This book is a great read for both professional mariners and armchair sailors alike. Professionals will appreciate the insight into these disasters and their causes, while the armchair sailor will find the sea stories fascinating enough to keep their interest. The author's writing style is easy to read, and his research is fairly extensive. All in all an outstanding book that deserves a place in any nautical library.

This book is an outstanding study of five sail training vessel accidents. It is not only interesting, but full of important lessons for all sailors, particularly for professional sailors of traditional vessels. Captain Parrott has done the sailing world a great service by analysing these tragedies, not with romance or melodrama, but with compassion and empathy. As a seasoned professional himself, he investigates without being judgemental, and provides us with information we can use to prevent future accidents.

Until I read "¡Tango!", most of what I knew from tango was what was told by instructors, including Daniel Trenner, Brooke Burdett, half a dozen Argentine nationals, an equal number of Canadians, and a Belgian. It was exciting to get all the information I needed in one place. Tango is more than just music and dance. It is a cultural phenomenon that began in the barrios and bordellos of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, and spread throughout the world. At the base of this cultural phenomenon is the relationship between a man and a woman. Tango is not just an American or South American phenomenon. It has spread throughout the world, and is popular in such diverse countries as Finland and Turkey, as well as those areas where it evolved.

The text of the book is outstanding and well documented. I was pleased with the choice of artwork, old and contemporary photographs, and page layout. It gave me a great understanding of the tango as a cultural phenomenon. There is an excellent bibliography and the text is referenced with footnotes for those who wish to go to some original sources. I am one of those people who are always looking for recommendations for music, and I was pleased to see a two-page listing of tangos, which are available on compact disc. For those who travel, there is a listing of international tango centers. It is an incomplete list, but it would be helpful for those who travel a lot for business or pleasure.

If you like tango, this would be a good book to start your collection. Then you can proceed with "Le Grand Tango: The Life and Music of Astor Piazzola."

For a person just discovering the Argentine tango (or who wants to), this is an interesting, beautiful, coffee table book. It's filled with gorgeous illustrations and photographs, as well as poetry, lyrics and fun, historical tidbits about the music & history. It rambles, but that just makes it more fun to open it up and start reading from anywhere. It's been the kind of book that has made even my non-tango friends interested in the dance and cultures behind it.

I use this weekly for home reports. It opens lines of communication between school and home and allows parents that speak Spanish to communicate better with an English speaking teacher.

Great resource on what to say on report cards. When you don't know how to say the right thing, this book says it in a nice, to the point way, with translations in Spanish.

My kids love all the Theodore books! Especially the play-along boardbooks. Also read Theodore's whistle, and Theodore and the Big Harbor Race!

This is a great lesson in obedience! My boys -- 5 & 3 -- love this book, as do I! Theodore was given clear directions by the Dispatcher. He chose to do beyond what he was supposed to, because he got a little too sure of himself. I struggle with that with my boys all the time, so it's a great lesson for them!! Things worked out in the end, but Theodore found himself a little lost and frightened. It is also a lesson in friendship. I highly recommend it!

I had this book as a kid and have always remembered it. I read it over and over again. The stories are still vivid in my mind as are the ghost tips at the end, such as when a dog or cat is staring at something, and you can't see anything. It is probably a ghost and if you look between their ears, you'll see the ghost, too.
The book "disappeared" from my parent's home years ago. It would be fun to read it again after all of these years. Best ghost story book ever.

One of the only books at a library I would indeed read when checked out I had to find it again. I paid a pretty penny for it but well worth it. Had to share it with my daughter. I love ghost stories and so does she. The thing at the foot of the bed is hilarious if told right. The milk bottles is sad and a sweet and true story along with the hitchhiker. Read them and then read them again. It's hard to grow tired of such good writing.

Maria Ercilla's "Thirteen Miracles and Counting" is a charming group of linked stories, which tell the story of a Cuban-American family that has been exiled from their native land due to the Communist takeover. They now live in Los Angeles like all emigres---with one foot in one culture and the other foot in American pop culture. It makes for a funny and exotic brew in this collection told from the daughter's point of view. There are stories that mix the tropical taste for palms, hot nights, spicy food, and the budding sexuality of the older daughter. All of this, of course, is tempered by the overprotective parents, a kindly grandmother, a wild aunt, and the ever present Catholic Church with its own miracles, saints, votive candles and nuns.
This is a colorful coming-of-age story with the rhythms, values and fun of being Cuban. I recommend it highly. It's a pleasure to read and is heartwarming down to its Latin core.

Maria Ercilla's "Thirteen Miracles and Counting" is a charming group of linked short stories, which tell the story of a Cuban family exiled from their native land due to the Communist takeover. Now they live like all emigres in America--with one foot in one culture and the other foot in American pop culture. It makes for a funny and exotic brew in this collection of stories told from the daughter's point of view. These are stories that mix the tropical taste for palms, hot nights, spicy food, spells, voodoo and the budding sexuality of the older daughter. All of this, of course, is tempered by overprotective parents, a kindly grandmother, a wild aunt and the ever present Catholic Church with it's own miracles, saints, novenas and nuns. This is a colorful coming-of-age story with the rhythms, values and laughter of being Cuban-American. I recommend it highly. It's great fun to read and it's heartwarming down to its Latin core.

This book had me bursting out in laughter, some of the accounts are simply hilarious!! And other times, it's so heartwarming that I start to sniffle a bit... wow, talk about an emotional roller-coaster. Then again, I go through the same thing whenever I watch the Animal Planet channel.

Seriously though, besides being a great joy to read this book also contains a wealth of tips and information on traveling with your canine friends. I have 3 of such friends, it'll take quite a bit of planning to be able to go on a road trip with all of them one of these days, but you can bet that I'll be re-reading this book before I do so!

Like the previous reviewer said, you gotta LOVE dogs to appreciate this book. If you are one of those that regard them as merely animals, and nothing else, then you won't understand half the things that the writers are trying to convey.

If you love dogs -- I mean *really* love dogs -- and would take them anywhere you travel or while sitting on a park bench in some foreign city would go out of your to pet a stranger's dog, then I highly recommend this book to you. Editor Christine Hunsicker has pulled together some of the most touching, amusing, and disturbing non-fiction writing about traveling with dogs. I also highly recommend it as a gift to give to anyone you know who really loves dogs.

This book provides great hands-on tips for dealing with autism. The case studies and examples make confusing or unusual approaches much clearer and easier to try at home or explain to others (doctors, teachers, etc.). Reading cover to cover is unnecessary, all chapters can be read independently. The authors give clear, knowledgeable solutions for dealing with such problem behaviors as escaping, biting, and "stimming", along with lots of information on using various intervention techniques. A must-have for teachers and parents!

This book is a "must have" resource for anyone who works with children with Autism. The Authors have clearly synthesized current best practices in the field and given the reader many case study examples.

Despite the volumes of material that have been written about her, Maria Callas remains a fascinating enigma both as a person and as an artist. Nicholas Petsalis-Diomidis has taken an important step in filling in some of the gaps that remain in our understanding by tracing in exhaustive detail the singer's early musical life in Greece, where she moved with her mother and sister in her early teens and remained until returning to the United States in 1945.

The perception that her Greek sojourn was a relatively unimportant preamble to her "real" career was in part propagated by Callas herself. Petsalis-Diomidis shows that the eight years she spent there were, on the contrary, an essential part of her musical development. It was in Athens that she received her first formal vocal training from Maria Trivella and Elvira de Hidalgo (the author is careful to give the former due credit in Callas' education), and sang her first leading roles onstage with the Athens Opera. Among her credits there were operas that would form the core of her later repertory, such as Tosca, and others that she would never sing again, such as Fidelio.

Perhaps even more fascinating than her musical history is the multitude of detail about Callas' personal life during this difficult time. Though he tries to be evenhanded, Petsalis-Diomidis is ultimately unsparing in his condemnation of Litsa, Callas' mother, whom he regards as an amoral and destructive parent. His collection of anecdotes about the hardships of war and the professional difficulties encountered by the young Callas make for fascinating reading. Occasionally his passion for research makes the narrative seem fussy and overburdened with detail (was it really necessary to give the diva's exact weight at various times in her career?), but in the main this carefully researched volume is an essential addition to the already voluminous collection of Callas writings. Credit must also be given to the fluent and readable English translation.

"The Unknown Callas" is uniquely devoted to Callas' early life as a child, student, and young professional in Athens during the 1930-1940s, and is without question, the finest biography of the singer ever. This powerful intimate portrait is essential to understanding the complex woman and musician of the climatic years in the 1950s and 1960s.

Petsalis-Diomidis researched this work like an archaeologist seeking every surviving document and artifact, but presents it in biographical form as a psychologist with a deep understanding of human nature. The whole is framed by discussions of the politics of the time and the harsh realities of daily life during the war. Though this is the work of a scholar, it is also that of an artist, where every care has been taken to paint a three-dimensional backdrop and recreate the atmosphere for each scene.

While much of the original research for this book consisted of interviewing every surviving person associated with the family, conservatory, neighborhoods, etc. in those years; the author never accepts statements mearly at face-value, always examining every angle. The search for truth is ever apparent, and though his devotion to Maria is unquestionable, he never gives her unearned benefit of doubt.

Beautifully typeset and printed with copious photographs, the book unfortunately does not include the many photographs of programs for school concerts and early opera performances that were featured in the original Greek version. Albeit many of these programs were in Greek, some were also printed in German and Italian during the war, and afterwards in English. Likewise, the index does not present proper names in their original Greek alphabet, so the original version is now a nice scholarly cross reference for this new English book.

But for those intimidated by scholarship, this book tells a moving story with just enough gossip to keep things interesting. For fans and detractors alike, it's a story of a girl with modest gifts and very modest beginnings, fighting to survive adolescence and make a name in the world of opera, a fight that would continue throughout her life.

To adalois, who wrote a review of these short stories, you are right : who still wants to change China? Or did the Author ever want to? Desillusioned for sure, as far as the narrator is concerned, or too realist, but not sad though, and very funny sometimes... Is it politics? Does not look like it, but can actually be controversial, as its only focus is the individual, and one who has no ideal, who does not take part in society, in a society which is supposed to be filled with ideals. I believe these short stories have less to do with politics than with the acknowledgment that life is purposeless. The narrators are lone dreamers who try hard to remain themselves and discover that it's impossible, that they cannot be the masters of their own lives, and worse, that it would be futile to try to. Nihilism and cynicism are the dark side of these stories (the purpose of life, if any, is just "being"), but with a bright appearance : fun, the sense of the absurd and cheerful sarcastic remarks. So, if you read them in a joyful mood, you will laugh, a lot. If not, you will feel desperate (for the moral of the story is : don't get involved with people, it's too painful and dangerous). Conclusion : be careful, this is dangerous stuff!

Refreshing, sarcastic, humorous, existencialist. This are the four words i'd use to describe the work of Xuxing. He is a writer from the late 80's, early 90's, post 89 june 4th, desillusion and ecseptisism prevailing among young Chinese. Who is going to change China? or who still wants to change it? A must for anyone interested on contemporary China. Great translation, too.