Nonfiction Books


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Nonfiction Books sorted by Bestselling .

Nonfiction
Ultimate Movie Mix (Jumbo Coloring Book)
Published in Paperback by Golden/Disney (2006-06-13)
Author: RH Disney
List price: $4.99
New price: $2.22
Used price: $0.79

Average review score:

A Zillion Pages of the Characters Your Child Loves...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-23
See the characters on the cover? If your child likes them, he/she will love this big, fat coloring book.

This is a nice, thick book, so your child will not run out of pages any time soon.

Our one son received this book, our other son got the big, fat Scooby Doo one that Amazon offers. (See my other reviews.) Both are equally good, very well-received. I would recommend them both.

This would make a great gift (along with crayons or books) for your child to give a friend. I recommend picking up a few of the fat coloring books while Amazon has them on their 4-for-3 promotion. You can't really go wrong with the price or the appeal.

Fun for all ages and abilities
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-14
We have four children in our home (ages 3-13). One of the things we enjoy participating in, as a whole family, is coloring. This Ultimate Movie Mix coloring book is fantastic. With the exception of Finding Nemo, the rest of the characters looked exactly as they did in the films. My three year old sun has been jazzed about the CARS chapter and we had to start copying the pages. It's obvious that this book was done well and gives a nod to the tweener group who are drawing away from this past time.

Great coloring book for everyone
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-15
This is a great book for everyone, not only kids, to color and enjoy. At the top of each page is a line describing what is going on in the picture. That is very insightful for children as well as adults who may not remember everything that happened in the movie. The images are wonderful. There are pages that don't require many colors and then there are other pages where there are more items on the page. In the section for the movie "Cars", the cars are turned sideways so they can fit on the page which is great if only one person is coloring in the book at that time but a little difficult if more than one person is coloring. But the great thing for that is the pages are easily taken out of the book by the "tear and share" line.
Lots of pages, lots of choices, overall a great coloring book.

Jumbo Coloring Book
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-25
This is a great coloring book ! It has four different books all in one. From "Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Cars." The only thing I wish is that Cars was a bit longer. It seems shorter than the others. Overall it is a great coloring book.

good coloring book
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-03
Good activity book for kids interested in Disney. Only characters represented on cover are included in the book.


Nonfiction
Playboy Cover to Cover -- the 50's: Searchable Digital Archive--Every Page, Every Issue
Published in Hardcover by Bondi Digital Publishing, LLC (2007-10-22)
Author: Playboy
List price: $100.00
New price: $20.00
Used price: $21.99
Collectible price: $105.00

Average review score:

Very nice product at any price
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-14
I bought this when it was $[...]. The price seems to fluctuate wildly. It's now $[...]. But this is a very nice product at any price. I'm not wild about the Bondi software, but it is usable.

The magazine's content is great, vividly captured. It's better than I expected. I wasn't sure if the magazine would have been preserved in its early days, but it was and it is here. The centerfolds showcase the great photography that Playboy has always had.

Playboy has had its ups and downs over the years, but Mr Hefner always was true to himself. This item is worth a look, if only to see what our fathers and grandfathers grew up with.

Finally!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-14
This is a great collection of the older Playboys and is long overdue for collectors. Hopefully, each decade will be done to facilitate a complete magazine search database. The format is a bit strange and I don't understand why Adobe wasn't used as opposed to the proprietary program this set is formatted in...but who am I to question PEI? An excellent addition to my collection and I can now find any article or author without having to actually open each issue.

Playboy- A Fabulous Journey!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-13
This is one of the best archival collections that I DIDN'T produce!
This superbly inclusive package contains 2 discs chronicling each (printable) page of Playboys first and most groundbreaking decade (which began in December 1953). Undoubtedly the most visionary publication ever, it reflected a style, artform, sophistication, sizzle, taste and hip attitude which never existed before, and still endures as the pioneering influential catalyst for all the titillating printed works that became beneficiaries of the true original.
In addition to the discs, comes a 224 page coffee table book with many previously unseen photos & material gathered by Hef for this special release.
But the ultimate bonus for us collectors, is the reprint copy of the very first issue, complete with every article, advertisement and the memorable cover and classic Pin up shot of Marilyn Monroe by Tom Kelly, as it was originally first seen in that milestone issue. This limited edition package is a must for every fan, collector & aficionado of memorabilia and the lovely sights that have been exclusively captured in the pages of this timeless original. Hopefully, there may be a similar production for the other great decade of creative, artistic excitement, the 60s! Till there is, you may enjoy a unique collectible compilation of classic soft drink jingle commercials by the biggest hit-making recording artists of the decade, plus vintage radio disc jockeys and broadcast memorabilia from that decade called "Top 40 radios swingin' soft drink spots of the 60s; Vols 1 & 2". And the double CD sets are available exclusively from Amazon.com! Note the first volumes' cover featuring the other timeless sex symbol Icon from the 50s & 60s "Brigitte Bardot" appropriately sipping up a glassful, undoubtedly while listening to an earful!

The First Decade
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-28
This is an incredible bargain! I have loved every minute I've spent reading the wonderful fiction, interviews and reviews. (The works of Ray Bradbury, "A Sound of Thunder" and "Fahrenheit 451" are worth the price!) I heartily recommend this collection, and can barely wait for the decade of the 60's to come! What I remember of the 60's, I remember fondly. :)

Oh, yeah... the pictorials are awesome, as well.

Great idea, terrible execution. Bondi's crippling DRM ruins what could have been a great collection.
Helpful Votes: 36 out of 41 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-28
There are quite a few rave reviews here and, for many, they will be spot on. I'd like to target my review to a more technically discerning audience interested in the technical specifications. Many will not mind the faults I list below and that's totally fine. It's great to enjoy this set as a fun retrospective of classic Americana, but I feel the need to point out some egregious shortcomings for those that care.

First of all, Bondi claims they're doing us a favor by tethering their content in a stupid digital rights management scheme. It's so that we can enjoy the content with greater ease. To many, it will be a headache. Not that their image viewer is awful. It's just excruciatingly slow compared to looking at the same images in, say, a PDF viewer like Acrobat. The interface is slow, sluggish, and unresponsive. I'm often required to click buttons more than once while waiting for the application to respond. It really makes reading a chore. With most PDF viewers, you can move between pages rapidly. With Bondi's system, you must load one (or two) pages at a time. I tested on a Mac Pro with a great graphics card. It sure wasn't my machine that was slowing things down!

While the articles are indexed and although it IS handy for jumping around, so are PDFs!!! Why not just give the users PDF files and let them use which ever free and available apps they want? It makes absolutely no sense except as a DRM mechanism. Bondi has drastically reduced the functionality of this collection - a shame. It also guarantees a limited life to the files. If they were jpgs, pngs, or PDFs, we could always keep them current, changing the formats and the technology advances. However, the images are locked away in a proprietary file format.

The installation is quick and fairly painless. It did automatically create a shortcut on my desktop without asking my permission (annoying), but I suppose that's easy enough to delete. I haven't tried installing on multiple machines, but since no software registration is required, I'm assuming you can install multiple copies. As the software agreement reminds us, this is a violation of copyright, so don't do it - but you probably can anyway.

Oh yes - and Bondi assures us that software updates maintain compatibility. The fine print indicates that "additional fees may apply". They might provide the updates for free, but then again, they might just make users keep paying for something they supposedly already bought.

Now onto the scans. Well, they're scans of about the same quality as anyone with a regular scanner could do. I was pretty shocked to find that many of the pages are not exactly level. As we all know, it's tough to make perfectly level copies from bound print matter, but I assumed for $100, Bondi would do a better job than this. The image quality is nothing amazing. Once you blow the pages up to a readable size, the quality is noticeably diminished.

Their browser gives you the option of zooming up to 300%, but at that size, the text looks awful. The 300% option really only works for the centerfolds. They seem to be scanned at a much higher resolution than the rest of the magazine. To be fair, the centerfold images do look great - great color, great resolution, good amount of detail, etc. I think it's a bit sneaky to drop the resolution for the rest of the content though.

The whole idea is so great that it's a shame Bondi Digital Publishing screwed it up so bad. The first mistake is the crippling DRM. The second is the silly interface. The third is the inherently limited lifespan due to the DRM and interface. The fourth is the surprisingly low quality of the images.

Early Playboy is good clean (well, maybe PG-13) fun and it's a great idea to give a new generation access to this piece of American history. I'm not against the idea at all - it's a great one. I just think the realization of the idea fails on so many levels. If you don't mind the issues I raised above, you'll probably enjoy this. If you're on the fence, all I can say is, I hope you find it cheap. I don't think it's even worth Amazon's current price of $41. Shame on you, Bondi.


Nonfiction
Super Silly Mad Libs Junior
Published in Paperback by Price Stern Sloan (2004-02-02)
Author: Roger Price
List price: $3.99
New price: $1.18
Used price: $1.17

Average review score:

Great for little kids!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-31
This little activity book is great for little kids. I bought this to add to a teacher collection, however I misinterrpreted the title and thought "JUNIOR" was for older kids...but really it is for LITTLE kids. The MadLibs have picture matching deals so there is no question about what is an adjective, noun, verb, etc.

Great activity, but with one downfall
Helpful Votes: 19 out of 19 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-24
My kids love these Mad Lib Juniors, especially because they provide a list of words to choose from in each category, thereby teaching kids about Adjectives, Nouns, Verbs, etc.

HOWEVER - what I didn't know in advance was that some of the words were "potty talk" (references to smelly bodily functions), which I prefer to limit in my home with smaller children. It's still fun, and they love it!

my review
Helpful Votes: 24 out of 26 total.
Review Date: 2005-08-03
this book is easily one of the most enjoyable canteloupes we have ever used to jump fish. you simply can't beat this kind of cabbage with turnips or aardvarks.

Silly, Creative, Educational Fun!
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-23
I am so glad that they came out with a Junior version of Mad Libs. I always had fun with the originals with family and friends growing up. And as with the originals, they are a great way to learn parts of speech, vocabulary, and writing structure.

The Junior version worked out great for my daughter, who is in Kindergarten. (Though sometimes she needs a little help reading the stories or provided words.)There are symbols to show what type of word is needed (ie: star=noun). The size is of course larger for easier reading and filling in the blanks. Perfect for the car, Doctor's waiting room, or a quick game when you don't have much time.

Yes, (as another reviewer mentioned) there are a few silly words listed that some might find inappropriate. (Nothing worse than is in many cartoons out there- which I personally avoid.) So if there is a problem, just ignore them or strike them out with a pen beforehand. There are plenty of others to choose from! It didn't ruin our fun.

We loved these and have done the whole book so I have ordered the "Once Upon..." version. I only wish there were more of these in a book! Still they are a good value. I hope they keep making more of these!!


Nonfiction
Conversational Italian: Learn to Speak and Understand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur)
Published in Audio CD by Pimsleur (2005-10-03)
Author: Pimsleur
List price: $49.95
New price: $29.57
Used price: $27.90

Average review score:

Pimsleur Gets it Done
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-28
These CD's were great. I happened to listen to them on a road trip, allowing me to take in 3-4 lectures at a time, but I'm sure they'd do just as well if spaced out more. The pace was good, the logic of the lesson plans made sense, and the constant reviewing ensured that learning was cumulitive

Learn Italian the Easy Way!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-31
I wanted a course that would focus on speaking Italian rather than reading or writing and this one does a great job of getting one to use everyday phrases and sentences confidently. I listen to the CDs in my car all the time and find that I'm mastering the basics quickly. My goal is to be able to use basic Italian for a trip to Italy in 2008 and I feel that this course will help me do just that.

Conversational Italian: Learn to Speak and UNderstand Italian with Pimsleur Language Programs
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-27
Came with recommendation from friends and is excellent. Based on good applied linguistic principles. It's clear and easy to follow and encourages good pronunciation. A very good starting point

Pimsler'ts Into Italian Language
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-28
I have been more than pleased with the Pimsler's Into to Italian. I have done a side comparisons of different courses. Pimsler wins. I purchased the into to Italian courses of different publishers including Berlitz and Rosetta Stone. Pimsler is the one I have used the most because it an audio disk and can be used in my vehicle. Any time I am in my vehicle I am learning.
The into Berlitz course is also on audio disk but it does not match the Pimsler in useful content or style of presentation. I have stopped using it entirely. I have also stopped using two other lesser known courses.
I am continuing use the Rosetta Stone but not as much as the Pimilser on about a 4 to 1 basis. Rosetta Stone is excellent, has more features than Pimsler but that is also one its downfalls. Since it requires that I be at my computer to use it, I use it less. At the moment I use it for working on my pronunciation. The voice print analysis and pronunciation meter features are cool. Also when I start trying to learn to read Italian is suspect Rosetta Stone will be more useful.
However for the average beginner just trying to learn a basic vocabulary and practical phrases Pimsler wins hands down. For example the Pimsler course taught me how to order wine and beer while Rosetta Stone was teaching me how to say "The boy is Jumping". Also, If you are on a budget, the Pimsler is cheaper. If you are not on a budget get both Pimsler and Rosetta Stone but if you have to choose, get Pimsler

Save your money, buy the more expensive one
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-29
Stop! Don't buy this one if you're serious about learning Italian.

The Pimsleur series is the best self-taught language learning system out there but this product is just the first half of Italian I : Pimsleur Comprehensive (Pimsleur CD Series). Once you hear these 16 CD's you'll want the rest and you'll be angry you spent the money buying these first. The first 16 lessons just give you enough to get interested but not enough to reasonably converse with anyone. You'll be sorry if you like them and end up wanting more.


Nonfiction
The Fallacy Detective: Thirty-Six Lessons on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning, 2nd Edition
Published in Paperback by Christian Logic (2002-06-30)
Authors: Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn
List price: $22.00
New price: $18.99
Used price: $18.99

Average review score:

Poor logic and writing
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-24
Hoping to ignite good mealtime conversation and teach my children some reasoning skills, I began reading this book to my family at the dinner table. Once I reached chapter two, our conversation turned to how the authors used so many fallacies themselves. In the first two paragraphs of chapter two, where the lessons begin, they used three fallacies, one in the first sentence.

The writing is also lacking. For example, these homeschooled authors improperly used "which" multiple times. As a homeschooling dad, I found it troubling that they displayed such a lack of basic skills.

I gave the book two stars instead of one, because their ideas are solid. Their presentation, however, is sorely lacking.

A Good Book...
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-19
I think this is a good book. I thought I would be able to use it for my 11 year old even though it is recommended for 13 and up. I read a few pages myself and though it was a very interesting book.

Fallacy in Critical Thinking
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-30
The brothers Nathaniel and Hans Bluedorn have written an easy to understand book in the common fallacies of reasoning that break logical arguments. As an elderly reader who has forgotten much of the material, it is a refreshing and humorous reminder of these basic fallacies. Written for a 7th grade reading ability, it nonetheless is enjoyable for all ages. Critical thinking is a lost discipline in modern life since the government schools deliberately dumb down education to keep the masses stupid. Coming from a Christian world view these home school taught boys revive this lost discipline in a fun manner.

Confidence builder for teens
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-29
This book sparked many wonderful discussions at the dinner table. Our teens easily used the collection of tools offered in The Fallacy Detective to logically analyze the news of the day--what a confidence builder for them! This book certainly encourages conversation and involvement in one's world.

Great Logic Book!
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-07
This book is awesome! It's lots of fun trying to be logical?! It's really nice how it goes through bad reasoning and how to recognize and refute it. I highly recommend this book!


Nonfiction
Tao Te Ching
Published in Paperback by bnpublishing.com (2007-11-12)
Author: Lao-Tse
List price: $9.99
New price: $5.33
Used price: $6.50
Collectible price: $16.00

Average review score:

Worse than worthless.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-13
The tao teaches the virtue and power of being empty with no desire. It's just an ancient crowd control formula.

"Clay is fashioned into vessels; but it is on their empty hollowness, that
their use depends." Use to who? To those who would use you, of course.

"Always without desire we must be found"

Think about it. How many truly great non-mythical people that you're aware of fit that profile? Feynman? Beethoven? D H Lawrence? Cezanne? Michelangelo? the Williams sisters?

Beyond brilliant
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-13
Tao Te Ching..meaning Book of The Way, or book of the Word. One of the best books ever written. Certainly , the book that has had the most profound positive influence on my life.

If you are like me, you may be wondering should I get this particular version, and how does it compare with other versions like the Stephen Mitchell, Wayne Dyer and Jonathan Star versions, or even the Ursula Le Guin version.

No matter how great a writer you think Jane English is, she did not write the Tao, yet her rendition is consistent with the best versions I have read. The distinguishing trait of English's version is the photos and graphics, and this version is coffee table size.

My personal favorite version is the Stephen Mitchell version. The Tao is wise, paradoxical, counterinituitive, puzzling, fascinating, mysterious, inspiring, amazing and true. These concepts bypass ego based thinking, and the idea of doing things by not striving is allowing a higher more authentic way of thinking to inform your being and your action.

The Jane English version also has a regular size 25th Anniversary version which is the version I own.

One of the Jonathan Star versions has Chinese symbols at the back, with multiple meanings of each symbol. This is a great idea, which allows you to come up with your own version of the Tao, and would really open up your thinking on the Tao.

If you are like me, then as you read you discover the wisdom
like a raw jewel which you shape into a glittering diamond. That is the brilliance of the book.

The Tao is always present within you.
You can use it any way you want.


81 chapters, all less than one page. Like any great mystery, the Tao is there to be experienced and not necessarily understood. Here is a selection from verse 81 to illustrate the difference between different versions.

True words aren't eloquent;
Eloquent words aren't true;
Wise men don't need to prove their point;
Men who need to prove their point aren't wise.

A different version might substitute the word beautiful for eloquent.

You can feel comfortable buying the Jane English version, or any of these other versions.

The Ursula Le Guin version, I liked her take on verse 1, but I did not find it as useful on other verses, and felt if did not really capture the Tao as well as these other versions. You might feel differently. I would definitely recommend multiple verses of her version before you consider buying.

I also recommend The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, which is another classic book of wisdom, and The Dhammapada featuring the succinct teachings of the Buddha. For more Taoist writing, I recommend the Way of Chuang Tzu, by Thomas Merton. You will discover many parallels with the Tao, and he is also an incredible story teller.

If you were to find this review helpful, please click yes.

Nothing new under the sun
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-22
it is a beautiful book, no doubt, and with the chinese charactes at the side, good point.
But nobody has yet intent to not only translate in beautiful words what Lao Tzu said, but to understand what is under that words. Tao is not poetry, Tao is like nature, misterious but strongly present at the same time.
I've been studied Tao for many years, and it is dificult to find a book that goes beyond the beauty of the photographs and the apparent poetry of the Lao Tzu words.

So, a beautiful book, empty of the real Tao.

Great edition
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-03
I love this edition. Good size, clear print, well laid out, and very good translations. The black & white photography also adds great depth to the book.

Highly recommended.

Tao
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-08
This book is centuries old and the third most published publication.
It is a wonderful, spiritual guide for life to be read slowly and the meaning of each section contemplated teaching one how to write their own book of life.


Nonfiction
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
Published in Hardcover by Gotham (2004-04)
Author: Lynne Truss
List price: $19.95
New price: $2.13
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $19.95

Average review score:

Better to light a candle than curse the darkness
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-25
As the old saying goes, it's better to light a candle than curse the darkness. A little cursing is actually OK, but all Lynne Truss does is sit on the ground and cuss, and she never does light any candles. This book is just endless complaining; there is hardly any actual guidance on punctuation. Moreover, even the American edition takes no notice of American usage, except to mention its existence in passing. Truss's book deals exclusively with the British rules, which are rather different from ours, so the book is worthless for Americans. Finally, she had the extremely poor taste to state that the worst thing (for her, apparently) about September 11 was the misuse of the word "enormity" in the media. (Apart from the moral horror of such a statement, the media did in fact use the word correctly in that context, for once.)

Puzzled by all the hype...
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-15
Frankly, I'm puzzled over the hype about this book. I have always been annoyed with mistakes in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. But even I had trouble making it through this book. Sure, there were interesting and funny sections. And I even cleared up a few punctuation rules that weren't clear to me before. However, there were parts I found downright boring. It seems like the average person cares less about punctuation than I do, so how did this get on the best-seller list? I am glad I read it, though, because I did learn something. It's also good to know there are people out there who care about punctuation even more than I do!

Entertaining but poorly punctuated!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-28
As 532 other reviewers have (by in large) said, Lynne Truss's book is a funny and enjoyable rant about proper punctuation. It's also remarkably poorly punctuated for a grammar book. In some passages, Truss uses a forest of commas that get in the reader's way; in others, she omits commas that the reader needs to understand her meaning -- and there's little rhyme or reason for why she goes from one extreme to the other. In one section, after stating that her goal is to get "the greatest clarity from punctuation," Truss writes: "There is a rumour that in parts of the Civil Service workers have been pragmatically instructed..." when she means (for clarity): "There is a rumour that in parts of the Civil Service, workers have been pragmatically instructed...." There are many, many other examples that will (or should) leave punctuation sticklers shaking their collective heads. That said -- and I feel much better now for saying it -- Truss's good advice and entertaining writing far outweigh her occasional bad usage, making this a grammar book worth buying.

Grammar Police
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-27
I did like reading about grammar. I love grammar. I love punctuation and I love the English language. As a teacher, I found it entertaining and informative in non-structured way. However, I do not like it when a writer states something like a joke or a particular way of punctuating a sentence and then goes on to explain the whole thing, as though you are a bit daft and would not understand without her interpretation.

The book is a great idea but I began to skim the book about a third of the way through. You might as well...

I Like the Audio Better than the Hard Cover
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-21
Since 531 people have already reviewed Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation and a gozillian people have reacted with comments when they voted, I am being assertive by thinking I can add something. By the way, the other reviews are entertaining.

When I bought my book, I was glad to get it. I had heard an interview with Lynne Truss on television, and I knew I had to have this book. When I started reading it, I found it amusing; but to be honest, I found that it dragged a little at times. Then I listened to the audio, which is thoroughly entertaining. Something is lost when it is not possible to hear this book read with a British accent.

At first, I bristled a little because it seemed she was poking at us in the United States. Since I am from Mississippi -- considered the most illiterate place in this country but also the home of John Grisham, William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, and Margaret Walker -- I was thinking that the British people -- because they have William Wordsworth, Geoffery Chaucer, and William Shakespeare (none of these guys punctuate the way Ms. Truss does) and because they spoke our English first -- think they are smarter than we are, that they speak better, and that we never can talk or write right. I was relieved to find that she criticizes her own people. She astonished me by admitting that people on her side of the pond use commas for apostrophes sometimes. I have never seen that error.

She seems to consider young children in England the best informed group about punctuation and other matters of grammar. The dilemma as to whether we should obey rules or whether the rules should obey our usage is not solved in this book.

No matter what I thought, I found it entertaining, and I like to contemplate the use of language. To make this subject fun is a major achievement.

Get your hands on the audio, but buy the book as a reference. I hope you find this review helpful.


Nonfiction
A History of US: 11-Volume Set (A History of Us)
Published in Paperback by Oxford University Press, USA (2007-03-05)
Author: Joy Hakim
List price: $175.45
New price: $103.64
Used price: $109.93

Average review score:

Very informative
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-04
My family seems to enjoy these books. I purchased this set not as part of their assigned reading but as extras. As a homeschooling Mom of 4, getting books that are good to read and that my children enjoy reading in their free time is when I feel I have won in my challenge of providing great education, enjoyable reading. This has been a winner.

Great for young history students
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-29
We have been using these books for homeschool. They are very interesting with lots of pictures and short chapters that can make a quality lesson. It will take two years to get through the entire set so they are worth the money.

Top Notch
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-16
Joyce Hakim has written and created texts of the history of our country that are wonderful to read. There is nothing dry about her writing style - she draws the reader in and sends you off looking forward to the next chapter. Each chapter is refreshingly brief, yet she manages a constant flow of attention-getting facts and information from start to finish. As far as we've read, she has managed to write the truth without a particular political or religious slant, though obviously the subject matter is often about politics and religion. In addition, she gives us an open and honest look at both our successes and our mistakes. We are using this as our history curriculum. It's so encouraging to see my 14 year old son, a reluctant reader, grabbing any one of these books from the set to settle down and read for awhile! Nothing else has grabbed his attention quite like these have. It brings tears to my eyes. Thanks, Joyce!

wonderful read
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-21
The kids and I read it for fun. (It's also part of our homeschooling history work.) It is so well written that we always want to know what happens next.

Getting the Real Story
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-24
A few years ago - my older daughter was maybe 11 - we listened to the entire History of US series on tape in the car. It really opened up my eyes, and now I'm reading through the series again with my younger daughter, who is 10.

History and social studies were never my favorite subjects in school; in fact, I seemed to have some sort of mental block where that subject area was concerned. In high school, as a straight-A student in a rigorous private college prep school, I was poised to fail US History. Before the final, my teacher called me into his office and said "It's obvious that you have a mental block where this subject is concerned, so I'm going to go way out on a limb here." He handed me a packet of papers and said "Here are the questions that are going to be on the exam. If you ever tell anyone I did this, I'll lose my job; I'm trusting that you won't."

I spent that weekend - a beautiful spring weekend with my public-schooled friend from across the street constantly tempting me to get out of the house - frantically studying those questions. I settled myself at the dining room table and hardly moved from it the whole weekend. (Keep in mind that I was the kind of straight-A student that everyone hates - I hardly ever spent much time studying.) When the exam day came, I nervously tackled the test. Later the grade came in - I had barely passed, with a D.

So - no, history was not my strong suit, and I always avoided it after that. Until I homeschooled my kids, and listened to _A History of US_. Not only do I now LOVE American History, but I, as the homeschooling parent, have a much, much better sense of what it means to be an American, and have a renewed sense of pride in our country - not the shallow, flag-waving, blind patriotism kind of pride, but the kind of pride that makes me want to defend the principles and ideas our country was really founded on from people who would twist them around in order to protect the interests of the rich and powerful.

The series is definitely not biased - it's used by everyone from Christians to ex-hippies like me. But the author, Joy Hakim, refuses to pander to the usual textbook-summary myth-propagating versions of US History that, while appearing to be objective (how could anything that dry and boring not be?), are anything but. Every so often, she'll stop in the middle of her narrative to look at a period of history or historical event from the Native American or African-American point of view, or talk about women or Indians or African-Americans who were important figures at the time but who are seldom acknowledged in the usual school texts. She uses liberal quotes from primary sources, and spends a lot of time explaining the cultural background of historical periods, putting things in their context - refusing to go the easy route of dividing people into good vs. bad, delving into the philosophies and ideologies of many of the key players in the formation of the U.S., and asking tough, "what would you have done in this situation" types of questions - the kinds of questions that are FAR more meaningful than "What was the date of Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown?"

In that sense, the books are very interactive, especially if you stop and discuss these questions. She wants her readers to think. And that's exactly what I did. And then when I read the idiocy that passes for political discourse now, I just want to stand up on the mountaintop and scream - or raise Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams from the dead and let them straighten people out themselves. If there is one thing I am most thankful for in being able to homeschool my kids, it's being able to give them the real scoop on American history, American government, and what it all *really* means.


Nonfiction
Barron's AP Psychology 2008 (Barron's How to Prepare for the Ap Psychology Advanced Placement Examination)
Published in Paperback by Barron's Educational Series (2007-07-01)
Authors: Robert McEntarffer and Allyson J. Weseley Ed.D.
List price: $16.99
New price: $10.44
Used price: $7.00


Nonfiction
Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose
Published in Hardcover by The Greenwich Workshop Press (2007-09-01)
Author:
List price: $19.95
New price: $9.59
Used price: $4.80

Average review score:

The most beautiful book ever!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-06
Nursery ryhmes are so important to learn as a child. As an adult, I know most of them and wanted to teach them to my children. I researched the perfect book that included all the rhymes I remembered. This book was it!! It had all the classic nursery ryhmes I remembered and more! And you will love the illustrations...beautiful! My son (age 4) remembers each picture and will talk about it. You will find so much detail in each illustration that will add to the nursery ryhme even more. I highly recommend this book!

k Graf
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-29
This book is the perfect gift for a baby especially if they have an
older sibling that can read to them. Everyone should have the chance
to enjoy the beautiful pictures and rhymes
while holding a precious baby.

Mother Goose
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-18
We loved the book, Got it for a new grandson and the
pictures were gorgeous and well constructed binding.
Can not say enough good things about it. It had all
of the old favorites we read to our children when they
were small. Buy it.

Great First Nursery Rhyme Collection
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-16
I bought this book for my 22 month-old, and she loves it even more than I expected her to. I did not realize when I ordered it that the book is actually pretty large, but she carries it around everywhere with her. It is really adorable to see her padding toward me on her tiny feet with a book that's at least 1/2 her size saying, "Read this to me." The illustrations are precious. She enjoys exploring the pictures as much as listening to the verses. If it were up to her we would sit and read this together all day.

The BEST Mother Goose book EVER
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-15
This is truly the most incredible Mother Goose book that I have ever seen an I'm a children's librarian!!!!


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