This book was exhilarating, however, it wasn't really a cliff-hanger. It captured my interest in Samuel Clemens--Mark Twain. I had no clue that there was a town called Florida, Missouri (I'm from the state of Florida).

This is a good book for a book report for school (5th grade).

This book was really good. It was full of twists and turns. Some parts are better than others though. U have to read this book. OK I know this isnt the best review, but its been awhile since I read this book, so I dont really remember it that well, and the little description that this page gives doesnt really help me remember that much.

I love the full color pictures - as Guinness books go, this is one of the best in my opinon. It's broken down into different subjects - science, history, the human body, etc. Recomended!

To tell you the truth, I never really wanted to know what the worlds largest soda bottle was, or the biggest ball of yarn, but the book made me think of the cool stuff people can do. Good book

After reading the two previous JLA story arcs from Mark Waid, which proceed this one, ("Tower of Babel" and "Divided We Fall"), I decided to pick up "Terror Incognita". I really enjoyed Mark Waids writing in "Tower" and "Divided", and although I feel that "Terror Incognita" slips a notch when compared to "Tower" and "Divided", it is still a solid book. Without giving too much of the story away, this run of the JLA is about the return of the White Martians who the JLA had faced earlier and defeated, The White Martians have induced toxins in the earths air which change the oxygen levels in the atmoshpere thereby making combustion impossible, in other words, no fire, which is a martians only weekness. They then create a plan to use all the pychics on earth to improve their mental abilities and control the universe without ever having to leave the earth which they have made fireproof. It feels like your basic "Alien Invasion" type of story, but there is so much more to it than that, also it was great to see Mark include "The Phantom Zone" and Krypto the superdog in his story. all in all a good read, but not quite as good as the superior "Tower of Babel" and "Divided We Fall". Definitely worth the money.

I was really not looking forward to reading these stories, but as when they came out collected I picked them up, but I really didn't have very high hopes. And then I read them. It was quite a pleasant surprise. This is not one story, but rather 4 stories which take place during the events of The Phantom Menace, as well as the little Episode 1 #1/2 which is kind of silly.

The Anakin story was the best of the lot. Taking place (immediately) before the Jedi land on Tatooine, it shows us Anakin's idealism, his dreams, and a glimpse of his life and friends. The art, while not spectacular, also fits his story very nicely.

Next came Queen Amidala's tale. Taking place right before the podrace, it is similar to one of the levels of the TPM game. A component of Anakin's pod is stolen, so Amidala and Jar Jar take off to retrieve it. The art wasn't very interesting, not bad, but not good, and the whole story is pointless and doesn't really fit into the whole. There are a few neat character interactions here, but not much.

Next come Qui-Gon. The art was the best of the lot, done by Robert Teranishi of "Union" fame. It portrays Watto's double crossing of Qui-Gon as he tries to collect on the parts he needs and Anakin's freedom, and it also includes the scene cut out of the movie where Anakin beats up the Rodian kid. Plus, it has interesting dialogue which sounded right.

Last came Obi-Wan, which was the most dissapointing of the bunch. The art was okay, but the story, written by the guy who did the comic adaptation of the film, was essentially Obi-Wan recapping the entire movie to Yoda, and once in a while a little commentary by Yoda on Obi's performance.

And then came the 1/2 issue. It had little segments by each of the four writer/illustrators of the main stories. The Anakin bit isn't real interesting, but the assassination plot ties into the "Emissaries to Malastare" plotline. The Qui-gon basically just is a little epilogue to the existing story, Obi-Wan is found reflecting on Ani's admirable Jedi traits, and the Queen gets to know Jar Jar a little better on the way to Coruscant.

Overall, a quick enjoyable, read. Recommended.

good book. you must read it, you'al will love it

This was a pretty fun book I guess. However it wasn't what I expected it to be though, The book basicly just replaces Dutch with a personalityless brother who just happens to be an NYPD homicide detective. If it were not made so abundantly clear that this is Dutch's brother you would think he is a horrible attempt at ripping him off, this aside the book was a nice read. I didn't like how Dutch had just dissapeared, and they made him out to be a sissy compared to his brother. The detective aspects of this book were really well done, too bad that the writer had to waste his efforts on a poorly written character such as Scheafer. It may sound like I'm being harsh but the character WAS poorly written, one minute he's supposed to be a borderline psycho who never talks to everyone the next minute he's making wise cracks like ... Spider-Man. And his partner, his parnter Rasche, was a very well written and likeable character who for the life of me I can't figure out why he didn't shoot Scheafer himself and give him to the predators, through almost the entire book Scheafer treats Rasche like a doormat and I couldn't figure out why Rasche kept helping him out. This book also feature kind of a cop out ending, that I won't give away, but the ending is about three pages long and it's not one half as good as it could have been.

All in all this was still a fun book to read, I give it three stars for the characters, action, and the nicely written predator sequences.

Obviously the book goes into way more detail and description than the graphic novel. Nathan Archer even goes as far as adding some scenes that give Schaefer's partner Rasche a bit more character and few more things to do.

The plot is what Predator 2 was originally supposed to be. Arnie's character was supposed to be helping the NYPD with a drugs war in an unbelievably hot summer. But when Arnie couldn't schedual in between Total Recall and Terminator 2 the role was re-written for Danny Glover. So the story here is pretty much as much a decent continuation of the first movie as the film sequel is. But with one big difference...

The role of Dutch Schaefer is changed to Detective Schaefer, Dutch's brother. He's just as big, bad and burly. And guess what...he goes by his own rules. If there was ever a REAL inspiration for 'McBain' from The Simpsons...it's probably Detective Schaefer. While reading the book I couldn't help but think of a Rainer Wolfcastle-type hero.

I've never read many action-based novels and I never knew how they'd work. But Predator: Concrete Jungle does manage to be exciting and is a real page turner. It's a pretty thick book but I managed to finish it in about 3 days. I know this isn't particulary fast but I'm not the kind of guy who can spend all day reading.

Not unless what I am reading is interesting or has a reason keep me reading to the end. And this book is definitely all that. The follow-up, Predator-Cold War, is even better. But I do recommend that if you like the Predator movies and comic books that you check out the novels. There are quite few of them and they are well worth it.

A good idea to put Dutch's brother against the predators! This book has a lot of action and I liked that, but the action is not very realistic in some parts. Like when Schaefer manaced to run a long way to a predator and kill him with a metal pipe, and the predator just stood there?! But the plot is quite good and pictures are well drawn. But that is the only bad part in this one. This is the first predator only book I've read, and I am going to keep buing them 'cause this was so cool!

Well, the perfect companion to La Morte d'Arthur...

Twain completely dissects the "good ol' days" of Arthurian Britain by exposing the vicious social practices of the time: white slavery, le droit de seigneur, confiscation of property in event of suicide, the complete lack of impartial justice, the degrading influence of the Church on the mass, etcetera etcetera etcetera...

The Arthurian legends are wonderful tales, but they are a mythic literary production; Twain deals with the brutal reality of daily living in the Dark Ages, and points out that the good ol' days were not so good, anyway.

As for its applicability to modern America, I am not fit to judge. Perhaps it's there. But "The Connecticut Yankee" is a wonderful tonic for those prone to romanticizing the past. Twain seems to agree with Tom Paine that the English nobility were "no-ability", and simply the latest in a series of robbers.

And, of course, the book is stuffed with wonderful Twainisms... My favorite is his observation that a conscience is a very inconvenient thing, and the significant difference between a conscience and an anvil is that, if you had an anvil inside you, it would be alot less uncomfortable than having the conscience.

Twain also mentions the beautiful mispronunciations of childhood, and how the bereaved parental ear listens in vain for them once children have grown.

You'll never look at castles the same again...

"A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" is one of those rarest literary treasures: a comedy that, for all it's hilarity, actually has both a heart and a brain. Not just a set of cheap laughs, as most comedy of any sort is, Mark Twain's classic novel enlightens as it entertains, throwing an unflinching spotlight on the darker elements of human nature both in the Utopian (to our eyes) Camelot and of modern capitalism and the American Dream.

The plot is a familiar one in our age of sci-fi and fantasy, though it was innovative when Twain conceived it: Hank Morgan, an enterprising 19th-century engineer, is knocked unconscious and comes to in King Arthur's fabled Camelot. Bewildered but determined to make the best of the situation, Morgan uses his knowledge of history and mechanical skills to convince everyone he is a super-magician greater than even Merlin. Once ensconced as the King's right-hand man, Morgan sets about reforming the country into a republic, a sort of prototype America. Most of the book follows Morgan through a series of haphazard adventures which Twain uses to illuminate the great but often forgotten evils of the Dark Ages, including the abuses of the Catholic Church, the ignorant and useless ruling body that inevitably arises from a monarchy, and the pitiful working conditions of the medieval peasant or slave.

Nor is Twain's critical eye trained only on the far-flung past. Though Morgan is essentially a sympathetic figure, he struggles to find anything the least bit admirable about the knights and nobles he must live with, and considers the chivalric code merely fit for derision. Meanwhile, Morgan's own capitalist code is in full effect, and he takes advantage of every opportunity to cash in his advanced education for the big bucks.

Colorful and sublimely written, Twain's time-travel masterpiece is both a magical fantasy and a stinging dystopian satire. Don't be fooled by the several movie versions of this story, some of which are great fun in their own right. Yes, the novel is funny, often riotously so, but the humorous skin hides a deadly earnestness beneath, and the finale is far less optimistic than one who has first seen the film versions will doubtless expect. A deservedly immortal literary gem.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an interesting novel written by Mark Twain. This is a fantastic book for the high school level reader, but would be entertaining to adults as well. In this novel the main character, Hank Morgan, is mysteriously transported from the nineteenth century in Connecticut back to the fifth century in England. During his time in medieval Britain, he keeps a journal which is what most of this book is. The preface and afterwards are both the narration of Mark Twain who writes as if he has found Hank's journal, and is merely writing it down in a book. As the journal starts out, Hank is introduced to King Arthur and after narrowly escaping death and becomes the country's most powerful advisor. Hank introduces many modern wonders to this feudal society. He is hailed a magician, being able to perform wonderful "miracles" and "magic", when it really is only modern science. It is very entertaining to read about how the feeble-minded people of that time react to these feats. In the end, there is a tremendous battle with many exciting episodes leading up to it. If a reader is partial to battle scenes of high caliber, this is a book for him! Of course, Hank has many other battles as well. Once of his biggest enemies is the Church of England. The big question the reader asks themselves during this book is "Will Hank return to his time and if so, how?". It was exciting for me to ponder this question throughout the novel. During Hank's travels through medieval Britain, he meets many people. The people he meets who think a government ruled by the people in Britain (his ultimate goal) would be a good idea, he sends to Camelot where he has schools set up which teach people about modern governmental ideas. Schools were also set up to teach people how to produce his wonders of modern science. These few enlightened people remain loyal to Hank until the very end. I thought it an entertaining notion that people, who were trained from birth to believe in one thing, could realize its faults and begin to believe another things. I really enjoy this book because it brings a lot about human nature into question. It discusses the vast differences of beliefs, manners, and life styles between one hundred years ago and fourteen hundred years ago. I also thought the differences between classic Arthurian legend and Mark Twain's perspective of the time was very interesting. Hanks training of these idealistic people he runs across plays into the large political aspect of this book. Since Hank's ultimate goal is to transform Britain into a country ruled by the people, he starts factories producing modern goods, which greatly changes the lives of the Britons. I enjoyed the descriptions of the people's reaction to these modern products of science thirteen centuries before they would be invented. Throughout the entire book commentary and philosophizing concerning the comparison of the fifth century feudal system of Britain and the nineteenth century democracy of the U.S. by Hank Morgan is common. This political aspect is typical of Twain's works. It gave me great pleasure to read this aspect of the book and to comprehend it's meaning. Through Hank Morgan, Mark Twain is able to depict vivid images in the readers mind. Whether it is a person, scene, or sensation felt by Hank Twain describes it in a way that puts a solid picture in the imagination of the reader. I have not seen the movie of this novel, but I have heard it isn't very well done and it is nothing compared to the book. I believe this is because Mark Twain paints such a realistic picture in the mind of the reader, it is nothing compared to what some director can film. From Mark Twain's great descriptions and writing style to the unique ideas presented, the novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is a fantastic novel. There are so many aspects of it to enjoy, and it is just an all around entertaining book. I give this book four out of five stars and I recommend it to any one interested in fantasy, especially if they want a different perspective on King Arthur.

BY: Christian J. Vazquez

The Prince and the Pauper was a classic example of early literature. It was written like every other Mark Twain book, in old English dialect. I could understand it, but at times I had to read some areas over again to get what he was saying. I read this book for a literature assingment, and I did not enjoy it. Some areas of the book are funny and quite charming, but overall the story is really hard to get into. If you like fairy tales or stories from medievil times, this is the book for you. I really think I could have read a book better than this one with my time though. I also recommend: "Princess: A tale of life under the veil in Saudi Arabia" By: Jean Sasson

Mark Twain was a true American original and one of the true titanic figures of American literature. He was also, as anyone who bothers to dig beneath the "The-guy-who-wrote-Tom-Sawyer-and-Huck-Finn" surface knows, a man who held distinct and perhaps slightly provocative political opinions. One of the things Mark most detested was monarchy - once calling it "the grotesquest swindle ever invented by man." In his later highly controversial novel, A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court, he took on the concept in a viscious and fearless adult satire. In this, his earlier novel, The Prince and The Pauper, Twain did the same thing while aiming principally at younger readers. The story, while featuring a lot of dialect in Middle English, is written in fairly simple and straight-forward prose, which, thus, opens the book up to readers both young and old. The novel's oft-forgotten original subtitle, A Tale For Young People of All Ages, perfectly sums up the books' merits: while this novel may have been written, primarily, with a young target audience in mind, it can also be enjoyed and appreciated by adults. Though it is novel length, the style in which it is written reflects that of classic fairy tales, and will probably be appealing to any child who likes to read. Adults, on the other hand, will note and appreciate the books' deeper underlying meanings, as well as Twain's ever-present wit. This book is very well-written; Twain, a master writer, was, alas, sometimes prone to clumsy prose in his novels - but not here. The Prince and the Pauper is practically a tour-de-force of character development and suspense in plotting. Reccommended to younger readers looking to broaden their horizons, as well as Twain fans of any age.

As a final thing worth mentioning, many reviewers here have commented that, owing to its use of dialect (something which Mark Twain uses in every single one of his writings, which is part of the reason why he was such a great writer - not to mention why he is the true father of real American literature), it is hard to understand. If these assertions have bothered you, however, rest assured: they are mightly over-exaggerated. The dialogue, though prevalent, is minor, and the meanings of the words are usually obvious - even to children; after all, one must remember who Twain wrote this book for. Most children who would read this book would probably already be familar with these elementary colloquial phrases from the many King Arthur stories derived from Malory. And, even if not, Twain foresaw this - and was helpful enough to include a useful appendix.

Mark Twain's, The Prince and the Pauper is a classic look back into sixteenth-century English society. Tom Canty is a young boy who is born into poverty and is forced to beg in the streets of London by his father. Edward Tudor is the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne. Both of these boys were born on the same day but grew up in opposite ways of life. One day Tom is dreaming about being a prince and starts walking towards the royal palace. When he reaches the palace the guards try to stop him but Prince Edward sees Tom's condition and invites him to his quarters to hear what Tom has to say. While they sit there they begin to realize what strong resemblance there is between them and decide to switch clothes to fulfill Tom's dream of looking Princely. All of a sudden Edward storms out of the room to denounce the guards who did harm to Tom, only to be mistaken as the poor pauper and locked out of the royal palace. From here on out the two boys experience what life is like in the other's shoes. Mark Twain does an outstanding job of developing each character and showing how each must learn new ideas to deal with their latest way of life. Unfortunately I did find myself losing my concentration while reading this book. This easily could have been due to the fact that the way Twain wrote The Prince and the Pauper was actually on a very easy reading level, which would lead me to recommend this book to readers of middle school age who enjoy adventurous tales like The Boxcar Children or The Hardy Boys.