They say it's for pre-teens. okay, but it's is also for adults. The book opens with a timeline, beginning in 1520, and showing a variety of buildings over nearly 5 American centuries, from the Jamestown buildings to Harvard, old Philadelphia structures, prairie homes, the Capitol Building, tin ceilinged commercial buildings, train terminals, airports, the Chrysler Builing, and international and postmodern edifices. The timeline ends 9/11/2001. Each page is illustrated with buildings and their significant attributes. Some standouts are: For the First Settlers section, there is the Adam Thoroughgood House of Norfolk VA, and the Stadt Huys city hall of NYC (1641-1703); For the Colonies section, Faneuil Hall (1762) and Redwood Library (1750); For the Revolution, Monticello is a standout; the Smithsonian and Haughwout's cast iron department store are examples of early 19th Century buildings; and the U.S., Oregon State, and Nebrasska State Capitol buildings show the edifices of power. The Moorish Plum Street Temple and the Georgian style Christ Church stand as examples of American houses of worship; and McKim's Pennsylvania Station and the Mission Style Union Station are an examples of the American worship of transportation. The buildings of the Columbian Exposition of 1893 get their own page, as do the representative works of Frank Lloyd Wright, Arts and Crafts, the Jazz Age; the International Style; and postmodernism. A great quick intro the American architecture

Building America reveals almost four hundred years of history and travels across the U.S., using architecture and its creators as a touchstone from exploring American history. The result is an intriguing historical guide for ages 9 and older, which considers key architectural accomplishments and their role in American history and culture.

This book is an inspiring account of how one family used the tragedy in their life from their son's death as a means to reach out to others. It is a great book for those searching for answers as to why bad things happen to good people.

This is a wonderful book written by the mother of the 12th and last student to die when the TAMU Bonfire collapsed prior to the annual football game with the University of Texas. The account centers on the impact of the lost of this remarkable young man on his family, his many friends at home and the new friends in Texas. The admirable and inspirational way everyone reacted to this family's loss and the decisions made afterwards by the writer and her husband make very worthwhile reading.

Core Collection has been a tremendous addition to my personal/professional library. As a college student majoring in elementary education, this book proved to be an invaluable resource for my classes. I am convinced it will do the same as I begin my professional career. The authors have made searching for age-appropriate, subject-appropriate classroom titles as easy as pulling a book off a shelf. Well-written summaries, classroom/values applications and thorough citations make Core Collection for Small Libraries an essential addition to the library of any teacher, parent or student. Highly recommended!

There are so many children's books on the market today that it is difficult to know where to begin when looking for books dealing with particular subjects. This is an excellent resource to help you find just the right book to incorporate into your lessons. The authors have reviewed many books, summarized them, and brought out different values and subjects that can be taught using each one. It is very helpful for anyone who works with children.

My father, Frank Hayes, was in the 291st Engineers and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Growing up, I was never much impressed with that fact and was certainly uninterested in reading Janice Giles' book, although we had several copies around the house. In 1990, the news was full of the 45th anniversary of the end of the war and I was a 31-year-old mother. I finally developed some interest in our heritage as Americans and read The Damned Engineers. How the book made those men come alive! I lived their tensions, the twists of the development of the battle, the anquish they felt over the Massacre at Malmedy, and the comradeship. I even recognized some names from family Christmas cards, just then actually getting to know the men. Thank God I read this while my father was still alive and I could thank him! I laughed and cried and felt so proud. Everyone should read this book, ESPECIALLY if you think that you are uninterested in WW II. Then go thank a veteran of any war.

Janice Holt Giles spent 5 years researching and writing this book. When it was finally published in 1970, it was immediately acclaimed as one of the better titles published on the Battle of the Bulge. Now, over 30 years after it's initial publication, this superb work still holds up. She accomplishes the impossible here. She manages to convey the closeness of a military unit as well as the fearful atmosphere that shrouded the Ardennes in the early days of the battle. It's like there's something personal happening here.

And well it should. The author's husband was a member of the 291st Engineer Battalion, so she had a personal investment in her book. She unfolds her story carefully, and as the story progresses, the impossible becomes more a reality and soon, these men, who were trained to build, not to kill or destroy, are thrown into the line in what would seem a vain attempt to derail the seemingly invincible German juggernaut. Yet despite what would seem an overwhelming assignment, they succeeded. They brought Hitler's ambitious offensive to a thudding halt by guile, tenacity and just plain guts.

When you read this, you'll get to know the men of the 291st and soon you'll see that they're not only a unit, but a family as well. This is Mrs. Giles' achievement. This book is out of print, but is definitely worth seeking out. Read it. Enjoy it. Treasure it. I certainly will.

Dancing On The Moon is a wondrously illustrated color picture book showcasing the artistry of Lauren Grimm in service to a sensitive and gentle text especially written by Janice Roper for children on the subject of coping with great loss. A young girl suddenly loses her infant brother, and her parents try to help her understand that he will always be with her, in her heart. Dancing On The Moon is a powerful and profound story, and highly recommended reading - especially for boys and girls having to deal with the loss of a friend or family member.

This is an incredibly well-written and beautifully illustrated book. It tells the story of the journey of a young girl, whose infant brother has died. She sets off to find him, and in the end, realizes that he was always with her, in her heart. The author, Janice Roper, lost her 3 month old son to SIDS, and years later, wrote the story that she was unable to find for her daughter (Selena), to guide her through her grief. She tells the story through beautiful poetry and powerful illustrations.

I received my copy of the book this week. My daughter (almost 9) had me read it again and again. If was about the fifth time we read it, that we could read it without crying. Reading this book with my daughter was like watching someone transform before your eyes. She cried uncontrollably (she has a 6-year-old brother and obviously could relate to the main character, Carly), she talked about her feelings, and then she started focusing on the end of the book. She said the book made her feel really, really good; that when someone dies they are always with you.

Fortunately, my children have not had to suffer the loss of someone close to them. But with my grandmother and my husband's parents aging, it is inevitable. I am comforted to know my daughter experienced this book. I think it will help us through those rough days. Even as an adult, I found it very comforting.

I thank the author for sharing this story, that was born out of her own personal tradegy. By writing this book, she will help so many people. It fills a void in children's literature. It is a beautiful and important book that every parent should own.

Kudos to the Hellers and Ms.Blumberg. A fast paced suspense novel based on a true incident, it kept me on the edge of my chair. It was also an education on apartheid South Africa which I couldn't help but compare to Nazi Germany. The authors' attention to detail about the physical beauty of the land provided a hypocritical contrast to the ugliness of the society it produced. A must read for those with a social conscience, and for those without,an opportunity to create one.

I probably would never have found this book had Amazon.com not recommended it - and I would have missed a hidden treasure. "Deadly Truth" is a gripping, "can't put it down," novel based in apartheid-era South Africa. David Bellon, the main character, is a liberal CEO of a food conglomerate in the Cape Province who tries, in his own way, to ameliorate the inequities of his society. Through a series of events which I won't describe here (I don't want to spoil the plot!), Bellon is forced to do more, and thus runs afoul of Police Captain Eichstadt, whose unique interrogation methods are described in gruesome detail.

What makes this book so compelling is its honesty -- it is clearly based on a true story. "Ceresdal," the fictitious town in which events take place, sounds like the real town of Stellenbosch, and one of the authors was the CEO of an agribusiness in South Africa. What goes on in the Ceresdal police station is in accord with non-fiction reports about the South African Bureau of State Security (BOSS). Thus, there is more than a ring of truth here - you get the feeling that these events actually occurred, and only the names have been changed to protect the innocent (and guilty.)

I have strong interests in South African history and in Jewish history, and hence was drawn to a story featuring Jews in South Africa. Those who share these interests, or those who just want a picture of apartheid-era South Africa, will enjoy this book. But you needn't care one way or the other about South Africa to enjoy "Deadly Truth." The book stands on its own as a compelling, fast-paced novel of danger and escape.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly, from it's interesting tidbits on historic uses of plants, to the explanations of known toxic principles within plants. The cautions about harvest, use, and overuse are well-stated. The descriptions enhance the line-drawings, and each plant description comes with an excellent photograph, making this a terrific guide for identification of wild edibles!

I just got this book (fourth printing, 1998) in my mail, and I can testify that it's well worth the money. It's a really good field guide to plants of The Far North, be it Alaska or Finland.

In addition to excellent pictures (which really show you clearly how to tell this plant apart from others) you'll frequently run across a sentence that goes something like "So-and-so says in his/her book that it's edible after it's been dried /boiled /whatever, but my taste tests implied ...".

Truly outstanding research and practical information, both on medicinal and culinary uses of these plants, make this an invaluable addition to the library of anybody interested in plants in the Far North.

Great work, Janice!

This is an excellent book that looks beyond the surface of game preserves and examines the impact of species protective programs on human populations. The author uncovers tragic consiquences of short sighted policies, and governmental agencies and NGOs who refused to deal with the consiquences of their policies. A must read for any anthropology or public policy grad student.

Dr. Janice Harper's book is scorching in its honesty, painful in its portraits, relishable in its irreverence.

How thankful I am as a reader that Harper's editors did not slash and burn her political writing which in my view is the crux of the book. The betrayal of the village, Ranotsara, in southeastern Madagascar, where Harper lived for fifteen months, by the Ranomafana National Park Project, the United States Agency for International Development, and other organizations of "good will" is astonishing. Her writing of the events is brilliant in large part because she stops just before nailing to the wall the puppets in those organizations. She leaves them twisting in the wind, unwilling, unable, or both, to make a case for themselves, no matter how obvious their desperation and denial.

The deaths in Ranotsara Dr. Harper witnessed, grieved, and tried hard to sing about bring to the fore the absolute decay of honor in these days of diminishing returns for the written word and honorable deeds hijacked by hapless do-gooders, doing more harm than good. The moment in the book when Harper's father dies is one of the most honest accounts of the multiple shocks she was electrified by in Ranotsara, as the "Tanala" (people of the forest) grieved their ever increasing dead.

Make no mistake, this book is not about Dr. Harper. It is about a village and a people she grew to love. It is about her culture shock in doing the work she obviously loves and the Tanala who are simply trying to preserve their culture and stay alive. There should be an English word stronger, brighter, and more endearing than 'endangered'. The people of the forest deserve it.

(**Please note** My name is David Harrington Campbell, the author of the recently published novel, DANCING ON THE CELLAR DOOR, currently available on Amazon.)

Upon finishing this magnificent book, do I laugh or do I cry? Girls' high school basketball and teaching young girls to play basketball is my life. But what relevance does this book have? This is the history of girls' basketball in a state far away from mine. There are no diagrammed plays or secrets to success. Is it worth the hardcover price? To that question I answer an emphatic " yes! " There are a number of men and women in North America, who like myself, have dedicated themselves to girls' high school basketball. We can give you a dozen reasons why we love girls' basketball and why we have dedicated our lives to it. We can give you another dozen reasons why basketball is so important to the lives of our young female athletes. But still, when all has been said, words cannot adequately capture what the experience means to all those involved. Within the 200 pages of text, this book explains an American phenomenon that has its roots in Iowa and has proceeded to touch the lives of millions of girls, coaches and communities. That is why in reading six-on-six, I sometimes laughed and sometimes was swept up in emotion. This book is a comprehensive history of girls' basketball in the state of Iowa. The research is careful, thorough and disciplined. But in addition to covering the history of girls' basketball in Iowa, the book represents one of the best documentations of the history of basketball ever printed. The photos and interviews take you into the lives of the players -- how they played the game, how they overcame the obstacles of the early years in terms of facilities, equipment and transportation and most importantly, what basketball did for them personally....how they felt about the emerging game of basketball. It also covers how the game changed and why the changes were made. Iowa is unique in girls' basketball. It is the only state that since the 1920s, has continuously sanctioned interscholastic play and it does so with an independent sanctioning body that is separate from the boys. Those of us who live in the big metropolitan areas tend to think of Iowans as down-home conservative people who live a stable uncomplicated life. While their may or may not be some truth to the latter, what is perfectly clear is that Iowa is the most progressive state in the union when it comes to girls' athletics. They implemented Title IX fifty years before it became the law of the land. They appreciate, support, praise and celebrate their high school female athletes. In Iowa, the Iowa girl is queen. How did this develop? Why in Iowa? All of this is explained. But the best part of the book are the interviews that give you a glimpse into the lives of the girls, coaches, superintendents and sport writers that made all this possible.... men and women that had great vision and understood why basketball and sports is so important to the lives of teenage girls. As mentioned, the book is not about strategy or tips but through interviews, I learned some things that have helped me in my coaching. These have to do with the psychology of girls and why certain aspects of the game and experience are so important to girls. And why as a coach, I must respect the girls' wishes. If girls' basketball means a lot to you, read this book. You will be inspired by one of the great success stories of the 20th century.

This was such an entertaining book, especially for those of us that grew up in Iowa, and fell in love with the game the way it's played there. It brings back memories and conjures up images of many nights spent admiring those high school heroes and hoping to someday join their ranks.

Colleen Deering -- She'll do anything for her sister, Sheila. And if her gift takes up nine months of her life and entails morning sickness and stretch marks, well, what are sisters for? Because what Sheila wants--more than anything is the world--is a baby. And it will be Sheila's baby; Colleen has assured her sister of that. She's doing this for Sheila. Michael Delaney -- Handsome and reserved, he's Colleen's brother-in-law, Sheila's husband. He, too, wants a baby--with all his heart. When Colleen offers to be a surrogate for his wife, he's stunned. But Michael eventually accepts the idea--and he's deeply grateful for Colleen's gift of love. Tragically, Sheila never even gets a chance to hold the baby. In their sorrow, Colleen and Michael turn to each other, only to discover an unacknowledged attraction--a dangerous attraction. Dangerous, because they both want Sheila's child... Wow!! I was soooo impressed by this novel. At first, I thought it sounded kind of sleazy. I mean, the husband of one sister falling for the other shortly after his wife's death. But Janice Johnson made the whole plot work beautifully. The characters came to life in a way that's rarely seen in many books. The conflict and the emotions were real. I could hardly put in down, and I'm in the middle of finals week!! Definitely one of Janice Kay Johnson's best. I highly recommend you go out and find this one immediately.

Finally, a book that explores the in-depth feelings of its characters. Colleen is a divorced mom with two children. Colleen loves her sister Sheila with all her heart, but her sister is unable to carry a child to term. Colleen offers her the greatest gift of all-to carry a child for her. Sheila and her husband Michael are delighted when Colleen announces that she is pregnant. Sadly, not long after Sheila is killed in a car wreck. Colleen stuggles with the loss of her sister and realizes that the baby inside her is still half hers and wants to keep it. Besides the gift was for her sister not her brother-in-law. Colleen does not realize that Michael intends to fight for his baby. The story that unfolds from there will make you smile and cry. Everyone's feelings are explored - Michael, Colleen, and Colleen's two other children. The ending is very heart warming. I can not wait to read more books by Janice Kay Johnson. This was the first and will not be the last.