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A lot of people complain that the final book didn't have enough answers... Heck! I just think we were silly for expecting them! With the weave of mysteries in the book, how could everything possibly be explained?

But a lot WAS explained. Everything necessary. And you find out the end of the tale of the Baudelaires.

I enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed the other books in the series. It was fun, unexpected, and yet... very tragic. I did cry at the end.

I recommend it to any fan of the series..

It's a funny thing really-I finished this book and thought 'That's it?' and was almost prepared to chunk it. Till I waited about two minutes and felt like jumping up and down with excitement-realizng that this was actually an incredible book. I cannot claim to know all of the answers-but I do realize that most (if not all) of them can be found by reading the books c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y. I believe it was C.S. Lewis who said 'All the bother about originality is from people who aren't very original. If they were, they'd be original without noticing.' Snicket makes no great claims to be original. Yet he is-so masterfully you almost don't realize it. He manages to be funny and serious and heartrending (yes it was) all at the same time. Somehow, though alot of things weren't answered in this book...I found myself glad I had read it. After all, in life, are things always answered? No. Of course, you often read to escape life-but Snicket manages to make you appreciate it more. It's almost as though he's telling you 'Now you've had a nice little break. Go live. Do something. Change the world.' Though he himself would likely deny it vehemently. In conclusion to this (lengthy) review:

If you're expecting an all-out 'happy happy ending, everybody gets a pony and lives happily ever after', forget it. But remember: Snicket warned us at the beginning of the series. He flat-out told us the whole way through that this was a series of unfortunate events. Did we believe him? Noooo. We assumed he would tie everything up neatly like a mystery. But he didn't. He just stood back, halfway smiling, conveying the idea that we can figure it out. But really...do we need to?

This doesn't make sense. But if you've understood the series...you'll probably understand this review. I think.

It was a good book and deserves five stars. There.

I was a huge Snicket fan ever scince I read "The Reptile Room" in 2001 when I was only in the third grade. I bought this final book last year as a teenager hoping to find out what the "sugar bowl" was, if one of the Baudelaires parents were still alive, and what VFD actually stands for. This book answered none of these questions. I loved the "Penultimate Peril" and judging by where it left off, I expected that in book 13, the Baudelaires would go in the sail boat to some big city, where the children would try to put Count Olaf in jail and they would meet some VFD members, have a big fight, have a trial in court. I wasn't necessarily expecting the Baudelaires to win in the end but I was expecting some sort of ANSWER. Some kind of RESOULUTION to the series. The last thing that should have happened was a new plot with new characters and a strange ending.

The Baudelaires arive in the boat with Count Olaf at an island in the middle of nowhere. Where they meet a tribe of people who wear bathrobes. When I got to that part in the book It was a huge let down. I still kept on reading, hoping that some of the mysteries of the series might be answered. They do meet people connected with VFD and that was kind of interesting but I wish some of the main mysteries would have been answered. Up to the very last page of the book, NOTHING about the sugar bowl got revealed. A HUGE let down.

*Here's where the spoilers come:*


The book ends with everybody on the island being poisened by fungus and they all travel out on a boat out to the rest of the world so they can poison the planet. Olaf Dies, Lemony Snicket's sister, Kit, Dies. and The Baudelaires take care of Kit's newborn baby and travel away on a boat themselves a year later, no telling what happened to them. Not a happy ending. But what's worse...It's a BAD ending. It solves nothing, it's kind of depressing,and this series just deserved so much more to it.

This book had it's suspensful moments, interesting topics, interesting characters, but it just had a lot of unfilled gaps if you know what I mean.

At age 18 I learnt the verb 'to ramble' from a dear friend who liked to do just that. A very popular addition to my at that time rapidly growing English vocabulary. This volume is the most rambling of all the 'Events' books I have now read, 5 in total, and possible the most rambling volume of anything I have ever read. All good then...
To be very honest, I took Snicket's advice to some extent (close this book while you can and read something happier) and skipped volumes 5-12, feeling I really wasn't up to 8 more volumes of misery before arriving at 'The End' and 'the end of the end after the end of the end.' Close quote, see what I mean about the book being a right old rambler? Not having read the in-between volumes meant that I did have to stop and ask for frequent fill-ins from my much more dedicated daughter, to understand and appreciate the full measure of the story, but having her on hand anyway, I didn't mind at all, and she felt quite the authority. Yes, I cheated and that's bad, I know!
The end of 'The End' (See? Now I'm doing it too, rambling), was not neatly wrapped up and completely tidy, but that was the whole point of our friend Snicket's observations and outlook on life for the Beaudelaires and in general.
Again a lovely, yet not so lovely, and wise story, with lots of fabulous ideas, and new life at the end, which always symbolises promise, hope and all things good and wonderful.
Handler's done a great job here, and the super Helquist illustrations really enhance the story.
If you can't face all 13 volumes, at leat read 'The End', and ask an expert for the rest, like I did.

It is unfortunate that I never bothered to write a review for this book early on because I unfortunately assumed that there would be enough competent criticism to help people. Woefully, I discovered that most of the poor reviews seem to simply be people whining about the fact that it did not end like a Scooby Doo mystery in which the gang unveil the perpetrator and commence to explain various things about the plot they couldn't possibly have known. (But don't rate me unhelpful yet! Just read a little bit further!)

If you would prefer the above scenario and were never once bored by the fact that Scooby and the gang solved every single case in the same manner and in the same amount of time, this book IS (probably) NOT for you, plain and simple. There are answers, but they only lead to more questions. And every time you find a new answer, two more questions arise, making it a Hydra of a conundrum and unbelievably frustrating to some.

If you do not mind philosophical, thought-provoking endings that do not tie all the loose ends into pretty little bows, this book IS for you. "The End" is Snicket's most adult book of the series. All the children I know who've read it loved it, but they did not catch all of the darker tones to the story, as is true of the entire series. The final book is titled in an ironic sense, as it is not really the end at all but a new beginning, and it is meant to be a more serious reflection of life. There will NEVER be a neat little book with all the answers in it for you. It would not be a series of unfortunate events if that were the case.

"Now be honest, how do you really feel?" This really was my favorite book of the whole series because I continued to think about it weeks after I'd read it and still find myself jumping into conversations about it any time it's brought up.

If the lack of resolution to Stuart Little gnawed at you when you were 8 and continues to do so to this very day, I would not recommend picking up this book. If you enjoy an open ending that is left up to you to decide and mull over, then what are you still reading this for? Go get a copy of the book right away!

This Audio CD is a useful supplement to the Ordinary Parent's Guide. You may be suprised to find you actually don't know how to pronounce many of the letters of the alphabet correctly. It is very important you teach them correctly to your children, especially if they have any speech difficulties. For example, 'D' is not pronounced 'duh'. Teach your child the wrong pronunciation and they may wind up having some difficulty sounding out words. The CD will model for you the difference between the voiced and unvoiced consonants, which will be invaluable. There are also some fun song tracks, and the complete Consonant Rhyme, which is learned in the book. You can just turn this on, and Presto! It isn't meant to listened to beginning to end, however.

Parents must be part of the education of their children early on if children are going to learn to read and enjoy it.This book gives some great tips on exactly that. Also a must-have for parents are two lovely pieces of children's literature which children really enjoy. The 10-page scripted guide allows parents to start teaching reading skills early on:Life's Little Lessons: An Inch-By-Inch Tale of Success
and The Big Squeal: A Wild, True, and Twisted Tail.

So far, my kids are learning and reviewing the letter sounds and are enjoying the lessons. The rhymes are helpful. It is basic and easy to teach, and foundational for reading.

We are just beginning learning the sounds of letters, and what great focus this book gives you as the teacher. It guides you throughout the studies and combines the lessons for review. I have been pleasantly surprised about how thorough this book is.

After completing 89 lessons in this book, my daughter and I are calling it quits. We've worked on it on and off for over a year (she's 5 now), and for the sake of preserving a love of reading, have decided to shelve it. This book has been helpful in a number of ways; it is great for giving a parent the sense that they can indeed teach their own children, that reading is easy, and laying out a path for doing so. I have found it useful as a reference book, i.e. to show me what to introduce, remind me what the actual "rules" are, and give me direction for our lessons. However, there have been some significant problems.

1) The layout of the pages is daunting for a child. There are lots of words, no pictures, nothing to visually set apart the words that the child reads except that they're a bit larger. It seems overwhelming and very un-child-friendly.

2) The practice stories often make no sense, and fail to capture my daughter's interest at all. An example from today: "The black snake did wish that he had a snack of mice. The snake did scan the grass to prey on mice. The grey mice sat on the rock and ate nuts. The snake came to the rock. Hey! The mice fled. They hid in holes. The snake will have no snack this day." Awkward wording, nothing particularly interesting about that, no pictures. The optional follow-up activity is to illustrate this story and label the items.

3) The practice sentences are way too long, and overwhelm new readers. For example, the child has just been introduced to the "fl" blend (lesson 50), and reads the sentence, "Ducks in flocks flit and flap on the flat pond." This sentence is too long, has onomotopeic words with which they may not be familiar (flit), and makes them use the new rule 4 times!! Very frustrating for a child struggling to learn a new rule. This was one of 6 new blends introduced in this one lesson.

4) Exceptions are often introduced before rules. For example, today we learned that the vowel pair "ea" can sometimes make the long-a sound, as in great, break, steak. Okay, so my daughter goes to read "please", and says, "place". Of course! She's never been taught that "ea" USUALLY says the long-E sound. The old "when two vowels go walking" would have been helpful to learn first, not later. Also, today she learned that "ey" can say the long-A sound. So "smiley" is smilay until a later lesson... you get the picture. This has come up more than once.

5) Very rigid rules, introduced in a logical, but not necessarily helpful, order. Much more actual reading could be possible much sooner if they'd go ahead and introduce some of the more helpful rules out of sequence.

6) It would be helpful to introduce a number of sight words much earlier. Kids learn sight words very quickly, and a few of them up front can make many more books accessible.

If your child is VERY motivated to learn to read, I do think that this book will work. My 3-year-old son has this drive, and the first few lessons (we skip the letter-learning part) have taught him the basics of CVC words. But he would learn that just as easily if I just stuck some magnets on a board. My daughter is very global in her thinking, and is more interested in the content of stories than in mastering reading technique, and this book sends her running for cover. Honestly, I dread it, too. Fortunately she is now at the point where she can read basic easy readers, so we're going to drop this book, use it as a reference tool only, and continue with McGuffey Readers, Bob books, and everything on the library's easy reader shelf. For my other 3 kiddos, I'll be investigating other options.

Excellent book. I used it for my three sons and now wanted a new
copy for my grandchildren. I highly recommend it.

This is a wonderful book full of info on how to teach your child using the Montessori Method in your own home. There are directions for making most of the maerials yourself, others can be purchased inexpensively. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Montessori education.

I became interested in this method of schooling the first time I ever read about it. I had yanked my four year old son from his preschool program because he had gone from a normal happy preschooler to a biting, kicking, swearing little monster. He also has a speech delay, which did not help matters at all because we could not understand what he was talking about when he tried to tell us what was happening during his day.

His father and I decided to homeschool him until he's six, upon which time we will enroll him with the local charter school. So I started researching different methods and the first time I saw this I fell in love. But my heart sank when I saw just how expensive the equipment is. I was also dissapointed when I discovered that we have a local Montessori school only to find out it cost more than we make in a month. My husband is a full time student on a very low, limited income. I could not in good concious sanction spending that kind of money. So I read everything, online and books, that I could get my hands on. And while all I read talked of the different methods, it never said how to implement them.

I saw this at Paperback Swap (awesome site) and snagged it on impulse. I am so glad that I did. It gave me everything I needed to get a start. It helped me understand the resources I already had and told me how to pull them together in a cohesive whole. I have four children ranging from 8 months - 4.5 years. The three oldest think it's great and they are so proud of themselves every day. Even my husband got in on it and helped me construct several items. We both love this book and I reccomend it to everyone that talks about teaching Montessori.

I also reccomend Seven Times the Sun: Guiding Your Child Through the Rhythms of the Day by Shea Darian

I am fortunate enough to be able to be a stay at home with my children because I want my kids to stay at home as long as possible (while they are young) so they can fully appreciate the family dynamic. Because I stay at home, my family and I are living off a single income and cannot afford to put our children in the Montessori program. I am still interested in the Montessori philosophy, and wanted to try to incorporate it here at home. I checked this book out from the library just to see how applicable it would be, and I found that this is a great, not complicated introduction to the Montessori method. The activities are great and realistic for little ones to explore and learn, and will be useful to them in the long run. They also don't require alot of "shopping" so it can be very affordable as well. I'm very excited to help my children learn with this book. I'm going out to buy this book right away!

I am a medical student, single parent and needed something to introduce me & my daughter to Montessori instruction. I plan to enroll my 36 month old soon, but at this time, she is fine in the care of her grandparents and in the evenings, with me. Until she begins Montessori, I want to begin instilling some of the instructions. I ordered this book along with one other you will notice in my reviewed items. Both books are very good in my opinion, and all that I need. Even if I never enroll her in daycare, preschool, this is adequate. It gives great ideas that a parent or caregiver can share while with the child. Very good quality book.

I have read all her books and they are all 5 stars, but this is my favorite. This is so jam packed with good information I would love to listen to it over and over while walking or driving.

The author gives very specific, relevant ideas and information that is easily usable. Excellent!

love the book so far. it is very well written and there is a lot of useful information.

When my brother recommended this book, I was skeptical about reading it as I've read many other books on the subject and felt I knew pretty much all there was to know on the subject. I visited Amazon and read the reviews and based on the reviews and my brothers insistence, I went ahead and purchased this book. Let me just say that this was the best purchase I've made in quite some time. This book is unlike any other book that I've read on the subject. Secrets of Success is life changing and discusses the law of attraction in a way that is easy to apply from the moment you start reading. I have recommended this book to everyone I love and care about and everyone has had the same kinds of aha moments that I experienced. This title is highly recommended.

Easy reading and easy to follow her approach on changing your thoughts and emotions and thereby changing your life....the Law of Attraction. Very well done and also would recommend Living The Secret Everyday: My Secret Workbook because this book too has a different approach (workbook to reinforce) and you should read both.

Our children used Saxon from 54 to 87, then moved on to advanced math, calculus and physics and they have excelled with this method. Although my background doesn't include an emphasis in math, my husband's education and professional life is steeped in mathematics. He's enthusiastic about Saxon because it creates a strong foundation in the subject.

Admittedly, solving 30+ problems a lesson can be a challenge, however, this process increases one's speed and accuracy over time and as my daughter said, it helped her "to make peace with math." Math is like learning how to play a musical instrument; it takes practice and self-discipline, but it's well worth the effort. Understanding math, like being proficient at reading and writing, is one of those practical skills that make life so much easier.

Using this incremental method of learning made homeschooling through high school a breeze and our college-age children sailed through their college math courses as well. In hindsight, it would be easy to choose it again.

The negative reviewers have a common thread. Words like dark, macabre, evil.

These people obviously did not come to consider buying a math book, or even to relate their experience with them, because they have none with Saxon, but instead came to do a hatchet job on books, methods and people who dare to rise up out of the herd.

My children missed the part about endless rote, and dead love of math. They learned with Saxon. They do mental math better than myself, in fact better than anyone I know.

The public school and progressive math books and teachers killed my 'love of math', if there ever was a 'love' of math. Most kids hate math. Even now. Even in public school. Even with pictures and fun teachers.

These books break down the math learning process into easy step by step pieces. Saxon gives a kid time to master basics before the whole class moves on leaving the ones who did not get it behind.

And if they're homeschooled like mine they can go at their own pace. Having succesfully taught four kids math may not qualify me as a 'professional' educator, thank god, but at least my kids did not have to suffer through under one of those.

I have gifted sons that used Saxon Math from 3rd grade through Advanced Math. Both boys did great using Saxon. My now 20 year old is a math Major in college. He was taking calculus in 10th grade. Highly recommend Saxon for gifted or not.

Ok so if you have a child who has a problem in math, or even if they don't but they like math, this is for you. actually this book is even good for parents and adults. You learn a lot and it's fun. Here is an equation that is not in this saxon math book or any other math book, here it is: saxon math=fun=learning lots of math and info.
this book is worth it. The first time that I saw this book I was in school and I got into a higher math gruop, I loved this book at first site!The other reason I love this book is beacuase you don't concentrate on one thing for a long time then move on, you learn it in the begining of the lesson and you do some of those problems but every thing is mixed up there is multiplication,division,subtraction ect.
If you buy this book you won't regret it! ;)

The entire Saxon math series is full of step by step instructions on how to solve problems. Whether you find this dull or not, the books do not offer the critical problem solving kids need to reach their full potential.

Its a decent book if you need something to teach formulas - especially for home schooled kids whos parents are not A+ math students - but it should be accompanied by REAL critical thinking word problems, not plug-and-chuggers.

Alone, this book falls well short of the bar, and you're likely to find your child hating math.

I have always been very organized until I had my second son. I am not sure what happened but I lost control of everything in my home. This book is quck and easy to read. The best part is you don't need any hard to find or expensive items to put this system to use. I can't say enough about this book. I even used it to organize my homeschooling lessons.

I initially bought this book 15 years ago and my home was so organized, even with three children. I bought it again recently because we downsized homes and everything was chaos. My home is in order again, and it isn't even difficult! Great plan!

Easy and entertaining read, plus tons of great, practical ideas for getting your home and life, organized!

Loved this book. It's an easy read and I've implemented the organizational strategies immediately for my whole family. It's working so far!

I've read many books on organization (and hope to someday accomplish all I've read!), but this book will always be my favorite. Pam and Peggy have "been there." There's nothing worse than an organization or "decluttering" book that's written by someone who was born organized (or a "B.O." as Pam and Peggy would call them!). You have to have walked a mile (or waded through the clutter) in the shoes of someone who is easily sidetracked, organizationally-challenged, and wasn't born with the organization gene. Pam and Peggy make you feel like you've found a kindred spirit who somehow waded through all their stuff and found a better way! I wish they'd re-release their original kit that included a de-junking video and a few other goodies!

I bought this book for my daughters and I ended up using it more than they. This is a great little reference book with step-by-step guidance in all your basic sewing needs. Whether you are a beginner or experienced in this craft, you'll find this very useful.

I've purchased this book as it was required for a sewing class I've taken recently. It's a really good guide for beginners. It is full of pictures and there's a glossary at the end of the book. The only thing is, the pictures, the models are a bit old, so they might not inspire you enough for sewing. But don't care about that part, you'll sew the patterns you buy, anyway. :) The book is spiral-binded, which makes it easy to use when you work from it. I recommend this book for anyone who is new to sewing, this book is really helpful.

This was a great purchase to help me start making simple things with the sewing machine. I was worried that it may not be low enough to teach me everything I needed to know, but it was, and it covers enough things to get you sewing everything from clothes to pillows to drapes. It was a great buy!!!

This was a gift for my daughter, which was given to her with a new sewing machine. It looks like she is learning a lot from the book and enjoys reading it.

I really expected this book to break down the process of reading patterns, but it didnt. I still think that they look like really bad jiggsaw puzzles and I know no more than I did when I started. Oh wait, I know that I should IRON the fabric before I start working with it. THANKS!

I dont know what Im going to do, I'm afraid to buy a bunch of books trying to figure out how to sew and where I live, classes are limited. I saw that there was a video, but it got some pretty poor reviews. My brand new machine is in the basement taking up space.

Does this book have nutritional information as well as decent pictures? Sorry this isn't a review! Thanks.

While I do applaud Rachel for her "30 Minute Meals", There really not that healthy and there are quite a number of things you have to go and get. No real nutritional information. Definitely not a low carb book.

Simple easy dierections with yummy recipes. Can't wait to use the book. Rachel Ray is # 1.

This book was not really marketed as a low carb cookbook, so I missed it at first, and came across it by luck! I've been low carb for years, and this is really the way I like to eat, but sometimes you gotta have a few carbs, too, and this book has recipes that have half the pasta, but all of the flavor! As with most of her books, there are a large variety of items with fish, meat and just veggies. I found at least thirty winning recipes in this book, which make it a winner for me! The Spinach and Meatball "no-sangna" was an absolute smash hit in my house!

Here's another fun cookbook for your kitchen. I think I have everyone she has made so far. Its easy to follow, the items used are mostly already in your kitchen pantry. She makes it fun to cook, or at least try, and the results are fantastic. Who doesn't want to eat a bit healthier, and tastier too!

I've used this book for several years, and I can say it's excellent for its purpose.

What I did: set up a miniature gym in my small house, focusing on dumbbells. I have a Body Solid bench and rack for the weights and a Swiss Ball, that's it. My whole set-up ran me $800, which is what I spent each year on gym membership. I love all the time I save; no travel, no gym bag, lock, checking in, waiting in line, avoiding the sight of other naked men in the showers, etc.

Results: I am a typical white guy, aged 48. I will never compete for Mr. Universe, but I remain trim [6'2" / 175lbs] and strong enough to get up at 5:30 each morning for a full, challenging day. I have no heart disease, despite the fact that every other man in my family has had it by this age. Rock on.

The book tells you all you need to know to make an effective workout. You will need to test different techniques and see what works for you; everyone is different.

I find the criticisms of the book rather funny. Some guys think they need more specific techniques or one exercise to work one muscle, by name. I had no idea so many elite body builders lived in America. Where are these guys? When I look around me at the airport or the shopping mall, it's hard to find a man over 40 with a trim waist. Many of these old hogs look like they are pregnant. Don't let it happen to you! Follow the Home Workout Bible plan, and you'll stand out like a giraffe in the pig pen.

boring book to read...... not interesting at all. I read a few chpters and then bought the lean & hard book.

This is a good book for any home gym. As long as you have a good bench and some weights you can utilize the exercises in this book in a very efficient way. I have been lifting weights for fifteen years and still find this book to be pretty helpful in changing up my routines.

It is a must for anyone wants to start training at home!!

It was easy to read and very clear. However, the only disadvantage is that it doesn't include a section about nutrition and dieting.

This book is a great resourse. It has so many exercise and four different types of resistance each in its own section: no equipment, dumbbells, barbells, and crossover. It also list exercises based on experience, in the catogory of beginner, intermediate, and expert. My biggest complaint about this book is that it doesn't specifically tell what muscles are being worked for each exercise. The exercises are put into catogies and are not narrowed down any further than "knee dominant" or "hip dominant". Which is fine I guess, but how are you going to know which exercise works which specific muscles? There are some sample routines in the book which are okay, but if you don't have the equipment there aren't alternatives sugguested. Which leads back to complaint number one. Tell what muscles are worked and I can find an alternative exercise with what I have to work with. All and all a great book! It is a great companion book to The Body You Want in the Time You Have by Matt Murphy which is 2/3 of the 350+ pages are rountines based on the how many days and how much time. That book does tell you exactly which muscles you working, but only includes 48 exercises and not all the great alternatives and of the Homework Bible.

In these days of constant email, anything that helps educate about good email use and etiquette is a good idea in my book.

We immediately implemented some of the suggestions made in this book. But as with anything, rules are meant to be broken, so take it for what it's worth.

This was so hot in my office that it made all the rounds - and I never got it back! It's a good, quick read and very actionable.

... perhaps itself a bit like an email! I personally prefer email for most of my communications, and I think my kind don't get a totally fair shake in this book. Email can have its advantages in charged situations. Like a letter, you have time to think about exactly what you want to say, and if necessary, you have time to calm down. If you're struggling with strong emotions, your face and/or voice will probably show them; if necessary, you can keep these to yourself in an email.

Email also has the advantage of keeping a record of a long-past agreement. There's a reason most contracts aren't verbal. If you're like me and need to establish complex agreements with large groups of people, email is invaluable. When that pesky IT guy comes back and swears that we promised him 100 hours of free service, we can say sweetly, no, if you look at the meeting notes we sent last month, there's no mention of it. And, unfortunately, here's another email indicating that you signed off.

However, I give this book four stars, because it offered up some surprise insights, even for a hardened emailer like me. Most people have had at least one experience of unintentionally offending (or taking offense to) their fellow emailers. My approach has always been to take extra care when writing about a potentially difficult subject. However, this book explains the fundmental cause of such difficulties. It's not that email is a bad medium; it's a medium with no underlying context, which means even a neutral email serves as a screen onto which the reader projects his or her own anxieties. I believe that's why most of us try hard to make our messages friendly, and I, unlike the book, have no trouble with judicious use of smilies. A message can't be mean if it's got a smiley! (-:

I do have a specific contradiction to one piece of advice in this book: if you send a message you didn't intend to, do NOT use Outlook's message recall service. (1) All your recipients will receive the message anyway; (2) If they make the mistake of clicking on your recall message, it will tie up the host email program; (3) it will leave the original message in its place, just waiting to do damage, and (4) you have now called special attention to it with your futile attempts undo your mistake. Treat it like it's US mail. Once the message is out of your inbox, you ain't never taking it back.

My office keeps a copy in the bathrooms, because we're uncultured that way. I must admit, this is a perfect book to dip into during a visit to the office loo.

This breezy tome will do an excellent job of making a savvy writer from even the most oblivious Luddite. It is to internet communication what The Elements of Style is to the written word: clear, concise instruction that elaborates not only on what should be done, but explains why.

Email was thrust upon an unsuspecting populace years ago; unlike English grammar and composition, the proper use of email in not learned in most classrooms, and this witty book feels a much needed gap. If--like FEMA director Michael Brown--you have learned the hard way that sarcasm and humor often don't translate into email, this book is for you. If you've inadvertently cringed exactly one second after you clicked send, then you are the target audience for this book. IF YOU SEND EMAILS IN ALL CAPS AND DON'T REALIZE YOU ARE SCREAMING, BUY THE BOOK NOW.

From subject lines to salutations, flames to bcc's, Send should be required reading at any company that provides email to its employees: It should be given to all employees at orientation, along with their timecard and name badge. The easy guidelines in this book--kindly illustrated with laugh-out-loud examples--might well save businesses hours of time and trouble that are often caused when emails are misdirected or misinterpreted.

"Do you know someone who drives you crazy with their email? Then rush out and buy this book immediately. Give them a copy of Send, which should be required reading for anyone who uses email."

The Party of the First Part: The Curious World of LegaleseFor some reason people turn off their brain when sending emails -- this book is an lively guide to being smart about email. Email - like legalese - is omnipresent these days. That doesn't mean it has to be tedious; it can be as pointed and elegant as any other form of communication, provided we go easy on the emoticons. Back in August, William Safire recommended this book and a book about legalese (Party of the First Part) for logophiles. I have to agree: both books bring their subjects to life.