I have read this book and the only thing Scandalous about is is that the publisher has not reprinted it! The herstory of the Middle East has many intriguing women who have done remarkable things. These women like Jane Digby, loved the desert no less than many of the "heroes" we all can still read about today. Yet their travels are scarcely cited. Jane Digby's romantic trysts may have stunned her peers, but today her story is fascinating. Visiting Damascus, travelling to Palmyra, each had such a different impact knowing I was seeing what she saw over a hundred years ago. In a region where the dominance of males, Islam and the harsh desert life is well documented, it is a shame more interested readers cannot learn why a western woman would chose it as her home in the 19th century. The author stays away from judgements about Jane Digby, and presents her as honestly as she was-a rebel of the heart.

If Jane Digby had been a man she would have been Prime Minister. As a woman living in the early 1800s, she had little scope for her brilliance and personality except in romantic intrigue - and what intrigue. I was breathless after the the first few chapters, and yet there were still husbands aplenty to come, as well as passion and drama. Who of us now would throw caution to the winds and live in a cave with a brigand, or marry an Arab sheik 20 years younger? And yet she did so in a time when women were far more confined and limited in their options. Her ability to withstand society's strictures and disapproval, and go where no European women and very few European men had been before bespeaks a very strong mind. Her strength, intelligence and obvious sex appeal she would have made her a formidable woman. Mary Lovell is obviously fascinated by her subject and the pace never falters in her narrative, although the content is exhausting. A thoroughly wonderful read- I have given this book to many friends and they have all loved it. Besiege the publisher to do a reprint.

During her "Scandalous Life" (1800's), Jane Digby was often written about in the press and provided foder for the tea room gossips for over 50 years. The stories seldom had more than a grain of truth but her ability to live her own life outside of the conventional standards of her day needed no embellishments. I have read other books and accounts of her life but Mary S Lovell has now set the standard that the other biographers will be judged. Her attention to details and access to the volumes of diaries and letters brought this biography its validity. She presents Jane's life without moralizing and judging her actions. Noone could make up a story with the twists and turns found in Jane's biography. After the episode with Isabel Burton(who tried to capitalize on Jane's story and her brief acquaintance with her when she thought Jane has died), must have left Jane Digby very cynical of biographers but I believe that she would have been very happy with Mary Lovell's. What greater compliment can an author garner from their subject? I will add my lament about the "out of print" status of this biography here in the states. I was thrilled to find a copy displayed casually in the biography section of a village bookstore in Ashburton,Devon, England while I was visiting the area with friends. The cover was bent and battered but it was their last copy. They told me it would take a few days until their next order arrived. The title was changed to "A Scandalous Life", The Biography of Jane Digby published by Fourth Estate,London. I bought the battered copy and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have also added Mary S.Lovell to my list of favorite biographers!.

A superb book! I have been in the gaming industry for over 35 years and this book really tells it like it is. I usually find gambling related stories quite boring or too far away from the truth but this is right on target. I would recommend it to anyone interested in knowing what the customer does not see in the gaming world. I have worked in Las Vegas, Reno and Lake Tahoe and can easily identify with this story.

I, too, was a dealer at one time. Most of the books about casinos are written by those who don't really know what it's like inside. This is a true picture of a dealer's life - everyone who goes to Nevada - or anywhere - to gamble should read this. It's a real eye-opener.

I live in Reno, so the places the author writes about made the book very real to me. It was wonderful reading - I highly recommend it for anyone interested in gambling. A real eye-opener!

Being a volunteer at a local animal shelter, I often see the results of choosing the wrong pet by people who had no concept of what pet ownership entailed in terms of time, expense, training, etc. or even what the personality of a certain breed or species was like. Are You the Pet For Me provides in an easy-to-read format the ABCs of pet ownership whether it be through adoption or purchase. Hopefully, prospective owners will read this well researched volume BEFORE taking on the responsibilities of a pet so that it will be an enriching experience and not a heart wrenching one.

I never had much luck with my pets when I was a kid. My dog never stopped barking, my cat was impossible to train, and my hamster kept waking me up at night. If I'd had a book like "Are You the Pet for Me?", I'd have known just what to do. Mary Jane Checchi tells you everything you need to know about choosing and caring for pets. It's a must read.

Lance Rentzel Former Wide Receiver for the Dallas Cowboys & LA Rams

As a volunteer in a local animal shelter, I see the results of people having chosen the wrong pet and not being informed of all that is involved in caring for that particular animal be it a dog down to a mouse. Mary Jane Checchi has thoroughly researched her subject and has presented in a simple, easy-to-read manner the ABC's of the requirements of various pets. People should be required to read it from cover to cover BEFORE taking on the responsibility of animal ownership either through purchase or adoption.

I recommend this book to 4th and 5th graders especially. This
book is very exciting once you start reading it you won't want to stop! There is a lot of adventure and sometimes-freaky parts in Journey to Nowhere. As 'Mem' the main character, falls off her family's wagon and travels farther and farther into the woods I guarantee you won't want to stop reading this book!

"Journey to Nowhere" was nonstop and never boring. Although it doesn't give a feel of what the trail was like, it showed unsafe traveling was, and what life was like once settling on fresh land, without a house. Auch showed how dangerous living in the open terrain was and how blind some people were to those dangers. I certainly recommend this book to readers who are interested in this era and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

this book was a greak adventure, that said what was probly giong through a girls mind during the time of the Oregon Trail. It said how her family was close, but Mem who is the main character would rather do mans work, rather then do house hold work.

My grandaughter loves your book and we would like to purchase more by Thomas Hood. Did he write anymore or is he about to??!!?? She's just two years old and is fascinated with all the little tricks and picture plays within the pictures. Please write more!! Deb Weber

Realistic, detailed pictures. Modern in the way of letting kids know they can be anything they want to be, and fun because it takes you many places, it's adventurous.

My 3 1/2 year old has loved this book since he was very little. The poem captivates his imagination and the pictures are wonderful to look at. He loves to show me which animal the boy is imagining and loves to find as many things from the poem in the picture on the last page. It's funny and sweet and kids discover new things every time they read it.

I love all of Mary Stewart's early suspense novels and wish I could buy new copies of them because the battered old ones I have are 20-30 years old, yellowing, and falling apart from repeated re-readings.

I particularly loved the ones set in Greece which was a country that had always captured my imagination. This one in particular made me want to go to Greece and see Delphi and The Charioteer. Five years ago when I finally beheld The Charioteer myself and stood on the theater at Delphi and looked out over the mountains my first thoughts were of Mary Stewart. I recommend this book highly to anyone who can find a copy of it. It is well worth because it is a marvelous read as are all of Mary Stewart's earlier books.

Sadly it appears that most of her early wonderful books are out of print, and the only ones still available are mainly the later and less skillful novels - though a few of the good early ones are still available.

Look for this one. It's a winner.

I'm so glad to see some of Mary Stewart's romantic fiction reissued. As a young girl I envisioned Greece while reading My Brother Michael, as a young adult I went there and it was sublime. We read and, then, we experience. If you read to see the world, start at home with Mary Stewart and let your imaginations take you to Europe; her books will grow with you. With Madam Will you Talk in mind, (her best I think) I danced on the entrance to the Pont d'Avignon, I stood on Hadrian's Wall and thought of the Ivy Tree; Corfu did indeed boast men named Spiro, but sadly, no magic dolphin. I wish there were more of her books.

"My Brother Michael" was such a good book! It has beautiful descriptions of Greece, and the characters were so interesting. I've read almost all of Mary Stewart's books, and they all give that kind of depressed feeling. Not that they're sad (well, the Merlin Trilogy is), but her books just envelope you, and you can't stop reading them. I love her books, and I wish that she'd written more.

A blend of fierce scholarship and visionary passion. Dr. Jane Schaberg's Mary Magdalene is a woman triumphant, reborn from history in this readable, laudable, fascinating book.

This is a masterful book. The scholarship is impressive, but it is the combination of solid learning with the personal that is unusual and engaging. Schaberg is fearlessly feminist, but this is not a polemic. She is persuasive and at times even poetic. For those interested in Mary Magdalene or Virginia Woolf this book is a must-read, but everyone interested in the origins of Christianity and the impact of patriarchy on human institutions will find a great deal of interest here.

Jane Schaberg's The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene is an adventure...at times delightful, at times profoundly sad. Her seemingly improbable juxtaposition of Mary Magdalene and Virginia Woolf is not only justified, it's necessary.
In the highest academic tradition, Dr. Schaberg displays exhaustive research and careful synthesis; in the best feminist tradition, she reveals her intensely personal journey. Best of all, she shares her journey with the reader.

This is a great book for young adults. Full of suspense and characteristic flairs. Mary Stewart brings alive the silent countryside of Austria with this thriller.

Mary Stewart's Ivy Tree got me hooked on reading and I've read every book she's written. The villain in this book is so memorable I have always remembered his name. This book like all of her books marries romance and mystery but in a way no modern books do, it is romance, not sex. All of her books give you information on either classic works or other historic backgrounds, like the Spanish Riding School, that I got big points from my Humanities teachers from things I learned from Mary Stewart, I never told them how I knew the information. This is one of her best, the people are memorable and the horse is miraculous. Just a treat all round. Read all her mysteries you can't go wrong

Like other reviewers, I read most of Mary Stewart's novels as a teenager when they were called "Gothics". Nine Coaches Waiting and Wildfire at Midnight were wonderful, and among my favorites, but Airs Above the Ground lingers in my memory as the best of Mary Stewart's works. The scene with the old horse on the hillside gives me chills and brings tears to my eyes every time I read it, or even think about it. I went to see the Lippizaners in Austria just because of the influence of this book. Read it--you won't be disappointed.

Great summer/beach read. The interesting mix of characters makes it a page turner.

I'll have to check out Ms. Arden's web site to find out more about them.

You don't need a beach to enjoy this ultimate beach book. Guess the true identify of Verateague, the fictious mask for this jewel of a town on the Delmarva Penninsula (Delaware-Maryland-Virginia area). This wonderful place, an artist's colony and fishing town, is host to the passions of assorted spicy characters, from "the Hooligan", Hoolie Daniels, an artist and girl about town, to roving-eyed realtor, Beau Palmer, intrepid cop Joe Ryan, and the stars of the show, brothers and heroes Scotland and Denmark Caltrider, too-too-close brother and sister Brevet and Jesse, and of course, our heroine, Racheal West. Follow our gorgeous heroine, Racheal, as she flees the tragic death of her husband, only to find herself following in the footsteps of her predecessor at the Art Center, the mysteriously murdered Liz Simon. In the course of solving this mystery, encounter sassy dialogue, romantic byplay, evocations of the power and fury of the storms of the eastern shore, and much more! In short, this is your book for the summertime--or anytime you want both romance and mystery in one package. Bravo Ms Arden!

And now for something completely different! The Fourth Storm draws you in from the very beginning. You feel as if you know the characters in this original, and a bit naughty, tale spun by Ms. Arden. The characters and plot are as tumultuous as the storms. I loved it and didn't want it to end. The Fourth Storm guarantees a good time. Don't miss the fun!

S. Tongue

Al DeMeo has lived two lifetimes before he turned forty, and this book tells his story. He has warm memories of his father, and can somehow seperate his father's crimes from the havoc it caused on his family. It was stunning to read that he carried a gun to elementary school to protect his sister. The auther equivocates about the number of people his father killed -- "Murder Machine" puts the number at 200, but that's somewhat unreliable. The only one Al is certain about is the one I remember reading about growing up -- his father mistakenly identified a door-to-door salesman as a hitman and killed him. This killing of an innocent (or a "civilian" in Soprano's-speak) seems to have broken his father's spirit somewhat, and led to a downward spiral. After his father's death, Al Demeo carries on outwardly strong, but eventually the stress of holding it all inside nearly culminates in suicide. The two most powerful scenes in the book are the desciption of Al's mourning for his father and his near suicide. I believe the book was ghost-written, and much of it has that breezy, second-hand feel, but those two scenes are very intense and the reason I give this book the highest rating.

Great Book! Keep's you reading until it's done. I had seen the review put out by "Concerned Citizen" and had to laugh. Does he think the writer of the "Murder Machine" had all the right answers to all that went on with Roy DeMeo? I guess no-one person has all the answers but I am open minded enough to hear all the perspectives. Albert had first hand knowledge of the events and was trying to write a human interest story and not a crime novel. Did Al get rich off the blood money? could have,but no amount of money will bring back a lost parent, fix a failed marriage or give back the years he has lost to depression. Read this book, it will give anyone more humility.

I read this book in one day-couldn't put it down! I grew up in Massapequa, NY and went to school with Al DeMeo. It blew me away to read what he was going through, while attending high school and acting like a "normal" kid. We all knew that his father was "in the mafia" but it was presumed that most weathly Italian men in this area also had links to the mob. While I was drawn to it for my hometown connections, my husband, who is not from LI, also could not put it down! I have recommended it to many family and friends. Excellent story about the home life of a member of the mafia and the repercussions it has on his family, the ones he tried so hard to protect.