Over the years, I have thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Herriot's wonderful stories. When I found this book for my 7 year old daughter, I wasn't sure if she'd be able to follow along. What makes this book stand out is the fabulous drawings--they are full paged drawings, with not too much writing on each page. Each drawing is very detailed, perfectly matched to the accompanying text. I can't get over the talented illustrators (this book has two different ones, although the drawings are similar in appearance). I've loved re-reading these familiar stories and sharing them. This is one of the best books we've read this year, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it for a permanent library collection.

I think I have not had a more pleasant reading experience than sitting down next to a burning fire place, listening to my favorite antique clock ticking.. the patter of rain on the window panes and reading James Herriott. It is a memory of that afternoon that all these years later I have never forgotten. James Herriott is the most pleasant, relaxing, refreshing writer. Forget all the worries and cares and escape for a few minutes into a quiet world where the animals speak their own language.. A wonderful book, a wonderful writer. Thank You James Herriott for the memories.

I am a huge fan of any of James Herriott's writing. I love to read. My daughter, however, has a reading disability and the whole reading process is tedious and frustrating for her. We usually read together. This was one book that she requested to read again and again and again. James Herriott's heartwarming stories translate well into the youthful reader's world. Even if you are not an animal lover, you will find yourself falling in love with the lovable creatures and their eclectic owners!

Yes, this is another Holocaust archival work and yes, it is brilliantly researched and written. But Richmond's crowning achievement, I propose, is his ability to create a lengthy work as this, about people many readers could never know, without ever letting it lapse into sentimentality or a wearisome litany of names, faces and facts. And yes, I have tearfully walked the streets of Konin with those Shoah survivors who now live in England, the US, and Israel. Richmond has ensured that the Nazi attempt to relegate Jewish Konin to oblivion has been thwarted. And we are much the better for it. "For the dead and the living we must bear witness." Thank you Mr Richmond. You have witnessed for the murdered of Kazimierz forest and all the other killing fields of Nazi Europe.

There is little I can add to the existing reviews save yet another resounding confirmation of this book's brilliance. Konin is a superbly written, award-winning thing translated into Polish, Hebrew, German and Italian.

The book is impeccable stylistically and intellectually, and the thorny issue of Polish-Jewish relations is penetrated with honesty and insight. The people interviewed and depicted in the book are -- well, simply, REAL.

I found this book absolutely fascinating. My Grandmother came from Konin so for me it was a look into the world my Grandmother left behind.

...and one to which it would do us very well to listen. Sepulveda's novel -- succinct yet full of beautiful writing -- is entertaining and compelling, but it also has a great lesson to teach about the way we interact with the natural world.

His main character -- the 'old man' of the title -- is very much a loner in his village, on a river on the verge of the dense Amazon jungle. He has experienced much joy and sorrow in his life -- and he has been sensitive enough to learn from what he has seen and felt over the years. He is just literate enough to read the love stories he adores so much -- he has to sound out unfamiliar words repeatedly, savoring them, until he feels comfortable with them. His life has given him the wisdom and patience to give them the attention and respect they deserve -- and he views the world in which he lives, with all of its plants and animals and indigenous people, with the same healthy and reverent respect. It's too bad the same can't be said for the other settlers in the village -- or in most people in the world, for that matter.

The old man is very friendly with and knowledgeable in the ways of the Shuar Indians, who inhabit the forest -- he has even lived with them at one point in his life. His knowledge of the natural world makes him very valuable to his neighbors when a female ocelot goes on a killing spree -- he is pressed into service to hunt her down and kill her.

His thoughts on his world -- and the people around him -- are gently but convincingly communicated by Sepulveda's beautiful writing. This is a novel to savor, word by word -- much as some of the works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Carlos Fuentes. It contains so much more than this slim volume would indicate at first glance. It's a wonderful read.

i picked up this book, without any expectations for it, because it looked like a thin and easy to read book; but i was thoroughly surprised by its beauty and its fluent translation. i learned much from this incredible novel, about ecuador, about ocelots; but most importantly i learned what we are doing to the depleting rain forests in the world, and how this is affecting both those who inhabit it and ourselves. this book is poignant and picaresque, and it seems to evoke a sense of passing of a world and a self that find it increasingly difficult to continue to exist in the current environmental conditions. i think everyone who loves animals, who is disturbed by the way technology is destroying the natural world, and who is fascinated with cultures and peoples should not give this book a miss.

I was introduced to this book through seeing the premiere of this movie at the Melbourne International Film Festival. I must stay that the screen adaptation of this book is moving and a delight to see, the photography and direction impressive and Richard Dreyfus as Bolivar is in my opinion his greatest acting achievement that I have seen to date.

Hugo Weaving plays the Dentist and puts in a superb performance.

Filmed on location in French Guyana, the director has succeeded in creating a film that, thanks to an excellent cast, is full of originality and humor, which leaves you with plenty to think about long after you leave the theatre.

At this stage it is unclear what sort of broad release this movie will see, so ask around and lobby for it.

'Sweet Soul Music' is a fantastic book, the best book I've read on the subject. Having said that, it isn't by any means a complete history of Soul Music (it completely omits the great music that came from New York, Motown, Chicago and Philly), nor is it a complete history of Southern Soul Music (the book ends with the acrimonious break up of Stax/Volt records, even though great Soul was still being made elsewhere in Memphis). Guralnick's book starts off looking like a history of Soul Music (there are early chapters on Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and an amazing and hilarious chapter on Solomon Burke), but then the book changes emphasis and becomes the story of the involvement of white musicians in Southern R&B.

Guralnick's thesis seems to be that Southern Soul achieved its great creative flowering in the 60s as a result of the partnership between black and white musicians, and even though he interviews a great number of musicians and businessmen - black and white - he can't help himself from empathising with the young white hipsters that made up the house bands at Stax and Muscle Shoals, with the result that the book becomes very much a story told from their point of view (Guralnick calls Dan Penn the "secret hero of this book" - fair enough, but surely James Brown should have been its overt hero). After these white musicians were intimidated out of the business during the racial tension that followed Martin Luther King's assassination in 1968, Guralnick concentrates more on the politics and seems to lose interest in the music itself.

Which is a great pity, since Southern Soul in the 70s went on to even greater heights (James Brown's rhythmic revolution, then Al Green's great synthesis of the sexual and the spiritual). Though I learnt a great deal from the book (my CD collection has mushroomed after reading it) it felt to this reader as though the book had ended just before its real climax.

THis is The Kind Of Book For Lovers OF Real SOul&it's Early History&Impact.So Many Great Artists.this Book Is Music To The Eyes&Heart.Very Well Detailed.SO Many Styles Covered&Told.It Covers a Wide Base Of Issues.A Must.

If you want a starting place in your search to find REAL Soul music, look no further than this book. Guralnick points you in the right direction. It is very clear that he loves the subject matter. He investigated the legends, and reports as much truth as will come to light, about performers like Otis Redding, Solomon Burke, James Brown, Sam Cooke, Arthur Alexander, Aretha Franklin, James Carr, O.V. Wright, Al Green, Wilson Pickett, and many others. There is also a history of Stax Records that Rob Bowman used as a reference for his epic history of the label. And there's a comprehensive discography, which has been updated for the CD era. Guralnick let the story take him wherever it led, even if he didn't always like the conclusions. It is an honest book and a good read. I write a lot of reviews on Soul music. Much of what I know about the roots of Soul, I learned from this book!

Peters does a great job of bringing a long lost world to life. Any Inca enthusiast should read it. Peters really did his homework and it shows. I was dissappointed in the overblown homosexual relationship part of the story. It really didn't fit the rest of the book. Yes, it was well illustrated in Moche and Chimu pottery but it seemed that they were just thrown in to bring to light some contemporary issues. In spite of that I did enjoy the book very much and like I said, can't wait to read it again.

I have read this book numerous times and every time I pick it up I can't seem to put it down. Peters has obviously done his homework. The characters are human and wonderfully written.

I read this book seven years ago and still can't get it from my mind. It enriched my understanding of the Inca culture at its height and through its demise. I delighted as never before in a visit to NYC's Metropolitan Museum as I found Incan artifacts like those used by the characters in the book. THE INCAS is lengthy but a classic "I wish it would never end" tale. I have since searched for the other books in Peters' series and have had no luck. Anybody have any ideas???? I've tried to locate Mr. Peters. If you read this, please tell me how I can read more of your work. It is so well researched and written. Congratulations!

"Once a Marshal" is the first in a series of Westerns by Peter Brandvold. Jody Harmon calls on Ben Stillman, a retired marshal, to investigate the murder of his father Bill, a friend of Stillman's, in Clantick in the Montana territory. When Ben arrives he finds that a rich Englishman, Donovan Hobbs, is rustling cattle from small ranches and killing the ranchers. Ben feels that perhaps one of Hobbs' gunmen may be responsible for Bill Harmon's death. Ben also meets Fay, his one true love. The only problem is that Fay is married to Donovan Hobbs. This was my first Peter Brandvold novel, and I think it is one of the finest Westerns I've ever read. There is plenty of suspense and I couldn't put this book down until I finished it. I look forward to reading the rest of the Ben Stillman Westerns. Peter Brandvold is an excellent writer!

I've always loved westerns... movies, that is. This is the first one I have ever read. But I wager I'll read 10 more Brandvolds-- and more as they come along. I read it because I went to grad school with this young man. Young? How the hell old is he now? How the hell old am I? Actually, I feel about 10 years younger than before reading this book.... Excitement peels away the years. A well-wrought yarn, complex but tightly written. Powerful descriptive details and original metaphor. Characters you know so well you want to hold them, marry them, sit down to dinner with them... and others ya just want to choke the life out of. I'll probably never read another western --except one by Peter Brandvold. And you can believe I'm just itching for the cameras to start rolling.

Ben Stillman may be retired but he will always think like a lawman. Joey Harmon, son of Ben's old friend, came looking for him after his father was killed. He is sure he was killed by Donavan Hobbs but wants Ben to find out for sure. Ben cannot refuse and takes on the job. His ex-sweetheart show up in the form of Fay Hobbs, wife of Donavan. Ben is like the rest of us, he makes mistakes, is shot, beaten up and can bleed. His main enemy is Donovan Hobbs and his number one hired gun Weed Cole. Weed????? Through thick and thin Ben tries to work things out. Crystal Johnson, girl friend of Jody Harmon is a good character. Tough as nails, shoots like a man. Leon McMannigle comes into play as a good sidekick to Ben. I hope he is in additional books. A very good western. Lots of action. You can relate to Ben as he is no super hero---just a plain one. If you like a book that is fast moving with a good story you will like this one.

The portrayal of our defense industry in this story is unfortunately accurate. We have placed so much emphasis on "smart weapons", that we have forgotten the real effectiveness of our military. The action and pace of this book will keep the reader enthralled and they will not want to put it down.

I've read almost all of Ralph Peters' novels, and this is probably my favorite to date. I passed it over in hardcover--frankly it didn't sound very interesting. I couldn't have been more wrong: it's one of the best written, engrossing novels I've read in a long time. Peters is one of the few military thriller writers that can name drop Thomas Hardy novels and actually make us believe his characters read them. I know what a cliche this sounds, but I couldn' t put it down. Peters has within him his best novel yet--some day he'll write the Once An Eagle of his generation of officers.

After 25 years in the defense industry, watching the Services buy big things they don't need while neglecting small things they do (like enough pay so the troops don't have to be on food stamps), it continues to disturb me that the American taxpayer continues to allow Congress to sell out to what Ike Eisenhower called the "military-industrial complex". TRAITOR could have been a documentary. This is a great novel, thrilling and unpredictable, but it is also based on the real world and all the more gripping because of this.

I bought Gerry Conlon's book after seeing the Jim Sheridan film "In the name of the father," which had little to do with the narrative Conlon set down. In particular I was struck with the conflicts the filmmakers made - between Conlon and his father, between Conlon and his lawyer, and between Conlon and the IRA members who did the bombings Conlon was convicted for - when the conflicts Conlon described had to do with the Irish prisoners vs. British prison officials.

A year ago when I had access to an aggregate news group I looked up Mr. Conlon - he's apparently a broken man, unable to adjust to the outside life, broke, wishing he were back in prison. Has he been vindicated by the English Courts? Has he had any recompense? Do the families of the Guildford Four accept his innocence? I'd like to know who the victims are here.

This book was incredible. It's difficult to believe the such injustices happen. Basically, this book is about a troubled 'youth' who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and was sentenced to jail along with other members of his family. When the book is over, you feel a sense of relief, yet you can't help but feel anger towards the criminal justice system.

You must read this book,even if you're not Irish it will break your heart. You will ask yourself will it ever end ? The British have made miserable the lives of so many. Gerry Conlon and his family are owed a great debt by the brits for their suffering and loss. I have great compassion and pity for anyone that has lived under the tyranny of british rule. More than politics, this is a tale of family honour.

I think this was one of the best thriller stories of its time. I personnally think it also is one the best water thrillers ever. I think any who is scared of the water should read this book.

If anyone out there either surfs or enjoy's Surfing as a way of life, this book is for you! Go out there and purchase this book! Jaws is more than a book, the colourful pages come alive in front of you, looking at Laird Hamilton coming down the faces of massive 50+foot surf, it's like your right there below him (holding the camera) Blue Max did an amazing job of illustrating these waves for us, I was lucky enough to have visited Maui, for others out there, what are you waiting for..? Killer Waves..Best Surfers in the world.. see it all..? or save your money and buy this book

aloha Jim Mellanis :-)

Jaw Maui has much more to offer than your average coffee-table book. It is an incredible blending of inspirational writing and insightful interviews with the watermen themselves. Charlie & Leslie Lyon have done a great job letting us in on the inner workings of these accomplished athletes. Everyone that visits us gets a chance to read Jaws, and has come away mightily impressed (and longing for a trip to Maui!).

Aside from the fabulous title, the graphics are so appealing; those are what drew me to this book at first. The story itself perplexed me a little bit until it dawned on me that it is a fabulous explanation to give any child about why she can never catch the bunnies that she chases in the yard. It can be frustrating to a child that a pursued rabbit will always run away when all that she wants to do is play with it and be nice to it. So, after some thought, I adore the story almost as much as I love the pictures. I have not kid-tested this book but, because of the beautiful graphics alone (plus, of course, the age-appropriate language and subject matter), I imagine that kids would love it, too.

"Little Bunny on the Move" is the engaging story of a veritable cottonball of a rabbit who is on a mission to reach his home. Along the way he is confronted by a little girl and animals that question the fact he appears to have no place to go. But this headstrong hare knows better, rebuffing all who question his seemingly purposeless state. His singlemindedness is a good message for children.

While the story itself is good, it is the luminous illustrations that elevate this book beyond the horde of mundane children's fare out there in the marketplace. McCarty's monochromatic drawings look remarkably like infrared photographs - everything seems to glow with life. The softness in the illustrations makes them seem as if they floated out of a lush dream. And that little bunny is just as cute as cute gets, too.

Endearing and beautiful. A worthy addition to any child's library.

A small bunny goes on the move, but what is he searching for? Where is he going? He travels across the countryside, stopping only to sleep at night. He finally reaches his destination, but what does he find there?

A brilliantly illustrated and written picturebook for young children. The drawings, made from watercolor and colored pencil, are among the most striking and visually appealing I have ever seen in a children's book. This book may likely become a collector's item for its simple but genuine story and superb illustrations.