I' have had the pleasure of hearing Ms. Sally Ogden speak, so when her book was released on the market I rushed out and bought a copy. It turns out that "Words Will Never Hurt Me" is both the funniest and most informative of books on childhood and general psychology to come out in years. Using a blend of heavy experience (over twenty years of firsthand teaching experience), humor, and...psychology, Ogden has created the ultimate guide to understanding the mentality those gawkish pre-teen and teenage years. Containing both insights and tips, "Words" is also bar none the most user-friendly book on psychology and teaching ever published. On top of all this, Ogden's words of wisdom apply not only to teaching and surviving in the years of adolescence, but to life and humankind in general. Ever wonder why your nextdoor neighbor is such a jerk? Sally Ogden may just be able to help.
So, I'll put this simply: Buy this book. Really. As a teacher's and parent's resource it is invaluable, but as a sort of window into the psyche of people in general it also excels.

Obviously, Ogden utilizes her quick wit and vast knowledge of the human psyche to bring the reader into the realm of the elementary school child's emotional state. It gives some terrific advice on getting your child to become more confident about themselves while handling situations that many of us at that age were intimidated by. Truly helpful and insightful, I definitely recommend it, and hope to see it become more in circulation on the Psychology shelves...

This book was tha Bomb! Will, will you marry me?

This is an excellent book for students and gives a lot of facts about Will Smith's life. It also has many good morals. The morals are to be as good as you can be and not spend all of your money on 6 cars and 2 motorcycles. You really need to read the book to get the most from the morals that are contained within this book. It is a good book for grades 3 - 12.

The real life poetic stories woven from Shirley's soul in this book will embrace your spirit and help you to take a second look at your life and because of this book you WILL take actions to reach, dream and live.

Must read!

So many different threads of Enlightenment thought seem to pass through the writings of Baruch Spinoza, it is perhaps surprising that so few thinkers have given full place to his work in the founding of the modern world. In this volume Steven B. Smith seeks to repair this omission to some extent. Smith is primarily concerned with Spinoza as a founder or architect of the modern liberal polity, but with an ingenious twist: part of this concern is _also_ with what Spinoza had to say on the related question of "Jewish identity." The underlying question here is: is it possible to be a Jew, indeed for there to _be_ Judaism, in the context of a liberal social order? I shall not try to summarize Smith's discussion of Spinoza on this important question; suffice it to say that we are treated to enlightening presentations of Spinoza's theology and his "secularization" of the meaning of Judaism and of the Jewish people, all of it depending on a clear and close reading of the neglected _Theologico-Political Treatise_. For its exposition of Spinoza's thought alone, this volume will be a helpful addition to the library of any student of Spinoza. However, Smith also deals directly with the question I mentioned two paragraphs back, which makes his work highly pertinent on other grounds as well. His answer [p. 205] is that liberalism is indeed "the last best hope for Judaism" -- the "worst solution except for all the alternatives" -- but that Judaism and liberalism may not be fully compatible anyway. "To the extent that the liberal Enlightenment urges the abolition of [belief in] a particular providence [as reflecting the spiritual core of Judaism and the fundamental Jewish experience at Sinai], it will always be at odds with Judaism." Note Smith's careful phrasing on this point. His closing remark immediately raises the question: _does_ liberalism require the "abolition" of belief in a "particular providence"? I do not think it does, and I think Spinoza was mistaken to argue otherwise. But I arrived at this view in part through reflection on Smith's nuanced presentation in this volume. I can only urge other readers interested in these questions to do likewise.

This is a really good book, I think any one would enjoy it- if you like will's music OR acting! PS If you like this one also check out maggie marron's other books- they're all great!

The book was thrilling, but covered in great detail the many experinces the the soldiers endured.

Will Smith bases Just the Two of Us on his rap song of the same title. The book shows a father giving advice on growing up and sharing his experiences with his son. The book instills good morals and values while showing love, support, and encouragement. The pictures by Kadir Nelson are simply breathtaking and show the life stages of a baby growing into a young man. This highly recommended book gives testimony to the unique relationship between father and son.

I have always been a fan of Will Smith and I really loved the song...I love the idea of the song in book form. It gives parent the opportunity to explain some of the basic things in life in language that is popular to kids and easily explained. I also enjoy the fact that my son, who is 5 yrs. old, is able to identify many of the words and he can read the story himself. It encourages positive images, good morals, reading, and it's fun. Bravo Will...

Will Smith captures the heart of a father's love for his son in Just the Two of Us. This book is a must for every father and son to read!

Starr Bright... is one of Joyce Carol Oates' shorter novels. This prolific writer, who penned this thriller under the name of Rosamund Smith, has once again succeeded in keeping the reader in constant suspense, even though we know who the killer is from page one. It is the killer's fate - as opposed to those of her victims - that we are so anxious to learn about. I recently attended a reading and book signing by JCO which was held at Robert Morris College in Chicago. She also spent considerable time in a question and answer session with RMC honors English students who read two of her novels for their class. She is a very fragile looking individual who intrigues everyone with her command of the story, the characters and the direction each piece of work takes. An extremely prolific writer, she has written poetry, plays and critical articles for numerous publications - in addition to over 60 novels and her work as a professor at Princeton University. She did not elaborate about the pseudonym she has frequently used - only that she wishes she had chosen another name. Because Starr Bright... is a shorter work, one does wonder if she has relegated certain efforts to Rosamund to distance them from Joyce Carol Oates. While I was thoroughly engrossed by Starr Bright - and it does utilize one of JCO's favorite underlying themes of twins - I felt I needed more at the end. We are fairly certain of the killer's fate, but what of her twin sister? The far-reaching effects of the murders to her family and community would, no doubt, be devastating. Perhaps it is fodder for another novel or perhaps tying up loose ends into neat little conclusions is not in the JCO style. Also, Oates does not hold back in the gruesome details of each attack - not necessarily a criticism, just a point of fact. Oates has just completed another novel (she writes constantly) and this one is a 1400 page opus titled Blonde, inspired by the life of Marilyn Monroe. She says she was moved to write it when she saw a photo of the pretty, fresh-looking and former Norma Jean - before the blonde hair, sexy clothing and voluptuous attitude she had perfected toward the camera. Seems like an interesting turn for JCO and her fans.

Hard to tell why Oates published this one under her fakename--I can see that the opening scenes owe a phrase or seven to themystery (thriller?) genre and that she's skimping a bit on character development. Compare this to, say, "Them" or "You Must Remember This" and, yes, we're not talking the woman's best, but this is still superb writing, especially in the second half... As the NY Times review proclaims this IS virtuoso stuff, particularly in the way that Oates/Smith delineates the attraction of the good sister and the bad sister for the hapless husband--Not only was he confused, I was confused. I find this suspenseful, elegantly written and a good bit better than some of Oates's "serious" efforts such as "Man Crazy" or "The Assasins." Indeed, the book's final page, brief and tantalizing as it is, suggests that her effort all along was far more provocative than she lets on. We're talking the delineation of personality here, in all its profundity and difficulty--a typical Oates obsession, and almost as well-handled here as in "Marya: A Life" and "Do With Me What You Will" if not "Because it is Bitter..." or "Wonderland". Enjoyable reading that, if you will let it, provokes a thought or two as well.

Starr Bright. She's a twin. She's a stripper. She's an exotic dancer. She's a grifter. And she is a full blown serial killer in this deep dark novel. Starr Bright a/k/a Sharon is now aging for a future on the jiggle circuit and her exhaustive search for someone who can take care of her leads her to building rage and eventual violence to sooth her feelings of hurt and disappointment she blames on a series of hapless lowlife paramours. Starr begins a journey to take her out of the seedy empty Vegas life to the sanctity of her twin sister Lily and Lily's family in New York while leaving Vegas in the grip of her bloody wake. Lily, the "good" side of Starr's mirror welcomes her sister with open arms but has no idea what Starr has in store for those she believes set her on the road to ruin. Nor does Lily full understand what her own personality could reveal. This book is one of my very favorites, each word has been chosen soley for its effect on the reader and the story ebbs and flows as naturally as the tide. I tore through it the first time. It left such an impression on me I have picked it up a second time, this time to read much more slowly so I can enjoy each detail.

This is the first book of a new series of Star Trek books, focusing on the "Starfleet Corps of Engineers", basically a group of troubleshooters who go in whenever there's a mechanical or alien technology problem that either can't be handled by a regular starship, or (more rarely) that COULD possibly have been handled by the regular starship, but there's actually enough time to call for specialists (usually, these things are sufficient crises that if the regular ship CAN handle them, they have to.)

This book was composed of four mid-length stories (longer than "short stories", but not novel-length) each written by a different author, which together follow a continuous time-line and thus more or less make up one book's worth of story. The writing is surprisingly even, given the different authors; the handoffs from each author to the next are seamless, and the writing itself is quite good. The characters are well-developed, a good mix of minor characters from various episodes on TV and new characters (although the first book begins with the Enterprise-E and crew for an introduction, and Geordi LaForge continues through the first three stories.) The plots, while not the MOST original I've ever seen, are good, workmanlike concepts, and the basic SCE concept is in many ways a marvellous return to early science fiction concepts, where there may be action and combat, but the ADVENTURE is in the discovery and the science.

So why is the rating only four stars, given how much good I have to say about the book? (And in fact, I thought harder about whether to knock it down to three than I did about granting it five.) Because the "ending" ISN'T one; they cut the last story off in mid-action in order to make a "tune in next week" cliffhanger to attempt to manipulate the reader into continuing to buy the following books of the series. I will do so, because I enjoyed the book as a whole, NOT because they left me hanging. I consider that a sufficiently cheesy scam to be worth the loss of AT LEAST one star, and demonstrates that they had no confidence in the quality of the series themselves (or they wouldn't have needed to use such a cheap scam.)

I had passed on trying this new series in ebook format but now that I've had a taste of it I will definately be reading more.

SCE, Starfleet Corps of Engineers, is a fresh and extremely interesting new series of books. Set within the world of Starfleet but with unique missions and adventures "Have Tech, Will Travel" is a perfect way to be introduced to the characters.

This volume includes the first four books of the series. Each was distinctly different but equally enjoyable. Each by a different author. My personal favorite was "Hard Crash" which is a touching story about friendship and loyalty. Each individual book is short enough to be read in one or two sittings but long enough to tell a complete tale.

Overall pretty satisfying reading, with great characters and interesting plots. I would recommend it to any SciFi or Trek fan.

As is probably obvious from my previous Trek book reviews, I'm a fan of the Trek universe and the stories therein. The various "New Worlds" short story collections I've enjoyed, but this was the collection I've enjoyed the most. For one, the characters are sharp: this is no strange melange of aliens we've never seen before, one of the weaknesses of the "New Frontier."

As usual, there are the cameos: Geordi LaForge beams aboard for the first three short stories, and then departs - almost a "bridge" to the new group. Sonya Gomez (of "spilling Hot Cocoa on Picard" fame), and Dr. Elizabeth Lense are two other names that are familiar from previous shows and are aboard. The rest of the group include only one unique previously-unseen alien, a Bynar pair, and an otherwise wonderful cast of very well-written characters. Included in this list is something we see far too rarely in Trek writing: a gay crewman handled plausibly and intelligently. First "The Best and the Brightest," then "Rogue," and now "Have Tech, Will Travel." Thank you, Pocket Books!

The flaws are few: now and then there's some writing word-choices that made me cringe ("stunningly spectacular" for one), or some passages that confused me. If I could, I'd "4.5" star this one, but those little errors are enough to knock it down from a perfect score. But only just.

One of the stories, "Hard Crash," was actually moving: passages were very impactful, and I was quite stunned to have that occur with a Trek book. This is fine emotionally coherent, intelligent writing, folks. Don't hesitate.
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