Travel Books

this is a great book to keep on hand when eating out. I now feel like I can eat out without breaking my diet plans!!

I was hoping for a lot more tips that I could use in my own kitchen, but that's not the type of book this is. For those who eat on the go very often, this can be useful. Overall, it felt more like a review of fast food restaurants in America. Some of the calorie counting was only marginally helpful. Like I said, if you eat out for almost every meal,and if you are just really strict about calories and need to watch every bite, then this may be right for you.

This book is the "food bible"!!! My husband and I learned so much from this book and I bought it for 3 friends as gift already! If you are interested in what you are eating and how you can improve, you want to buy this book.

This book was very informational and reviewed many popular products and restaurants. I will use it when grocery shopping as it showed that many of the choices I thought were healthy or "better", were not.

Would get 5 stars except occasional contradictory items, e.g. some coffee drinks with essentially the same nutritional info were separated into good/bad foods.

EG shares her journey about the purpose of pleasure, spirituality and love in her life. This book helped me reflect on my own values. I will re-read it after enjoying the first reading so I can spend more time with the questions she raises in a most entertaining manner.

I think a lot of the people who have left poor reviews for this book have been a little harsh.
I read this book as a recommendation and I have to say I really enjoyed it. If you are looking for a yoga-how-to, or a deep philosophical spiritual journey with literary prose, then you are looking at the wrong book. However, if you pick up the book as a good summer read (as I did) and take away from it the easy humor the authors voice emulates I have no doubt you will enjoy it.
It is not as religious as it seems it is going to be in the beginning either, which again, was a good thing for me.
All in all, I think you have to look at why you are reading this book before you judge it. I found it cute and entertaining. I will read this author again.

I usually don't feel the need to write a review, but after reading all the horrible reviews it got, I felt I had to. This book is amazing and incredibly funny! About a woman going through a divorce and trying to find herself. She does have some issues, but who doesn't? And if you think you don't, thats an issue! This book says to me that one thing that sounds good to someone else isn't so great for another. Her marriage sounded great to the average person, but being caught in something you don't want or isn't you is very destructive. It's about doing what you want and not having to justify it. Don't listen to all the bad reviews by people who probably give everything one star because they think everything is bad! I completely recommend reading this book if you want to laugh, find inspiration and yourself!

OMG .. what self-absorbed drivel. I am amazed at women who are impressed by this vapid piece of work. The author is a shallow harpy with whom I couldn't have less in common. I can't relate to any of her stupid observations or solipsistic epiphanies. I don't begrudge her not wanting children. It's probably best that women like this don't procreate. It was a massive waste of time to spend MY TIME with a woman whose world ends at the tip of her own nose. What a bore. Don't be fooled into thinking this is even a mildly well-written or amusing piece. It is a text book study in what's wrong with many so-called "sophisticated urbanites" today.

Don't even waste your time. I can count on one hand the number of books that disgusted me so much I couldn't finish them and this was one of them. The whining is unreal for someone with no real responsibility in life. The author is very melodramtic. This woman needs real problems and has WAY too much time on her hands. I really wanted to slap the selfishness out of her. Awful, awful book.

The author creates an awareness within you and makes you reach out for creating and working on your goals in an approach which feels very achievable. I would recommend everyone to read this book. If not anything else, it at least helps to motivate you!

Once again, it is a must read!

Trust me, I wouldn't have any trouble letting a money machine run on autopilot, as the bulk of this book is dedicated to explaining.

Many people will read this book, think it's great, maybe give it some afterthought and go back to their lives. Others will scoff at it and say it's trash. Well, I'm writing this review strictly to set the record straight. Ferriss gives us tools. Tools that we can use to create a different, more interesting life. I bought this book in June of 2007, and I'm writing this review, now July, 2008, from Oaxaca, Mexico, where I'm renting a villa with a spectacular mountain view for an entire month. No, I'm not rich. The trip cost $1200 for the rental, plus about $2400 for the airfare. I'm working full time while I am here (except for the odd day off or so)so as not to waste my PTO. What is technologically making this possible for me is my laptop, a good IP phone (a commercial one), and most importantly, a solid internet connection, which is available in most third world countries these days.

A year ago, when I first read this book, this trip would not have been possible. I was able to follow some of his thoughts and virtualize my job. Of course, not everyone will be able to do this...I get that...but it's more than just a fleeting possibility for most than many seem to think.

If nothing else, it's a quick, easy read, and can show you what is possible. The rest, if you have the imagination and will to make it happen, are up to you.

I bought this book when I was trying to find a business that could best use my talent. Mr. Ferriss was referred to in Sun-Sentinel newspaper in Florida. I was at Borders when I was reading the newspaper article, and I bought the book right there and then.

I have read many motivational books by many famous writers, but this one by far, the most practical one. I have not yet tried the method(s) written in his book. But it is all common sense that if you don't try, how would you know? It is a pity that many of us (in the US) sitting in the comfort of mediocrity while the rest of the world is seeking improving their life by finding a "niche". Work 4 hours a week sounds like a "niche" to many of over worked people here in the US. Guess what the Indians and Chinese people do? They work hard, finding "niches", and become rich. And then they acquire the wealth of the world, so the NR in China need only work 4 hours a week or less. Why can't we do that, and what is wrong with that?
I am a Chinese, and have been in the US for close to 20 years. I have worked hard, still in search of a niche that will enable me work 4 hours a week or LESS! I have not found it yet, but I am continuing to look for it...this book serves as another tool to realize my dream. Perhaps Mr. Ferriss had better education, perhaps he has higher IQ, perhaps he had better luck, and the bottom line is, he got to where most of us want to be and should be!
I resent those who preaching that "you have to work hard to make money", NO, I want to work smart!!!!! Work hard enables me live from pay check to pay check, perhaps Mr. Ferriss' book will give me some wisdom. I don't know, but it certainly gives me more hope than the rest of the naysayers. Please, the naysayers, if you have the luxury to work only 4 hours a week, would you still criticize what this book try to convey? Do less, accomplish more will make the world a much more pleasant place to live. At least will make people feeling less grouchy! Thank you Mr. Ferriss for giving us the tips! I love the book, confident will generate positive result for me!
To the rest of the naysayers, please be real, work 4 hours a week sounds like just what you need!

Never before have I been so compelled to write a review--not just because of the overwhelming amount of cynicism that has been spewed about the number of 5-star reviews on this book, but because it is actually a REALLY good read. I listened to the 7-CD audio version of this book in my mobile library aka my car and I was enlightened on my 2 hour daily commute to and from work. As young as Tim is, he seems to have grasped the concept of accomplishing everything that you could ever want to do. There is a certain fearlessness and sense of urgency that arrives after reading this book that the reader will either have to embrace or reject. Embracing will lead to inevitable success; while rejection will lead to more of the same--50 hour weeks, information overload, and retirement at 65. There are a few of things that I picked up from this book that make it worth its weight in gold.

-Dreamlining: This was something that I did my own way before reading the book, but done Tim's way has had a huge impact on the way I view things in life. Figuring out how much your dream life costs and making it happen one peice at a time.

-Mini-retirement: The idea of working until you are old, tired, and rich is beyond played out. Living for the now, and better planning so that you can have everything and do everything that you want is much more upbeat and even (dare I say) logical.

-Time Management: The basis of this premise in the book is simple. Stop letting other people waste your time. it belongs to you and you should protect it at all costs, and free it whenever possible.

Without giving away any of the book in detail, I can not say anything more helpful than BUY this book. It has changed my world, and the world of others that i have recommended it to. There is nothing superficial about it. It is an honest and detailed account of a young person that has capitalized on the understanding of time management and where our businesses are headed. The principles can be applied to those that work for others and those that work for themselves. That is my review. I definitely recommend the audio version for iPodders, and heavy commuters. This review was not paid for by Tim Ferris.

This book was awsome. Chris McCandless is one of my true heroes and i was pleased to see this book came out after the small article about in in outdoor magazine. For anyone who like the movie, the book is 10 times better and more informative. i loved every minute i read of this book. GET IT.

Into the Wild Great Book! It helped to understand why a person would want to do this. Very interesting. Also didnt know about the rest of them...............

This story shares a tale about life and death--real life and real death. Make no mistake, you know how this ends. But it's not the ending--it's the journey. It's about the people left behind, and the effect one soul can have when paths cross on the street called life.

I read few non-fiction books like this. I recommend fewer. But I humbly request you read this one.

Listen, learn, and live what Into the Wild tells you. It'll change the way you look at life.

Wolfe

I loved this story, and finished it in one sitting. How many of us ever dream of just dropping everything and going off, exploring nature and taking in the landscape around us, instead of the steady day to day rat race of life? I grew up into the area that Chris did, and can understand the pressures of competition, the hassle, and the need to just crawl inside yourself for awhile and be alone.
My only irritation with this story was the fact that the author cut in with his own. I see the author trying to compare his experiences in understanding Chris's thought process, but it was a deviation most distracting. It made things feel out of order and even took some of the punch out of the ending. I didn't feel the need of the authors interruptions and musings.

I first picked up this book because of all the hype around the movie. I had not seen the movie and decided that I really wanted to check out the book before hand. All I needed to do was read the author's notes in the front to know that I had to read it.

Jon Krakauer's words stopped me from putting it down until the book was finished. I enjoyed how the book was woven together for good and bad on Chris Mc Candless's relationships. It made me appreciate my own experiences with people and helped me to understand how our approach to life has influences on those around us. Even when relationships are brief the outcome can be life altering.

Into the Wild is a great read. I could not put it down and I was happy that I read the book before seeing the movie.

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The info I had read about this book made me think that it would be quite entertaining. I even bought an extra copy for a gift.
I am disappointed. It was not very entertaining.
In fact, I did not finish reading my copy.. I now am stuck with two copies of a not-very-entertaining book.

I actually read a good portion of this book last week while flying on AA. It really is not so much a bash of the airline industry, it is a hillarious tale of (compared to my life) a pretty normal life. I actually high-lighted some passages in this book they are so funny. The writing is brilliant and I have not enjoyed a book this much in a long time. Reading Dear AA is like watching Caddy Shack instead of the Shawshank Redemption, one wont win an Academy award, but they both atre equally great, for different reasons.

For anyone who has been disgruntled by American Airlines' massive service disruption recently and the general malaise of the flight industry as a whole, this is a dexterously comic and surprisingly poignant first-time novel that will resonate. Jonathan Miles, a freelance magazine writer who has an enviable job as the cocktails columnist for The New York Times, has penned a story that takes the form of an exasperated and ultimately cathartic 180-page letter of complaint from Benjamin ("Bennie") Ford, a passenger demanding a full refund of $392.68 as he remains stranded at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, a concentration of congestion aptly described as "the sacrificial goat of air travel". What has triggered his scathing indictment is that a cancelled flight has meant he will miss the chance to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding.

The situation is complicated by the fact that his daughter is gay, that the wedding is really a commitment ceremony and that he hasn't seen her since she was an infant. The reasons for the dysfunctional nature of the relationship are delved into by the sharp-tongued author as Bennie reveals himself as an alcoholic ex-poet and ex-bartender from New Orleans, the product of a schizophrenic painter mother and a Polish immigrant who ended up becoming an exterminator. He went through two failed marriages and now cares for his mother in a New York apartment as he earns a living as a translator of Polish fiction. Bennie's translation-in-progress is called "The Free State of Trieste", and it runs parallel with his own story. Miles goes back and forth between the epic tale of an injured Polish soldier in the aftermath of World War II and Bennie's own frustrating saga.

What is most relatable in the book is the way the author covers the expected inconveniences of flying, whether it's the burden of post-9/11 security or the idle time chatting with fellow stranded travelers. The minutiae of Bennie's experience can start to feel repetitive at times, but I have to admit the best parts of the book are Bennie waxing philosophically as he rants to the poor American Airlines customer service agent to whom his letter is directed. Sometimes it comes across like a more thoughtful and thought-provoking version of Neil Simon's The Out-of-Towners. But more than that, what Miles does especially well is take a well-worn literary archetype - the bad father and husband seeking forgiveness - and turned him into a fresh, complex character worth discovering. The brief story evolves into a direction that is both bittersweet and satisfying, no small feat for a rookie novelist with obvious talent to burn.

This is definitely one of my favorites. It never becomes cliche even though it touches upon common themes. I had such mixed feelings about Bennie -- he is generally unlikable, occasionally disgusting yet somehow I want to root for him -- to ultimately see him redeemed. I travel quite a bit and have experienced first hand some of the emotions and frustration or prolonged delays. But I could never put it into the perfect words like Jonathan Miles has. I also believe this is a book that men will like as it is definitely not "chick lit." What surprises me is that it is not front and center in every airport bookstore. A missed revenue opportunity for sure.

Or so wrote Yeats and that line pretty much describes Bennie Ford, always one or two steps removed from living life. That's his life and his profession(Miles makes him a translator). Ex-wife Stella could not agree more: " (you) are always drawn to the frozen image...not the real thing" or as she accuses Bennie of treating her and their child as "moveable props" and laments that "I never understood why life was never enough for you." (Actually Bennie as a college student edits a poem zine called "Rag and Bone Shop" which is a line that comes from one of Yeats' last poems-- The Circus Animals' Desertion. The title of this review is a line from that poem.Read the poem before the novel and you'll appreciate the novel more.) Bennie is stuck in Chicago with a huge flight delay foul up. He is mid way between the country, leaving his home in New York to attend his estranged daughter's wedding in LA. But the midpoint is not just geographic, it is metaphorical. He is equiposed between life and death(he contemplates suicide), stradled in declining middle age(a life of hard drinking does that to you), sorting out how he got to be the way he is(mentally ill mother, stolid immigrant Polish father, growing up in the South). The complaint letter is a funny and effective device for Bennie's internal monologue. And the beauty of this book is to see and feel and hear as Bennie works it out and answers this question---will I go forward or will I go back or will I just stay the same. The novel teaches us a lot as he struggles with the answer. Miles has a fresh way with the language"I felt as if I was having a pimple squeezed"(describing a clincally administered h/j) and 'to translate a literary work is to make love to a woman who will always be in love with someone else". The novel is only a 180 pages but Miles packs a lot into it. Give it a read.

Vonnegut's novel is about life, thought process, and death set against the author's life experiences in Dresden during WWII and his fictional character, Billy, who we see through memories and partial linear plot line. In my opinion, the story, however; very important, is not the point of this novel. Vonnegut used the novel as a vehicle to show us the purpose of being human which is life, thought process, and death. In my opinion, this is why the novel is not written in the traditional way: beginning, middle, climax, end. Vonnegut shows us through the vehicle of a novel, how the brain operates and how society operates which are connected unconsciously and consciously. Vonnegut's novel should be read by everyone.

I have sat here for some time now pondering on what exactly to write, but with so many other reviews, which are excellent, I am left a bit uncreative. Let's just say this is a great book. SL5 was recommended to me in a lit class I took last semester, and I picked it up a few weeks ago and devoured it the next day. It was one of those books that was so original, meaningful, and funny (in a dark humorous way), that I could not put it down. I even left a spaghetti stain on a page because I was reading while eating.

Anyway, all these reviews say so much about the book, that all I have to say is I agree with all the other good reviews. This is a great book, and it is hard not to like it. Check it out, I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

This is Kurt Vonnegut's Masterpiece. It achieves everything that good science fiction aspires to achieve. The world of Billy Pilgrim is not to be missed. This definitely has to be one of the greatest science fiction books ever written if not it is in the top 10.

John

Straightforward Fantasy of Baffling Reality

Billy Pilgrim has been unstuck in time, and I feel that way too. Through my English class, the whole contemporary style threw me completely off. This is not Dickens. This is not Steinbeck either. The closest I've read before is James Joyce, but I had no clue what he was saying. The similarity: half my brain cells died reading either book.
So it goes. However, this book is not going to be like any other war book you've
ever read-besides the usage of drugs as a plot device. This story has one of many interpretations. I am certain I have overanalyzed this book over and over again, but this is what I feel about the book.
The first is the easiest to explain and understand. Kurt Vonnegut is crazy and disillusioned after the onset of a terrible war including the hellish bombing of Dresden during World War II. This could easily explain for the random twists, plot spins, alien abductions, etc. However, this seems too simple an explanation.
Another explanation is an extremely deep one: the characters in the story are intended to be completely sane, and the book is not as much an antiwar novel as much as an analysis on free will. The narrator includes countless allusions to this argument, starting when Vonnegut compares stopping a war to stopping a glacier, to when the Trafamadoreans tell Billy Pilgrim that free will does not exist, to Billy getting thrown into the deep end of a pool. Billy is being taught the "sink or swim" method by his dad, but is rescued "against his free will" when they find out that he actually likes the bottom of the pool.
At this point, I cannot say that I have made a thorough analysis. I have practically nothing good to say. Perhaps the only thing I have left to say is "poo-tee-weet?"

June 9, 2008

Criticism on Slaughterhouse 5

Slaughterhouse 5, by Kurt Vonnegut, describes the unpredictability of life, as well as the inability to control it. The main character of the book, Billy Pilgrim, goes on many different adventures, some at home, and some on other planets several quadrillions of miles away from earth. Many lessons are taught in the book, some which certain people may disagree with. Among these are ideas that cannot be controlled, and the future cannot be altered by your decisions. Another suggestion is that death is not a large thing to worry about, as one can remember the good parts of someone's life, not just how they are now. However, these lessons have the potential to be disregarded by people who believe otherwise, if they are not already.

An interesting aspect of the book is that it is written in a format similar to the described Tralfamadorian format in the book. Several small passages make up the majority of the book, which alludes to the way the inhabitants of planet Tralfamadore format their books. Their books are meant to contain many short, happy memories that can all be viewed at once to form a single image of contentment. However, not all of the scenes in this book may be viewed as joyful. Plenty morose sections counter the good in this book.

The repetition of "so it goes" (1) in this book is unique and confusing. Usually it follows a mention of death, therefore following the main theme of life being uncontrollable, but is absent at certain instances, such as the death of Russians. This may be because the author doesn't like this group of people for some reason, or it may just be one of the many cases of disrespect in this book.

This novel has many inappropriate aspects as well. Wikipedia commented that "Because of its realistic and frequent depiction of swearing by American soldiers, its irreverent language (including the sentence `The gun made a ripping sound like the opening of the zipper on the fly of God Almighty,') and some sexually explicit content, Slaughterhouse-Five is among the most frequently banned works in American literature, and in some cases is still removed from school libraries and curricula." (2) This is true, as many swear words were often repeated, and coupled with pornographic content at the end of chapter nine, this book may not be recommended to some audiences. Not to mention the fact that the repetition of this content distracts from the meaning found in this novel. However, any alterations to create a censored book would drastically alter the plot, so unfortunately it is hard to avoid this content if one wishes to read the novel.

In conclusion, Slaughterhouse 5 is a unique book with many hidden details that this criticism just touched the surface of, though it may not be recommended to some audiences. Vonnegut has created another novel that matches his style exactly.

(1) Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
(2) Wikipedia Search "Slaughterhouse 5"

I bought this book when I was first learning Spanish and actually never touched it in my beginner stages. The book contains useful phrases that you'd need to know; however, they way they translate them into Spanish is almost overly proper and polite and if you were talking to any native Spanish speaker using these phrases, you would just seem awkward. I will say, though, that if your intention isn't to learn Spanish, but just to learn some phrases to get you by while traveling, this book might be ok...just expect some strange looks with some of the phrases.

This is a helpful book in many ways, however it is out of date. I wish I had checked when it was printed, so I would have known that many of the phrases that were commonly used then, are quite awkward now. However, much of the information remains useful. Also, I planned to use this book when working in a third world country, however it would be much more useful in a tourist's back pocket.

I've been reading and studing Spanish for a while now. Useful phrases. Some of them forgot to put the pronunciations under some of the kinda important sentences. It's not a real thick book.

This book is compact and it is easy to find a lot of common Spanish phrases quickly and accurately.

As someone who knows almost no Spanish, I thought this book was helpful. Though my husband, who is a pretty good Spanish speaker, said that some of the phrases in here too formal and aren't really used by people who speak Spanish as their first language.

I saw the Frontline documentary "Storm over Everest" by David Brashears which features interviews with several of the individuals mentioned in the book. You definitely get two different perspectives when watching the documentary and reading this book, but both accounts are riveting. I found myself pulling for the characters throughout the book, and I was exhausted when I finished.

Into Thin Air, the second of Krakauer's self-described three books to date on fringe elements of society, is about the mountaineering tragedy on Mt. Everest in May, 1996. He was with one of the teams on the mountain at the time for an article he was writing for Outside magazine.

In general, the story is about people who, for reasons known only to them, subject themselves to very extreme, sometimes-not-survivable weather and altitude conditions in the interets of having "climbed" the mountain (many truly climb, some of whom are able to summit; some pay significant amounts of money for what can perhaps best be called "taken," sometimes to the peak). More specifically, the book is about the numerous teams on the mountain at the time and the extraordinary difficulties encountered, some due to the limited training of paying customers, many due to the sheer number of people trying to get up and back down within the same period, all exacerbated by the weather conditions. A very tragic story ... several talented, courageous climbers died in the process and others had life-altering injuries.

Many books have been written on the events (Boukreev, Breashears, Viesturs, and others), but to my knowledge this was the first. It is well-written and, in many ways, reads like you would expect - by a talented professional writer who witnessed a truly devastating situation first-hand and who, at the time, wasn't anywhere near "over it." Highly recommended, whether or not you have any interest in mountain climbing.

This book is a true story. As such, it is amazing that men and women still will try to climb this mountain to the peak. Dangerous conditions come from everywhere, lack of oxygen, weather, and the mountain itself. Plus I must mention the climbers, some of which, are not prepared for this ascent. Have some tissues handy.
This book is well written. It tells a story of triump and tragedy and of human error and its consequences. You must read it for yourself.
GREAT SUMMER READ, or anytime.

I'm not a big non-fiction adventure book aficianado, but this book was wonderful. Jon Krakauer is the type of author who can make you feel what he's feeling and see what he's seeing without being overly verbose. I felt the epilogue was especially poignant.

Like many other one star reviewers here, I read Into Thin Air first and found the story quite compelling. After reading The Climb and Above the Clouds, its clear Into Thin Air was hastily written and poorly researched. I also question Outside magazine's journalism in the original article as its easy to question the fact checking involved in that article.

Don't spend your money on Krakauer.

This book is great, but it is missing some key places to visit or see before you die. There are others places that do not validate why I should visit them. This book is a great guide, but do not use it as a "be all" bible type book.

My husband and I are planning a trip through the southwest this summer and found this to be very helpful in planning our trip. Also, learned of a few places we did not know about, that are close to home. Anyone who likes to travel should buy this book.

This was a great addition to our library. Now that our children are old enough to enjoy and get something out of vacations, we will be using this more often. It's a great way to have the kids help choose the next destination-adventure.

I tend to be very cautious about traveling in the US especially when I heard that California is in the top 15 most dangerous states in the US but this book helps me pinpoint where I want to go. I feel that if it's in the book, it must be safe enough to visit.

If she had, she never would've lumped the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village into a category labeled AUTO MUSEUMS. It deserves a full, explanatory entry. Ms. Schultz is probably unaware that Henry Ford purchased and moved buildings such as the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop, Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory, Stephen Foster's house, Noah Webster's house, and so many more to Dearborn, Michigan. Lincoln's Illinois courthouse used to feature his chair from the Ford Theater (it has been moved into the Henry Ford museum). The Henry Ford museum does offer an incredible collection of automobiles but also so much more. I definately would've made different choices than Ms. Schultz. In this book and in her 1,000 Places to See in the World, she gives Shelburne Farm in Vermont a full entry. Shelburne Farm is a nice, living history museum but it does not compare to Greenfield Village. Now I wonder if her other recommendations are worthwhile. I have both books. I understand some places would get missed, but I definately would've make many different choices.

This is an excellent series to interest struggling readers in beginning chapter books. The series also has an educator's activity guide that is helpful.

The Magic Tree House series is a great stepping stone between picture books and chapter books. Most books written for a pre-k listening level take place in a realistic setting, like school. Not so with the magic tree house, it takes Jack and Anne throughout time and space: from the time of the dinosaurs to the future when men have colonized the moon. The books are exciting to read: Jack and Anne are often in real danger, though you know they will always make it back home. These books are also available in an audio format. I recommend reading at least the first four books. If you, the adult reader, gets bored, try playing the audio versions.

I also think this box set makes a great birthday present for 4 and 5 year olds. At first the child can be read aloud to, and when they start reading, they can use it as an early reader.

The audio version of these books (read aloud by the author) is also worthwhile.

My four year old son LOVES the "Magic Treehouse" series. He begs me to read it to him daily. The adventures Jack and Annie go on are both fun and educational.

I bought the set as a gift for my nephew, whom is in second grade. Hoping to spark his interest in reading. The Magic Tree House books were the first books that grabbed my own sons interested when he began reading. He would devour a book in a couple of days and couldn't wait to began a new one. His imagination would grow as he traveled along with Jack and Annie on one fictional adventure after another. I like that there is also research guides for a few of the books. They go into detail about some of the actual settings of the books.

I have mixed feelings about this series. My children (boys 5 & 3) love the books. They are easy enough for the younger one to follow, but exciting enough that the older one isn't bored. My biggest problem with them is the grammar. I would never let my children read these books themselves because I would never want them to think that the writing is correct. Luckily, by reading them aloud I can correct the mistakes without them even realizing it. Seriously though, the grammar is so poor that had not all the books been that way I would have assumed it was just something wrong with the printing machine. The author literally does not know what constitutes a sentence and she has no concept of the comma. Here are just a few examples (all found a single page no less!!):
1. "Let's leave the scroll on floor. And go," he said.

2. They walked together. Across the room. To the glowing gold box.

3. They stopped in front of the box. And they peered inside.

In all those cases she created fragment sentences instead of one regular sentence. She does this all the time. I think it was either in the first book or the second that I couldn't find a single page that didn't have a grammatical error. Both the author and the publisher should be ashamed of themselves.