A fictionalized story mixed with facts about the young Harriet Tubman. It chronicles her life from the Maryland plantation from which she escaped, and provides details of what life was like as a slave on a plantation. Wonderful book that is dramatic and full of interesting details about a famous American. Harriet Tubman was a hero of her time and this book does an excellent job of telling her story. Schroeder's mixture of fact and fiction make this book a joy to read.

Eight-year-old "Minty," a fictionalized version of a young Harriet Tubman, suffers greatly while working as a slave on a Maryland plantation. Her rebellious nature adds an extra degree of conflict, and she has several traumatic experiences. With the guidance of her father, she starts planning to escape.

Scenes of Minty with her family are very tenderly rendered in this 1997 Coretta Scott King Award winner. Illustrator Jerry Pinkney effectively combines pencils and watercolors to add an appropriately subdued, somewhat dreary cast even to bright, sunny scenes. The strong text describes the horrors of scenes too disturbing to show in the illustrations.

The story really tugged at my heartstrings. It is a very moving story, well told, but still very sad.

Minty was treated awful wiped to her bones. Most of us don't know how badly Minty was treated and this story will help you under stand Black history please read this book and you will know how i feel.

For some reason this book caught my eye -- perhaps because I find Alan disarmingly candid on TV. I like people who are intelligent that can get straight to the heart of an issue -- Alan is one of those all too rare people. This book is a surprisingly caustic look at the American lawyers and their weaknesses and criminal and unethical behavior -- bravo! The book also provides some insight in to the weaknesses of the American legal system. This book was written before the Enron and Worldcom crisis we now find American in. I read yesterday that seven ImClone executives and a lawyer were off-loading ImClone stock a few weeks before the final government turn-down of their new ill-researched supposed-wonder drug -- this book will help you understand how the lawyer managed to be part of this shameful affair. Yes this book would be a wonderful present for a young law student -- I would go as far as to say a "must read".

This is one of those books that makes me wish we could grade on a 10-star scale instead of 5, because I'd really like to give it 7 out of 10 stars instead of 4 out of 5. In reality, it's probably not quite a 4, but better than a 3. I agree with the complaints below that Professor Dershowitz sometimes comes off as more grinding an axe than giving advice, but the problem isn't pervasive enough to ruin the book (it probably didn't hurt that I agreed with his attacks). I also agree with the comment that it is heavily geared towards people who want to practice criminal law as oppposed to civil litigation or transactional law. However, my suspicion is that civil litigators and transactional lawyers face many of the same ethical dillemmas that criminal lawyers face, and it's worth thinking about them no matter what kind of law you (want to) practice. Professor Dershowitz's closing chapter on why you should be good was particularly strong and may be worth picking up the book for alone. Also, even if you end up hating the book, it's a very quick read, so at least you won't have wasted a lot of time.

Candid, real world view of "the system," from a very personal place. Objections to the Dersh's political views miss the point. They are absurd really, as if New Journalism never was.

If you are in the law, here is a chance to see things through the eyes of a Seasoned, Old salt. Don't pass it up because you you may not agree with everything he says.

He does not appear to be trying to brainwash anyone.

My dad of all people recommended this book to me, telling me it was absolutely fascinating. Unfortunately, reading page after page of stories about someone who is smarter, more talented, and better looking than anyone else around doesn't fascinate me... it does help me go to sleep a little faster at night though.

This is a wonderfully insightful book. Filled with both uplifting joys and terrible tragedies, Helms' story brings together the most potent emotions from homosexuality, alcoholism, substance abuse and even aging. The broad range of the piece is staggering and, in such a short book, quite an accomplishment. There's something in this book for everyone with a troubled soul, and troubles enough for those without. Its end, though, brings some closure. No empty promises of a bright tomorrow, but hope for better today.

This book is a touchiing biography of almost every gay mans life. It deals with everything from parents to posessive lovers. The feeling of isolation and the evental realisation that there may never be that one true love for the rest of your days. Life for gay men is usually good, but it is at the same time hell on earth. Helms captures this very eloquently in his novel.

Being an avid reader of all Irvine Welsh novels I was intrigued by Morvern Callar (being a recommendation book from the amazon.com scottish fiction library). Heck, there is a brilliant quote from Irvine right on the cover...I thought this would be right up my alley. Unfortunately it only meandered around the alley...the abrupt start throws you headlong into Morvern's life which was a bit bizarre as it becomes glaringly obvious that this book was written by a man who doesn't quite know how to write convincingly as a girl (the reader from Maryland has it right...enough with the baths). Aside from the [small] character glitch, the story is a smooth progression of random events and as my faith in the novel begins to rise it grinds to a screeching halt and I'm left with questions which go unanswered...as if Warner was getting a bit bored and decided to call it a day.

Three years ago, I wrote the following report on this book for a major film company...

When her novelist boyfriend commits suicide, a Scottish girl uses his inheritance to escape her menial existence and find fulfilment in the Spanish rave scene. At heart a coming-of-age story, this novel holds our attention by presenting us with a gruesome opening and a spunky heroine who confounds expectations by seizing her opportunity with both hands.

Like a lot of good literary fiction, the novel is character rather than plot-driven. Morvern, the heroine, is a brilliant creation, and her voice carries the novel forward. Plot takes a back seat, and the novel fizzles out towards the end, amid pages of Morvern's observations of Spanish holiday resorts. As far as film potential goes, this is a critical stumbling block. Films need to ask questions, then answer them. This novel leaves the reader pondering many unanswered questions. For example, why did Morvern's mysterious boyfriend commit suicide? Does his novel, appropriated by Morvern, contain clues about him? What was their relationship like? Finding the answers could provide a number of intriguing movie scenarios. Perhaps the boyfriend was murdered, and Morvern finds the answers in Spain. Perhaps Morvern is the killer, and the boyfriend's novel explains everything. I can see this working as a cross between Sunset Boulevard and The Last Seduction, set among Scottish ravers. But this is all my own feverish speculation.

The novel has great characters, and Morvern's quirky eye for detail is a hoot. Possibly because the author is a man writing with a woman's voice, there are a few overlong descriptions of cuticles and nail varnish. There are too many lists of different rave records, put in I suspect as a self-conscious sop to a "hip" readership. Overall however, it is an engrossing read. I particularly liked the descriptions of Scottish binge drinking, and the ghastly Club Med group activities. On a deeper level, there some great symbolic strands which run through the book.

To conclude, this is an excellent work of literary fiction, and works well on its own terms. I unreservedly recommend it as a good read. But there is no obvious film premise lurking within its pages, and though it is fun using the novel's setup as a springboard for possible movies, I don't think that justifies buying up the rights.

Morvern has a crappy wee job in the supermarket which she hates, she's skint but her blokes got a bit more dosh and so when he kills himself having jist completed a novel Morvern firsts hides his body in the loft and raids his bank account and then publishes his book under her name and lives the high life off the proceeds partying on the Spanish costas. Alan Warner has with this novel produced an update on Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting; the heroin culture in Scotland's inner cities is no more the drug culture has spread to even the most rural towns of Scotland but it has changed from the destructive heroin to the free love of ecstacy. We also see the ravages of society post-thatcherism; where Trainspotting's Rent et al knew they were a subversive element in society Morvern ill- educated and with weakened family links seeks only hedonism and doesn't view herself as the destructive element in society she is. Warner has a new novel published soon and I look forward to more from him and the rest of the rebel inc.crew.

I first heard about Copeland's book a few years ago in a college English composition class, where we had to read a section of the book and write a reader response. The chapter we read was called "How we Listen," and I was immediately struck by how clearly Copeland addressed such a complicated subject, and admired his candidness and honesty.

"What to Listen for in Music" is excerpted from Copeland's series of lectures at the New School in New York City in the late 1930s, lectures that were open to the general public. As such, Copeland's goal was to cover a wide range of musical topics that appealed to musicians and non-musicians alike, from general music theory and harmony to how composers work and the differences in operatic forms, with the premise that one can enjoy music better if he understands the underlying technical aspects better.

Copeland's ideas are very interesting, especially when he talks about the methodological differences between several well-known composers. He talks matter-of-factly about music and the creative process; even comparing a musician's working method to a plumber's so as to de-mystify it. Indeed, Copeland's is a fresh perspective about a subject that has become bogged-down in jargon and egos since its invention. The only forgettable sections of the book come toward the end where Copeland discusses opera and music drama, and some of the fundamental forms such as sonatas and fugues. Frankly, his descriptions become too detailed and I lost interest, feeling like a student in a lecture hall. But, for my intents and purposes, Copeland's work was done.

Anybody who has any interest in music owes it to themselves to read this book. In this definitive guide to musical enjoyment, Aaron Copeland takes a look at how to listen to music intelligently. Two questions are addressed in this interesting, in-depth study: Are you hearing everything that is going on? Are you really being sensitive to it?

It doesn't matter what kind of music you enjoy, everyone can get something out of this book. Though relating more closely to classical music, Aaron Copeland's ideas for listening to music will give the reader a better appreciation and understanding of whatever music they listen to.

From reading this book you will gain insight into the creative process of a composer. In laymen's terms, the book describes the way composers write music as well as how they actually listen to it. It explains that there are three separate planes upon which music is listened to. They are the sensuous plane, the expressive plane, and the sheerly musical plane. Copeland goes on to tell how music is heard on each plane and explains how each works, which I found very interesting.

Overall, Aaron Copeland's What To Listen For In Music is a good book that I recommend to anyone who has an interest in music or enjoys listening to it. A whole new level of listening ability can be gained from reading this book. It explains music from the composer's point of view, giving you insight into how music is composed, and how to listen to it, which gives you a deeper appreciation of music.

. . . for the listener who enjoys and wants to deepen her understanding of orchestral music.

Aaron Copland built much of his career on writing modern "classical" music that could be enjoyed and appreciated by the common listener. He felt that modern music should communicate to the non-musician, as well as the more experienced one. He knew that if the listener understood what made up the basics of musical composition and structure, that the experience of listening would be tremendously enhanced. This book is in the spirit of that goal, and like his most accessible music, Copland achieves this with a brilliant, conversational eloquence that is neither pandering nor pretentious. I found this book to live up to its title, "What to listen for in music." Copland takes the reader on a step by step journey of what components make up a piece of music; from the different type of composers, through the creative process and the individual elements that support the musical architecture. These elements include rhythm, melody, harmony and tone/texture. Once these are clear, he then is able to talk about a musical work as a whole, which includes its structure the different forms that it takes (eg. sonata form, synphony, opera, etc.) One does not need a musical backround to understand and enjoy this book, and yet the seasoned musician will also find a refreshing review of the basics of music. Copland loved music and this is always obvious in his joyful presentation. All one need to have to benefit from this book is a curiosity of music and its mysterious ability to move mountains.

What a mess this is... This "darkly intoxicating brew" (The Guardian) picks up the story of young a young Scottish lass (see his debut, "Morvern Callar") as she returns from the continent. She comes to a wee little island where honeymooners stay at a weird hotel, and there's a cast of supporting bizarros. Really tough to get through and none too rewarding despite occasionally clever language at times. Warner's got talent, but try his much more accesible "The Sopranos" before trying this.

This highly praised book was extremely well-written but not as well plotted as I expected it to be. I realize the story was more surrealistic than realistic, but I feel both the Drome Hotel and the character of DJ Cormorant should have played a larger role in the story.

The characters were as twisted and demented as the story of which they are a part. I felt distanced from them but I think this is to be expected when reading a story such as this one.

I enjoyed this highly-imaginative book as a change of pace and it's obvious that Alan Warner is an innovative, original and brilliant writer. I think These Demented Lands will appeal to those who enjoy surrealistic, hallucinatory, postmodern literature. Those who require more conventionally plotted stories will probably be disappointed. Nevertheless, if you're looking for something different, give this well-written book a try.

These Demented Lands, Alan Warner's second novel is a sequel of sorts to his highly praised first novel, Morvern Callar. These Demented Lands is a dark, eerie, surreal and sometimes hilarious journey into the landscape of postmodern literature. Warner's characters are carefully crafted and highly memorable and posses many of the qualities of archetypes. The novel, itself, is somewhat of a dark and stormy post-apocalyptic fantasy.

The book's protagonist is Morvern Callar, herself. As the novel opens, Morvern is swimming away from a sinking ship, a small girl in tow. After returning the child safely home, Morvern begins her own strange journey across the island. Rumors concerning the fate of the other passengers on board the ship abound and, as they do, a host of newcomers descends on the island. Morvern meets, and is immediately attracted to, a mysterious man known only as the Aircrash Investigator. Although he seems to be pillaging the island's makeshift fences and sheds for crash debris, his real purpose is something of a mystery.

Warner has peopled his novel with an odd assortment of characters, yet each one is perfect and perfectly-drawn. Besides Morvern, herself, and the Aircrash Investigator, there is Devil's Advocate, a cigar-smoking fat man who assesses candidates for sainthood; there is Brotherhood, the owner of the Drome Hotel, a popular honeymoon resort; and a DJ who is determined to put together the biggest party the island has ever known. The myriad of minor characters that live in the pages of this novel are just as perfect.

The prose in These Demented Lands can be difficult at times, especially for those who prefer a more flowing style. Warner, however, is one of the most talented writers now at work and this book is superbly told with Morvern's own independent and unflinching frankness. The dialogue is sometimes as absurd as is the character speaking, but this only enhances the book's believability and its appeal as well as its strangeness. Warner's story does parallel certain Christian myths, in a surreal sort of way, as should soon become apparent, from the characters' strange names, if nothing else. And, although this is a dark book, some of the dialogue is hilariously funny.

These Demented Lands is a complex story about complex characters. It is too bad it has been somewhat overlooked in favor of more commercial but far less polished books. Alan Warner is an extraordinarily good writer and These Demented Lands is an extraordinarily good novel.

This is not the grammar one should first reach for in most areas. Daniel Wallace's grammars hold pride of place out of those that are most current. When one compares this grammar to those, there are reasons why this should not be preferred over Wallace.

1) Young has an interesting, and odd, tendency to list only the English translation of passages that aremeant as a Greek grammatical example. thus one has to find the passage to see if his usage is accurate.

2) He changes terminology from that which is commonly used by other scholars. thus one has to get used to his own (idiosyncratic) usages and then compare them against the "normal" usages.

3) He often included exegetically debated texts as his prooftexts for particular usages, and then does not say that they are debatable.

All of these devalue the usage of this grammar. Also he follows speech act theory very closely. which means he not only sees the aorist as not having a time aspect, but rarely sees time aspect mattering in tense at all. However, one should consider the fact that an author in any language can use a verb in an alternate tense to make it more vivid or to bring about a point. This does not invalidate a rule, because one has to know the normal usage to expect the abnormal one.

Where this grammar is most useful is in preposition and conjunction usages. His compiled lists of common usages for conjunctions and prepositions save frequent trips to the lexicon. They also represent the one area of clear superiority over even Wallace's "Beyond the Basics."

Richard Young has a superb job of giving the student of the Greek New Testament a grammar that is a worthy successor to Dana and Mantey. Although it is not as massive as Daniel Wallace's Greek Grammar: Beyond the Basics, Young's treatment is an ideal choice for one who is seeking to use his Greek to interpret the New Testament. Using a linguistical model, Young goes beyond the traditional approaches of sentence-based studies of the surface structure of the Greek language. He presents a broader picture of communication that examines both the language of the Greek New Testament and how its meaning is influence by its literary and situational contexts. A must-have for anyone wishing to do exegesis.

" Here's the second book in a planned series of ten adventurous historical fiction titles from social studies teacher Alan Kay. Cousins David and George Adams find themselves "caught between two worlds," and the only way of escape is to find David's father, John, who lives in a wild territory known as "Bleeding Kansas.

Kay treats readers to a rich description of the countryside during the boys' journey. They experience the "sweet, refreshing scent" of a wide, wildflower-strewn prairie, where "green grasses waved in the wind like waves approaching a shore." The boys meet animals unheard of back in Boston, and insects like fireflies, which George compares to "millions of tiny lanterns.

Their appreciation of new sights and sounds are short-lived, though. Upon reaching David's family and realize that David's parents are heavily involved in a dangerous plot with John Brown, whose secret plan to overthrow the Federal government involves starting a violent slave uprising across the South. Feel the tension of a family divided, as members realize the risks of taking such a stand. Will they help John Brown in his dangerous plan, or make it to Harpers Ferry in time to warn the townsfolk and stop him in his tracks?" -- Bonnie Bruno...

-- "The second in Alan N. Kay's Young Heroes of History series, On the Trail of John Brown's Body, is every bit as good as the first.
Whereas that book juxtaposed the plight of a slave family and a northern family filled with abolitionists and sympathetics, this book follows the adventures of two boys and their fathers as they journey to the Kansas Territory in the days when John Brown cast the longest shadow in the land.

David and George, two of the young heroes from the first book, are the main characters here as well, along with their fathers. They have typical frontier adventures, but always in the background (and often in the foreground) is the specter of war, brought on by the increasingly violent actions of abolitionists like David's father.

The arrival of the boys in "Bleeding Kansas" brings that state's bloody conflict into sharp focus. And by having David's father, John, be a part of John Brown's brigade, the author gives us an up-close glimpse of the passion (and, some will say, madness) of Brown himself.

This book succeeds the most by having the reader follow the typical adventures of young boys (playing baseball, getting into fights, doing odd jobs for spending money) while at the same reminding that reader that the setting for these typical adventures is Civil War-era America. To his credit, Alan Kay succeeds at both.

As with the first book in this series, I highly recommend this book. It is an excellent portrayal of young people in the 19th Century. David White, editor, Social Studies For Kids, ...

Definitely NOT a book for most children. I read THE OWL SERVICE many years ago in part because I had enjoyed Garner's earlier books so much. I remember having nightmares afterwards, and steered clear of it subsequently. At the same time, the book stuck with me, and when I saw it in a used book shop a while ago I picked it up and re-read it. Second time through it is captivating, haunting, disturbing, and yes, very very strange. perhaps the perfect book to curl up with on a rainy autumn afternoon and find oneself going somewhere where the real and the possible somehow get turned inside out and we end... I am not sure where. I'd be reluctant to give this to other than a very mature child, but if you have one, he or she may well be entranced. I know I am.

_The Owl Service_ is a book that has to be read twice to be understood--and a familiarity with the myth of Blodeuwedd doesn't hurt either. This novel takes place in the selfsame valley where Blodeuwedd, Lleu, and Gronw played out their tragic love-triangle in times long past, and the spirit of the conflict still haunts the valley. Every generation, the situation crops up again, with different people playing the parts, but always ending badly.

One summer, it is three teenagers who enact the old story; a young girl and her stepbrother, visiting from the city, and a local boy. At first read, it isn't clear what Alison, Roger, and Gwyn have to do with the legend of Blodeuwedd, since their situation is different on the surface. If I'd only read the book once, I might give it two and a half stars. But upon re-reading, the resonances became more apparent, and I began to see the points in the story that correspond to events in the legend.

I want to give it three and a half stars, but Amazon won't let me do that, and my grade school teachers drummed it into my head that something-and-a-half rounds up to the next whole number. *wink* So, four stars. I would have liked it better if the characters had been fleshed out more before the legend started controlling their lives; the spirit of the old conflict started turning them into unsympathetic jerks before I had a chance to develop a liking for the people they really were. Still, a decent piece of myth-based fiction.

Once upon a time, back a couple of decades ago, my family travelled to Europe, stopping in Britain on the way and picking up a lot of children's paperbacks to keep us occupied during the drive. One of these books was "The Owl Service". It is an excellent book. I read it in junior high, and again in high school, and every few years I come upon my battered copy and reread it yet again. I'm about to order a new copy to replace the old Puffin publication which now has many loose pages. This is the kind of kid's book that give presumes that they have working brains, basic intelligence, appreciate good writing. It does not talk down, does not preach or moralize, or hit you over the head with any messages. It does have real people with conflicting emotions, and a wonderful story bringing an old ancient conflict through time to the modern world. Excellent! I keep trying to get my husband to read it!

The review given here by "A Reader" from Washington DC is virtually verbatim (only one word was omitted) from the blurb for this book as shown at QPB! I would assume that blurb came from either the publisher or the author, which means so did the review here! It appears that someone is padding the reviews! Oh, heavens! Is nothing sacred? What next, crooks buying pardons from outgoing presidents?

To confirm this you need to see it on QPB.com but you can't unless you're a member since they don't offer this book as a premium for joining.

"A Reader" (which is debatable) from Troy, New York" says, "Oh, heavens! Is nothing sacred? What next, crooks buying pardons from outgoing presidents?"...what in the world does this have to do with anything about a book about Robert the Bruce? It never ceases to amaze me the places that the dittoheads find to take a shot at the last legally elected POTUS (Bill Clinton.) Perhaps the "Reader" from Troy would prefer the current Commander in Thief's favorite book, "The Hungry Caterpillar" to a serious work of history.

Robert the Bruce was a legendary figure: a man who led his nation in victory and overcame odds to win power in Scotland. Packed with black and white and color photos and drawings is this survey of Robert the Bruce's life and times, presenting history in an attractive package which lends life and interest to the result.