I can always tell how useful and informative I consider a book by how much page dog-earing, highlighting and underlining
I've done. This book looks like it has been through a major battle.

So many things impressed me. On page 111, for example, they give a 'top of mind' marketing success story for a mortgage lender. This is an industry that loses two-thirds to three-quarters of its borrowers when they refinance or take out a new mortgage. Creating programmatic value for borrowers should be at the top of their agenda; but the industry is tough to budge from their old, reactive forms of relationship. They tend to see themselves solely as bankers, order-takers. Susan and Mary offer an example of a concrete, creative way to both have customer involvement and generate valuable customer insight.

On page 157, they do a succinct, focused job of presenting Customer Life Cycle as a concept. Applying life-cycle to customer relationships is a platform in everything I write about and do for my clients, so I was really glad to see it in their book.

I'm particularly interested in how they recommend generating customer data, as well as storing and applying it. While, based on my background, I have pretty strong views on market research as a tactical and strategic tool(which differs somewhat from their opinions and experiences), I appreciate their methods for contacting and debriefing customers in Chapters 4 and 8.

Bottom line: Customer Chemistry is crisp, professional and easy to read

Mary and Susan really have found the winning formula for maximizing business relationships. The book is loaded with valuable advice and techniques all designed to reach, keep and expand your relationships with your best customers. The book even has actual forms and plans that Mary uses in her businesses -- which obviously work. I found the ratings systems to be particularily useful. Keep this book close to your desk, you'll be referring to it often. I made many notations as I read it.

This is a really fine, helpful edition of one of the greatest novels of all time, edited by one of the greatest American scholars in her field. A wonderful edition, ideal for classroom use.

Mary Wollenstonecraft Shelley's "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" is a major novel in Western Civilization. I always think of it as representing the paradigm shift from religion to science, embodied in the contrast with the myth of Faust with the story of Victor Frankenstein. The crucial question in this novel is simply which is Frankenstein's createst sin, bringing the creature to life or abandoning it once he had done so. However, this review is not really about Shelley's novel, because if you are a teacher you have already decided whether or not you want to use the novel in your class. The question here is what value this Longman Cultural Edition would have over a regular edition of "Frankenstein."

This Longman Critical Edition includes Shelley's introduction to the 1831 edition and a revision of the section of the novel dealing with the adoption of Elizabeth. There are three main sections to the Contexts part of this volume. First, Monsters, Visionaries, and Mary Shelley puts the novel in the context of what her contemporaries were writing and talking about. Consequently there are other writings of Shelley along with Edmund Burke, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, among others. There are also some descriptions from Richard Brinsley Peake's dramatic adaptation of the novel and even Dr. Spock's chapter "Enjoy Your Baby" from his famous book (interesting choice, you must admit). Second, Milton's Satan and Romantic Imaginations looks at both Milton and the Bible, as well as additional writings from Byron, Shelley, and Keats. Third, What the Reviews Said all dealing with commentaries written between 1818 and 1832.

What this should make quite clear to you is that this Longman Cultural Edition relies mainly on what I would consider primary documents the vast majority of which are contemporarneous with the writing of Shelley's novel. This is a synchronic rather than a diachronic perspective, which is of more value to a class that is considering "Frankenstein" in the context of the time and place in which it was written (i.e., 19th century gothic novels rather than horror literature through the ages). Susan J. Wolfson has edited a volume that will help readers understand the world in which Shelley wrote her classic novel. If doing so is important to your class, or is a perspective you enjoy exploring, this edition of "Frankenstein" will certainly fit your needs.

When I first picked this book up I was a little apprehensive, but after the first page I was engrossed. Andre Norton and Susan Shwartz do a fabulous job at showing both the light and dark sides of Silver Snow's journey from beloved daughter to forgotten concubine and finally queen of the barbarians. They paint a realistic picture of the subservient nature of women in Han China without over-emphasizing the fact. This book was a perfect blend of fantasy and history.

When I first checked this out from the public library, I was desperate for a good read. Andre Norton has always been one of my favorite sci fi/fantasy writers, so I checked to see which of her books were in. I saw "Imperial Lady" and thought it would be worth a try. I'm only 15 and very picky about what I read, so I was surprised to be totally engrossed in the life of Silver Snow. I was definately captured by the elaborate life styles and customs that differ greatly from my life half-way round the world in Gretna, Nebraska. I also enjoyed "Willow", whose changling ways offset Silver Snow so greatly it was almost humorous. "Imperial Lady" was of great historical value and was also a great read. I encourage anyone to check it out from a local library or buy it here on Amazon.com soon.

History textbooks are usually inadequate and painfully boring. This book is exceptionally well-written, accurate and interesting. It's great!

I am a secondary education history major and I use this book in my US history class. I find it to be simply outstanding. It reads like a novel and not like a text book. This is a must have for any history buff.

I just love this guide. I use it every day to start my day at work. It really gets me to meditate on God's wonderful word. It is so great, that I am buying it for a friend.

This book revolutionized my own Bible study time. The Quiet Time Companion uses several different approaches to freshen up personal study times. Weekly sessions may study a single passage, a character, or a word. Other sessions will look at the same passage from several different perspective or will spend two or more weeks on an indepth study of a section of scripture.

This multi-themed approach keeps your Bible study from becoming routine. You will not find a three month study of Leviticus. It cuts down on the theological/philosophic mumbo-jumbo giving straight but not dumbed down look at the Word of God.

Another innovative approach the authors used in creating this devotional aid is that the weekly sessions are composed of 5 lessons, giving you 2 days of individual study (the authors do make some suggestions) but this is an excellent opportunity to work in preparing your Sunday School lesson during the weekend personalized study.

The authors are to be commended! Bravo!

As a reading teacher I found this book to be very helpful in teaching strategies such as comprehension, vocabulary, fluency. . . BUT I think that this book is MUCH more VALUABLE to a content teacher. It shows you how to introduce reading skills for text books. Often, content teachers do not know why a student isn't succeeding in his/her class. Often it is because the student cannot read the text book. This book will show you how to introduce strategies so that your students will do well in your class! This is for ALL secondary teachers!

How do you help students read and comprehend the extensive content presented in text books? Buy this book!! The authors have compiled an outstanding collection of research-based strategies organized in a clear, straightforward format. You'll find useful strategies for teaching Math, Science, Social Studies, and English using content area examples, technology links and tips, and reproducible classroom resources. Chapters include student lessons on: Building Vocabulary, Comprehending Text, Supporting Struggling Readers, Reading Critically, Study Skills, Test Preparation, and Conducting Research. This book was designed as a practical textbook for teachers that could actually be used in the classroom after the class was over. It is a rare combination of simplicity and depth. Reading & Learning Strategies will be extremely helpful for new teachers, experienced teachers, and even for parents who are home schooling or assisting their child with difficult content material.

What can I say but....WOW! Buy this book!

In separate, but harmonious, voices, eleven writers describe layered art as an expression of a holistic perspective. Each chapter addresses a theme, illustrated in color with artworks related to: alchemy, the spirit, earth metaphors, cosmic forces, healing, archaic traces and the millennium. Layered art reflects the forward edge of syncretic thinking, the recognition that the universe is held within a matrix of shared consciousness. Everything is connected with everything else.

Cantina was the first cook book in the Casual Cusine series that I purchased, and of all my many cookbooks, it is the one that I use most often. The Beer BatteredShrimp with Chipolte-Honey Sauce has quickly become a family and party favorite as have the Sea Bass Ceviche with Lime and Cilantro and the Chiles Rellenos. Our friends have been known to invite themselves over for dinner and they usually request that I make these dishes.

The book is laid out with simple-to- follow recipies and corresponding, beautifully shot photos of each dish. Just add a secluded tropical beach with Mariachi music in the background, someone else to do the dishes, and you've got your own little piece of heaven.

Nothing spectacular to write home about. When I bought this book, I was hoping for the old radio dramas that I used to listen to when I was a kid on Sunday nights. I will say that there were some very good stories. But a few left you rather wanting.