War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator is a fascinating portrait of training and combat for a WWI aviator. It is unclear to me whether the book consists of an actual diary, or is a dramatization written by a friend based on letters written by the aviator main character (see http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/springs.html). The aviator was a real person with real faults (he makes some racist statements), and this makes the story all the more personal. The story reminded me of Catch-22, but is more touching because the triumphs and deaths actually occurred.

It was obvious from the wealth of information of those who served with the author that the identity is known. Why not disclose who wrote the diary? We share the experiences. We watch the aviator transform from a fun loving barn stormer to a machine that can only function when airborne. The end comes and you know it is coming, the author is crumbling, his attitude has changed, he operates by reflex and his judgement is impaired. (not by booze but battle fatigue has taken over} This is too real . . .

Although little is written of the truth to the Air War in WWI, it is often offered to history as a time of chivalry amoungst the "Upper Class Gentleman" of WWI. Most sucessful pilots, that being anymore that 5 kills, were showered with metals and given the highest honors from their fatherlands. Deeming them, The Knights of The Skies. The truth is far from reality. This book of one young man's personal, daily recolection in it's original, unaltered text, depicts the Air War as it really was. Not only can you feel the excitement and astonishment in his mind as he earns his wings in flight school, you also experience the sadness and despair as he watches his squadmates perish and learns the veracity of war and death. Illustrated by Clayton Knight, whose sketches and paintings went on to become famous after the war, this book is a must for anyone who is interested in the true reality of The Air War of WWI.

How would you like it if you woke up one morning and you couldn't find your mother anywhere? You wait a week and you still can't find her. Your father decides that it would be better if you moved in with your grandparents. Well as bad as that may sound that happened to a boy named Woodrow in Bell Prater's Boy. The author , Ruth White , makes you have so many images of what you think could happen. I like that part about this book.
In this book Bell disappears. Woodrow , her son , has to go live with his grandparents. He has a girl cousin named Gypsy. I feel that she is a very nice young lady to Woodrow in this story. One example is that she tries not to talk about how Woodrow's mom suddenly disappeared to much. She knows how it feels to loose a loved one. A couple of years earlier her dad , Amos Leemaster , died. He was burnt in a fire , the doctor told him that he would have burns all over his body for the rest of his life. Knowing Amos and how much he was into his personal appearance he left everybody and everything behind. Guess what happened he shot himself. He was the only city slicker ever to come down the mountains and marry a country girl. Bell had loved him , but when she decided to marry her sister , Love , she was angry at everyone. She stayed up in her room for months. One night she finally came out met some drunk railroad worker , ran away , married him , and they had Woodrow together. So even though they didn't know it , Gypsy and Woodrow had a little bit in common.
Also , Woodrow and his mother had a little story that they would tell each other. They would say that there were two worlds. Every day something different would be in the worlds. His mother had been talking about it a lot right before she had suddenly disappeared. Woodrow figured that she had gone to the other world and in a couple of months she would send him some kind of way for him to know how to get there and where she was in the other world. Well , guess what? That never happened. Finally , Gypsy made him realize that she had a banded him and that she wasn't going to come back. He said that's what he had figured because some of his old clothes were missing. He never did tell the police this when they came to their house to see if anything was missing.
Woodrow's family is very poor in this book. I mean it's pretty bad when your kid has to wear your husband's old and ratty overalls. He thought that it was gold when he got new clothes , a haircut , and a comic book.
In this book I think that Love (Gypsy's mom) is the cutest. She would have to be to get a city slicker like Amos Leemaster.
It was very nice of Gypsy to be so nice to Woodrow in the story. I still fell like all of that 2 worlds stuff is a bunch of bologna. Woodrow did make it through that very tough time. Ruth White (Author) describes Love as being the cutest lady ever. Overall it was a very good book , in my perspective.

Gypsy Leemaster was a normal sixth grader in 1953. When her cousin, Woodrow Prater, moved in next door, all mischief began that one crazy summer. Woodrow was a cross-eyed boy whose mother, Belle, disappeared from their mountain shack one foggy morning. Rumors flooded the small Virginia town, but no one ever saw Belle again. As Woodrow and Gypsy became friends, they developed a special bond. Both children had family situations that were painful and hard to talk about with others. Both had their own little secrets. They even had to defend each other against bullies. As Woodrow entertained the children of Coal Station, Virginia, Gypsy was determined to find out what really happened to her Aunt Belle. Throughout the summer, Woodrow finally revealed little clues about his mama's disappearnace to Gypsy. Woodrow and Gypsy became best friends that one crazy summer, and they both faced their pasts with courage. This is a wonderful book. The plot is adventurous and humorous. The description in this book is phenomenal. I would get so angry at times, and then I could be laughing on the next page. White really gets in touch with the characters' feelings. This would be a great book to read aloud. It is very funny. I loved this book because it was an amusing story that really touched my heart.

I recently read the book Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White. I found this book GREAT! I think it is a great book for preteens and teens. This book shows that looks aren't everything and just because someone looks different than you, that doesn't tell you what they are like inside. In the book, Woodrow is cross-eyed, yet he is a very nice person. Gypsy, his cousin and best friend, has beautiful, long hair, yet no one sees the real her. Belle Prater, Woodrow's mom, was not the most beautiful woman ever, so some people thought differently of her. Belle Prater's Boy is a wonderful book, and I recommend it to anyone ages 9 and up. Even adults would enjoy this book. Belle Prater's Boy sends a good message that I think everyone should use in real life.

I had first read the book in college (Purdue). I was a physics major. It is a good basic book about optics. I now have a ten year old asking questions, and I use the book as a reference to explain things to my son. My copy of the book is the third edition. I am purchaseing the fourth edition because it contains the topic of Scherlerion optics. Sorry for the misspellings.

This is a good book. It provides me the basic background in optical engineering. Actually, this book belongs to my advisor. He gave me to read and understand the basic idea of optics and it works. Not only did I get the basic idea of this kind of field, but I also have some advanced ideas how to deal with Optic in reality. Someone may say that this book is too easy for him/her, but would you think about it a little bit that how you could achieve something without the basic idea?

In 1933, Franklin Roosevelt, new President of the United States, brought a "Brain Trust" of eminent people to Washington to find ways to end the Great Depression that was destroying the nation. Judge Horace Carter, a member of the Brain Trust, is murdered in the White House. Police arrest a maid, but Eleanor Roosevelt doubts her guilt. Investigation reveals that Judge Blackwell was a sexual sadist, with many people wishing him dead. But using the discarded Bertillon method of identification, Eleanor Roosevelt finds the murderer. It is a racier and faster-moving tale than many in this series, but it still gives us a window to view that long-ago time and its people. If you would like a fascinating mystery that gives you a thoroughly enjoyable insight into the early 1930's, this is the book for you.

In 1933, Judge Horace Blackwell, friend and personal advisor to the president, is found murdered in the White House. Police make a quick arrest since the evidence points towards a black housekeeper Sara Carter, who swears she is innocent. The First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, believes that Sara is telling the truth and decides to investigate. ...... Eleanor quickly learns that Horace was not the squeaky clean judge that his image portrayed. Instead, he was a vicious womanizer. Several people surface who had legitimate gripes and grudges with the Judge. However, things turns nasty when a second murder occurs, making everyone wonder how safe is Franklin in the White House? Eleanor plans to insure her spouse's safety by uncovering the identity of the killer even if it places her won life at risk. ...... The entire Eleanor Roosevelt mystery novels (sixteen in all) are a lot of fun to read. Though the who-done-its are well designed, it is the presence of famous historical figures including such notables as Gertrude Stein, James Thurber, and Babe Ruth, etc. that brings the Depression Era DC into a lively perspective. Elliott Roosevelt, who died several years ago, has written a fabulous mystery that posthumously should garner him new fans. ......Harriet Klausner

While not a typical roleplaying game supplement, I think that this one is a must have for anyone with a twisted sense of humor. Buttery Wholesomeness has some of the funniest character creation charts and other supplemental material that you will ever see.

This book might have been the product of Elliot Roosevelt when he was seven years old. It was very non-descriptive! One did not even know where the action was taking place in many scenes. Maybe I am too critical, but I thought that the scene where Mrs. Roosevelt ventures into a strip club and makes comments amd asks questions like, "Oh, so is that what they call a G string?" was appealing to some sore ot lowly base instincts

This is another in the series of Elliott Roosevelt's mysteries starring First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. It is June, 1939. World War Two is only weeks away. During the pomp and ceremony of a visit by the King and Queen of England, a young assistant to Eleanor Roosevelt is found murdered. Investigation reveals that she is not the innocent girl that everyone assumed her to be. She was also seen at the German Embassy, and further tracking leads to the realization that murderous German spies have penetrated the White House. For fans of the series, this is a vintage Elliott Roosevelt mystery, with much fascinating insight into the 1939 White House by someone who was there. There is nothing here for the blood and gore violence fan - just a relaxing mystery peopled by Franklin Roosevelt, J. Edgar Hoover, Ernest Hemingway, and other notable figures of the time.