What a great challenge for the future !

Todays all American have a pinky dream for the future. That's why they studied past their history and now live in the center of the world and already prepaired so many things for 21th century. Other countries have to learn what American did, do and will do for the peace of the new millennum.

Teachers who love to put up seasonal bulletin boards or displays will find this collection of "Winter Poems" to be a valuable resource. Selected by Barbara Rogasky and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, "Winter Poems" includes verse by such celebrated poets as William Shakespeare, John Greenleaf Whittier, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson and Carl Sandburg. But you will also find an anonymous Japanese poem and Ogden Nash's comic ode on "The Germ." But most younger students are going to be most impressed by the actual poems than the names of the poets, which is why they will probably like Oliver Herford's "I Heard a Bird Sing," Melville Cane's "Snow Toward Evening" or Elinor Wylie's "Velvet Shoes." However, I do find it interesting that several of these poems deal more with the prospect of spring than the celebration of winter.

Final Note: Parents or teachers should make a point of explaining that Richard Wright, author of "Laughing Boy," is a noted African-American writer. This will be important in understanding the meaning of this short poem about a boy standing in the falling snow who "holds out his palms until they are white."

This was a little creepy crawling book that would keep the interest of any age. The verses would capture the eye of children and adult alike. I really enjoyed the poems from Jack Prelutsky. His poems seemed to have your tongue tied. I also like the poems "Wicked Witch's Kitchen" by X.J. Kennedy. I was truly a poems I could associate with. The poems were short and a lot of fun to read. I loved the illustration. Not only for the characters introduced but also for the great little details. The authors were nicely section. There were several different types of writing styles and imaginations which made the book deversified. I was truly impressed.

I find My Antonia as a very boring, long book. The thing I enjoyed most about the book, not to mention the only thing, was how the characters were very in touch with their surroundings and nature. Little things in the land brought so much emotion and attitude to the characters. Besides this good characteristic everything else was very boring and told the childhood and early life of two average people. I do not recommend this book to anyone except for the extremely bored naturistic person out there.

I used this book for an arch. history class I took. The text is useful and the pictures are beautiful.

This book is an excellent blend of factual information, ease of understanding, and philosophical insight for the beginning student of architecture. There are other books which offer more information and/or insight, but few which are as good for the uninitiated.

As much as my friends and myself admire Jackson's classic works, I must agree that this is a pretty mediocre collection of short stories. Because many have not been seen for over 50 years however, they certainly belong in the library of every Shirley Jackson fan. "The Possibility of Evil" is stunning. Sometimes Shirley either tried too hard, had writer's block or simply experimented with the bizarre; whatever the reason, most of her works were ahead of her time and when she was good she was the BEST-there are, unfortunately too many rather dull and uninspired stories in this collection. Shirley was the female Stephen King of her day!

that's how i felt when i saw this book on my library shelf. it helped to quell a hunger that i have had for many years. thank you laurence and sarah for compiling these works. i would love to see the out of print works of shirley jackson back on bookstore's shelves.

There has been tons of controversy over this book about whether or not is should have been published. My personal opinion is that is should not have been published because these stories were private stories and were not published for a reason. However, now it has been published and there is nothing anyone can do about it but enjoy it as a learning experience. The reason I gave the book five stars was because it is a very accurate representation of Shirley Jackson. Writing was always theraputic for her -- she used it to express the other dimensions of her life and her self which no one could understand. Writing was a way of putting everything that went on in her mind down on paper. Therefore, reading these stories is like reading her diary -- she expressed her emotions through fiction, and the variety of characters and plots that can be seen in this collection are a representation of a certain period of her life through her eyes. If you are looking for the edited fiction that made Shirley Jackson famous, this is not the book for you. However, if you are interested in the inner workings of the author's mind, this collection of stories and essays is the closest one can get.

After programming in Visual Basic for a few years now, I was ready to port over and start learning C++. Knowing the For Dummies... books weren't all that bad for beginning programmers, I decided to try this book out. Sadly, it doesn't cover any topics on the C++ language in depth, and can sometimes be confusing in how things are explained in the book, especially overloading operators. Instead, get C++ Interactive Course by Robert Lafore. Trust me, you'll have all your questions about object oriented programming and basic C++ answered by the time you're through with the Interactive Course book.

Let's see, how do I say this?! I did not have ANY programming experience when I first bought this book, I was just simply interested in programming. I got a clear messgae on what programming is, and how to do it. This book starts of in 'Visual C++' by teaching you how ouse the AppWizard, then it goes to 'C++ programming', giving you a brief intro to the language itself. With all considered, the book should be titled 'C++ using VC++ for Dummies'. There is hardly anything on ActiveX controls or other visual development. Try it out for yourself, you might like it!

This is an excellent book for beginner C++ programmers. Although it covers little about the actual Visual C++, it introduces you the C++ language in a creative way so that a real beginner can readily understand what object-oriented programming really is. After having read this book, I felt quite comfortable jumping up to intermediate Visual C++ books. This book is an absolute starting point for beginners.

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

I didn't like the book because it was sort of dumb. The author spent too much time talking about Sam not riding a horse. I wanted to learn more about the war and soldiers of the town of Boston. I wondered if Sam Adams was a part of the war.

my teacher is really absesed with Jean Fritz so she reads her books to us and this was one of them. this book is really not as bad as you may think it can be funny in some was and it is jambed with little interasting facts that JF found so it sort`ve interasting and you can learn from it. i think anybody should try even if they think it looks stupid because some books turn out to be very interasting.

Many years ago I did a report on Samuel Adams for school. This book by Jean Fritz helped me get a high grade. It did not give me the impression that people who are smarter should be excused from being a soldier or any other ideas. In fact I enjoyed it so much that to this day I love learning about the American Revolution, because Jean Fritz made learning fun for me. I suggest that everyone read it.

I always spend my lunch break, at work, reading fiction novels. I can partially gauge how much I enjoyed each book by how often I have to work late, making up the time I lost when I couldn't stop reading. While I was reading my latest acquisition, Icy Sparks, I had to work late a lot.

I was pulled into Icy Sparks immediately by the interesting prose and became completely immersed during the sequences when Icy would struggle to control the outbursts brought on by her disorder. The excellent narration of these events is fluid and believable.

Although the narrative is excellent, a well-crafted plot is what makes Gwyn Rubio's first published novel outstanding. The novel describes the universal plight of a young girl trying to understand the differences which set her apart from her peers. The plot unfolds in a natural way, with Icy, a victim of Tourette Syndrome, trying to come to terms with her undiagnosed condition. Her search for acceptance and understanding culminates in a beautifully written scene which is charged with emotion.

I enjoyed this book immensely.

I loved this book! I found Icy Sparks to be an unforgetable character and I grew to love her. Raised in the mountains by extremely loving grandparents, Icy Sparks must grow up and learn hard lessons about what it's like to be different in a "normal" world because she has a "disorder." The story centers around her journey through life trying to feel loved in a world that does not treat her very kindly. As a child, she is rejected by her teacher, her classmates, and her community and eventually hospitalized because of her illness. Icy has tremendouse spunk and spirt which somehow carries her through the years. She even falls in love and, although, it does not work out the way she planned, the love letters and poems written between the two youngsters are laugh out loud funny. I laughed with her; I cried with her. It was wonderful to watch her grow and find the acceptance and love she thought would always escape her. A great book for a first-time artist~~~I highly recommend it.

Gwyn Hyman Rubio's "Icy Sparks" is an exceptional book. She has created an unforgettable character in Icy -- a young girl suffering from Tourette's syndrome. Set in rural Kentucky during the late 1950s and early 1960s, the reader is consistently challenged to question their response to the incidents and situations that occur in this novel.

The book is so rich in detail that the reader is often left feeling as though they have actually witnessed one of Icy's outbursts. The question is -- from which point of view? One of Gwyn Hyman Rubio's strongest assets is her ability to convey the shock and horror of those around Icy as she "jerks" and "croaks," while at the same time describe Icy's self-hatred of the inablity to control her body.

In the end, this book is not simply about Tourrette's syndrome. It is about human igonrance, fear and tolerance. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

My two big gripes about this book are the subject matter and the code examples.

Subject matter:

You would find this book useful if you already knew the basics of C++ fairly well, had a few years of experience, and you were looking for advanced tips and tricks, or perhaps an alternate discussion of common techniques ... but if you were truly looking for ESSENTIAL techniques, a superior book is "C++ FAQs" (well worth the money), followed by "Effective C++". And if you were looking for a good, short book on C++ essentials, try Lippman's "Essential C++".

If you want to flesh out your knowledge of general programming practices, I highly recommend "The Pragmatic Programmer", "The Practice of Programming" or "Writing Solid Code".

Code:

I don't understand why this book includes a CD of the code printed within the book. I don't see how running the code would provide any information that you wouldn't receive from reading the book, and ... if there were any benefit of running the code, the code should have been placed on a web site for free access to book owners, instead of inflating the cost of the book by several bucks for the physical medium of the CD. I don't like paying for something I don't need.

And speaking of code, the examples should have been edited and formatted for understandability. There is a poor use of white space ... and why did they use real variables such as "m_rgdw" when the examples would have been much more understandable with common metasyntatic variables such as "foo"?

Summary: an OK book, with a few tips that you won't find elsewhere, and a fairly likeable reading style ... but the code examples needed editing (don't use production code for training examples!) and the book's cost is high (probably due to the useless CD). Not a book for a beginner, and certainly there are other books that are more essential for beginning to intermediate programmers ... but good advice for serious programmers who want a different perspective on common situations or who want to finesse their art.

I worked with C for 4 years and now with OO development in C++ for a year. I own a few books that are much better than this one. This book is just not very good at listing and explaining the Essential C++ Techniques. It's a long story why, so I'll make it short by simply suggesting better books.

Intro C++ books: "Accelerated C++", "Essential C++", "C++: The Core Language"

Programming books: "Practice of Programming"

Mike And Phani's Essential C++ Techniques covers basic programming concepts such as the use of classes, code optimization, and dealing with pointers. It goes on to provide sample code used to illustrate the techniques explained such as the code for manipulating strings, performing regular expression matches, and handling dynamic arrays. An accompany CD-ROM also provides sample code for many of the techniques covered. Mike And Phani's Essential C++ Techniques help assist software developers of all skill levels to avoid common programming development taps and write better, faster, more error-free and more elegant programs. Highly recommended for all C++ users.