Robert Trudle never seeks to amaze the reader. He offers a challenge to traditional and modern views of reality. The UFO topic is generally resigned to ridicule and pop culture. Trundle presents an insightful analysis that brings the reader into thoughtful contemplation of his/her views of reality as seen through the the established orders of philosophy, science, God and politics. The book is highly recommended. The fear and dread it leaves you with is not fear of the possibility of alien life. It's realizing the limitation of human systems of thought.

This was written by my great, great, grandfather! I was so excited about it! Finally I can read it as I do not speak German! My maiden name is Fricke and there are were four Richard Frickes that followed him: my brother, father, grandfather (who are all alive) and then his son and himself (both deceased). Who is George? We must be related!

It's forty below in the Northwest Territories of Canada - so cold the ravens won't fly & Richard can't go outside. He decides to ask his family & friends the question that became the title to this book. Their answers bring a whole other world into light. Brilliantly illustrated by George Littlechild from the Plains Cree Nation, this humorous quest of a youngster's mind during a long winter's day, brings out the silly & the insightful. Makes a lovely gift!

This is a really great book for kids who love horses - and our kids do! Now, our kids want to save all the wild horses in the world. They've read this book over and over.

Ferrie creates a refreshing, approachable, and exciting vehicle for examining the events and issues around the Battle of Yorktown. Unencumbered by patriotic propoganda, extremely well researched - reveals the issues and life as it truly was for those involved (on both sides and at all levels) in the struggle for American freedom. Highly recommended for elementary school and up!

Although I have generally found Orwell to be a politically confused thinker, 1984 stands out as one of the best and most forward thinking works I have ever read. The amount of relevance this book has today is overwhelming, considering modern government propaganda techniques and the double edged sword of technology. This story serves as a warning to all who trust the government, especially in regards to privacy issues.

Winston Smith, while not the ideal romantic protagonist, is still compelling in his own right with his inspiring (and finally tragic) fight against Big Brother. The struggle that takes place between Winston and the government in 1984 is psychologically thrilling and intense, and it is still difficult for me to put the book down each time I read it. I am particularly drawn to the character of O'Brien, who represents to me the culmination of a path that all seasoned politicians and government officials travel down.

The year 1984 has come and past, but an extreme statist government similar to the one portrayed in the novel still may haunt us in the future.

One of the great books of the 20th century - it is amazing how much of Orwell has entered the language : Big Brother, Thought Police etc. The story is a bleak one - "Imagine a boot stamping on a human face, forever!". Orwell intended it as a warning, not as a prophecy. As a warning, it worked - 1984 was read by every Russian dissident, about the only English book (besides Animal Farm) that can make that claim. Yet, the abuse of language described by Orwell, the way thought can be controlled by inculcating poverty of language, in a certain sense describes much of today's media - "dumbing down" actually limits the possible human response - look at the jeers and cheers on 'the Jerry Springer' as pathetic subjects explode their inarticulate rage. The nearest thing to the '5 Minute Hate' that I have ever seen. Yet, Orwell possibly made the warning too bleak (he was dying of TB as he wrote, it was his last book). You feel that while Julia and Winston Smith do ultimately betray each other, yet it was done under duress of torture, and there could possibly be forgiveness in their hearts afterwards, not the disillusion of the book. The power of human love could defeat the Party, perhaps. A book that repays several readings.

1984 Review

George Orwell's novel, 1984 is classic, thought provoking literature that everyone should read. 1984 relates to many of the radical ideas of the communist era. Orwell points out the fake reality portrayed by the government with his incorporation of such things as "victory cigarettes and victory gin." This story exhibits the reality of life in many small, exploited countries.

The exaggerated ideals 1984 expresses, represents the oppression felt by many in the world that is gilded by a thought of true freedom. The story is very descriptive and allows the reader to feel the true emotions that the main character, Winston Smith is feeling. Orwell shows that in our world everything is deceptive to reality. Conformity is the main concern for the masses working for the elite and even the name Winston Smith is symbolic for this lack of individualistic qualities. This book shows the militaristic tactics used by the government of "Big Brother" to inspire people to work and keep an interest in the common good. Every four years the government of Oceana started a fake war with one of the other two super powers to maintain the work ethic and inspiration of the slaving people in the middle class. Winston represents all people who rebel against the system and know that the illusions presented by the government of aristocrats are wrong. He represents the middle class which work as tools of the elite and the proletarians are the people who the government leaves to their own ignorance. 1984 holds a great amount of symbolism and connects fiction with the real world. This book is a must read for everyone and to me, quite possibly one of the greatest books ever written.

James and the Giant Peach was Roald Dahl's first book he wrote for children and I must say that this book was superb. It was funny, had really great characters, and had a really enthralling story. The book is about a boy named James that meets an old man and James gets these green beady things that can change his life forever. While walking to the house to use the beads he trips and they get into the soil. he thinks all of his hopes are up but they're not. A peach grows from the peach tree that never ever grew a peach and it gets bigger and bigger until it reaches about the size of a car. Then James gets inside the peach where he meets insects that tell the story how they got the beads and thats how they got in the peach and the peach got big. But then the peach starts rolling downhill until it reaches the sea and falls in. They come out and see sharks eating the peach so they have segulls pull them and they fly all over the Atlantic Ocean until they reach New York. That's the most I'll tell you except READ THIS BOOK. It is so good. Adults and children will love this book. Read it!

This book has been one of my favorite books the third or fourth grade, I don't exactly remember which one, I just know that I've really liked it for a long time. I'm getting out of the seventh grade in a month and a half and I've read this book at least five times; each time I read it I enjoy it as if I was reading it for the first time and it never gets old or monotnous. This is a book that I would read to my children as a bed time story; it's really a book the whole family can enjoy. I love how original this book is and how it captures your immangination, regardless of what your age is. I love how different the characters' personalities are and how much they fit them. I especially love Centipede's rudeness and songs, and Aunt Sponges' vainness. Lane Smith's wild illustrations are great; they're much better than the boring realistic illustrations. "James and the Giant Peach" is definitly a keeper. Roald Dahl is, in my opinion, the best children's book writer of all time. If you enjoy this book, I guarantee that you'll love Dahl's "Matilda" and Dahl's "Witches".

Whimisical, creative, silly, I would use these words to describe the fantastic story of James and the Giant Peach. James is a boy whose parents are killed by an unfortunate rhinoceros accident at the zoo. He is forced to live with his two aunts, Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge. They are mean to him and make him work alot. One day though he meets a magic fellow while he is working in the garden. The fellow gives him magic beans. James is supposed to eat them, but he drops them by the peach tree. In the evening James goes outside and is shocked by a huge peach on the tree. James finds a hole in the peach and he meets his new "friends". This book is interesting and very good. It is an excellent book for adults to read to kids, because both parties would get reading pleasure.

Note: I used the kids review form because I am too lazy to become a member I'm actually 14 my E-mail is solidfoxmg@hotmail.com

I'll tell the truth. I thought this book was going to suck when my friend recommended it. I mean by cover of the book you'd think that this story was going to be about these happy go lucky rabbits that have to find carrots. But not so it turns out that this book is about courage, leadership, and bravery as these rabbits journey into the beyonds in search of a place they can call their own.
The story is pretty simple and I won't spoil any of it for you but I will tell you this: this storyis so wonderfully crafted and so beautifully told that you'll be hooked to it. Richar makes a great job of describing the characters and settings and such a beaoutiful job of bringing out your emotions in this book that you will change the way you look at things you will take this story and you will treasure it you'll fall in love with all the characters: Bigwig, Hazel-Rah, Fiver, Buckthorn, and all them "dam" rabbits and you'll cry at the sad, but happy and cheerful ending of this wonderful book.
Overall: 5/5

Watership Down, by Richard Adams, is the best book I have ever read. It is a touching and suspenseful story that takes us into the minds and hearts of a warren of courageous rabbits fleeing their home.

Although many people would think that this book would read like a fantastical fairy tale, it does not. Richard Adams simple, vivid, flowing writing forms a beautifuly woven tale of suspense and drama, terror and tragedy, love and joy. And despite the fact that the characters are animals, this author finds away to make them human and realistic, from the basic needs to their fated enemies.

This story begins on a warm summer eve while the Sandleford warren is at silflay(grazing). It there goes to the bond and trust between two brothers, Hazel and Fiver, that lead them to round up as many rabbits as possible in order to flee their home in the face of danger. The story then takes you through the hills and forests and across the rivers on the course of their flight. The tale tells of their adventures and troubles that do not end even at the sight of their new home. From their new warren they must search and eventually battle a group of troubled and warlike rabbits in order to survive.

This story takes you beyond the bounds of traditional imagination, into a world filled with understanding and balance with nature. It creates friendships and troubles for creatures that have so often been ignored in society. This classic has paved the way for many more that follow in it's wake. By all right this book should belong to everyone, young and old, and treasured as a classic to love and hold and to read over and over again. I present to you Watership Down, the best book ever written.

This is the first book I ever read. At or about age four, my father (an english teacher) read it with me. I give a lot of credit to Richard Adams and his novel (and my dad, of course); he gave me a benchmark with which to compare fiction. This is a story with many levels, and I'd suggest it for MATURE readers of any age. It's a story of a group of rabbits that escape certain death when their warren is destroyed by a land developer. They set out across the english countryside in search of the promised land. Fiver, the runt of the litter, and his friend Hazel organize a midnight escape when the chief rabbit ignores Fiver's premonitions of doom. With Bigwig, a brave and powerful veteran of the warren's "police" team, Hazel's gift of leadership, Fiver's insight, even a sarcastic seagull named Keehar, and others, they pursue a dream. There are analogs here of Nazi Germany and Communist Russia. Mr. Adams paints quite a picture here; common places and things assume different, often darker qualities when viewed from just 4 inches off the ground. Of course, Watership Down is a place that really exists. During a recent trip to England, my dad finally had a chance to visit Watership Down. He was taken by the site, and says it looks much like he'd imagined it, only better. Anybody that says they didn't like this book must either be very shallow, or extremely attention deficient.I've read this book well over 20 times, and I STILL can't put it down. If you HAVE read this book, then read THE PRIVATE LIFE OF THE RABBIT. It's the nonfiction/reference book Adams read to prepare for Watership Down. He refers to it by name in his novel, and it's a very interesting follow-up read if you enjoyed Watership Down. Also, don't miss out on his other novels, like The Plague Dogs, Traveller, and others. The former is a tale of two dogs that escape from an animal research center. The latter, the life and times of Traveller, the horse that General Robert E. Lee rode in the American Civil War, as told! to a housecat by Traveller himself. Civil War buffs will definitly get a kick out of Traveller's take on the war, and it's aftermath. Watership Down is still my all time favorite book, hands down. Give it a chance, and you will be mezmerized by a world you'll want to visit again and again, I promise. Heck, someday I want to go to the real Watership Down myself.

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
By Roald Dahl

Just imagine that your have just found out that a famous chocolate maker of you town has a contest to find five different golden tickets, inside a candy bar rapper. If you find a ticket you win a tour of the giant Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory. While you are on the tour things happen to the children like getting sucked up a tube of chocolate, chewing a piece of special gum that turns you into a big giant blueberry, getting attacked by squirrels throwing nuts at you, and being sucked into a television that's chocolate and getting turned into a midget. And the whole time you must not touch or eat anything that is not tested and be fully aware of everything.

For Charlie Bucket this was an extraordinary visit to the biggest chocolate factory in the world, in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, By Roald Dahl.

In this book Charlie Bucket and his family including his mom and dad and his 4 grandparents, are starving, poor, and live in a very small house with only a kitchen and one bedroom, which everyone shared. As Charlie is walking home from school one day in the cold winter he found a dollar bill on the sidewalk. He decides to go to a candy store to by a chocolate bar and run home to give the rest of the money to his mom and dad to by food. Instead the chocolate bar he had was so good he had to have another. As soon as he opened the second chocolate bar he saw a flash of gold and he stood there amazed he had found the last golden ticket!

In Charlie and The Chocolate Factory weird things pop-up all the time. One incident was this: Charlie was the last person to stay for the tour, and Willy Wonka had a glass elevator that could go every where from up, to down, to sideways, even diagionally. Charlie didn't know it but Willy Wonka had a special trip for him. They walked into the elevator terribly frightened. Willy Wonka pressed a button that said, "UP AND OUT." And suddenly the elevator speed upwards-no twistings or turnings and kept going faster and faster. Suddenly they heard a lout crash and saw wood flying all over. And soon enough they saw the whole town under their feet. (Remember it was a glass elevator). It felt to them like they weren't standing on anything. Since it was going so fast Grandpa Joe asked how fast it was going, and Willy Wonka repeated, "Candy power! One million candy power!"

If you enjoy fiction stories that are filled with comedy and imagination his book Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is for you.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The book I read was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. The year it was published was in 1964. The main characters are Charlie Bucket, Grandpa Joe, Agustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, and Mike Teavee. This book is about Charlie Bucket who wants to get a golden ticket in a Wonka bar so that he and four other children can go inside Wonka's factory. Unfortunatly, he can't even afford a candy bar! So one day when he was walking down the street he found some money in a gutter, which was enough to buy a candy bar! So he bought a Wonka bar and what was inside? A golden ticket! This was the last golden ticket. Now he gets to go inside Wonka's factory! The moral of the story is to live your dreams and don't give up. Charlie learns that being spoiled gets you nowhere, because all the other children get such as shrunk or sucked up a pipe. Charlie changes because he gets to own a big chocolate factory in the end. I gave this book a five out of five.

This is one of Roald Dahl's BEST. After ten years, Willy Wonka has opened the gates of his amazing chocolate factory to the public... only 5 members that is. Who will find the golden ticket wrapped in a Wonka chocolate? For Charlie Bucket it's a mere dream. Charlie is poor and only gets one chocolate bar a year. But one day, he finds a dollar bill in the snow and buys himself a chocolate bar... which just happens to contain the fifth golden ticket. You're swept in a marvelous journey in the chocolate factory with four brats... Mike Teavee who lives for tv...Veruca Salt a little brat with bratty parents...Violet Beauragarde a girl who love gum...and Augustus Gloop who'll eat ANYTHING. Don't worry they all get what they deserve. I recommend this book to anyone.

This book is not about pigs and horses and sheep on a farm. This book is not about pigs who take control over other animals. This book is not about animals revolting against Mr. Jones the farmer. This is a book about the Russian Revolution, and each of the characters in Animal Farm plays a role as someone else who really lived.

Old Major - Karl Marx. Invented communism, inspired revolution. Snowball the pig - Leon Trotsky. Wanted good for all the people, supported communism. Napoleon the pig - Joseph Stalin. Greedy for power. Squealer the pig - Propaganda. Boxer the horse - Oblivious, hard working, supporter. Moses the raven - Religion. Mr. Jones - Czar Nicholas II. (run out of his country after the people and Karl Marx revolted due to his poor leadership). Dogs - KGB Secret Police. The Sheep - Followers. Benjamin the donkey - Skeptical Russians.

THE SEVEN COMMANDMENTS
A large part of this analogy of the Russian Revolution is the hypocrisy involved. Napoleon and the pigs set rules, only to break and change them as they pleased. Seven Commandments were written to be followed as laws and rules to all the animals.
1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill another animal.
7. All animals are equal.
But by the end of the story the commandments are altered by the pigs. The law stating that whatever goes on two legs is an enemy is changed to the sheep's chanting of "Four legs good, two legs better!" after contact and trade with humans is made. After the pigs begin to sleep in the old house of Mr. Jones the farmer, the fourth commandment is changed to: No animal shall sleep in a bed WITH SHEETS. The law: "No animal shall drink alcohol" is changed to "No animal shall drink alcohol TO EXCESS." After Napoleon brutally kills many of the animals for disobedience and treachery, (even though they were killed for crimes they never committed), the law was changed to: No animal shall kill another animal WITHOUT CAUSE. At the end of the story, all seven commandments are erased, and replaced with a single commandment: ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.

George Orwell's Animal Farm is a superb animation of the Russian Revolutioon. The book is amusing and interesting; it includes a comic element as it synonymously demonstrates the evolution from the proletariat revolution to a totalitarian government led by the swine of the society. Orwell successfully simplified the not-so-simple theory of class stratification and Karl Marx's proposed solution of communism. Orwell's method of conveyance is incredibly inventive. He uses satire in the form of a fairy tale to share his indignation for ideological doctrines that would, if allowed, lead to the eventual destruction of a society. Each character in the story is representative of someone who was involved in the Russian Revolution. Old Major is Marx, and inspires the proletariat revolution by motivating the over-worked animals and educating them on the ways of the human beings, who represent the bourgeoisie. Orwell's creativity convinces the reader that the animals on the farm are intellectual beings, revolting against the tyranny of the humans. Animal Farm offers itself as an example of a responsible criticism of Marxism. The story gives us a peek at the Utopian vision, and then offers a long look at what results from using a Marxist approach at achieving it. I strongly reccomend this book, as it is entertaining and educational. Orwell succeeded in creating a fairy tale that evokes both sadness and laughter, while causing us to feel sympathy and even empathy for the working class animals. The book escapes complexity, but its message does not.

Animal Farm is much, much more than a story about animals. These animals are used to portray Russian history. Seems weird doesn't it? But it makes sense! Everything in this book mirrors Russian history and the characters were created after Russian historical figures. It starts out with a pig named Old Major (who stands for Karl Marx) who sees visions of a wonderful revolution where animals will share everything and the world will be beautiful without any humans, especially Mr. Jones their master. Mr. Jones stands for Czar Nicholas II. They revolt from him and set up their own commandments, the Seven Commandments which includes things like "no animals shall wear clothings", "no animals shall sleep in a bed", "no animals shall consume alchohol", and "all animals are equal". The pigs, who are known as the smartest animals which is an actual fact, take over control of the farm. Napoleon stands for Stalin who wants a strong central government and wants to teach the young only while Snowball stands for Lenin who wants a democracy and to educate all of the people. The animals on the farm other than the pigs stand for common people. Boxer the horse stands for the physically strong people that aren't very smart. Benjamin the mule (Boxer's best friend) stands for the smart people who know what's going on, but are too stubborn to admit there is a problem. Clover stands for someone who's motherly and cares about every one else. The dogs stand for military people. The chickens stand for the smart, but weak people. The cats stand for the lazy people who don't want to do any work, but want to have rewards. Moses the Raven stands for religion with his talk of where animals go when they die (Sugar Candy Mountain). The sheep stand for the brainwashed people who can't think for themselves. Everything in this book happens for a reason. It's a weird story about how communism will never work because pigs will always be greedy pigs.

It's a really great story about talking animals, but it's an even better story when you take it apart and analyze and think to yourself, "but what if so and so got with so and so.... could they have stopped this from happening?" The ending of this book is a really freaky ending... Always remember "Two legs baaaaad, four legs better!"