This historical fiction story, geared towards preteens, captivates young readers, even if it does contain a healthy amount of factual information. It is a bit easy to read, even for the age group, but other than that, it is a well written story.

First of all this book might be what you are looking for as an informational book. This book really gives the history and only a couple of hieroglyphs. I mean you can learn a lot of history and not a lot of hieroglyphs if that is what you want. Really this is not a good book in gerneral at all if all you want to is learn hieroglyhps.

This book is a simple introduction to the fundamentals of hieroglyphics. The alphabet, the numbers, and some other simbols are translated and shown with pronunciations. Included is a short introduction to the history of the study of hieroglyphics. This is not a dictionary, but can teach you to read and write names. Good for young readers.

I don't believe a word of this book. Ted Jordan "claims" to be close to MM but he offers no supporting evidence. He even claims to own MM's diary, but he offers no proof. Unfortunately, when a star such as Marilyn dies, many unknowns get on the bandwagon to make a quick buck. Don't waste your money or time.

Once upon a time, during the early 1950's, a man named Ted Jordan, an actor, nephew of nightclub entertainer Ted Lewis, future husband (1954-60) of stripper Lili St. Cyr, came upon the set of the movie "Niagara" during a break in filming. Being a fan, he asked one of the stars of the movie, Marilyn Monroe, to pose in a photo with him. He lucked out when she agreed.

Later, many years after Marilyn's death (conveniently enough), Jordan spun this tale of being one of Marilyn's most intimate friends, her lover, and even one of her husbands! Holding out that photo, and only that photo, as proof that he once "knew" her.

The title of his book "Norma Jean : My Secret Life With Marilyn Monroe", is quite telling. Apparently, Jordan so successfully managed to keep it such a secret that ALL of Marilyn's friends and family don't ever recall Jordan being a part of her life at all. Her many biographers as well as her many dedicated and devoted fans, myself included, cannot find a single shred of evidence that Jordan was ever a part of Marilyn's life in any shape or form. Jordan also apparently managed to keep himself, with the exception of that one fan photo, from being photographed with her, one of the most photographed women on the earth.

The fact of the matter is that Ted Jordan is a two-bit phony who never was involved in Marilyn's life one way or the other, but that didn't stop him from writing this book in which he claims to have begun an affair with her in the late forties while she was still a struggling starlet and her first husband was stationed overseas and remained a close friend all the way up to her death. Jordan also claims, falsely, to have once married her in Mexico! Jordan can't keep his lies straight. That fan photo of his, for example, he once admitted to it being nothing more than a "fan photo" taken on the set of her film "Niagara" (indeed, in the photo Marilyn is in full "Marilyn" make up and wearing a tight dress that she wore for the movie), but in his book, he changed his story, claiming that it his and Marilyn's wedding photo in Mexico! (He still hasn't, as of yet, to produce a copy of the marriage certificate. I shall not hold my breath.)

His book, his story, is so filled with obvious lies it's incredible. One glaring example is when he claims to have attended a post-production party (celebrating the end of filming) of the Betty Grable 1947 movie Mother Wore Tights. Which is believable enough, but then he goes on to claim that he met the actress Lupe Velez (aka "The Mexican Spitfire") at this party which resulted in him having a steamy affair with her. The problem with that story is Lupe Velez committed suicide three years earlier in 1944! Apparently, falsely claiming a love affair with only one movie star sex symbol isn't enough for Jordan's ego.

Jordan takes real life scenes in Marilyn's life, which he obviously got from books on her, and then somehow magically interjects himself into the scene when no one remembers him being around at all. And in conversations that he claims to have taken place between him and Marilyn privately, the dialogue is so stilted, so laughingly, badly written, it's an obvious fraud. Next time, Mr. Jordan, hire a Hollywood screenplay writer. They specialize in making fictional dialogue sound realistic.

If you want to read about the real Marilyn Monroe, skip this fictional book and find something else.

God bless you, Marilyn.

Norma Jean Lutz's The History of Third Parties is more apt to confuse than inform the young adult reader. This six chapter, 60-page title is not only unfocused, but critical information about United States government and history is absent.

Lutz neglects to explain the structures and laws under which political parties and elections operate. While the book uses "third-party" to describe minor parties, it fails to enumerate the two major parties and to indicate when they are in power. The greatest confusion comes in the section that describes members of the free-soil movement joining the new Republican Party in 1854. What were the major two parties before the mid-nineteenth century? Lutz doesn't tell the reader.

Lutz enumerates the "Third-Party Hurdles" which have limited the success of minor parties in the U.S. In this section, there is no description of the Electoral College. There is no explanation of "winner take all" elections. An understanding of the system's basic structure is fundamental to comprehending the challenges faced by minor parties. This material is not too advanced for the young adult reader, and the absence of such information promotes confusion rather than clarity.

Another shortcoming is the intermixing of terms. Descriptions of political parties, independent candidates, political factions, and social movements are treated synonymously. The book opens with a chapter dedicated to Ross Perot's 1992 presidential bid and Jesse Ventura's gubernatorial victory. Descriptions of Perot's personally funded candidacy and the Reform Party are commingled; no clarifications are made between individual candidates and the institutions of a political parties. Later in the book, abolitionists are described as a political party rather than a movement. While having many political implications, the abolitionist movement crossed many party and social lines.

Throughout the book, historical descriptions of political unfoldings are weak. Rather than presenting past actions or statements, Lutz attributes emotions and attitudes to significant political actors. In discussing conflicts between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, Lutz writes that President Washington "was greatly distressed over the conflict". There is no further mention of anything the president said or did in response. Rather the description continues that Jefferson "felt" and "believed" in the rights of men and that the ordinary people "hated" the Federalists (pp. 18-19). No writings, letters, or journals are cited to support these assertions. While these may be an accurate descriptions of their sentiments, it is not a sufficient substitute for describing their actions and public statements.

Imprecise language and inadequately defined terms leave readers guessing meanings throughout the book. A glossary provides definitions to only 12 terms. In one paragraph, readers are referred to the glossary for the term "political convention" but not referred anywhere to find out what or who "the Barnburners" and "Hunkers" might be. Phrases that might be unknown or unclear to young people are often used. To describe Roosevelt's entry in to the presidential race, Lutz only writes he "threw his hat in the ring" (p. 44). Unquantified descriptions such as "paupers' wages" and "unimaginable wealth" are meaningless to many as well (p. 33).

The most egregious issues of language are those that reflect racial and ethnic bias. The opening sentence of a section on the American party reads, "Yet another problem that arose during the 1840s and 1850s was that of record numbers of immigrants coming to this county." (p. 30) This anti-immigrant tone is further reflected in a discussion of the temperance movement, "More powerful were the large groups of immigrant drinkers. Theirs was the voice that moved the major parties." (p. 39) Certainly Irish and German immigrants were neither the central political force nor the only anti-temperance voice in the later half of the 19th century. Other potentially insensitive word usage includes "tramps" and "hoboes" instead of " the unemployed" and "homeless" (p. 34).

The History of Third Parties leaves more questions than answers for readers. The book meanders through U.S. political history uninformed and without focus. Look elsewhere for a history of minor parties and political movements in the U.S.