Before I read this book, the only works of M.M. Kaye that I had read were the Far Pavilions and Shadow of the Moon. Both were excellent but I had seen her as more of a romance writer and was therefore surprised to learn that she has written mysteries as well. Death in Kenya is a very well-written mystery with a nice touch of romance but the best part is the atomosphere. Kaye does a masterful job of recreating Colonial Kenya at the end of WWII where many settlers were born and bred in the country yet clung stubbornly to their British roots. The world they inhabit is one of bungalows, afternoon tea parties, card parties at clubs, and hunts - this sounds old-fashioned even for the 1950's, but you recognize that the winds of change were already blowing over the remaining colonized countries and the white settlers were desperately trying to hold on to a disappearing lifestyle. The mystery itself is intruiging - Victoria Caryll, a young girl who had been born in Kenya but was subsequently sent to England for her education is asked to come out and be with her aunt, Lady Emily DeBrett. Victoria is reluctant because returning to Kenya would meen meeting her cousin Eden DeBrett, who she had been formerly engaged to. As a teenager, she had been in love with Eden when he had broken her heart by abruptly calling off their engagement and marrying another girl. However, her aunt prevails upon her to come. But as she is on her way out, Eden's wife Alice is brutally murdered and the story takes off from there. The mystery is interesting and genuinely suspenseful and reading about Kenya was amazing! Kaye had actually lived in Kenya and her love for the country and indeed all of Africa clearly comes through. Highly recommended!

I must tell all you that I enjoyed this just like I have enjoyed ALL OF HER BOOKS since I first read 'Far Pavillons'. She is the reason I still want to go to India! In "Death In Kenya" I could picture the setting having traveled to Africa in 1989 and I was fortunate to spend some time in the bush on safari and it was simply wonderful. Her books once again bring enjoyment to me. I am ashamed to admit that after I read 'Shadow of the Moon' I was sidetracked and never read any of the others, but I am making up time for the lapse now. "Death in Kenya" is thoroughly enjoyable and I am now looking forward to reading her "Golden Afternoon". How special!

I've read "Death in Kashmir", "Death in Zanzibar", and now "Death in Kenya". I liked them all, but found this one to be the most fun. It has a very good twist at the end, with the discovery of the murderer. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the M.M. Kaye "Death in..." books!

There have by now been many excellent accounts by adult concentration camp survivors, but Eva Mozes Kor, in a simple, matter of fact style, shows us a different view of Auschwitz as it was for a child and human guinea pig in the terrible medical experiments of the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele. Eva and her twin sister Miriam were 10 years old when they were forcibly separated from their family upon arrival at Auschwitz, kept alive to be experimented upon while their parents and siblings were sent to the gas chamber. Eva's witness of what happened to them as Mengele's guinea pigs provides an important historical account and a really inspiring story of the incredible strength and resourcefulness of these children in the face of a man and a system that intended their death. Through ingenuity, mutual sacrifice and sheer strenght of will, Eva and Miriam survive Auschwitz. This autobiographic story continues through the post-WW2 years as the girls cope with the loss of their family and live under another totalitarian system in communist-ruled Romania, and finally emigrate to Israel. 'A tribute to the ingenuity and indomitable spirit of children everywhere.'

I this book a few summers ago after visiting Eva's Holocaust museum in Terre Haute, Indiana. The book was excellent, but it is an EXTREMELY worthwhile experience to travel to Indiana and see the CANDLES Museum and hear Eva's story from her own mouth. It is very moving and she is a wonderful and strong person- a true thrill to meet in person. I reccommed this book on account of its historical and emotional content, and reccomend the museum for people to realize just how lucky they really are.

yeah, so, sue me. i just wanted to say that eva kor spoke to my class about her experiences in the holocaust. it was very touching. i live in illinois, and so does she! her story is very interesting, and i want to read this book, but i cant find it anywhere!!!! shoot.

If you have lost your job involuntarily, think you may be on the bubble or are just questioning your whole approach and understanding of the work-a-day world, you should read this book! I lost my job in August of 2002 after returning from a very successful 3-year assignment in London. I was devastated, how could I be treated this way. I thought if you showed up and did a great job, you were in for life. Boy was I wrong! I came across this book recommended by an author of a paperback called The Lay-Off Survival Guide.

I won't say this book changed my life (I am not sure a book can really do that) but it certainly changed the way I think about work and my own skills - forever! I realized that there are lots of people out there struggling with the same issues and lots of people going through their daily routines and feeling unfulfilled. I also realized that I had the power to change that about my life.

I find Mrs. Pulley's balance of personal interviews and research as well as reference work of other authors, psychologists, and philosophers to lend credibility, believability and inspiration to this book.

When someone asks you, "so, who are you?" and your answer starts with "I'm a manager of... or I work for..." then YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK!

I have now left big corporate America and am working in a 3-person start-up software company. I don't think I could ever go back to the other life. Thank you Mary Lynn Pulley for helping me transform!

Ms. Pulley has written a very useful treatise on resilience in the context of the workplace. She very succintly brings out the feelings and emotions that a person who has lost his/her job involuntarily feels and experiences. Her ideas and thoughts based on her interviews with people who have gone through the "trough" would make an invaluable contribution to those who are on their path to recovery and more importantly success on their terms. Though the book is written based on the American experience, I am of the opinion that it is applicable anywhere in the world. For those who live under the threat of likely loss of their job involuntarily, this book would be useful in understanding the feelings that you may be encountering.This book could even be a road-map to move-on and re-define yourself, discover a new dimension of success and of course, get on with re-building and living a more meaningful life in which you will find satisfaction and happiness in.

I picked up this book with some skepticism after losing a job, but found that I could not put it down! And after finishing it, I went out and got a temp job in ONE DAY which I still have -- and have been asked to stay on. It is excellent as practical as well as philosophical support for anyone seeking to improve his or her resilience in a crisis. Instead of despair Pulley and Deal offer hope.

This book really paints a picture of what it takes to own a business as a woman. It is encouraging to see that the struggles that these women went through were all worth it in the end. It has given me courage to never give up in busines and to set my goals high, despite the obstacles.

This book underscored my belief that we make our on luck! I love the story about the owner of Rosies Bakery in Boston...how she worked through the night and went to bed with flour in her hair because she was too tired to even take a shower...now she owns a chain of bakeries! And the "Queen of Barbeque" who got tired of being passed over for promotions in her male dominated industry...she just quit and started her own business. I feel like these women are my sisters, and I'm proud of them!

I was especially intrigued by the way that women who were raised in such difficult cirumstances could go on to own and run multimillion dollar businesses. Nikki, who came over as a teenager from Iran not even able to speak English; Adrian, who was raised in a deaf household; and Barbara, whose early childhood memories include having crosses burned on her front yard. It's amazing that these women were able to overcome these challenges to achieve the American Dream. What great role models...and what a great reading experience!

I am a Director of Training for a fortune 500 company. Quarterly, I look for new resources that my 40 designers and trainers can use when developing and delivering material to our employees and agents. This book was the gem I've been looking for. Story telling is the most powerful thing a trainer can give their students - because the stories last in the mind forever when the technical details disappear. This book details the how, the what, the when, the where, and the why. Recently I bought a copy for each one of my staff - and the incredible results are already coming in!!! Thanks for my best new resource of the year!

To be successful as a project management consultant, it is important to be able to influence people to move in the direction in which they need to go (not always the direction in which they would like to go). The thing about using stories to influence is that people love stories and will listen even if they are resisting other management methods. This book has wonderful, rich content and is very easy to use. The commitment of the authors to help readers succeed is demonstrated by the sayitwithastory web site and newsletter. I am very pleased this terrific resource is available. [By the way, these stories work on family members also!]

You don't have to be a trainer or public speaker to benefit from this book - you can be anyone who uses (or would like to use) stories to create impact. This book not only contains a catalog of stories that you can use to illustrate a point (conveniently categorized into pre-defined topics), it also contains a recipe for crafting and telling your own stories. Want to know how to create that extra bit of suspense that makes a story engaging? Want to know how to create a surprise ending? Want to know what the basic structure of an effective story? Want an off-the-shelf story that you can read or recite to a group to make a point? If so, this book will serve you well.

Classic! Like several other reviewers, I just stumbled on an ancient paperback copy of this in a used bookstore, and what a little treasure it is! hard to believe that in 1956 you could pick this book up for just 35 cents, the same book I just bought for 2.50 (though at a mere 4.7% compound interest I guess it's just as well I bought it now, and not in 1956). I'm so happy to see it's still available; keep your expectations low and this is a fast-moving, cleanly written little sailing adventure that stands the test of time; absolutely perfect vacation, travel, or relaxing read. If you're looking for more: I still have not read the highly touted classic 'Riddle of the Sands' but I imagine it's very similar.

I picked up this book as a 13 yr old at a country fair and have been completely heart broken since I lent it a friend who lost it about five years ago. To explain how good it is I have spend these last 5 years doing my damnedest to find a copy. This book should be on every school curriculum. Fascinating, exhilarating, saddening, frustrating - this book brings out every emotion humanly possible. The style of writing leaves you feeling the spirit of the Mary Deare and the shifting of her along the reefs of The Minkies. Fantastic! I cannot wait to get my hands on it again

My wife picked up this book in a used bookstore in Seward,Alaska, while on a bike trip. We were looking for a cheep read and were shocked that we had bumbled onto a timeless classic. Half way through my wife, who is a professor and creative writer herself, got so exhited about the storry that she cut the book in half so that I could start on the beginning half of the book. The storry is outstanding (and I generally am not a fan of maritime themes), the writing rivals the great authors of the century, and the research is flawless. A must read. It is the second best book that I have ever read, behind "To Whome the Bell tolls"....this one is a lot less depressing.

This bookis a delight-before I knew it, my 17-month baby girl was acting out all the activities on the page along with the characters-now we do them together!!

My 19 month old loves this book because she has just learned all the body parts. She points to Barney's body parts as well as her own as directed in the book. It is extremely entertaining (the first 100 times) to read and watch her perform.

My 15 month old son loves this book. It made learning body parts easy and fun. He gets so excited when we read this book and loves doing everything Barney says. It is by far his favorite book!

So, having seen the Disney movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks, you know the whole story, right? Wrong! Being a fan of that movie, I picked up this book expecting some minor discrepancies, but was amazed to find a story that had practically nothing in common with the movie.

This is the story of Carey, Charles and Paul Wilson who, while staying with their aunt in Bedfordshire, suddenly discover that a neighbor, Miss Price is a witch! Not your stereotypical witch, Miss Price is a prim and proper lady who is willing to buy the children's silence with the gift of a magic bed knob that will allow the children to travel through space and time. Seeking to visit their mother, the children find themselves scooped up by the London police. Next, Miss Price takes them to an isolated tropical island, only to discover that cannibals inhabit the island. Their final adventure takes them to Restoration England, where they meet a forlorn (and inept) necromancer, Emelius Jones.

This story (actually two books combined into one) is quite charming. In a gentle and freewheeling fashion, Mary Norton draws the reader along on a fantastic adventure. This book is just right for the young reader, with a few nice illustrations, and a wonderful storyline.

Our class enjoyed hearing our teacher read this story. She thought we might like it because we enjoyed "Harry Potter" last year. We liked it when the children travelled back into the past. It was good when Miss Price and Emelius fell in love and travelled back to Emelius's time

I first read this book as a child, and it was one that I read again and again. Using a magical bedknob, the children in this story travel through time and space to ancient England, a desert island and more. I just bought this for my nine year old niece, who is a "Harry Potter" fan, but too young for most of the scarier titles that are sometimes suggested for fans of the series. Like all of the author's books, this one is exciting, but not scary, and is clearly the product of a gentler time.

One of the best books I've read all year! I was blown away with how hooked I got. One recomendation I do have is that you should not start reading this book late at night. I just couldn't put it down. I found myself reading this book all the way through the night. Everytime I had to put the book down to do something like sleep, I was left in complete suspense for what happens next. This book is intriguing and keeps you wanting more. This book is a wonderful read and I believe it will be exciting for any gender and all ages.

This is an excellent book. It is especially valuable as it presents a capable, resourceful GIRL as the main character in a marvelous swashbuckling adventure. It is well written, although the mild 19th century street cant and nautical terms might present a stumbling block for younger readers with limited vocabularies. These kids should slog their way through the book anyway, because the read is great fun and certainly worth a trip or two to the dictionary. This is the sort of book that helps young girls develop and maintain self-esteem, and helps young boys realize that girls are more like them than they might have expected . . . Bravo to Mr. Meyer for showing us in the best way possible that gender stereotypes are for the birds.

Bloody Jack is, without any doubt, the best kid's book I've read since the last Harry Potter. In fact, it holds its own with Harry. It is told by its heroine - a 12 year old girl named Mary Faber who was abandonned on the streets of early 19th century London when her parents died of fever. She tells how she was taken in by a street gang where she gets tough and street wise for five years. At the start of the book, the gang leader is killed. She figures her chances are better as a boy so she cuts off her hair, changes her name to Jacky, and makes her way to the docks where she talks her way on board a British Navy vessel because she can read.

She is one of six cabin boys - mostly street kids who are thrilled to have a chance to eat regularly. They can't believe their luck to be paid as well. During their three year voyage - a mission to chase down pirates, they learn to climb rigging, work as powder monkeys in sea battles with pirates, do all kinds of work on deck and hope to improve their lot by becoming able-bodied seamen and regular members of the crew.

At the same, Jacky has to figure out how to keep her secret while her breasts are developing and she starts her period. She also develops a serious crush on the oldest of the cabin boys - a quiet lad who is the younger son of a real family.

In the process she has all kinds of adventures. The crew battles pirates. (She gets her nickname from shooting a pirate during a battle.) The boys have to learn to handle the discipline of the British Navy where they are junior to everyone including the 14 year old midshipmen - one of whom is a complete bully. They get shore leave in exotic ports like Jamaica. Their conversations about religion and education as they puzzle out the ways of the world are hilariously funny.

Jacky has to use all her ingenuity to keep her secret and survive on board ship. She is courageous, smart, strong and a natural born leader. And she has a sharp, funny voice of her own that tells the story in the manner of a girl who has learned to express herself from London street talk, ballads, newspapers and cheap novels.

One of the best aspects of the book is its portrayal of an adventurous girl who likes being a girl - not a girl who has always wanted to be a boy. There are too many stories where femininity is a synonym for weakness and the girl prevails by adopting male behavior. Not this one.

Jacky acts like herself and - because everyone THINKS she's a boy, they simply deal with it. She likes to sew and decides to make herself a uniform when she starts growing out of her clothes. Do the officers and crew think she is a weak sissy? Nope. Sailors had to sew. The captain issues her more fabric and gives her the job of outfitting the rest of the cabin boys.

In one of the battles, the ship takes a cannon shot that blasts a hole in the side of the vessel. The whole crew is put to manning the pumps. Jacky simply doesn't have the strength to manage. Is this a problem? Nope. Some boys are smaller than others, so they send her up to the top of the rigging because she is smaller and lighter and can get a better view farther up.

In fact, there is no problem with her being a girl - until they discover she is a girl. This is a subtly political point which Meyer makes over and over again - but without preaching or politics. Instead he has created a brilliant character and put her in a hugely entertaining tale and lets the story speak for itself.

This is a fabulous book. Don't start it late at night. You won't want to put it down until you are finished.

An historical fiction book set in sixteenth-century France. Marius' mother dies in childbirth when his brother Jean-Pierre is born on Christmas Eve. Her last instruction is for him to take care of his brother. This proves to be a difficult task since peopled believed that those born on that day are loup garou - werewolves. When his father is found guilty of reading (the Bible no less) he is burned at the stake as a heretic. A lot of historical background is packed into this book. The subject matter is dark and serious. Marius' character is well developed and leads the reader deeper into the story. This is the type of book that will encourage readers to read on to find out what happens next. This is also a perfect companion book for units on the Middle Ages.

In "The Curse of a Winter Moon", Marius deals with universal timeless issues of maturity by dealing with the unexpected death of his mother and consequently bearing the responsibility of his little brother, Jean-Pierre. That task wasn't going to be easy considering the townspeople had labeled Jean-Pierre as a loup garou (werewolf), cursed by his birth on Christmas Eve.

The plight of Marius and Jean-Pierre away from the ravage and hypocritical Catholic rule and superstitious villagers keep young adult readers at the edge of the page while dealing with age-old issues of good verses evil.

"Curse of a Winter Moon" is a historical novel set in 16th century France, a time when the Catholic church was ruling with an iron fist - condemning commoners who could read (and consequently think for themselves) as heretics, punishable by death. Marius displays to young readers a maturity that is able to discern right from wrong, strength to endure the villager's contempt for his family, and a hope-based survival mindset for a better future.

I used this novel as a read-aloud in my 10th grade classes. I strongly recommend this novel not only for its believable historical accounts, but also for the gripping story of Marius' eye-opening experiences to the harshness and cruelty of the world and the tenderness and loyalty of the bonds of family. My students would agree, this novel is truly a must read!

My daughter checked out Curse of a Winter Moon from our library and I was interested in the cool yet haunting illustration on the cover. After reading the book, I can say that the cover picture is enigmatic, dark, yet beautiful, and immediately captures author Mary Casanova's twin themes of danger and protection. Marius, a 12-year-old boy who lives in France in the 1500's must try to protect his younger brother, Jean Pierre from the fear and ignorance that often flared into violence in medieval Europe. Because Jean Pierre was born on Christmas eve, the people at that time believed he was cursed by the mark of the loup garou--the werewolf.

The book is filled with many interesting characters--the old woman who cares for the family, the quiet but strong blacksmith father who has more than one secret, Marius, who is so good at playing the lute (like an old form of guitar), and his uncle, Brother Gabriel, a monk who travels all around Europe and is now in the area.

Even after reading the book, I still wonder about some of the characters and what might have happened to them later. Did Jean Pierre stay safe? Did Marius become a professional minstrel? What about Brother Gabriel--did he continue to travel and have an influence on events during such a dark time in history? I hope author Mary Casanova will consider a sequel to this wonderful book. I am looking forward to talking with my 8 and 11 year old daughters about the book after we read it together.