This is a worthwhile book for the Northwest wine tourist. I have used it successfully on a recent trip, and found its descriptions to be accurate. As is keeping with this type of book, when the author finds the wines to be outstanding, it is so stated, but when they find the wine average, they focus on some positive aspect of the visit instead. With that in mind, you can either pursue the best wines, or the most enjoyable visits, whichever you seek. The only thing that I would fault the book for is the maps, they are very general only, and sometimes it would be nice to have something specific. But, hey, that's what Mapquest is for, so if you're going to find a winery off the beaten path, print out a detailed map before you go. Or call when you're on the road, this book has all the relevant telephone numbers that you'll need.

While my husband and I were browsing at our favorite bookstore, we discussed where we should travel next. We both love wine, so we thought maybe a wine tasting tour would be next. As San Franciscans, we visit the Sonoma and Napa valleys often, but we wanted to go somewhere different. We have used the Hills' guides to Sonoma and Napa in the past so we asked the book store clerk to suggest something similar, and then we found a copy of "Northwest Wine Country:Wine's New Frontier." Immediately, we were intrigued. We had no idea how many great places there were to visit. We ended up planning a trip which took us on a road trip from San Francisco up through Oregon and into Washington state. Our favorite part of this book were the great descriptions and details regarding each winery. Not only were the directions great, but we learned so much about each winery as we drove closer. My husband and I took turns reading to each other as the other drove. We really enjoyed those in Washington state especially near and around Spokane. We had visited the Seattle area before, but had never ventured into this part of WA. My husband is a collector of wine bottle labels which he meticulously saves in a book. The Hills pointed out a winery near Spoakne, THe Worden Washington Winery, and specifically mention their "distinctive labels." That helped us decide where we should go. Everything they said was right! We loved the winery and the labels. We spent four days visiting the eight or so wineries in the area while also enjoying the local scenery. We had a wonderful time. If we had not read this book, we may have never found such a great place to spend a some time together while visiting and learning about such interesting places.

I feel that this is a really good book to get you started on studying the life of Pocahontas. This book is very short and is not very detailed. However it does give a brief history of Pocahontas' life. I enjoyed this book and I think it would be a good start if you are wanting to learn more about Pocahontas.

Pocahontas

By Kathleen Thompson And Deborah L Chabrain

I like this book because you have to find out something in the story and the illustrator draws great pictures. Pocahontas became famous and the English called her Lady Rebecca Rolfe.

The Folger Library series are your best Shakespeare source. They specialize in Shakespeares' greatest plays and are quality books that are perfect companion and translator to Shakespeare. It is loaded with page after page of translation from the Old English expressions that are no longer in use to our modern talk, and pictures as well as historic background information on th Elizabethan era and Shakespeares' life. Hamlet is without question Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, remaining in our theatrical culture to this very day. It has become a conversation piece for English professors, dramatists and screen actors (Mel Gibson tackled the role in 1991) and even psychologists, who claim that Hamlet had the Oedipal complex, especially when they read the scene in which Hamlet is in his mother's bedroom. What makes Hamlet so great ? Why does this old play still come alive when performed on the stage in the hands of the right actors ?

Shakespeare, believe it or not, was a people's person and knew about the human condition perhaps more than anyone in his day. Hamlet deals principally with obscession for revenge. Hamlet is a prince whose father has been murdered under the evil conspiracy from his uncle Claudius and even the support of his mother, Queen Gertrude. Depressed, wearing black all the time, and very much as solitary as any "Goth" would be in our day, Hamlet laments his situation, until his father's ghost appears and urges him to avenge his death. The mystery still remains, is this ghost real ? Is it, as many in Elizabetheans thought, a demon in disguise ? Or is it simply a figment of Hamlet's own emotions and desire for revenge. At any rate, Hamlet's father appears twice and Hamlet spends most of the play planning his revenge. His most striking line that reveals this consuming need is "The play's the thing, wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king!".

Pretending to be mad, he scorns even the love of the woman he genuinely loves, Ophelia, whose mind is shattered and heart is broken and who has an impressive mad scene. The deaths of Hamlet's friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, are also in Hamle'ts hands and a consequence of his revenge. The famous soliloquy in the play, is of course, "To be or not to be", taken on by such great actors as Lawrence Olivier and Orson Welles. Hamlet muses on the brevity of life and the suffering which can only cease through death, as he holds a skull and is evidently suicidal. Finally, the last scenes are the most dramatic. Hamlet duels with Laertes, Ophelia's brother, and with Claudius himself. The deaths of the main cast, including the Queen, goes to show how tragic the human desire for greed and revenge is.

This is Shakespeare's finest tragedy, and quality drama, best seen in a live stage performance, but that also works as a film. As for this book, as I said before, this is the Hamlet to have. You will become more acquianted with Hamlet and Shakespeare even more than taking a year's course with a teacher. This book itself is the teacher.

A tragedy by William Shakespeare, written around 1599-1601. Before the play opens, the king of Denmark has been murdered by his brother, Claudius, who has taken the throne and married the queen, Gertrude. The ghost of the dead king visits his son, Prince Hamlet, and urges him to avenge the murder. Hamlet, tormented by this revelation, appears to be mad and cruelly rejects Ophelia whom he loved. Using a troupe of visiting players to act out his father's death, the prince prompts Claudius to expose his own guilt. Hamlet then kills Ophelia's father Polonius in mistake for Claudius, and Claudius tries but fails to have Hamlet killed. Ophelia drowns herself in grief, and her brother Laertes fights a duel with Hamlet.

Hamlet's dilemma is often seen as typical of those whose thoughtful nature prevents quick and decisive action.

Hamlet contains several fine examples of soliloquy, such as " To be or not to be" and Hamlet's earlier speech lamenting his mother's hasty remarriage and Claudius' reign which opens "O! that this too too solid flesh would melt". Much quoted lined "Neither a borrower nor a lender be", "Something is rotten in the stste of Denmark", "Brevity is the soul of wit", "To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;" The lady doth protest too much, methinks," and "Alas, poor Yorick". Arguably Shakespeare's finest play and one that can be read again and again.

If you could read only one thing in your lifetime Hamlet should be that one thing. It is Shakespeare's best work by far, and within its pages is more meaning than you could find within the pages of an entire library full of books, or plays as the case may be. A mere review, a couple words, cannot do Hamlet justice. At times I realize that the language of Shakespeare can be difficult that is why I recommend the Folger version because it helps to make the images expressed by Shakespeare's characters clear to the reader, and allows them to get their own deep personal meaning from Hamlet, Shakespeare's greatest work, with out being bogged down in trying to decipher and interpret his antiquarian English. Don't just listen to what I say, or read what I write, read the play on your own outside the cumbersome restraints of a classroom and see for yourself what I mean.

I would doubtlessly recommend Ivanhoe to read. History may be often dull but Sir Walter Scott makes history extremely exciting by romanticizing his novel. It directly deals with hatred between the Normans and the Saxons, the discrimination of the Jews, chivalry, and politics--but it is a unforgettable tale of heroism, honor, and love. I felt that the characters were so fascinating and fun to read about. I was enjoying and cheering on the good characters like Ivanhoe, King Richard, and Robin Hood to beat the hated and evil villains. I liked the idea of love added in the story, like how Rowena and Rebecca were both in love with Ivanhoe. I even felt a little sorry for Brian de Bois-Guilbert who would do anything for Rebecca's love but is constantly rejected. I thought how it was appealing how the author questions Ivanhoe and Rebecca's feelings for each other. Suspenseful and action sequences also added entertainment to the story. This book may be a little too detailed for some readers, but I didn't mind. I felt that the details were brilliantly used to decorate the story in an outstanding fashion. The old English wording made me feel like I was actually in the medieval England. I have to admit that it took a great deal of persistence for me to finish this book and it was a challenge for me to read. However, I found Ivanhoe to be a wonderful pleasure. It is no wonder that Ivanhoe is such a well-loved tale!

I enjoyed this adventure yarn on many levels.

I was glad to learn about the Knights of Templer and that they were crusaders. I always wondered how Sam Spade in the Maltese Falcon knew that and it is because of this classic.

I was surprised that it talked so much about Robin of Lockesley. The story of Ivanhoe seemed to be the same only told by Ivanhoe's friends and not Robin's.

I thought that the DeBracyn and the Knight of Templer Brian de Bois Guilbert were pretty evil guys which made the story interesting. They were weasels when they had their backs to the wall but did preform with honor when required like when Richard gets DeBracy.

I guess I did not understand the prejudice of the time because they treated the Jews like dirt and they were so sterotypical. I really thought that the Jewish girl Rebecca was going to end up with Ivanhoe instead of that Saxon Lady Roweana. I guess you have to appreciate the times that they lived in.

It was a different look the Richard/Prince John history.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but this book, by Sir Walter Scott, was the progenitor of what was to become a venerable tradition in English letters (and in other European literatures as well): the historical romance. There have been many after IVANHOE, and frequently with a finer eye to the period in which the tale is set (for IVANHOE contains quite a number of anachronisms -- even Scott acknowledged it), but few have done it quite as well as Scott. He uses an archaic English to give voice to his characters, but one which is readily absorbed because of the speed & quality of the tale. So, though these people certainly wouldn't really have spoken as he has them speaking, they yet sound as though they should have. Peopled by many 'stock' characters and situations, this tale was fresh in its time & still reads well today -- a testament to Scott's skills as a teller of tales and a sketcher of marvelously wrought characters. In this tale of the 'disinherited knight' returning home to find the world he left turned upside down, young Ivanhoe, after a stint with King Richard in the Holy Land, must fight the enemies of his king and kinsmen anew. Yet the hero is oddly sidelined for much of the tale as events swirl around him and the brilliantly evoked villain, Sir Brian de Bois Gilbert, in the pay of Prince John, struggles to win treasure and the beautiful Rebeccah, who yet has eyes only for Ivanhoe, a knight she can never hope to win herself. There's lots of action and coincidences galore here and Robin Hood makes more than a cameo appearance, as does the noble Richard. In sum, this one's great fun, a great tale, and the progenitor of a whole genre. All those which came after owe their form to it. Worth the price and the read.

This book provides an enormously detailed, accurate guide to Napa Valley. You can literally move from building to building along the main roads of Napa and know what sits in each one when using this guide. It provides phone numbers, hours of operation, and all that one needs to enjoy a visit to Napa. It's almost TOO detailed... if I had one complaint it would be that I wished the authors would provide some more hints on which of the many places they describe so well are REALLY worth a visit! A great companion during a trip to Napa, though.

This book is a must for a self-guided Napa tour. The quips about wineries provided a view not oftern seen. Comments about the smaller producing wineries were true and personal. We met the winemaker, owner, the bookkeeper and cashier at Dutch Henry only to learn they are the only employees. The information in the book is helpful to find not only wineries but eateries too. We even dined at the French Laundry. Ask about the waiting list! Don't leave home without this book!

If you have a child that neeeds to write a state report for school. Or what a kid book on California. I would suggest this one. Easy to understand, lots of pictures, and great facts. I would recomend this for ages 7-12 and grades 2-7. If you are looking for a indepth study on California, this is not the book. It's 48 pages, and well worth the low price.

I have used this textbook for Child Development 1 courses and I have found the textbook to be quite thorough and extensive in its coverage of development. I also like the way the author has grouped different developmental areas together so that the text uses a more system dynamics approach to development. For the student, however, care should be taken to review key terms and content matter areas for understanding or comprehension as the text can be daunting to beginning college students. The study guide is most helpful and if you can find the instructor's guide, it is extremely helpful. It provides a list of accompanying activities, resources and a wealth of supplemental information.

I am a student and am not impressed with this book at all. It is poorly written and completely unorganized. It is written like a family memoir. I don't think much time was put into the revisions, either. APA writing style guidelines are not followed. I would reccomend that professors not use this book.

I used this text for my Human Development CLEP and I passed it with flying colors. I would recommend it for CLEP review. It does have its faults though, not enough diversity and lacks a variety of actual tests/studies in the field - which showed me a weak spot in my CLEP review.

I had to read this book for Life Span development at the graduate level. Considering this is a topic that I find dry and borring, this book was excellent and I enjoyed reading it.
It covers Biosocial,Cognitive and Psychosocial development for all stages of life leading up to death with lots of charts, discriptions, and a side bar of definition terminology.

Sorry but this book is a little thin on what to see and far too thick on what & where to eat. Almost half the book is all about food, recipies, and places to eat. OK there has to be some but half the book! Once the book does get going about the island itself there seems to be little detail and not much at all on what to see an do. The is a nice chapter at the end about the history of the island and a handy list of lists which sums up the first half of the book! Poor quality pictures and maps too.
The problem are there don't seem to many books available on the island...

This guide is fairly hard to use. The authors take a street-by-street approach, but there are no maps to help one follow the descriptions. In addition, the majority of the neighborhood descriptions are lumped together in a single chapter without any sub-sections or sub-headers. This means that there is no easy way to locate a particular neighborhood such as Downtown or Chinatown. More maps interspersed in the descriptions and clearer headings would make this book easier to use.

This book's tone can be annoying as well. The authors are justifiably proud of Victoria, but to the point that they unnecessarily take stabs at other cities ("Enjoy a stroll ... and bask in this rarefied atmosphere reminiscent of the banks of Paris' Seine, but with clean air" [p. 25]) and criticize out-of-town visitors. For example, there are a number of admonishments to tourists to behave properly: "Each offering is served to be tasted and digested, not to be chowed down" [p. 30]; "Modulate your voices, wait your turn, and tone down the clothes" [p. 6].

We spent two weeks in a condo in Victoria in May, and having read the Hill's Guide before we got there we felt right at home. We loved the way it was laid out by neighborhood, and were able tofind many of the shops and restaurants withoutany trouble.We also made use of the suggestions for travel out of the city. Thank you for making our visit so memorable!

All I can believe is that the authors of this book wrote the first customer review here. As the second reviewer states, King is well known for his surprisingly STRONG portrayal of woman. In many cases, I think the authors didn't even read the books in question and just made stuff up. In other cases, it was obvious they were talking about MOVIES based on King stories -- movies that King played no role in the production of. And why is this thing SO expensive? Greedy authors trying to get rich of King, I would suspect. Avoid at all costs!!!

Considering the one reviewer who liked this piece of dog poo thinks it is highly amusing to call THE master of horror as 'Stephanie Queen' (Hardy-har har. Really mature, when you think about it; it must've been really hard for you to change the gender of one's name. Why not call Harry Potter Henrietta Pottrice?) I can safely surmise that the talented writers who wrote this have the same touch of feminism. Men in King's books might get their balls ripped out by a rabid dog, yet a woman gets slapped in the face they believe King is attacking woman.

I find it amusing that they target King, of all people, as a woman hater. He's the few giants of horror media who dont potray woman as unconscious playthings for horny martian invaders. He potrays them as strong, independent willed protagonists (Like he does with men) and sometimes as villains. Some cases such as IT being a mother, or Annie Wilkes (I'm your number one fan) mean King hates women...

So, to conclude my little rambling, you can buy two 600 page King novels for the price of this 200 pg book. Probably because this has a leather cover and expensive binding. Too bad that the writing doesnt have the same quality as the cover.

So, to quote Dolores Clairborne: Frig ya!

Not EVERYman agrees with King's views of the situation. I may be in the minority, but I fully agree with the findings of these Editors, basing my full agreement on the work of James Hillman, a genuine Champion of Soul, who aptly wrote that "Hades (I add Hekate, the Mother) is not a monster; the Ego is." But, not to worry, Stephanie Queen is not mocked :).