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A Great Book that points out injustices I read this book in the 6th grade and I loved it. I am now in the 8th. This book pointed out the problems that occur when you have a prejudice against someone or a group of people. I have lived in Alabama all of my life, and it is nothing like that in case you were wondering. While most kids are forced to read this book, I chose this book. It opened up my eyes to the past. I would recommend this book to everyone.

1positive

Oliver Twist The classic story of a boy named Oliver who joins a gang of thieves, who's leader is a man named Fagin. Fagin is my favorite character. This is one of those books that you think will be boring because it's a classic but in reality is a very good book.

1positive

Exciting Plea for Science to underly all the Humanities. Wilson knows a lot about how science works, and also has seen it applied to societies. The book shows how he thinks the scientific model can be employed in helping us understand such difficult subjects as mind, culture, human nature,art, religion. For me, he is surprisingly successful in his attempt at this grand unification. It should noted how our views have evolved so much so recently. In my community, 40 years ago it was nearly impossible to talk about conscious-ness and mind. Now, the idea of mind as an inter-locked collection of clever signal processing tricks, slowly evolved over the millenia to aid the survival of their short-lived host, is easily accepted. But the mind was NOT evolved to explain itself! For about 1/3 of the book, Wilson does a great job in teaching us a little about the measurements, experiments, facts behind this emerging view. Then, he leads us on an early foray in using such an insight for the vital subjects that most concern mankind. Such as Ethics and Religion. To me, he goes a long way beyond nearly all of the great heroes of humanity who have written and preached on these themes. Do expose yourself to this modern synthesizer!

1positive

Hey, Oprah says its good so it must be! Right? WRONG! This book blows. Once again, Oprah has recommended a book chock full of psycho-babble and emotional nonsense. Its amazing that her mindless drones don't see through her transparent attempt to turn every couch potato house-frau in America into her personal love slave. Stear clear of this book and all related Oprah-phinalia at all costs! And while you are at it, eat more beef.

0negative

great beginning bosai book Good book, fairly straight forward but has a great list of acceptable bonsai species. Good book to take with you to shows, if you're new to bonsai and looking for new unfamiliar bonsai material.

1positive

whatever guy from New York I just finished reading The Catcher in the Rye. It had a few funny parts like when Holden was drunk. I did not find the language too harsh since I hear that kind of language every day in school and on T.V. However, I found it hard to follow because Holden talks to himself thoughtout the whole book. I felt Holden was too depressed to be the main character, and there weren't that many characters in the book. He would talk about people and never meet them. The book was well written. I like the scenes and the way J.D. Salinger used the language in the discussions. However the plot was too hard to understand by anyone let alone a 10th grader. I would recommend this book to an adult or a bored teen, not because of the language but because of the lousy plot. Only a bored teen would read this book. Maybe one day I will understand the meaning of this book but for now I have no clue what the writer J.D. Salinger was trying to get across. Holden says that every body is a phony but maybe Holden is the real Phony.

0negative

Good gift item. I bought this for my cousin who is going through a messy divorce (is there such thing as a clean one?). She burst out laughing at the name of the book and told me she couldn't wait to read it. A week later she called to tell me it's really good because it's a relatively light read with some really helpful advice. She was touched that I thought of her and said she keeps it next to her bed.Divorce is very personal, but it's good to see so many diverse opinions and perspectives in one book.

1positive

"Are we there yet" ? Essential reading. As I write this one, the obvious conclusion is that our society can't wait to reach the "Brave New World" of Aldous Huxley. I would say we are half-way there - which for the record I find it catastrophic and a great corruption of the human spirit.Truly a visionary classic of science fiction.Read this one before we finally arrive at the Brave New World. Who knows, maybe there's still something that can be done to prevent further developments towards the bio-technical totalitarian and godless future powerfully conveyed in this book.Of course when the World Government takes over (40 to 50 years from now? maybe we are just 25 years away?), this review will be erased and people will be too high on soma to care anyways.

1positive

A COMPLETE DISSAPPOINTMENT The book is boring, its ideas have nothing to do with kissing techniques, excercises are silly.Not worth the money nor the bother!

0negative

King is the master of horror.......... ......but he can sure write drama as well. This book is Awsome! Loved all 5 stories (Low Men in Yellow Coats is my fav.). Loved the Dark Tower refrences in Low Men. Could this mean The Dark Tower 5 is on it's way? One can only hope! BUY THIS BOOK!

1positive

recommended for advanced-beginner I bought this book + CDs after I finished another Cantonese text for beginners. If you already have some knowledge on Cantonese, this book really helps you learning more words and colloquial expressions.One thing I don't like about this book is that all the Cantonese sentences are written only in alphabet. If you already know Chinese characters, it is much easier to remember words and expressions if written in Chinese characters.

1positive

The Last Pat Cornwell novel i'll ever buy It's really sad when an avid reader and fan of this genre and especiallly Ms. Cornwell's novels has absolutely nothing positive to say about her latest endeavor entitled "The Last Precinct", but certainly this is the case here. This book would have been much better if she never wrote it. For her fans, this book offers no thrills, chills or even exciting prose and for her new readers, well- I'm sure they were totally lost what with all the flashbacks and inferences about other people, places and events. In short, it almost seems like she had to reach a deadline and wrote the first thing that came to her mind; or worse- she couldn't come up with another really great book and so she decided to take us "inside the mind of Kay Scarpetta" to see how it really functions. This book is not only disappointing and a waste of time and money but it goes to illustrate how someone who puts out books with the apparent ease of Cornwell and on a yearly basis can also get "writers block".I will give her one more chance following this dismal read...but after that..she'll have to go inside MY mind to find out what her true mystery fans are once more yearning for. P. Ifshin Syosset, N.Y.

0negative

Much ado about Got to hand it to the man. He wrote this thick ego trip about how he took over FAMOUS MONSTERS, away from the man who created it, and then......you have to wonder why the magazine isn't publishing anymore?

0negative

We Read the Classics for a Reason "Then Romans in Rome's Quarrel, Spared neither Land nor Gold, nor Son nor Wife, nor Limb nor Life, in the Brave Days of Old.""Was none who would be foremost to lead such dire attack; but those behind cried, 'Forward!' and those before cried, 'Back!' And backward now and forward wavers the deep array; and on the tossing sea of steel, to and frow the standards reel; and the victorious trumpet-peal dies fitfully away."Great poetry like this, when the meanest poetry was reckoned greater than the greatest prose, doesn't show its head anymore. Lord Macaulay was a master, not only because as a Baron he had the leisure to cultivate his talent, but because he was also a politician and a moralist, and was convinced that art should be just as much uplifting and moralizing as it was beautiful.Between Macaulay and Milton, a young person can grasp the scope and beauty of this much-diminished art form.

1positive

This book was confusing and a little boring. This book was very difficult to get into. After the first few chapters it is probably an okay book but I didn't get that far. That is all I have to say since I only read the first few pages of this not-so-interesting book. My advice to you is if you have a short attention span then don't read this book, but if you like to be bored then this is the book for you.

0negative

Fantastic! DO NOT visit Machu Picchu without this book! Your experience will be severly diminished!! Follow the author's suggested route, starting up top at the guard house. Thank you, Ruth Wright, for writing this marvelous guide!!

1positive

Couldn't put it down! As far as I'm concerned, if I can't put the book down, it deserves five stars! Why else are we reading, except to escape from our own reality for a while? And if the author can do that by keeping me glued to the pages, this is a book to keep! Not every part of a book is going to be enjoyed by everyone; that's impossible. But that doesn't make the book any less worthy of a five star rating.

1positive

The true "Bible" for the Bobtail admirer and or owner This is a thorough journey through the complete history of this beloved breed in it's country of origin and the authors home of England and around the world. Written By Christina Smith-Bailey undoubtedly the most sucessfull breeder and exhibitor of Old English Sheepdogs in the UK under her Lameda Zottel or Zottels Kennel name. The Author has personally interviewed many of the breeders from the most influential kennels around the world including, Swedish born breed Authority Caj Haakansson of the world renowned Bahlambs Kennels prior to his death in 1996. This is an insightful International look at the breed history, the breed standards and the proper care and commitment needed for this most jolly and regal of mans best friends. There are chapters on selecting a breeder and puppy, puppyhood, coat care,showing,health,maintenance,breeding among others. Once again whether you are an owner, breeder or admirer of the OES this "Breed Bible" is a must in your collection.

1positive

Feeling Blue? Feeling blue? Just read this and roar with laughter. This is little more than a Victorian soap opera -- probably one of the worst novels I have ever read. It starts out fine, but mid way through I am reduced to guffaws (and this state of hilarity has occured every time I have attempted to read this novel over the past 30 years). The prose is overwrought and the characters . . . for the life of me I am unable to explain other readers' adoration of either Heathcliff or Cathy. If you want spooks and atmosphere and Brontes, read Jane Eyre instead. It's far superior.

0negative

Not just for the recipes Yes, you can go to the pastry shop, but it is more important to read the book. Even translated into English, the voice is extraordinary. The story begins sad but unsentimental -- Maria's family is so poor they send her and one of her sisters to the nunnery where the nuns will feed her and she will work -- but has a happy ending with Maria grown, educated, independent, and prosperous, living near her family. The trimphant personality comes through honest and unembellished. All of the redundancy typical of real human conversation is preserved, so it seems you are listening to Maria's voice.Watch Maria make genovesi on youtube. Then read Leonardo Sciascia's detective novel "To Each His Own" and his collection of short stories "The Wine-Dark Sea" (both published in lovely NYRB Classics editions I especially loved "Demotion" about the ladies of the village rescuing Santa Filomena, long may she reign, from the Vatican's ax), Lawrence Durrell's "Sicilian Carousel", and Mimetta LoMonte's cookbooks (as much for the recolletions of growing up in Sicily as for the recipes) and get the "Blue Guide" to Sicily and you will be ready to go. Mary Taylor Simeta's recollections are informative too.

1positive

Love the substance but not the form My criticism is of the publisher Northrop Frye, not the Blessed Newman. This book is an expensive Xerox copy of an old text. It has many imperfections including lost letters and spotty lettering and is hard to read. If I had known I never would have bought this version in the first place, it was not at all evident from the online page. In fact I plan to return it immediately. I'd advise paying a little more for an actual retyped reprint rather than a bound photocopy.

0negative

Not the revised 1957 edition Beware of nonstandard editions of this classic. The 1957 revised edition lists Hille & Phillips as co-authors and runs to over 800 pages.

0negative

Common sense and practical I teach programming topics, VB in particular. I have probably ten books on VB.NET and I needed to choose which would be a good one to use to use to teach a class. After reading all of these books, I have found this is the best one to learn from so far. The book is easy to understand for us VB people who need to get up and running with VB.NET as soon as possible. It's the one to get.

1positive

I wanted to like this book. I really did. I wanted to like this book. I really did. I love epic literature and, having recently fallen in love with hard sci-fi, I thought I'd love this, too. After all, it's an epic and it's hard sci-fi. It also won a Nebula award and was nominated for other prestigious awards. How could I possibly go wrong with that? Well, go wrong I did, and here's how:To begin, this book isn't really science fiction. It's like a work of regular fiction crossed with a science textbook about Mars and it doesn't do either very well. Anyone reading this review who hasn't read the book is probably scratching his head trying to figure out what I mean by that, but if you've ever read any other sci-fi, after you read this, you'll know what I'm talking about. The plot moves at a glacial pace and Robinson takes a paragraph to describe what could be adequately described in one sentence. About a third of the way through, when Robinson took a whole paragraph to describe someone screwing in a bolt, I put the book down and haven't picked it up since.I didn't get far enough into the book to get to any of the politics, but I know from reading reviews that the leader of the pro-corporate faction, Phyllis Boyle, was also an intolerant born-again Christian with an abrasive personality who was disliked by everyone else. This is predictably hackneyed, but perhaps not surprising, since out on the left coast where Robinson is from, it's a not uncommon belief that us rubes here in the hinterland spend all of our spare time handling snakes at tent revivals and voting against Democrats because we hate non-whites and gays and would rather be enslaved by Wal-Mart than see any of them get a fair chance in life.Then, there was the head of the Russian contingent, Maya Toitovna. In the real world, such a histrionic floozy as her would never get anywhere near a mission such as this, let alone be put in a major position of authority within it. In fact, most of the characters were so thoroughly annoying that by the time I finally put the book down, I was hoping that some grotesque form of alien life would show up and kill and eat them.All in all, I'm glad I checked this piece of hack trash out from the library and didn't pay any money for it. It's sad that this, along with the other books in the Mars series, have taken the place of the best-known and most extensive work on the colonization and terraforming of Mars, as it's an epic subject and it deserves so much better.If you're new to Sci-Fi and want to wet your feet, avoid this and check out something by Arthur C. Clarke. He's a master of the genre and hisCollected Storieswould be an ideal tome for you to cut your teeth on. Hell, evensomething by Lionel Fanthorpewould be better than this. His writing is at least bad enough to be entertaining and he at least steers clear of politics.

0negative

Kick up yer heels Covering every conceivable sex guide topic (and a few that don't usually come to mind), Alvear's book is a collection of outtakes from his advice column, "Hey, Woody". His style is sassy and full of wit, and also intelligent, especially in his advocating informative choices when it comes to safe sex and drug use, instead of the usual "Just Say No" approach which every ignores anyway. Alvear knows his audience and speaks clearly to them, and while I may not agree with every answer he gives, I found myself learning a thing or two nonetheless. "Men Are Pigs, but We Love Bacon" is a [book] with attitude.

1positive

Wretched This is absolutely the worst of the 20+ books I've read by Parker. I'm glad that it is one of his older offerings, or I'd be worried about the future of the Spenser series.The first half of this story is unbearable because the female character, Janet, is so contemptible. She sleeps in her bra and pajamas, sometimes a robe. She is mean to her husband, Aaron, and is cold-hearted.Aaron witnesses a murder and, eventually, tells the police all he knows about the crime. He then comes home to find his wife bound, gagged, and naked on their bed. All the while that he unties her, she curses and berates him. I had virtually no sympathy for her.The story's second half turns it into a _Twilight Zone_ episode, as I would swear that another character is substituted for Janet. She becomes too likeable too quickly and then explains her theretofore horrible behavior as merely being a reaction to Aaron!Despite the absurd nature of Janet's tranformation, the second half of the book was much better than the first, as Aaron, Janet and their neighbor, Chris Hood, track down five bad guys in the Maine woods.My favorite character was also rather incidental: Steiger, a hitman brought in from Cleveland to kill Aaron. He had a wonderful love with his girlfriend, Angie, for 22 years. I felt his loss more than any other in the story.

0negative

Classic Adventure at it's Best The Black Arrow is, without a doubt, one of my all time favorite books, just as Robert Louis Stevenson is one of my all time favorite authors. I find it hard to believe that The Black Arrow is probably the least well know of his great adventure novels (the others being, of course, Treasure Island and Kidnapped), as it is certainly the best as far as I am concerned. As far as the story goes, it is one of the most entertaining plots that I have ever encountered. It is filled with more twists and turns than I would have thought possible, but remains very clear and fast paced. The characters are wonderful, as is the description and the writing itself. Granted, some of the language is a bit archaic, but I feel that this adds a lot to the authenticity of the story.The Black Arrow is not a very easy read at first, but once you get into it it really flies by. It is as entertaining, exciting, and intriguing book as you will find, and I would recommend it to anyone.

1positive

Alice in Wonderland Have you ever wanted to be in a world of your own? If you you read this book, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll you'll go into another world. The main character, Alice, falls into antoher world. In her adventure she meets many new people and a whole lot of new places.Alice and her cat, Dinah, are bored out of their mind. When something gets their attention. They see a white rabbit. He keeps on saying the same thing " I'm late, i'm late, i'm late."Alice's cuorisity takes over so she follows him down the rabbit hole, taking her to a new world. The world is called Wonderland. In Alice's adventure she meets many new characters. She meets the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, The March hare, the Ugly Dutchess, the Queen of Hearts, and many others.This is one of the best books. I say this because it expands your imagination. It makes you wonder; making you think what if. This is a great fantasy book. You won't regret reading it!- Arturo Berumen

1positive

A Frustrating Read... I had high hopes for this book, but it missed the mark. In fact, I was hard pressed to finish it. In Songs in Ordinary Time, it's 1960 in Atkinson, Vermont. The story centers on Marie Fermoyle and her children, Alice who is 16 years old and discovering her sexuality - first with the Police Chief's son and then with a visiting priest, Norm who is hot headed, and Benjy who is 12 years old - ignored by his family, and can't quite figure out what the shameful, nameless "sticky warmth" that unexpectedly appears in his pajama bottoms in the morning, so he sleeps in a towel.As the story opens, we meet The Judge, but he's dead. His housekeeper lets him stay propped up in the window, refusing to admit he's dead until he starts to get quite ripe.The rest of the story is about greed, and the human desire to believe that someone can come along and solve all your problems for you. And how badly we want someone to solve our problems, that we ignore the fact that he may be a slick talking, murdering, thief.This book had such gross and dark images that I just did not like it. I made myself finish the book, but it was difficult.

0negative

Not my thing I only read the first short story, but I didn't like it. It was mildly funny at best. I didn't even bother with the rest after that. Maybe some of his other works are better, but I was not going to waste my time finding out.

0negative

totally preposterous but entertainng pseudo-scienceI If you believe in ghosts and fairies, this is the book for you. For me, it is immensely fascinating how seemingly rational persons go for this pseudo-scientific nonsense. I give it 2 stars, not zero, because it's entertaining in its own absurdity.

0negative

for the sake of remembrance I once shared both the luck and pleasure to attend to quite a few lectures given by professor Avez from the old benches of IHP (Institut Henri Poincare) in Paris. His differential calcul sticks in my memory as a very good introduction to that subject and as a matter of fact more interesting than the standart french textbook from the late Henri Cartan; although the lectures I was pointing to were about geometry, and not differential calculus, I bought Avez's book on the spot at the time since it was published that same year; the book is very well written and the mathematical proofs of the many interesting theorems given in the text are very clear and easy to follow; a real gem

1positive

Not available to Australia I would dearly love to read this book but unfortunately it is not available to Kindle owners in Australia for copyright reasons. I sincerely hope Amazon will look into this issue as there are so many titles that are unavailable to me. It is a shame I didn't know about the copyright issues before I bought my Kindle... I may not have been so eager.

0negative

come ON people This book is absolutely ridiculous. Obviously someone with a delusional, gigantic ego wrote this fictional book. I have a friend reading this and eating up every word and it just makes me sick. There was nothing in this book that made me believe that it is true. The only thing the author is good at is twisting recent changes in the Church and making them appear evil. As someone who is active in the Church I can tell you he good that has come about because of the changes from Vatican II. Do not believe the lies portrayed in this book!

0negative

WATCH OUT FOR FALLING DOGMA Ever notice in some of the reviews of this and similar books you'll sometimes see people refer to these books as "my bible"...contemplate that for a moment... As Old Order Establishments, such as Christianity, painfully pass away, New Religions rush in to fill the Void and "Rationalism" is one of them. The Old Order was convinced that there was something "wrong" with being human, (i.e. Original Sin, The Fall, Ad Nauseam), and Rational-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy,(sounds Orwellian doesn't it?), makes the same mistake, though it pretends not to. Orthodox religion presented to us what was and was not acceptable, what was and was not healthy, and Rationalism has been quick to catch the falling garter as Old Dame Christianity slowly passes into obscurity. Old Dogma is replaced by New Dogma; but not to worry, it's New and Improved Dogma..."Studies Show"...and all that jazz. But to be "Saved" you "must",(very un-Ellisan word, even if that's what he's really saying), refute the self-defeating words in your head with New Mantras and a New Outlook, and Nothing can be really THAT bad can it? Qualitatively speaking, how does this Newspeak differ from the pronouncements of, say, Bhagwan Rajneesh or any other would be Prophet with their "institutes", publications and Certified Practitioners, (Yes, you can get a List of Certified Rational-Emotive therapists, just like you can get a list of Christian Science Healers). There is something Tragic/Comic about the image of poor folks walking the streets struggling to refute their "IB's", diligently doing their Charts at night, trying very hard to convince themselves that bliss is at hand, it's all in "The Head". I quite agree...just for different reasons. At a time in my life when I was chronically hand-wringing about my life, about what was "True", whether I drank too much, about my tendency toward the Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name and other Melodrama, my Best Friend sat me down, looked me straight in the eye and intoned..."There's nothing wrong with you". Best of all, that bit of Golden Wisdom didn't cost me a dime.

0negative

Vladislav Tamarov abruptly learned about war. Entering the military much as I did, as a teenager during wartime, he quickly learned about the challenges and tragedy of war. Many of the things he wrote about, I could identify with, although I did not experience near the amount of hardship he did in the field. His narrative is personal in that he relates his experiences and writes about not only the campaign but also his fellow soldiers-both good and bad. He had the same feelings about his commander as I had and later realized that the commander was tough on him and his fellow soldiers because he wanted them to survive. Every armed force has the types of individuals he describes in this book, how they interact and the dangers they faced as well as the heartbreak, anguish, and frustration of military life. This book is outstanding and I recommend it to anyone interested in an honest, unbiased account of a young soldier's experiences in a war he was sent to fight through no fault of his own.

1positive

Tiresome I had hoped for a rolicking sea adventure-what I got was a very long and tiresome description of life as it might have been in the Carribean among a thoroughly unbelievable cast of characters. To compare this with Marryat or O'Brien is indeed a travesty.

0negative

An absolutely brilliant and engrossing novel. The best book that I have ever read. As a seventeen year old who read the book for the first time more than three years ago, I truly resent people who claim that this book could only appeal to whiny baby boomers. That comment is ludicrously narrow-minded. This book spoke to me like no other book ever had before or has had since. I felt as if it was written for me. It was a truly incredible read. Hands down the best book that I have ever read!

1positive

Hmmmmmmm This book probably deserved 2 and a half stars but i can't guve it that so. . . This book i sonly good if you need an excuse hate communism.

0negative

It's certainly boring . . . . . . giving all of these Heinlein books such high ratings. His earlier books may not have been groundbreaking, thought provoking contraversy causing science fiction, but you know what, by and large they were far more entertaining. When Heinlein isn't so concerned with pushing forward a particular viewpoint or treading a topic for about the tenth time, he easily shows why he was and is still considered the master. This book's a good example, Rod and his classmates are finishing off a survival program and the final exam is to drop them on some random planet for up to ten days and see how long they last. Except something goes wrong of course or there'd be no book. Heinlein sets up Rod as a brainy guy who has to really work to adapt his classroom knowledge, his vision of the future earth is as fascinating as always and the concept of the "gates" linking different planets is a great idea that's almost tossed off as a plot device here, lesser authors would have labored over it for pages. The real meat of this story is barely SF, Rod and those he comes across must band together and form some sort of community, for however it might be before help arrives to come and get them. Some of the characters are obvious Heinlein mouthpieces but you should expect that by now and he really keeps the lecturing to a minimum, the emphasis is on the swift plot and the various accidents and trials that stand between the crew and a functioning community. The women are even portrayal almost fairly for once, although he still has this habit of wavering between tough as nails take no prisoners renditions and "whatever you say, dear" type girls, but you can probably make a similar argument for the guys. And anyway, in a story like this, the focus is more on the story itself and Heinlein succeeds on every level, delivering a story that is not only thrilling and exciting but also possessing just enough realism to really engage the reader. Even the ending adds some interesting twists, and in the name of pure fun, you really can't do much better than this.

1positive

My Review The Catcher In The Rye was a very entertaining yet desturbing book. The story opens up as a boy telling a story in first person point of view. About how he ended up in a California rest home after sufering a mental breakdown. He goes about telling the reader about him self and the problems he encountered in boarding school. Holden Caulfield is a 17 year old high school who got kicked out of his boarding school for not aplying him self. Holden failed all his subjects except for english. Holden goes on to decribe his rommate Ward Stradlater who goes on a double date with Holden. On apon returning from the date Holden and Ward get into a fight over the way Ward was treating his date. Holden then leaves and boards a train for New York City. Holden tells about how he was expecting to only stay in New York for a couple of days but it turns out to be longer than that.Holden wonders around New York finding all kinds of encounters. After wondering around New York Holden calls his student advisor to meet for a drink. While there his advisor calls Holden inmature and Holden gets mad and leaves. He goes home and wakes up his sister and askes her if she could give him her Christmas money to borrow. She gives Holden all he had and promises she wont tell their parents he returned. Holden then goes to his former Engish teachers house and sleeps on his sofa. When he awakes his teacher is patting his head, Holden gets scared and runs away to the train station. He decides to head west, he leaves a note for his sister telling her to meet him when she arrives she comes with her bags to go with him. Holden refused to take her with him so instead he took her to the zoo. Holden then stops telling the story and is not sure if he is going back to school or not. Then the story ends with Holden in the mental institution confused on where his is going or if he is geting out.

1positive

Agonizingly slow I can sum this book up in one sentence. Very slow, very dull, couldn't finish it.

0negative

*snore* I thiink I will keep this book on my kindle to read when I am suffering from insomnia. Too wordy. Too detailed. Too restrained & stiff upper lip British. I would rather do house work than read this book.

0negative

outstanding collection The commentary for each selection is informative and clear, and the translations are lucid and lively reading. A complete version of Beowulf is here along with the Anglo-Saxon Elegies and bits of Venerable Bede, Pope Gregory, a story of Caedmon's conversion, and other hallowed texts. I wish this book had been longer--more letters, more entries of the Chronicle, etc.--but as an author I know how size is often constrained by decision of the publisher; still, I would have paid ten times the cover for five times more. Here's to a second volume by the same translator.

1positive

BRILLIANT (???????) I am a student who had chosen this book to do a presentation on. It is the worst mistake of my life. The characters are flat and unrealistic, the author jumps from scene to scene without allowing the reader to understand properly what happened previously. I am quite disappointed with this book as i had all negative things to say about it and i had expected better. After reading this book i would never read one of her books again.

0negative

great I loved this story. I was engrossed from the first page. It's a book that can be shared by all ages.

1positive

SPHERE TO ME THIS BOOK IS A VERY GOOD BOOK BECAUSE IT HAS A LOT OF GREAT ACTION PARTS IN IT.I ALSO LIKE IT BECAUSE IT HAS PARTS ABOUT HOW THEY CAN GET POWERS FROM THE SPHERE.POWERS TO MAKE THINGS.I THINK THAT WAS REAL COOL.I WOULD LIKE TO GET POWERS TO MAKE THINGS.IT WAS ALSO A GOOD BOOK BECAUSE IT MAKES YOU ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT.THE BOOK MAKES YOU READ IT MORE AND WONDER MORE ABOUT IT.I HOPE PEOPLE OUT THERE GET TO READ THIS BOOK

1positive

EXCELLENT! This is a great map for anyone who is spending time in Athens. It got me around the city great, and it's really easy to use.

1positive

great series first off, you need to know that of the five hundred pages of reviews the majority of them (like, 90 percent) are five stars. this is a well written series. at first, this installment mat seem boring, but it gets much better. There are more original ideas than otherwise, and it is a good read for ayone.

1positive

Antique collection of newspaper quality crap. The photos are grimy, black and white collections reminiscent of 50 year old college textbooks, which apparently this is. Not worth the money.

0negative

Could have been written by Ken Lay This was the first of three books and numerous articles I have read about the Enron catastrophe. This one seems to take great pains to exonerate Ken Lay. Everything is someone else's fault.There is a lot of interesting and factual information here, but most of it seems twisted to protect Ken Lay and lay all the blame on Andy Fastow. While Fastow is certainly a crook, the main problem with Enron was not the end-stage shenanigans, but the way the company was run, the way commissions and bonuses were paid for lousy deals, Enron's system of robbing California and other states of billions of dollars, that really caused the problems. Ken Lay ran Enron the way George Bush ran the US economy, and got similar results. (It didn't help that Lay/Enron was Bush's biggest financial backer since the early 1990's, either.)[...]

0negative

Cuts to the Heart of Things Like some of the other reviewers, I found this a heartwarming story about Silas Marner, a solitary hermit who discovers things about himself he has forgotten, or may never have known. When his solitary existence is turned upside down by the departure of his treasure and the arrival of an unexpected guest, Silas takes the opportunity to examine his life and make the best of what life has given him. I felt this was an uplifting story telling how much the choices we make define who we are, and that it's never too late to decide to be something more.

1positive

Beyond madness This was probably the best story I have ever seen put together. You will love the way it works out.

1positive

What a great book it is! When i read this book for the first time, i just thought that it was just same as the other love story.But after i read twice and three times, i found that it's obviously different from any other romantic books.It's the only one book for reflect of women's life in society.and i really want to be a character like lizzy:)I think that it's the only book to express feminism.

1positive

Wonderful book, wonderful text This is one amazing book. I have already read this book two times and I am on my third time. I would tell everybody I meet to read this book. It's best read at night.

1positive

All kinds of Information I bought this book to help me with my running technique. I never realized there was so much stretching excerises, running foods, sports drinks, and all the different ways to make running more enjoyable that you learn from this book.Highly recommended

1positive

Not what I thought This product was in worst condition than the one I wanted to replace. It came with book tape on the spine and pages where on the brink of falling out.

0negative

A sad story V.C. Andrews needs some serious help and new ideas for books.I have read several of her books that disgust me.I wonder if V.C.Andrews was sexually mistreated as a child because all of her books seem involve sex and rape and disgusting things like that.It's sad that people read this sort of trash and that our society accepts it.I'm only twelve and I read her book thinking that it might not be as bad as the others and stopped in the middle because I found it sickening.I've also thrown out the books that I bought from her. V.C. Andrews has the potential to be a wonderful writer but she turns you away from her book when she writes novel after novel of this trash. I won't buy another book from her because of this and I hope people agree with me.As for V.C.:If anything like that happened to you I'm sorry, but it is horrifying at how obsessed you are about this kind of treatment.

0negative

Wonderful story for CHILDREN!!! From E.A. Solinas' review: "It's never really dark or genuinely thrilling..."Absolutely no offense intended, but try saying that if you're an 8-year-old girl who loves horses and fairy tales! This book has haunted me for years. I checked it out time and time again from my school library, and tried to find it as an adult, but I couldn't remember the title, the main character's name OR the author. All I remembered was ..."a horse called Miramis"... but that was somehow enough to track it down on a lost books site.I remember the story as being mystical and full of entrancing descriptions. The story of a journey to destiny is timeless, and really captured me back then. I'm just thrilled to have found it again, and can't wait to get another copy.

1positive

Needs pictures This a good book but I think it needed pictures but maybe it is a personal preference but to me a cook book needs pictures.Other than that the recipes sometimes require too many ingridients.

0negative

Hurlyburly Honestly, didn't enjoy reading this play. It's flat and obnoxiously slimy. I finished the whole play, but it was a struggle to read it all because I found it so boring.

0negative

Thought Provoking If I have to describe this book in two words, I would describe it as "Thought Provoking". If I try to attempt to say anything more about this book, I am sure I would fail. There are parts of the book which didn't make sense to me immediately. I still don't know if I have understood it completely. But I am happy that it made me think and get a new perspective about certain things.

1positive

Do not buy the CD set! I love Douglas Adams, and I love to hear his recordings of his books.I like The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul well enough to have worn out my audio tapes.I bought the CD version, but disk 6 is a messed up recording. It starts repeating parts and pieces of the same chapter over and over and never gets to the end of the book. The end of the story is not included on the last disk. I am not the only one to have found it so. You will be left hanging.

0negative

The Notebook Although this is not the type of book I typically read, I thoroughly enjoyed The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. This is a powerful love story about just how strong love can be and how when we find it, it becomes the most important thing. It is also about how we must not live our lives according to what others want for us.The main story told in the book is actually set in the past, being read by the main character himself. It occasionally flashes to the current day telling of the story, and in this way there is two stories being told. Because of this, the setting is a crucial aspect of the book. The current setting takes place in the present day at Creekside Extended Care Facility. The primary story takes place in New Bern, North Carolina 1946. The change between two different settings gives a very authentic and nostalgic feel to the story. The climax of the story is also unique in that it occurs in the current day setting, where most of the story does not. Allie has Alzheimer's, and can rarely be brought out of it. Although on this particular occasion, Noah, her husband whom she cannot remember, reads her the story of their life and love together she is brought back to him for a few brief, magical moments, remembering their life. The doctors say that the memories Allie experiences she should not be able to. It is a mystery to the doctors how this is possible. This special moment, along with when it occurs and how shocked the doctors are, emphasizes in a major way the strength of their love. It shows they have lasted together their entire lives and even broken laws of science and Allie's disease, truly emphasizing the powerful bond between them.I completely agree with Frank Wheeler on Amazon, that Sparks is very talented at writing a not too heavy, easy to read enjoyable book. He keeps his writing and story simple, and for the reason this book reads fast and doesn't loose your attention. It isn't a book you'd have reread to understand or analyze, but more for a little escapism.Spark's writing style was very sweet and simple. "He strummed once, adjusted the tension on two string, then strummed again. This time it sounded about right, and he began to plan. Soft music, quiet music. He hummed for a little while at first, them began to sing as night came down around him. He played and sang until the sun was gone and the sky was black." (Sparks 8). This quote from the beginning of the story describing a typical night of Noah's is very reflective of Sparks writing. Much of the content of what he writes seems to be almost cheesy or stereo-typical. This could come off as annoying, although Sparks does it in a way where it's still enjoyable; he's telling us the types of things we want to hear. He also keeps the vocabulary and sentences basic to make for an easy read.Yes, I would recommend this to a friend if they wanted an easy read, or something emotional. I personally ended up enjoying this book even more than the movie.

1positive

A Brief Review: Style too Floral for Peter I borrowed this book from the library based on the five-star rating here at Amazon. I looked forward to the promise of an excellent novel. And in fact, the writing was excellent. A little too excellent as Peter was never an intellectual.However, at the same time, the style was pointedly floral and feminine.I expected light, masculine prose based on the way Peter was represented by Anne Frank. I don't think while you are reading a novel fictionally written by a man that you should be frequently confused about the gender of the 'author.' In other words, as I was reading, I kept slipping into thinking 'Peter' was a woman.I could not make it all the way through this book. From the reviews here, I can see it would have made a very interesting read at least from the Anne Frank aspect. But for me, I could not get past the flowery writing style to a point of being able to enjoy this book.Just a fair warning if you are expecting Peter to resemble the fun, masculine and quite real "Peter" Anne Frank presented, you are in for a disappointment. If you are willing to take the leap into believing Peter became a slightly-feminine intellectual that waxed romantic after the War, you may still be able to enjoy this book.

0negative

Bitterness and sour grapes A sad book by an even sadder man who for all his protestations is clearly bitter that he didn't make out like the ones in the book's sub title that we all have heard of (unlike him). Throughout the book he keeps trying to show how he was one of that elite bunch of names (idiots though they may be) and yet he disparges them throughout. If that isn't a bitter wannabe I don't know what is. No meat in this book at all unfortuantely, just sour grapes...and a hell of a lot of typos. I guess whoever was charged with proof reading the thing fell asleep with regularity!

0negative

slow and depressing I thought this book was terrible. I read maybe the first 100 pages and had to force myself to read that far. My friend finished it and said the end was just as slow as the beginning. Basically a lot of terribly depressing things happen, with no bright or meaningful moments to draw you into the characters. It is not worth reading at all. If you want a book about India that is awesome read "Necter in a Sieve". Thanks.

0negative

redundant analytical scrutiny of existential minutia. he talks too much, but in an attempt to understand his analogy and symbolizm you can,t help but think ...think... redundantly analizing the minutia of social existance from the genisis of satient self awareness to the then current present moment of being in 1744...you cant teach old dogs new tricks

1positive

All around great romance! This debut book by Kathy Love has become one of my favorite books of the year so far. Truly, it was a great read and I can't wait to read about her sisters.When Abby Stepp comes home to Millbrook, Massachusetts after fifteen years away, she never knew that she would be so attracted to the town bad boy, Chase Jordan. Likewise, Chase never knew that he could find scientists so sexy. As they get to know each other, Abby has to reasses not only herself, but how she sees the town of Millbrook, a place she has previously associated with only pain and belittlement. But with Chase's help, she is starting to see that the citizens of Millbrook, who were once her cruel high school classmates, have grown up and moved on to bigger things that don't include making fun of others. Sure, not everyone has matured, but Abby certainly sees a new side of her old classmates when she moves back to town.This story has it all: romance, laughs, nostalgia, and growth. Abby truly grows as a character as she realizes that her present day classmates and her old images of them don't always coincide. Not only does she fall in love with an incredible man who loves her madly, but she falls in love with Millbrook. This is smalltown, U.S.A. at its best.This is truly a touching novel and you will really connect with the great characters of Chase and Abby. I was hooked from page one and I predict that any fan of romance will also be hooked.

1positive

Boring As an Austen fan I was disappointed. To a non Austen fan this book is akin to watching paint dry while listening to a 4 hour lecture on the intricacies of interpretive dance, followed by a cyborg reading the phone book.

0negative

Vintage King Basically, if you have liked King's past novels, especially earlier ones such as It, The Stand, Needful Things, etc., you will find many of the same qualities and themes here. If you haven't liked King in the past, don't bother. Having written a series of novels I didn't much care for over the past decade (Insomnia, Rose Madder, Bag of Bones), King returns to prime form with Dreamcatcher. The story moves along as briskly as a 879 page book can, the characters are fully drawn and evoke our interest, the plot is tense, and the action thick. Also, I really liked the character of Duddits, a man with Down's Syndrome who was saved from bullies in his youth by the four main characters, Henry, Jonesy, Pete, and the Beaver. King really does an outstanding job of portraying Duddits; as someone with a brother who has Down's, I was nearly moved to tears a few times by the accuracy and humanity of King's portrait. Not to say that this was a tearfest; King's trademark horror skills are in full effect here, but the added human dimension in this story made it all the more compelling for me. At nearly 900 pages, it did tend to drag on at times, I admit, but overall, it was well worth the effort.

1positive

Really boring book I had to force myself to finish this book, which is really unusual for me. I didn't realize from the product description how religiously-oriented the story was, and aside from that, found the characters kind of flat and the premise of the story to be kind of hokey. Won't read this author again.

0negative

A Little Disappointing Following the "Shopaholic" series, I found this book to be kind of a letdown. I bought it in hardcover solely on the strength of how much I enjoyed the "Shopaholic" books and was disappointed. This is not to say that the book is not entertaining; just not quite as much as Ms. Kinsella's earler works. Buy the paperback!

0negative

Human Genome, Fool's Gold Once in a while there is a flood of books on a vogue subject. And like a river flood, you can find some golden nuggets but most of them are worthless pyrite. This book tries to buy into the new and exciting field of Human Genomics, but unfortunately it fails miserably. I didnt get excited reading this book. The effort put forth by many people to advance the field is not well presented and is lost in personal anecdotes of the author. The vision of the future is no better than one can get from a cheap B-movie. It is written like a textbook and is read as a textbook. Keep looking prospector, this book will not enrich your life.

0negative

Destined to be a Classic What a heartwarming story with such vivid and friendly illustrations. The rhythm is wonderful and the rhymes aren't forced. The story flows and gives the reader ample opportunity to try out different voices for all of bear's friends.

1positive

The Pleasure of My Company This was a pleasure to read and the whole time reading it I kept thinking what a delightful movie it would make. The main character was so quirky and so likeable, I wished he was my neighbor.

1positive

Great Book did not hold up to the test of time .... Although the book is an excellent theological study, it presents the teaching of the church in a well organized manner, it litterally fell apart in my hands. As I was reading, page after page detached itself from the binding.I teach and have at time lost my page, but always managed to find it again in my book. With this edition, I could literally loose my page and have it be in a different location.I would loose my job if this were the quality of my work. (Can you tell I am mad?)If you are going to buy this book, get the hard bound version.

0negative

Love your Maugham... This is Maugham's last great book, coming decades after his magnum opus, Of Human Bondage. The guy could write, what can I say? If you don't read it, it's your loss.

1positive

Avoid if you can This is quite possibly the worst textbook ever, along with Vibrations by Balachandran. It seems these people never heard about finite element analysis. The examples are confusing and the treatment of the different subjects is usually quite poor.

0negative

Boring and illogical I really enjoyed reading only first part (out of four) of the book. The atmosphere of a small town in the mountains most inhabitants of which are miner families is depicted successfully by Cronin. Young Andrew Manson is introduced as a person from the real world having his own identity, not conforming to common stereotypes (at least not to such a degree).But as the story proceeds it gets more and more monotonous and predictable. I see the characters in the book not as individuals whose deeds are determined by their nature but like tools in the hands of the author who uses them to develop his own idea and moral of the story. There are numerous moments when we are witnesses of illogical turnover in characters' opinion and ideology. Some events seem to me artificially arranged and again serve only to Cronin's idea of the book.Banal at moments the storyline isn't developed well in my opinion. The idea of a physician making a successfull carrier from the misery of a small miners' town practice to a well known physician in the high classes of 1920's London is a good one, but the realization did not appeal to me.

0negative

Book gets the job done. The book had a lot of tears but the content is all there and it gets the job done. I love that it came with the CD's.

0negative

This Book Should be Titled "How to Become a Communist" While leftists dismiss this book as lunacy. They continue to make up stories of the "evil" the United States is doing to "dominate the world" - that is absolute bunk! I look at the United States as a liberator from tyranny and not as an occupier. This book only brainwashes people into believing this garbage. The biggest supporter of this book is Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who has always been a thorn and has brought about anti-Americanism, lashing out against its foreign policies. He went on, while speaking at the United Nations (I am very anti-UN), lashing out and attacking President Bush by name-calling with his sadistic mind. In his own foreign policies Chavez has thrown in so much capital to other Latin American and Caribbean nations, supporting leftist movements there, and has done very little to improve the conditions of his impoverished nation that is only going from bad to worse. To make matters worse is his recent alliance with President Mahmoud Ahmadinajad of Iran who is clearly anti-Semitic. He has stated several times he wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and repeatedly denied that there has ever been a holocaust in Nazi Germany, claiming that the Nazis were the victims!Both Chavez and Ahmadinajad have definitely become the next Mussolini and Hitler in that order. They are clearly egotists and power mongers by putting themselves first and above everyone else. Chavez's goal is to meddle into the affairs of and monopolizing neighboring nations by supporting leftist movements. This was similar to that of Stalin after World War II when he monopolized Eastern Europe with an iron fist by supporting Communist domination of nations unlucky to fall into Soviet hands, thus becoming satellite states run by Soviet-style governments subservient to Moscow. Already, Chavez has made enemies with the governments of both Mexico and Brazil. Ahmadinajad's goal is to wipe out a whole people through genocide and dominate that part of the world. Could history repeat itself as it did under Hitler with Ahmadinajad in power? I hope not!The anti-war crowd in the United States has certainly allowed itself to fall prey to brainwashing and psychological warfare through the mainstream press. Psychological warfare could date back to Alexander the Great of Macedon who showed how effective he could sway the mindsets of the populaces that were expropriated in his campaigns. While media coverage was strictly done by journalists and reporters who were just journalists and reporters where the news was done by radio and newsreels during the two World Wars, adversaries during the Korean War, Vietnam War and other subsequent wars the United States had been involved in used psychological warfare as a tool for the American media through television and radio, by using captured allied troops where they were subjected to drugs, beatings, sleep deprivation and other grisly methods to "break" the will of their victims. They were forced by communist forces to "confess" that the United States was conducting an "illegal war" against the "peace-loving people". These methods were used to sway the minds of Americans at home that it was "horrible" to see American troops kill "innocent" people. This form of psychological warfare was most successful during the Vietnam War when the North Vietnamese and Chinese used the media as a tool that sparked the modern anti-war movement.I would not waste my money on this trashy book. This is lunacy at its best!

0negative

Awesome! A "must read" book for those about to adopt In preparing for our older child adoption I picked up this book for my wife and I. Of all the books I'd read this one was the most helpful in terms of preparing us for the diverse range of emotions and problems that would be involved. The author takes you through the experiences of other adoptive parents and helps you question your own desire and ability to adopt. Adopting an older child isn't for everyone and her point is to introduce the reader to that reality. If you are thinking of adopting, read this book.

1positive

Potential unfullfilled The premise of the book is quite good and seemed to hold so much promise. But the author fails to develop the characters or the core ideas beyond the superficial. The main character raises a few questions about the generational guilt of Nazi collaboration, but never really moves past the question of "what would you have done?" - other than to state that it makes everyone uncomfortable. Certainly the author could have spent several chapters grappling with this either through internal monologue or by introducing additional characters that the narrator interacted with. The father character is so under developed I was left wondering why he was introduced into the novel at all. His only purpose was to drive a brief chapter moralizing on whether one should intercede on behalf of someone whom you feel is acting against their own interests. Even this exchange is all to brief and doesn't move beyond a superficial raising of the issues. Its followed later on with a comment on the narrators painful relationship with his father - again another potential vehicle for developing the main character that goes undeveloped.I'd be interested to read the original German to see if it was the English translation that was at fault, or the author's own writing style at fault. Given that most of the problems I have with the book revolve around undeveloped and explored ideas, I'd have to lay it at the feet of the author not the translator.

0negative

The book to have if you're having only one This is the book I reach for when one of my children is sick or hurt. It's easy to find the reference to the problem and then it quickly lets you know how serious it is and what to do about it. It's helped me deal quickly with problems and avoid some unnecessary trips to the doctor. My pediatrician gave the book to me...I'm buying one as a shower gift.

1positive

Slipery Simon's Book Review Fahrenheit 451 is about a middle aged man named Guy Montag. Guy is a fireman but, instead of putting out fires he starts them. Since all the houses have been fire proofed years ago there was nothing left for firemen to do so they started burning books. Books were a feared thing in the time of Guy. They are mysterious and scarey things so they must be burned.This was a good read. It was short, but excellently writen as are most of Bradbury's books. It was suspensfull and full of detailed descriptions about everything ranging form the color of the sky to the warmth of the burnig pages of the books. Infact I thought that sometimes there was a little too much description, but that was just me. I really liked the plot. THe idea was really good. Overall it was a very enjoyable book and I would recomend it to everyone. Even if you dont like science fiction I think you could apreciate the way it was written and the elegeant descriptions.

1positive

Buy this one at the used book store I am sorry Ms. Roberts didn't do this book justice, it is very tiresome. I guess when you crank books out as fast as she does, and I've read them all and enjoyed the experience!!!!,you can't always be a winner. But, for the price of paperbacks, I would like my money back....at least, I'm thankful I didn't have to buy it in hard back. I'll still buy her books, I love her writing and look forward to the next one.

0negative

Amateurish, one dimensional effort This is the last time I invest in a James Patterson hardback. I didn't even finish When the Wind Blows, but thought I would give this book a chance anyway. About three chapters into it, I went looking for the date it was written because it so clearly is amateurish. Realized at that time that it was a rewrite of a 1980 book. Re-releases of earlier books by a popular author are usually disasters, intended only to capitalize on the author's present fame. This book's characters are one-dimensional and the bleating of the main characters becomes incredibly boring after just a few chapters. The dialogue reminded me of cheap romance novels. A waste of time and dollars. I felt ripped off by the publisher and the author. Never again.

0negative

Interesting Treatise While I would not classify the book as a 'business' book per se, the author intends you to be rather evasive in too many cases, it is none the less an informative and educational treatise on psychological control. I would consider the book somewhat more of a psychological book, than a business book.In either case these tactics are an advantage to business people or any people wishing to learn more about handling yourself and others; it is true that seasoned businessmen will have probably have learned most of these lessons through their own experiences. But isn't it nice to have them all described neatly in a book, complete with example situations? Yes, I would say.The lessons are not taught only by Mossad. These tactics are taught also in European and Western spy programs. They are not unusual. Although it IS unusual and rare to have a book discuss these topics. I've seen very few books that broach the subject in such a exemplified and direct way.The only con to this book is that it reveals too many secrets. If you've stumbled upon this book and are considering buying it, then do so. You will either be hooked by the book for its spy stories or it's 'secrets' of psychological control.enjoy..

1positive

Reading this book was like punching myself in the brain. It is a must read.The plot grabbed me.The heroes were likeable.Her writing style, her descriptions, her dialogue were all incredibly silly. They made me chuckle, they kept me reading.What makes this book so horrible to me is that it is taken so seriously by so many. It is based in a world that is totally unrealistic. The villians, apparently most of the government and corporate leaders of the world, are incomprehensibly idiotic. If you've ever imagined yourself locked in a heated argument against someone who was hopelessly stupid, you have imagined 60% of this book.In Atlas Shrugged, the "conflict between good and evil" is really the conflict between anyone with common sense against a million cartoon villians - which happen to be warped philanthropists.How could people who "don't want to make any profit" and "want to help the people", while actively trying to thwart anyone from succeeding in business and industry, somehow end up as CEOs of huge corporations and as government leaders?In our world, reckless philanthropist idealists don't climb the corporate ladder. They're not allowed. For sound reason. They get fired before they climb up from the mail room.In our world, strong and competent CEOs - like most of the heroes in the book - are NOT powerless to change law and policy.In our world, the average person wants to improve their station, even if they don't want to be productive. In Ayn Rand's, the world is falling apart because people seem content to wallow and sink in the mud.How could the philosophy stated in this book really be considered as apt for our world?If anything, this book is a dinosaur of the cold war. A thumbs-up to McCarthyism. In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand shows she is paranoid and delusional - with a hysterical fear of "socialism/communism" as it was presented by US anti-Soviet propaganda.As I first stated, this is a "must read", not because it is a great piece of literature or philosophy, but because it will help you better argue against the many others who think it is.

0negative

too much adventure,too little romance i never was able to get into this one. i bought it after i read the first chapter on my kindle and it started really witty,good,funny. i had such high hopes for this book and i was throughly let down.the attraction between the h/h was not very convincing and there was not enough chemistry. i skimmed through the whole book and didn't even bother with the ending. the lord of scoundrels was pretty good. waste of money.if you are looking for a ROMANCE book, this is not for you.

0negative

booring... this book is a waste of time, badly written, confusing and plain boring, awoid.

0negative

Good book! This book was a great step by step tutorial to learn Mastercam. I highly recommend it. It helped me through the large vertical learning curve I had during class-especially being from Wyoming where I am slower than average.

1positive

Major Disappointment This book was extremely disappointing. Not what I have come to expect in a Jennifer Crusie novel. It was hard to read, the characters pathetic and the story was so slow that halfway through I jumped pages....Don't waste your time, read one of her older books they are MUCH better.

0negative

lacking in so many ways As one can guess from my low rating, I do not agree with the simplistic worldview of Ayn Rand. But that alone does not account for the particularly low rating of this book (I gave the Fountainhead 2 stars). Aside from the silly ideas advanced from this book, this novel is just poorly written, plain and simple. The characters are one-dimensional beings whose only function is to recite the "philosophical" ideas of Ayn Rand at appropriate situations. The plot is overly long and unengaging, without the subtlties and complexities that generally justify long novels. All of the ideas of Ayn Rand can be contained in one page. None of the characters can be said to be interesting, much less sympathetic. As a book advancing philosophy, this book is dumbed-down and simplistic. As an epic, this book is unnecessarily long. As plain old entertainment, this book is boring.If you have to read an Ayn Rand book (God knows why...), you should at least read the Fountainhead, which has a relatively entertaining plot and is not so ridiculously long.

0negative

Terrible Hannibal is a major disappointment. I should have known better than to buy and read it especially after perusing the plotline revelations online, but when I read Silence of the Lambs curiosity got the better of me so I went into Hannibal with low expectations and it was even worse than what I had expected.First problem, the entire plotline involving Mason Verger is insipid and uninspired. I refuse to believe it took Thomas Harris 10 years to come up with it. It transcends willing suspension of disbelief and lands squarely in the c'mon-get-real-this-is-just-way-too-dumb category of fiction. It borders on insulting the reader's intelligence.Second, the conclusion involving Clarice and Hannibal is jaw-dropping only in the sense that it too is completely unbelievable and contrary to everything that Clarice said, did and stood for in Silence of the Lambs.Third, the supposedly chilling scenes were comical rather than scary. While Lambs was full of scenes containing genuine suspense and horror, Hannibal lacks all of that. Some examples include the dinner scene with Krendler, the final scene with Mason and his sister, and anything involving the Sardinians.Hannibal fails in too many ways to enumerate here. It's unworthy as a novel let alone a sequel to a brilliant book and movie. I pray this never gets turned into a screenplay with Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins signing on. Thomas Harris can surely do better than this it's just a shame that this is how it all turned out.

0negative

Disappointed I was excited to get the Jerusalem Bible and opened it with great anticipation. As I thumbed through the Bible my smile went from a smile to a frown to sad dness. I was under the impression that this version had footnotes and there are NONE. There are a few cross referenceS here and there but that is it. I will be returning this product as soon as I can. The search continues for a Jerusalem Bible with real honest to goodness footnotes reminiscent of the 1966version that was done so nicely and that I remember from when I was a kid and we used as a family.

0negative

The truth Mohammed's account, of course, is verified by many eyewitnesses. The only part that can't be verified by eyewitnesses is where he said he saw Ms. Lynch slapped. Since he lived in a country where brutality was an every day event , he might be excused to believe it happened that way. No matter. He risked his life and that of his family for a little girl in trouble.

1positive

Kind of goes on and on The comments by others about how the book at time rehashes statistics are true. At times I found myself glossing over pages just because it was number after number. I lost interest.I also got to the point with the author's repeated fixation on 9/11 that I had to put the book down. Enough is enough. That fixation only revealed to me the fact that the author's insight and point of view is very limited to the current and is United States centric. The author doesn't address a broader global view of wants and have a historical perspective of why people want to help other spot future trends.

0negative

Lies versus the truth How can one determine who has been speaking the truth and who has been lying all along? The distinction should be based on sound judgement whereby at the very least the original sourceshould be verified to make this distinction. Rumors after all do not consitute the actual truth and oftentimes impose the opposite of what is true. To those who are familair with what Falun Gong actually is, the propaganda is not just composed of blatant rumors but is founded basically on nothing but lies for what it does is to teach people how to be good and compassionate people. I'd recommend not to waste your time on rumors and if one really wants to find out what Falun Gong is actually about, you may as well read Falun Gong or Zhuan Falun.

0negative