My four-year-old had several common sight words and had begun to spell simple words by spelling them out. I knew he was ready to start reading but couldn't find any books on his level. Most books had too many words with more than one syllable even though they were for preschool/kindergarten. I found this book at the library, and he immediately began reading many of the words. He was so proud of himself! I highly recommend this book for any beginning reader. It has mostly one syllable words unlike the other books. I plan on buying several books from the Road to Reading series in the future myself.

The Bears of Paris is a modern match for Dante's _Inferno_. The poems in this collection give us today's Man-in-the-city in the character of Fatslug dodging the slings and arrows of our fates, often pierced and wounded. Yet the poems reaffirm our essential humanity, the struggle to love and to be loved. While thoroughly rooted in our times, the poems also connect us with events from history, revealing the nature of suffering. Moore takes on the subject of evil and Man's inhumanity to man with Swiftian wit. Miles Moore has a deadly satiric eye for human failings, the interactions of daily life, intended and unintentional cruelties, and yet writes with much empathy of the consequent pain inflicted on the victims. Many of the poems such as "Two Men", "I love Barbie Taylor, T. Mc" and "Dead Boy in the Road at Fredericksburg" deserve to be included in anthologies of the best American poetry. "Dead Boy.." ends with this panoramic fade on the photograph from the Civil War: "Through the millenia the murdered march/ To someone else's tune and memory/ And through some other guy's triumphal arch./ You and they are no one. You're history./ Repeating rifles always bear repeating./ The silent beast that ate you keeps on eating."

This is a fascinating and satisfying collection with poetry that gives us much to ponder.

For me, as for many, Ben Jonson has remained hidden in the shadow of Shakespeare. Recently, I read four satirical comedies by Jonson - Volpone, The Alchemist, Epicene, and Bartholomew Fair - and I was surprised by how well his humor had weathered the cultural change of four centuries. In looking around for more works by Jonson, I stumbled upon an intriguing biography titled "Ben Jonson, His Life and Work" by Rosalind Miles.

Ben Jonson is remembered for some of his plays and for much of his poetry. He was the master of the English masque, a formal court entertainment played before the king. His masques for King James were elaborate productions involving rich allegorical verse, gorgeous costumes, and magnificent scenery automated by machinery. In 1616 King James granted him 65 pounds a year for life and Ben Jonson thereby became the first Poet Laureate of England.

Jonson did not live the quiet life of a scholar. Adventure, danger, crisis, and bellicose debate characterized his life, and as Dr. Miles observed, Jonson could never play life safe. As a young man, he volunteered for military service fighting Spain in Holland, but the action was limited. Incredibly, he challenged one of the invading Spanish soldiers to single combat in the no-man's land between the two armies. He killed his opponent and like a scene from classical literature, victoriously stripped him of his weapons and armor. Several years later in London he barely avoided death by hanging for killing an actor in a duel. He was forced to defend himself in the courts on political censorship charges on several occasions. At age 46 he inexplicitably journeys on foot 400 miles to Scotland, saying that he had a "salmon-like instinct" to visit the place of his ancient origins. Ben Jonson's life makes good reading.

Dr. Miles has created a fascinating and enjoyable blend of biography, history, and literary review. For me the highlight of this well researched biography was her extensive use of the writings of Ben Jonson and of his contemporaries, both admirers and detractors. I highly recommend her book to any reader with interest in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama and poetry.

I have all six volumes of this series and they are the cookbooks I always seem to turn to. It has a wonderful format and ingredients you most likely have on hand. Directions are simple yet everything tastes like you spent a lot of time preparing. Everyone will always ask for the recipe!

This book takes the Old Testament seriously. The result is a fine collection of sermons for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. The personal stories and moving illustrations contained in these sermons will enrich both clergy and lay readers alike.

Finally a comprehensive guide book for a variety of hikes close to the Seattle area - previously hikes around the area have been scattered through various guide books, some good, some not so good. This is a good one! The driving directions and hike maps are easy to follow and very informative. Each map stands alone with its own micro-legend. The rating system and elevation profiles provide a good starting point. There are gps coordinates for each hike for folks that know what to do with that info and for those who are just learning. Indicating which hikes are appropriate for children also helps in the selection process. This is a great book for sitting in a cafe on Saturday morning trying to figure out where to go for the day.

After having spent nearly three years in Angola with an international organization, I have my own views on Angola, the Government and the laboured peace process and left Angola more than a little cynical. Mr. Bredin and Ms. Logan's book covers not only Angola, but (the former)Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It was with great pleasure that I read the book which also accounts the tumultuous events in Angola of 1992, all related with a healthy dose of humour. It brought back a lot of good memories for me and I feel it really captured the essense of the country and the people, not only of Angola, but the other countries through which the Benguela Railroad passes. Armed with this book, I visited some of the major towns along the railway including Benguela and Huambo during my time there, a fascinating experience made all the better by "Blood on the Tracks". An excellent book and a great introduction to the realities of life in Southern Africa.

"The Book of Westland Aircraft", by A.H. Lukins, was one of a series of books about British aircraft companies published in the 1940s by Harborough, the same company that published the magnificent "Aircraft of the Fighting Powers" series. Like those books, the Westland book features two pages about each aircraft type, one filled with specifications and history, and the other an accurate 1/72 scale three-view drawing. (If needed, the three-view is spread over two pages, and additional photos supplied.) The books on each company have an entry for every aircraft type the company had made to that time. (The Westland book was published in 1944, so the Whirlwind is the last aircraft covered.) This format is invaluable if looking for information on obscure aircraft - the Wagtail gets as much space as the Lysander! Also covered are aircraft built by Westland under license. These books are unique; they are not as wordy as the Putnam series, but if you are a model-builder, the plans and photos are a goldmine. It is simply the best reference for early Westland aircraft ever published. I have not actually seen the Miles or Bristol books, but understand that they are similar

Very concise and full of information on owning a car in California, DMV regulations etc. Much better than the revisionist pulp of his other books, Doctor Who Interference 1 and 2.

What an absolutely charming book this is! It has quickly become one of my first-grader's favorite read-alouds at bedtime. Ralph the cat's tale is a clever, sweet story for parents to share with their budding young readers.