In this novel I had the same feeling I used to have watching or reading Treasure Island. It is one of the best adventure novels I have ever read.

It speaks about an adventure seeker, a Mr. A. Gordon Pym. He tries to leave the luxury of his little city Nantucket, where he used to live with his father. One friend of his convinces him to travel. The first voyage was a total disaster. But he did not quit his dream. He went on yet another ... Man, it was the most chilling experience I ever had. It is not like anything you dream, it is even stranger. No goblins nor trolls appear hear, yet still, Poe can really bring the horror to your heart.

A mutiny is added to the singular experience Pym had, and then Cannibalism. And after you thought the story finished, you see that Poe starts a new story which not as impressive as the first, yet turns the attention to some other direction.

The end was a bit shaky. I did not like it at all. I usually do not like open endings. That was the only reason I gave 4 instead of 5 stars.

Overall, I would recommend you to read it in the middle of the night (if you do not have anything else to do), with a cup of tea, and with no one else around! You would enjoy it even more.

This story, Poe's only novel, is an endurance test for both reader and characters. I believe it was originally serialized, and reads like a collection of incidents rather than a complete story. However, it is a captivating tale, astounding in it's detail and casual horror. Arthur Gordon Pym was born under an unlucky star. He survives in the most inconceivable circumstances, from a drifting, overturned hulk to the frozen waters of the Antarctic. Each page turned piles more horror in his path, described with a growing clinical distance. Pym himself becomes more desensitized to each incident, until he views the irrational with a casual curiosity. The language is beautifully detailed, and some feel this story is the inspiration for "Moby Dick."

Altogether, a delightfully disturbing story. One of the best I have read.

At 150 pages or so, Arthur Gordon Pym is the closest Poe came to a novel. Rife with his characteristic polarization and dreamscape plots, this stands, in my opinion, as one of Poe's best. The short stories included only add to the mainstay, and it's a great value.

While this is far from a bad book, it does fall short of the standard Robert Arthur established in the first four books of this series. The story line was rather loosely put together and failed to merge the two sub-plots to my satisfaction. Honestly, even though I am quite open-minded about the paranormal and such matters, a story centered around "gnomes" begins life with some disadvantages. Be that as it may, it may well be that young readers would be attracted most by the things my adult mind shied away from--after all, what kid doesn't like to read about gnomes? As for the "vanishing treasure" at the heart of this mystery, the means by which it was stolen seemed a little far-fetched to me. As for the investigation, the boys sort of stumble through it. While I guess it is important to show Jupiter Jones as human after all, I frankly don't like seeing the youthful genius miscalculate and overlook clues. Jupe's a little slow in this book, but he fortunately does make up for his mistakes in the end. Finally, while the boys do figure a lot of things out (eventually), the sad fact is that luck, even more so than in the previous books, basically saves them from disaster. Success often depends on luck as well as skill, but the boys just seemed a little too lucky this time.

All in all, it is certainly an enjoyable story. If you've never read a Three Investigators book, I wouldn't start with this one, but I would certainly give it a place on my bookshelf and make a point of reading it after gaining a satisfactory introduction to the young sleuths elsewhere. I personally am reading all of these great books from my childhood in order of publication.

Think the Hardy Boys are too old-fashioned? Had enough of Scooby Doo and "those meddling kids?" Here comes a great alternative. I admit much preferring the Three Investigators to the Hardy Boys, et. al., when I was a kid, and with good reason. Unlike the fairly old-fashioned Hardys, the Three Investigators books always had a contemporary feel. It's three appealing heroes, Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews, unlike the too-perfect-too-be-real Hardys, were everyday, ordinary kids, much like those you knew. And, as befitted Hitchcock and his literary right arm, so to speak, Robert Arthur, there were twists and turns and "hare's breadth 'scapes" aplenty, more than enough to keep your interest.

And what great news to see that "Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure" and the other early Arthur volumes are back with us again. This book was probably the best of the eight that Robert Arthur wrote, and an excellent introduction to the series, for this is a book where all the elements I spoke of earlier come into play. Robert Arthur, incidentally, was the editor of the earlier, and better, Hitchcock anthologies, and contributed several excellent stories to them, as well (Don't read his "Death is a Dream" late at night!). But the Three Investigators were his greatest legacy. As a librarian, I recommend them to my patrons all the time. None of the later authors of the books really got the formula right. Robert Arthur did, and we "Three Investigators" fans, young and old, are grateful.

I think I may have already listed other Three Investigator books as my all-time favorites, but how could any list be complete without the inclusion of The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure?! This book has got it all! And just when you think that brainy Jupiter Jones has figured out the mystery... Robert Arthur keeps you guessing to the very last chapter! A definite must-read for any fan of the Three Investigators, and an easy and thrilling read for any child who is reluctant to pick up a book with summer just around the corner. Looking to keep your kids occupied this summer? BUY THIS BOOK! (And all of the other re-issued Robert Arthur titles!)

Great, a bunch of short stories about the troubled adolescence of Keill Randor, interstellar ninja. Just kidding! Actually, it was a pretty good book...especially the first story, "Ordeal."

This is an excellent kids book full of fantastic action. This man gives Bruce Lee a run for his money! The other Legionary Quartet stuff is equally great. Enjoy!

I think that this book is great I just finished reading it. My faveriot part is Games the games are like the olympics but way way more dangerious

Islas's poetic story is about the Angel family, originally from Mexico, and now living in America near the border. Weaving back and forth across time and weaving the various threads of family members together, it gives a stunning portrait of its various individuals and the whole family stuck on the boundary of heritage, of class, of race, of religion. There's Miguel Chico who's avoiding his sexuality as he struggles to balance his Mexican identity with his American education. His father Miguel Grande loves his wife and his mistress equally, and when he's forced to choose, he finds he cannot. And Miguel Grande's brother Felix who is unable to escape his passions for young men, which brings his life to a violent end. And throughout it all, there's the women in the Angel family who are steady, patient, and at the heart of the family. It's a beautiful, poetic series of snapshots that flows with the reader like the water the desert lacks.

Arturo Islas's ten-year search for a publisher for this novel reveals the sad tragedy of commercialism and racism in the literary world. White editors told him that his book was not 'authentic' enough: where were the gangs, the poverty, the struggle of barrio life? Islas, an authentic Mexican-American, stood firm for a decade until The Rain God was at last published, to the great joy of all its readers. In just over 200 pages, it chronicles three generations of a family living in a border town in Texas, and probes at the borders and divisions in all of our lives: parents vs. children, modern vs. traditional, gay vs. straight, human vs. supernatural, and body vs. soul. Surprisingly, all of this is done with great subtlety and flow; you must be an active reader to pick up on Islas's themes. It is the type of book you can reread half a dozen times (as I have) and see something new each time. It is profound, haunting, and filled with music. The Rain God is the greatest American novel since The Great Gatsby.

If there is anyone, regardless of background that wants to comprehend Hisapnic culture, this story is the best source. It gives a good description of the beauty and confusion of the Hispanic culture and gives an insight of the unique culture and an affirmation that all Hispanic cultures are indeed unique. Also, the beauty of the "desert" is at last, given its true and deserved respect.

One of the better Tarkington tales I've read. An upbeat and at times humorous story about a middle class family and their two early 20-year-old children ( one boy and one girl ). The girl, Alice Adams, is the focus of the story, as she struggles to be liked by the town's society folks. She doesn't have the social prestige nor the money to attract many beaus.

This leads to turmoil, and Mrs. Adams tells her husband to leave the mediocre paying job he's had all his life to start his own company so they can be rich and pay their children "advantages". He does this, after many trepidations, but the basis of his newfound business is a stolen glue formula from his previous employer. This ultimately leads to his demise.

There is a bit more to this story, but all in all, it is a story of class envy, snobbery, and greed. Tarkington's main point, however, seems to be that every dark tunnel of life ultimately has some other exit that inevatibly lead to light -- as even in the Adams's darkest hour their was hope yet.

Alice Adams was funny and definitely some good quality writing. At first I thought it might be too old-fashioned since it was written in the early 1900's, but when I read it I was able to compare Alice's desire to be popular to teenage girls today. My only negative thought about this book is that some characters especially the mother, repeated things a lot. The mother had several lines that she said at least 5 times throughout the book, and that was somewhat annoying. Otherwise the book was great!

Booth Tarkington is one of my favorite authors. Noone captures the spirit of the person better than he does. The way he makes Alice Adams come alive makes me want to be there and meet this wonderful young lady. If an author can make me want to do that, he is excellent in my book.
The movie ending is the opposite of the book ending, which disappointed me, because I wanted it to be true to the book. Nevertheless, I also wanted Alice to have her dreams come true. If you really absorb yourself in the book, however, you will see that her dream DOES come true, just not necessarily the way you want it to.
There is also the beautiful way he paints the whole family into the book. I won't give it away, but you will see the intricacies woven in.
I found myself totally absorbed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.
Please read this book! You will love it!

Well I just read this book and all I want to know is WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

And will there be another book ever?

I hope so.

This is really a great story, and it is full of funny characters and interesting places. After reading it, I wanted to go on an adventure myself. Traveling through the internet sounds fun and exciting. Maybe one day it will really happen.

My teacher read this book aloud to us. We read one or two chapters every day, and I couldn't wait for the next one to start! I loved the characters. They seemed like real people even though they were animals. I think this was one of the most fun books I ever read, and everybody else in my class thought so too. You MUST read this book!

This book was well written, but the language was extremely sophisticated. The author wrote the novel in how ,now days,we thought the residents of the Medival Times talked. The overall story wasn't too bad, but not as good as I thought it would be. Although the novel was difficult to read, from what you could make out was truly brought to life. You could tell that Howard Pyle truly has a love for writting; reflected from the content in the novel. This novel would be for anyone with an adventerous soul. This novel truly helped my understanding of the Medival history.

Even though this book is very well written. It is NOT and I mean NOT a 9-12 book. The grammar and words are for the reading level of a high-schooler, or adult. Unless I have read a different version... They had the same covers and everything, but it was a hardcover. I don't recommend this to an average kid, unless you're some ultra genius.

I found the book very interesting. It is a great story of legend. The stories have been passed down for many generations; Howard Pyle has done a great job of keeping the stories alive and well written. The characters in the book are all very well developed, by not giving you all of the characteristics at one time. From the beginning to the end, never telling more than what need's to be told. In the beginning of the novel starting with the young King Arthur, before he was the king, telling of how he meet each one of the knights of the round table, and how they came to be at his services. To me that most interesting part of the book was in the beginning when Sir Kay and the other knights where engaged in the battle, the description of the fight, and especially of how Arthur came by the great sword excalibur. The descriptions of not just the first, but of all of the great battles involved in the unfolding of the final story are just great. The book is a great piece of literature and I would recommend it for anyone who needs a little adventure in his or her lives

By the title itself 'Using...', simply means HOW to use Visual Foxpro? It is the best guide for developers who are new and for some who wanted to learn Visual Foxpro as a database development tool. For sure, the learning curve of a newbie VFP developer will be shortened when using this book.

I have numerous VFP books and am firmly a VFP 6.0 user. I have found this book to be awesome for beginner to advanced. Very, very well written.

I've actually found it more usable than the subsequent Que title "Using Visual FoxPro 6" - which has different authors and different approach. Que should have simply upgraded their 5.0 title.

You won't be sorry with this one.

bigchip@aol.com

Simply the best book for learning Foxpro. Mr. Antonovich's style makes it easy to grasp all the new concepts that have come along with Foxpro's adoption of OOP model. Also an outstanding Foxpro and database reference.

After reading the truly wonderful "The Forever King", I could barely wait to delve into this sequel. After finishing the novel, I must admit that I felt some disappointment. The villian of the story is so similar to the villian in "The Forever King" that they might as well be clones. Arthur's Aunt Emily is barely in the story at all. Her brief appearance seems to hint at another sequel. A new character, Beatrice, is introduced. She spends most of the story in a hospital while Arthur stays at her bedside. The Knights of the Round Table are released from Camelot and join Hal on a quest to protect Arthur. The Knights are hopelessly outdated, and while this provides some great comic relief at first, the endless drinking and bar-wrecking become mind numbing.

The story once again revolves around a villian who is out to get the grail at any cost. I do hope that if Cochran & Murphy write another sequel, it will have a totally different plot and villian. I did like the book enough that I will buy the sequel if or when it is published, and I'll hope that it is as captivating as "The Forever King."

I have just finished reading The Broken Sword and, although I haven't yet had the pleasure of reading Forever King (Yes, I know I'm not reading them in the right order!), I found this book to be one of the best tellings of the King Arthur legend I have yet read. Until reading this book I took for granted that any Round Table book I was to read would simply be the retelling of the same story, I was never so glad to be proven wrong as I was when I read The Broken Sword. I highly recommend this book to any who have enjoyed the King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table legend at any point throughout their life.

I didn't read The Forever King (yet), but I still really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a stand-alone novel until I started looking for other books by the authors.

The book opens by introducing us to characters that lived during the Middle Ages who have been reborn here in the modern world. Arthur is 13 years old, and he's being protected by Hal (Galahad) and Taliesin. They meet up with another young girl, Beatrice, who was once the Innocent. They're helped out by knights like Launcelot and they're being chased by ancient enemies. The story revolves around the Holy Grail which takes the form of a cup with the power to heal.

I thought this was a very creative take on the old King Arthur legend. The good characters are all very likeable and the bad characters are easy to hate. The fact that it was set in modern times made the characters easy to relate to and gave freshness to the book.

Regardless of the number of pages, this wasn't a very long read. I read it in one sitting on an airplane. But it left a feeling of satisfaction. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy the legend of King Arthur but want to see something different. I would also recommend it to fantasy fans who like it when the real world collides with the fantasy world.

Remember those television shows that displayed the perfect American families?
Like, The Brady Bunch, Leave it to Beaver, or Seventh Heaven. All these shows displayed
the perfect American families: happy, secure, no problems or conflicts, and all these
dreams that came true. These types of shows were composed of illusions. These shows
were far from reality. These illusions are a lot like the ones Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman, by Arthur
Miller,experiences. Throughout the whole play Willy seems to have a hard time distinguishing these
two. The author does a good job at describing the journey of Willy and his problem
dealing with these two concepts.
The play starts out when Willy returns home from a failed sales trip. Finding out
his son Biff is home he criticizes him for not living up to his full potential. After feeling
really depressed he immerses himself in a flashback. These flashbacks happen quite
frequently throughout the play and are very confusing. On the contrary, the author's
placement of these flashbacks help represent the theme. His flashbacks are examples of
his illusions. Willy looks back on better times when his life becomes unsatisfactory to
him. He surrounds himself in these illusions so he does not have to face reality.
His flashbacks are only one of his types of illusions. Another illusion of Willy's
deals with his definition of a good salesman. He thinks that if there is a 'man who makes
an appearance in the business world, [a] man who creates personal interest, is [a] man
who gets ahead' (33).Willy feels that success in the business world is based on looks and
response from others around them. Hard work has no merit at all. This is an illusion as
well. This illusion replaced the little reality that Willy had left in his mind. It was this
illusion that explained the affair he had. He felt that if he was well liked and attractive
someone would want to have an affair with him. After this point Willy's mind only falls
deeper and deeper into his illusions.
By the end of the play Willy's sense of reality was so far gone he ended up
committing suicide. He could not handle what was really going on in his life. His inability
to distinguish reality from illusion is what led to his downfall. This was the point that
Arthur Miller expressed exquisitely.
This play is excellent at showing the affects of a life surrounded by illusion. It was
clearly stated that a life immersed in illusion leads a person to their ultimate downfall.
This play gives a dramatic look at this concept. It was probably very easy for Arthur
Miller to write this play because he said that he relates and understands, '[Willy
Loman's] longing for immortality, Willy's writing his name in a cake of ice on a hot day,
but he wishes he were writing in stone'(Miller). He understands the reason for Willy's
illusions. It is this understanding that helps the play be the masterpiece it is. These
illusions that Willy experiences are similar to the ones that television watchers can have
everyday. The television families that they thought were real were a lot like Willy's
flashbacks. Miller's play taps into that concept through a dramatic and tragic drama. A
drama that is good for anyone and everyone to read.

'Death of a Salesman' is a play written by Authur Miller. The plot of the play moves from the present to the past and back again from the life of Willy Lowman,who had been a salesman all his life.HE has two sons Happy and Biff and wife Linda.His brother Ben went to Africa when he was very young and found diamonds after which he became very rich.Willy himself had been trying to make it big all his life as a salesman and had high hopes for his two sons but had always been dissappointed. This is a story of hopes and happiness with success but all hopes fail and the Salesman gets kicked by life.His attempt to make it big never comes true. The book is very interesting to read and tells a lot about the characters. A pretty cool book!

This was a fantastic play. Even though the play was sad and depressing I was able to overlook that fact because Arthur Miller was able to present this story in such a powerful and well-written manner. Other playwrights could not have pulled off what Miller was able to do so brilliantly in 'Death of a Salesman'. Miller is able to make people identify with Willy Loman and maybe even Willy's son, Biff. This play shows perfectly how a nice, honest, hard-working family man can work hard his entire life, have very little to show for it, and then be discarded like an orange peel. When Willy shouted to his boss, "A man is not a piece of fruit", I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Definitely read the play. Whether you like it or not you'll definitely be moved by the time you're finished reading.