It is probably not the best in the series, but my students love Froggy.

It's the week before Valentine's Day, and Froggy's in love. There's a new girl in his class, Frogilina, and he just can't take his eyes off her. He's mooning and staring and when she smiles at him, "his insides got all soft and wiggly, like he'd had caterpillars for breakfast." All week long Frogilina sits with him at lunch giving him little treats from her lunch bag. It's a match made in heaven. That is until Valentine's Day. Frogilina has an extra special surprise for Froggy, something he never expected. It turned his face red, it made his tummy feel weird, he couldn't eat, not even his dessert, and it made all his friends laugh and tease him. Frogilina gave Froggy a big, juicy kiss, right on his cheek..... Nobody captures the essence of an irrepressible preschooler like Jonathan London and Frank Remkiewicz. Mr London's joyful, spirited text is full of energy and sound effects, and begs to be read out loud. Mr Remkiewicz's bold, bright, and expressive artwork enhances the story, and together they use humor to take some of the mystery and embarrassment out of a real life situation. Perfect for preschoolers, Froggy's First Kiss is an engaging and entertaining story with a happy ending that solves all of Froggy's love problems, and a wonderful Valentine's Day read kids will want to hear again and again.

This book is very cute. The story is entertaining and fun. I have loved the Froggy character ever since reading FROGGY GETS DRESSED. The illustrations are very bright and catching. The story about Froggy's first kiss could apply to so many childrens feeling as well as adults. How did you feel with your first kiss. My students love for me to do voice changes with the Froggy stories. I have reread so many of Froggys stories over and over to my students.

Jonathan Gash, Pearlhanger (Penguin, 1985)

Mysteries are like horse races. What pace you get depends more on the country of origin than the type of book. Pearlhanger, the ninth Lovejoy mystery, tries its best to be a hardboiled detective story in the Robert Parker vein (with Lovejoy an antiques dealer instead of a literate chef), but it's foiled by Gash's inveterate Englishness. English mysteries always start out leisurely and then pick up. Not the best way for a hardboiled detective story to start off.

Still, once you're past the slow bits, like most English mysteries, Pearlhanger gets good. The irascible, pejudiced, inveterately Lovejoy and his band of merry misfits are on the trail of a disappeared antiques dealer who doesn't seem to be doing much antique dealing. Once they reach the end of the trail, things pick up and plot twists abound. Unfortunately, reaching the trail takes half the book and a bunch of minor characters (all of whom, you hope, will pop up again later, but they never do except in conversation). The whole thing does come to a satisfactory conclusion, and with a bit faster pacing at first and a little more completeness with minor characters, it would be excellent. As is stands, it's readable enough. ** 1/2

Lovejoy is hired by Donna Vernon to find her wandering husband Sidney who is on a buying trip with Ken Chatto, another antiques dealer. Sidney leaves a well-marked trail and shows a surprising ignorance about antiques. The story ends in a marshy wilderness where Lovejoy is slightly out of his element. His element is actually antiques which he loves with an exclusive passion not easily understood by even his friends.

This was my second Lovejoy novel and I loved it. The main character is great and and the mystery excellent. The British slang may be tough at first for some, but after the first chapter you tend to pick it up. I would recomend this book to anyone. Five Stars!

This book is well written and gives some details about the story of Jonathan Pollard, a naval analyst who in 1986 was sentenced to life in prison for spying for Israel. However, the book is not always accurate. Blitzer makes a series of statements which are sometimes a 1-star statement and sometime a 5-star statement. For example, on p. 74, Blitzer gives the following account on Pollard's very first phone conversation with Col. Aviem Sella: "'This is Avi Sella,' the pilot said.... 'Shalom,' Pollard replied, jumping from his chair, literally standing attention as he held the phone. He couldn't believe how excited he became simply hearing Sella's low but pleasant voice." Pollard says that he did not jump at attention when Sella called and certainly didn't say "Shalom" over the phone. Further Pollard says that he never told Blitzer about the incident, and accuses him of trying to categorize Pollard as a Jewish equivalent of Sgt. Shultz of Hogan's heroes. Blitzer's description of the incident plays into the hands of the U.S. government's stereotype of Pollard as a bumbling "wannabe," who was, at the same time a dangerous enemy of the state, and for that reason is a 1-star statement. Another 1-star statement is when on p. 102, he writes that from Nov, 1984 to July, 1985, Pollard bought various items like meals, jewerly, drinks, and airline tickets for his (then) wife Anne Henderson, while on the other hand, he describes Pollard's dealings with Saudi contacts (pgs. 109-110. It doesn't occur to Blitzer that maybe these items that Pollard bought might have been for the Saudi contact(s) and not his wife. This and other statements gives ammunition to those who claim, such as the previous reviewer, that Pollard spied for the money, and not because of his concern for Israel's safety. Blitzer does redeem himself on this point by quoting Pollard on pgs. 109-110 as saying that if he was spying for the money, then he should have sold Israel's secrets to the Arabs-who would have paid Pollard a fortune-as opposed to his having to pay expenses as part of his spying for Israel, (5-stars)and later (p.320) when Blitzer concludes that Pollard's motivation was to help Israel, and not for the money. (5-star) On p. 318, Blitzer wrongly accepts the government's contention that Pollard damaged U.S. national security, (1-star) but then states much of the damage that Pollard allegedly caused had been contained (5-stars) and that Pollard's life sentence was excessive. (5-stars) I could go on, but I have only limited space, but one gets the idea. I came up with 3-stars by averaging out the 1-star statements with the five-stars statements and then give Blitzer the benefit of the doubt by rounding up to 3-stars. This book is recommended reading, but for those who want to know the full story about the Jonathan Pollard spy case, one should also read these following books: Bernard Henderson, Pollard: The Spy's Story; Elliot Goldenberg, The Spy Who Knew Too Much, and Elliot Goldenberg, The Hunting Horse: The Truth Behind the Jonathan Pollard Spy Case. One should also check out the Justice for Jonathan Pollard web site (www.jonathanpollard.org).

This book tells the story of Jonathan Pollard, an U.S. Navy Intelligence employee whom in 1985 - 86 spied for Israel. The book takes us through a brief life history of the man, the details on how he started his spying, the actual working of the spying, his capture and trial. The author does a very good job of keeping the reader bouncing between thinking Pollard was a socially challenged day dreamer with illusions of grandeur to an Israeli state hero. We learn of the many times in Pollards life where he presented to high school classmates, college friends and co-workers highly creative tails of himself as a top flight Mossad agent - all of which was a fantasy created within Pollards mind. We are also presented with the case that Pollard was providing to Israel valuable and necessary to their survival secrets that not only helped Israel but also the U.S.

The author also does a good job of presenting the case that the running of this spy was not done well at all. The book talks about the many mistakes Israel made on the running of Pollard and the others associated with him, and then details how Israel left Pollard out to twist in the wind. What was also interesting to me were the effects, detailed by the author, of this case of friends spying on each other. The author explains the political fallout from this case and the ways the intelligence community reacted to this "Jewish" spying.

Bottom line Pollard was a spy and what he did was illegal. The author is somewhat sympathetic to Pollard but in the end does state that the law was broken. There is a lot of sympathy in the book about the jail time the wife gets, but in my view she knew and facilitated the spying, therefore, she was just as guilty as Pollard and got off easy. Pollard complains about how hard jail is on both he and his wife, but you know what - jail is not meant to be fun, it is punishment.

The book is interesting and moves fast - similar to a CNN article. You get all the facts and they are spelled out in an easy to grasp fashion. If you are interested in this case this is a very good overview.

This is an excellent book about a most unusual espionage case. I believe that Wolf Blitzer deserves a great deal of praise both for his writing style and the quality of his research.

Bottom Line: Pollard was a venal, mixed up person who cheerfully betrayed his country for money. My impression from reading a recent Seymour Hersh article about Pollard is that the "I did it for Israel" excuse is a convenient afterthought. He should stay in jail...

But if it is necessary to release him in order to cajole some future Israeli government into a peace accord with the Palestinians, I could live with that. We should just revoke his citizenship before letting him make "aliyah" (emigration) to Israel. Personally, I'd like to see him sent there via a giant slingshot (like the way Dilbert gets periodically sent to Elbonia).

The trouble with reading a series of books is trying to come up with something new to say with each succeeding book. If I stop enjoying the series, I'll stop reading the books, so I can't really complain about them. And I usually read them for enjoyment, not necessarily for any edification--and often the critical faculties will simply take a sabbatical while I'm in the midst of one.

In this Lovejoy mystery, Lovejoy has to overcome his incredulation over the fact that someone might actually possess the Holy Grail, and by the time he does so, someone's croaked and our roguish antiques dealer may be next. The new antique (er, a bit of an oxymoron) stuff here is Lovejoy's apprentice selection process, how to fake a chair, and the joys of trying to date all the women in a small English village--eligible or not.

Likable scoundrel Lovejoy the antique dealer searches for the impossible...the Holy Grail. Quite a bit different than the Lovejoy character popularized by the A&E Network's version. Full of the colorful characters of East Anglia's antique underworld. Extremely funny and a must read for antique lovers. Many Dick Francis readers seam to enjoy Gash's Lovejoy novels like the Grail Tree.

If you are looking for a delightful book that shows a loving relationship between a little boy and his mom, you've found it. In this book, you spend a day with Jonathan and his mom as they take a stroll. While they walk through the city, they play games, sing, act silly and just have a great time with one another. The illustration is done in a muted watercolor and not very bold but still quite colorful. Overall, with few lines to a page it makes a nice read for any bedtime story packed with a dose of love.

This book is delightful. Spend the day walking through thecity with Jonathan and his mommy as Irene Smalls creatively explores the bond between a mother and son.

This is an uneven book on an extremely important organization and topic. The role of Amnesty International, a private citizen's organization created to hold governments accountable for their actions, has been critical to bringing human rights issues to the forefront of global foreign policy concerns. The simple approach of having citizens write letters to government officials expressing their interest in and concern over political prisoners has resulted in the release of thousands, and has brought hope to many. Amnesty International's efforts have demonstrated that individual citizen action does make a difference; it has become a model for other organizations around the globe.

Unfortunately, the author does not successfully capture the importance and significance of Amnesty. There are a number of factual errors which, while not significant in their own right, are jarring and do raise questions regarding other statements. As one example, he states that both Nigeria and Rhodesia were British colonies in 1966; both were former colonies but by 1966 were both independent nations. His analysis is not always strong; in other instances it is virtually non-existent. On more than one occasion his writing meanders and concludes without making any point; this is particularly the case with the chapter on the history of Amnesty, and on the Baader-Meinhoff gang. On the other hand, his discussion of Amnesty's role in China is well-written, and the chapter on human rights violations is well-written, well-documented, and provides important commentary and analysis concerning the human rights record of a nation that has high standards but that does not always live up to them.

Literary and analytical weaknesses aside, the importance of Amnesty's mission, and its success (and failures) over the years, make this an important book to read. One only hopes that someone will be motivated to write a more thorough treatise on the subject.

Amnesty International was started in 1961 by Peter Benenson, a british lwayer who read about students in Portugal (at that time under a military dictatorship) who received long prison terms for toasting freedom. His idea of flooding the offending government with letters, telegrams and unpleasant publicity was derided at the time as silly. Over the years, AI has kept its emphasis on those prisoners who do not use or advocate violence, and has stayed as non-partisan as possible in various international disputes while double and triple-checking all information it receives. Today, with members in over 160 countries, Amnesty International is the world's most influential private organization dealing with human rights.

This book looks at the difficulties faced by AI in its work around the world. Nigeria is the home of AI's most famous political prisoner, Olusegun Obasanjo (now President of Nigeria). Amnesty's attention to detail and fine detective work exposed the massacre of more than 100 children in the Central African Republic. Political freedom in China seems to go through phases of openness, only to be slammed shut by the government. The book also deals with death squads in Guatemala and attempts to bring former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to justice.

The author also explores human rights in America. Around the world, America is the first one to say something to other countries whose human rights records are less-than-perfect. But, looking at America's domestic record of police brutality, racial profiling and inability to ratify various human rights conventions and treaties, the word "hypocrisy" comes to mind.

This is a fine piece of writing. Those who are already active in the human rights field, and those who just want to know something about AI (before becoming members) will learn a lot from this book. Highly recommended.

Lovejoy appears on a television show as an expert on antiques. As a result, he is offerred a job by Ben Cox, director of a Suffolk archaeology trust who is worried about the county being robbed of its treasures, especially ancient bronzes buried in the ground. After Cox and local collector George Prentiss are both murdered, Lovejoy sets out to find the killer and solve the mystery of the missing buried treasures. There are two big entertainments in a Lovejoy novel. The reader learns a lot about antiques, with an emphasis on the fakes and scams, and also meets some great characters. The downside of all this is that the plot tends to get buried beneath the goofy characters and their many antics.

Lovejoy, minds not, creating a beautiful work of art. He has even been know to make an occasional fake or two. However the wholesaling, of rare, national treasures goes against his true love, antiques. Here one finds a gangster, antiques-poachers with electronic gadgets, a TV maiden, a precious Victorian wedding, a little witchcraft, and a few dead friends thrown in. Lovejoy is up to his old tricks of taking on the world , with his loyal barker Tinker, and bevy of beautiful women who cannot resist his charms. Havoc abounds with murderous intrigue, and it is up to Lovejoy to make order of chaos. Done in true fashion,he succeeds.Typically delightful

While I love Wodehouse-he is indisputably one of the masters of modern literature-this particular collection of stories (which originally appeared in Strand and Cosmopolitan in the early '30s) is rather weak. The main problem is that they are all of a piece, virtually every one revolves around a silly young man (generally one of the Drones Club cohort) and his affections for a beautiful girl. Invariably, the man falls for the woman and then due to various simple comic misfortunes, loses her. One or two is fine, but a whole book of the plot over and over gets rather tedious. What makes Wodehouse's longer stories work to much better effect are the existence of multiple storylines which elegantly dovetail a the end, along with smart, clever, or willful other characters to provide contrast and balance (for example, Jeeves, Uncle Fred, various Aunts). It should come as no surprise that the standout story here is the lone Uncle Fred entry. In short, this collection lacks the wit, pleasantly convoluted schemes, and even high level of prose, that one expects when picking up one of Plum's works.

Arguably his finest non-omnibus short story collection. Story for story, it's hard to imagine ANYONE writing material as consistently, inventively, and intoxicatingly funny as this. If your knowledge of P.G. Wodehouse is only of the Jeeves stories (which are wonderful in and of themselves), this is a terrifc way to start acquainting yourself with some of the other denizens of his fictional unvierse. Contains a mixture of Drones Club and Mulliner stories, and includes "Uncle Fred Flits By", recently voted as Plum's best-ever short story by members of P.G. Wodehouse societies worldwide.

Many Christians today have what some sociologists of religion have called a "suburban spirituality": we like our religion neatly trimmed, safe, gated, and above all respectable. As a consequence, fewer and fewer of us are willing to take chances--much less, God forbid, risks--for the sake of the Gospel. Little wonder that some of the folks most ardently working for peace and justice have a healthy distrust of Christianity.

Jon Daniels, a seminary (Episcopal) student, was someone who had no use for suburban spirituality. He went down to Alabama at the height of the Civil Rights disturbances, lived the Gospel's message of service, and eventually was gunned down by a white deputy sheriff (who was acquitted by an all-white jury!)when he pushed a black teenager out of the way and caught the gunshot blast intended for her.

Daniels was only in his mid-twenties when he was martyred, but his essays, letters, and journal, which make up a good half of this biography, reveal a man who had thought and prayed deeply about the need to live the Gospel message of service to others. The book, first published some 35 years ago, has been reprinted by Moorehouse Press, and deserves wider attention than it's gotten thus far. Jon Daniels is a real American hero.

Slack interweaves real science (Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology; frog and fly biology) with job descriptions of biologists and events in the laboratory to portray the fragile existence of academic scientists.

As a career university biologist myself, I repeatedly found myself asking the question as I navigated through the book "Why did I get into this business in the first place?" Slack's work will certainly prompt the budding young scientist to confront their own destiny.

To those interested in what professors do (since they are not in the classroom 8 hours per day), this is the book for you. Though clearly written, the science is still not for everyone; occasionally, Slack lapses into jargon without definition. However, the lighthearted and accurate picture of life in the laboratory will certainly provide enough entertainment for any reader, especially if you are undecided if you want to spend the rest of your life cohabitating with an academic.

As an undergraduate studying biology and hoping to pursue a career in research I found this book both informative and shocking. J.M.W Slack openly reveals all the ins and outs of "Life in the Biology lab." I strongly recommend this book to anyone curious to what's truly in store for them if they choose to enter a field of science.

Slack does a grand job of telling his story...life and living as a researcher working on problems of development. Slack has the ability to get you to grin as he talks about cow brains, growth factors, and other scientific adventures..."Where are the brains, Dad?" (You'll have to read the book to know what that means.) He also ably tells what it's like to be a scientist, as well as how one negotiates the politics and requirements of becoming successful as a research scientist.

The format of the book is interesting. It includes several chapters that address what it's like ("Ego") to be a research scientist, i.e., chapters 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10. He defines what he calls "good places," as well as who "good people" are in the scientific community. If you are a budding scientist, these chapters contain nugget after nugget of wisdom and insight. This book is worth the price for them alone.

The remaining chapters, 3, 5, 8 contain the essence of the research that Slack and his group do, thus the "Egg" portion of the book's title. There is good information about the role of growth factors in development, and a broad brush review of the essentials of some of the processes of development and their molecular bases.

If you are up for a good read about life as a biologist, then come on along. The only reason I didn't award this book 5-stars is that there would be a strong tendency for those not trained in the sciences to get lost in the technical aspects of the chapters on developmental processes. For most biologists, however, especially for upper division undergraduate and graduate students, this book is a gem!

4 stars for the non-scientist, and 5 stars for the science crowd.

Kudos to Slack for this great little book (though he seems to take a rather dim view of places other than research universities -- we part ways there). There is, I believe, too strong a sentiment among researchers (represented by some of Slack's opinions) that what non-researcher biologists do, i.e., teach, is not just different, it is "less than." It all comes down to what you choose to do for your own career, and how you define success for yourself.

I hope this review was helpful!

Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College, IN