Toliver's Secret was a great book. It could capture anyone's interest. You find yourself in the begining of the Revolutionary War. The main character is Ellen or "Toliver". She is a very timid and shy girl. Then she finds courage she never new she had as she smuggles a mesage to Mr. Shannon. But can she walk twelve miles in the middle of winter? Escape from British soldiers? Read the book and find out!

This is an outstanding piece of historical fiction for young readers. It can be used in a classroom to bring the Revolutionary War alive in the minds of young readers. You take every step with Ellen Toliver and hold your breath with every obstacle she faces. Ten year old Ellen changes from a timid, shy girl to a confident, spunky girl,and young readers can identify with her feelings. The ending satisfies the reader's need for closure to Ellen's adventures, but it also leaves the reader with a question to wonder about. I couldn't put this book down the first time I read it. My fourth grade students want a sequel!

Tolivers secret was a reading choice for our class and i chose it because it sounded cool. And it turned out to be really interesting and exciting. I thought it made learning about the Revolutionary war fun because it was from a total different point of view than our textbook. i liked it because it was exciting because Ellen always had a interesting problem going on. I recomend this book for anyone. This is a definite read. I loved this book and also my other classmates! i hope you read it!

This is much more than a simple biography of Steve Biko, the leader of the Black Consciousness movement in South Africa and one of the seminal figures in the anti-apartheid movement, it is an insider's look and condemnation of the System. Though Biko died young and apartheid has faded into memories for most people who had the misfortune of living in it, his is an excellent example of the horroific prejudices to which people, even in these enlightened times, can be subjected. This book uses incredible detail and many essential sources to tell a lively, powerful, and important story. I watched Cry Freedom several years ago and was inspired tolearn more about the subject, and I would recommend the same path, because the movie really brings the characters and issues to life. I would caution people who only want to learn the basics about the history of apartheid or Biko, that this is a very indepth and detailed book, that can be difficult to follow if you are not familiar with the subjects, so I might recommend a slightly more elementary book for a first experience.

...Its one thing to pump the masses with political ideology, changing the way people think is another story altogether - and for that he (Biko) paid with his life, at the hands of the ruthlessly prescient architects of apartheid.

Defining black consciousness in the South African context and working towards reversing centuries of social engineering this is Biko's story and his life - ably demonstrated by Donald Woods, his friend and confidante.

If there's just one book you read on the legacy of apartheid in South Africa, make it this one... Biko was to black consciousness what Muhammed was to Islam. Enough said.

I first learned about Biko in the movie "Cry Freedom." It was a great movie. After I saw the movie I wanted to learn about him so i read this book. It is a great book that i think everybody should read.

Turning Wood with Richard Raffan is my number one pick out of the several books I bought on wood turning. He went into the lathe, its components, safety, and techniques. The editorial reviews go into all of the subjects covered in this book, so I will not reapeat them all. What I wanted to share with you is the overall feeling of the book. You know the frustration of buying a book, and it doesn't feel right. I guess you could analyze some of the reasons why. This book feels right. The photos, the explanations, the way it is laid out, all are done in a way that makes me say, I really like this book.
I turned wood when I was in high school. Recently acquired a lathe, and wanted someone to walk me through the essentials. This book covers that. Safety is a primary concern. For example he explains, that you always want to use your wood turning chisel from the higher areas, into the shallower. If you do it the other way around, you could have a piece of wood flying into your face. It is like your skiing down the side of the mountain. I know this sounds trivial, but he is not afraid to cover the essetials for those of us renewed in the hobby.
Great book, highly recommended.

I have some experience in turning wood. I am getting back into it and wanted to freshen up on some safety items. I was having a hard time finding what speed to start turning a piece of wood I had preparted. After reviewing several book on a book store shelf, this book was the only one that actually has a chart for wood sizes and speeds to match. I think this is very, very important. For this reason alone I would give this book a 5 star rating; valuable information that other authors left out.

Great book. Very useful for a novice, particularly with regard to tool selection & use.

The British edition published in 1991 by Headline is the good version. (see amazon.co.uk)

The 1981 edition from Warner Books was wrecked by the editor.

Richard Laymon ignored all of the changes from the US edition when his British publisher offered to publish the book.

A legless thing with powerful hairy arms dragged itself across the road. It paused for a moment in the car's headlights, in front of Neala and Sherri. It tossed a severed human hand which landed between the girls, and then scurried away into the dark forest . . .

This is the best Richard Laymon I have read. So compelling that I literally could not stop reading. It's an erotic thriller that will have your heart racing from the first page to the last.

This book is excellent it was the first book of Laymons I read and after reading another 5 they still havent been up to the standards as this one. it keeps you on the edge of your seat all the way through the book right from page one, its the best horror/suspense story i have ever read whith a great plot. i would definatly recommend it to everyone who likes horror.

The final book in Jane Roberts Woods' trilogy finds Lucy Richards Arnold in rural West Texas, during the depression. The harsh and arid landscape of the land is barely relieved by the people who populate the area,and the nearest town, Blue Bonnet. Lucy and her husband Josh are working for the area school, she is once again teaching and he is the principal....and neither are made welcomed by the populace. They do make friends within the community and are able to undersatnd the dermands on those around them,but nothing is heard from characters at home, except for a brief appearance by Jeremiah. Their son, John Patrick is a continuous light in their lives, but hard times and very little hope for relief have made the entire area weary and unwelcoming. Once again Woods has been able to capture a time and place in Teaxs history and populate it with believable and complex characters.The realities of small town life, especially in hard times,ring true. The whole book is suffused with the feel of the times, and is a wonderful look at characters we have come to care for.

The best book of the series, this story follows The Train to Estelline and A Place called Sweet Shrub. Set during the Great Depression in the bleak, gnarled landscape and drought of West Texas, the characters Josh & Lucy, now with a 4 year old son, settle into their jobs in a troubled school. The deprivation and desperation of the depression sweep over the reader on almost every page, but the high spirited, high minded scholars meet each challenge as it tumbles into the schoolyard. The characters are sketched with a light and usually loving hand, and the situations are not sugar-coated but realistic and often harsh. The "West Texas-isms" are accurate and amusing. The book moves quickly to a ending that is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. And completely true to this reader's experience.

This audiobook is an excellent addition to the U.S. history-buff's glove compartment. There are basically four tapes of interviews by Roger Mudd done for the History Channel. Mudd asks questions to the featured historians and they respond with stories and factoids to keep you thinking. I can listen to them many times and still learn things that I didn't catch the last time around. This is also a great way to brush up on your U.S. history while enriching what you already know.

This is the very best audio tape I've ever listened to. While some interviews are better (Stephen Ambrose) than others (Richard White), each one offers important insight and perspective on the most important events of our time. Through the eyes of these men, our nation's history is told so clearly and succinctly, and with such passion, that you can't help but be changed and moved by the experience. I guarantee you'll come away with a better grasp of who we are and where we're headed as a nation.

A good general book on woodcarving. This book could be better if it didn't try to be all things for all people. There are better books for beginners out there for the money and more advanced carvers probably need to buy a book concentrating on their type of carving. I found it to be a little on the technical side and would have preferred a few more patterns for each type of carving.

My favorite sections were on finishes, sharpening, and the tool section. There are numerous photographs of some beautiful examples of the various types of carving. The author does show some very useful carving techniques in most of the carving styles.

Sections include tools, sharpening, woods and finishes, design, whittling, chip carving, relief carving, wildlife carving, lettering, archatectural carving, and a bibliography.

To an experienced woodcarver this book may seem unfocused and thinly spread, but for the beginner it does exactly what it should do. The book begins with a good grounding in the tools of the craft and how to care for and sharpen each type. After that it gives you a sampler of carving styles with at least one project for each. It's guaranteed there is at least one or two chapters the reader will not care for. Even this is useful since the reader avoids launching into the craft with a project they really have little enthusiasm for, and then lose interest in wood carving all together. This book should be required reading before the beginner spends a single dime on tools, equipment, or wood. If it's not 'the' best beginner's book, it's in the top five.

While not as great a piece of literature, this book was a necessary predecessor to Kenneth Grahame's classic Wind in the Willows. The transcendental pleasure of a child free in the fields and woods, where time is timeless, is expressed beautifully by this master nature writer who is so under-appreciated here in the states. The plot weekens in places, and judged by that and action only, the book would disappoint, but the charm and poignancy of some moments is unmatched. No one enchanted by fine talking animal books should miss this distillation of childhood's mood.

This book took me by suprise. It laughed aloud so much - Bevis does such funny things, although he doesn't know it. He is so dramatic and determined. I think he is just like every little boy. An insight to children, although I must say that Bevis was a hellion. The animals all talk - but only to Bevis. They are hilarious! The weasel is definitely my favorite character. From Clocktaw the Jackdaw to King Kapchack, I was immersed in this world. I now view birds in an entirely new light. The story is actually quite complex. This book was ground breaking for it's time. And is a delight to read. I thouroughly enjoyed it. Richard Jefferies - a truely talented writer. Magic'

I found this book to be very poorly written and unsatisfactory. It contained lots of bad algorithms and poor coding. Much of the code was unusable and the methods explained were very simple. I could have done without it to be honest. Avoid this book if you want to learn how to program properly

Im not an advaced programmer, but reading some parts... I learned a lot of good things. I couldnt describe them here, but i will implement them on the future projects ahead. Things that I think are essential to the industry grade programmer and to becoming one.
The material was delivered clearly, not necessarily simple... but it is clear. The book is worth all my hard saved money... and im glad to have it, and its fun to read too...

When seeking a reference, most experienced programmers will rather buy a reference that focuses more on the advanced issues than the language concepts itself. Mainly because almost all decent compilers come with extensive help files that cover most of what the programmers might need regarding the language itself. This book doesn't explain much about C, but instead uses C as a tool to explain some very useful issues that are crucial to almost all advanced programmers.

The book wastes no space on trivial stuff like how to open your compiler or use a non-standard C function. Instead, it goes directly into what's important, explaining the concepts and giving concrete examples where appropriate, all using ANSI C.

Since most of the issues aren't dependant on the implementation schemes, almost any advanced programmer would benefit from this book, even if he/she is not programming in C (assuming advanced knowledge of C, of course). The only exceptions are the topics that talk about the ANSI C rules and code organization and optimization. The only disadvantage here is that this book doesn't cover object oriented concepts, but that's not a surprise of course as the book is titled "C Unleashed." But still for anything else other than that, this could be a great help even to C++ programmers.

The book chapters have been written by more than 10 experienced programmers, 6 of them are really good, which makes each chapter standalone as a small tutorial on some issue. The writing style of Richard Heathfield and many of the co-authors is very nice to read and clear to understand. Some parts, of course, do not have that nice writing style, but throughout the book, the technical information is very clear and easy to comprehend.

I wouldn't recommend this book to any new programmers. But for the more advanced ones, this is something they would want to check.

-Mokhtar M. Khorshid

Bryson's playful use of the language is at times reminiscent of Wodehouse, and his ability to apply his talents to the ostensibly boring subject of the AT is commendable. The book hums and crackles with great wordplay throughout, but it all becomes a bit precious after the first few chapters, as if Bryson were (1) more interested in impressing us with his command of the languange, and less interested in describing the "AT experience," and (2) just a wee bit too pleased with his ability to wring smug, wry observations out of situations familiar to all hikers. And he is needlessly mean spirited in his assessment of many of the folks he encounters along the way, apparently simply because they are not as refined as he.

It's a fun book, and I recommend it ... but Bryson's hike along the AT is clearly just a conceit to allow him to exploit his sense of humor. (I bet that he could have written an equally-as-funny book about train travel in Canada.) The grand, majestic Appalachian Trail (parts of which I have had the pleasure of hiking, in many large chunks, over the years) unfortunately plays second banana to Bryson's self-absorbed wit.

I picked up "A Walk In The Woods" simply because I'd heard it was funny and I was looking for a light summer read. I was not disappointed. The book takes the reader on a journey with author Bill Bryson and several hilarious companions along over 800 miles of the Appalachian Trail (AT). I was quickly drawn into the book and felt almost an immediate kinship with the author. His adventures are not dangerous or exciting by any standard but his descriptions of them are witty and thoughtful. The book is very funny on regular occassions but at times can be quite serious for long passages.

Bryson's hiking tales are interspersed with frequent segments about the history about the AT, environmental concerns and forestry management, all of which were quite informative. Having never hiked further than a few miles, I found myself learning a great deal. However, "A Walk In the Woods" should not be considered a "How To" book by any means. If anything, Bryson's adventures provide perfect examples of how not to prepare for the trail. Just the same, you may well find that this book motivates you to give hiking a try.

I must also offer my hearty endorsement of any passage in the book which includes Bryson's regular hiking companion, Steven Katz. Katz's vulnerable cynicism and fearless determination in the face of personal ineptitude provide most of the book's funniest moments. I'll miss Bryson but I'll really miss Katz. My summer was more fun because they were part of it.

In the words of Bill Bryson he "happened upon a path that vanished into a wood on the edge of town." So begins a complex love/hate relationship with the Appalachian Trail that is equal parts hilarious travelogue and cautionary tale. Tightly written and wonderfully descriptive, A Walk in the Woods is the story of Bill and his sidekick Stephan Katz. These two are not your typical outdoorsman but two relatively sedentary middle-aged men who undertake one of the most challenging hikes on the continent armed with little more than a backpack full of Little Debbie cakes (soon abandoned)and the vague notion of hiking the two-thousand odd miles of the trail in one season.

It's not spoiling the story to tell you they don't even come close to meeting that goal, but the story is so rich and so fun it helps demonstrate that the joy is really in the journey, not the destination.

I loved this book for its honest and direct tone and the way Bryson kept me laughing from page one. A great read for a rainy winter afternoon.