This book is a timeless story of a young girl growing up and discovering herself. Should capture girls who love historical fiction, and the story of accepting your heritage is as applicable now as when this story takes place. This should be made in to a movie.

I am taking a class in site engineering. This book has helped me tremendously in a difficult study such as this. I would recommend this book highly. It is easy to read and understand, and the author has an extensive understanding of the subject matter. a must for all students of landscape architecture!

The story of the little angel Melvin who cleans his star so well that in the end he wins a competition and has the honor to be the star of Bethlehem really is heartwarming. For a long time Melvin wants to have a star to polish and clean until it shines and finally one day his dream comes true. It's only a little star but it is his. His friend tells him about a star competition and Melvin decides to be part of it. He doesn't think that he stands a chance but he wins against all angels including the big Gabriel. The Lord chooses him to be the star for a special birthday, he will be the star of Bethlehem. I think children can really identify with little Melvin standing up against bigger kids or grown-ups. The illustrations are beautiful and until the last word of the story you have no clue to where this is leading. It is a different christmas story than the ones we usually here but it has the right Christmas spirit in it - a wonderful story and a wonderful book I can highly recommend.

When a biological weapons threatens Washington DC the people get there chance to take out a terrorist. One man carrying the latest in germ warfare has planned the attack with precision. Carefully detailing every step of the plan. The only thing he forgot was to plan for the American people. Our government, our troops may falter but our nation stands strong. This is must read for everyone that feels the need to thwart a terrorist plan.

The decade of 1930-1940 was aptly named The Great Depression. Part of it was cause, part effect, but all combined it was the most devastating financial decade of our history. Perhaps the abrupt change from the prosperity and hilarity of the Roaring Twenties caused the difference to seem even greater.

Although not everyone was affected, middle class America was stunned. Folks who had just purchased nice homes and had good jobs suddenly found themselves without either, living with friends or relatives and relying on handouts. This was a truly stressful time. Unemployment approached 25% and even those who were working took less pay and literally had to stand in line for jobs. Soup lines and kitchens were a common sight in large cities.

The stock market had just collapsed and businesses went under, people lost their life savings and some committed suicide, so great were their losses. People later remembered having only mustard in the house to eat. Others ate at the dumps. Others in relief food lines. Even though a loaf of bread was only a nickel, one could expect another hungry person to steal the bread right out of their arms. One dollar a month was too much for some people to pay for electricity and their homes went dark.

On top of the dismal economic picture, the weather and nature dealt an equally nasty hand. Drought, pests and dust destroyed what little crops farmers had been able to plant. This phenomena stretched from Texas up to North Dakota. The Dust Bowl claimed even more families. Thousands of farmers were forced to leave property, family and all they knew and head to California in hopes of finding farm work. Perhaps because I WAS ONE OF THOSE SMALL CHILDREN this particular era and book was especially poignant to me. John Steinbeck captured it in book form in "Grapes of Wrath".

Hoover was president, and he believed that the government should stay out of the private sector. However, with the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the federal government DID step in to provide some sense of dignity to its' population. The New Deal and the Civilian Conservation Corps started men planting trees, laying roads, cleaning up woods and beaches and America had some jobs. Finally, the WPA (Works Progress Administration) provided 2 million more jobs in construction and even the arts were revived. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVV) provided dams and power plants to areas impoverished by the droughts.

Roosevelt believed folks needed companionship, so he started his famous "Fireside Chats" in which he became the first president to use radio to bring information and comfort to the American public. His wife Eleanor became the first publicly active president's wife, visiting schools and paying particular attention to the needs of Black children.

Just when it looked like the Great Depression was ending, and the song "Happy Days are Here Again", another downswing occurred. Workers started demanding better pay, owners balked and sit down strikes threatened to paralyze America. Memorial Day, 1937 was labeled as the Memorial Day Massacre when strikes turned to bloodshed at a steel plant and ten strikers died and ninety others were seriously injured.

In the midst of the chaos, a few "saviors" began to appear. Huey Long became a famous politician, promising to "put a chicken in every pot" by a plan to tax the rich and provide a $5,000 home and guaranteed annual income for all Americans. However, at his height of popularity, he was killed by an assassin. Dr. Francis Townsend devised a scheme to help the elderly with a monthly pension. Perhaps the most popular politician was a Catholic priest, Charles E. Coughlin, who used radio to reach America, and eventually started blaming international bankers and week by week became more and more anti-Jewish.

Folks turned to simple pleasures and past times to entertain themselves and their families...using inexpensive table games like checkers -- and Monopoly was born. Listening to the radio continued to gain in popularity. A special treat was listening to favorite singers, comedy acts and programs which allowed phoning in votes...this gave a shaky audience a sense of value and worth. Movies which provided temporary escape could be visited for only ten to twenty-five cents. "Gone With the Wind" and "Wizard of Oz" became famous and remain so to this day.

Since the Great Depression turned out to be world-wide, the political climate was ripe for dictators and totalitarian governments. Hence, the dark clouds of war arose. Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, and America began preparing for war.

Ironically, the very thing that provided jobs for millions....war.....also handed America the bloodiest combat in their young history. World War II was just over the horizon and America was set to learn a new set of restrictions and say good-bye to their sons and fathers as they faced a second world war.

R. Conrad Stein does a tremendous job of bringing 10 years of history to America's school children or adult literacy students. He also provides a good, quick and accurate brush up course for those of us who might have forgotten.

I was so impressed when I purchased this kit (from a rival) I have now re-ordered it as a gift for a colleague. This kit enabled me to overcome challenges over books were unable to do. Starting from scratch you can learn the basics of visual basic to a point where the next step up is advanced visual basic programming. A must for learning to programme.

A welcome addition to CW sources. Weaver does an excellent job filling in the background and the epilogue. The actual diary takes up less than half the pages, but they are intriguing nonetheless. Daniels is a true hero toiling in the heat and humidity of the Gulf Coast against the prejudice of other Union officers and soldiers. He can be inspiring at times.

What a book! The hardcover edition has beautiful abstract art illustrations that accompany the moving poetry. If you have a copy, share it with a friend or a gifted child -- Nathan Levy captures the essence of what it feels like to be gifted in a few words.

In the book 'Thurgood Marshall, Supreme Court Justice' Lisa Aldred acurately tells the story of lawyer/judge Thurgood Marshall and his struggle to fight racial inequality. This book is very detailed and helpful. It mentions interviews with Marshal, speeches he made, and comments his family made about him. Wonderful!