthusiastic reader of Rhea's histories can find much of value in "And Keep Moving On." The narrative is delivered in an engaging, persuasive manner, moving briskly towards its conclusion without a feeling of being rushed. This volume has found a permanent spot on my crowded Civil War bookshelves, and I can only hope that Mark Grimsley some day may write a similar volume about the Petersburg campaign that followed.

Virginia Walters is a teacher at my daughters' elementary school, Condit, in Bellaire, Texas. She is a kind and loving teacher that all children fondly remember. Her first book is a winner with my kids. Every parent who has tired of hearing that dreaded phrase, "Are we there yet?" will benefit from it.

Our three year old son just loves this book. An entertaining yet educational book focusing on spacial relationships, a detailed narrative, and mathematical skills. The text is a rhyming, yet unusual narrative. The book includes a large map in the front and a smaller map with each section as the father and son travel to Grandma's house. Each section ends with "We have XX more miles to go" declining from 100 to 10 in steps of 10. Highly recommended.