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Subjects:  1. History    2. History - Military / War    3. History: World    4. Military - World War II    5. Reference   

Editorial Review

From primordial nothingness to this very moment, Read more

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Reviews (471)

The Joy of Educational Remediation
This is one of the books I wished someone would write.My knowledge of science past and present was wanting and yet there wasn't a single book written for (and by) someone in the same boat.Bill Bryson has written such a book and brillantly over-achieved in the process.In the spirit of full disclosure, I like nearly everything Mr. Bryson has written.He can be pedantic and peevish when describing the less than admirable characters and circumstances he encounters but he's always very funny.Having said that, this physically ponderous tome made me wonder whether he could sustain his humor while at the same time educating the reader over all those hundreds of pages.Miraculously, his choice of anecdotes and pacing is spot on.It is extremely readable and there are wonderful factoids and "ah ha" moments on nearly every page.Life is short and this book is not but it's absolutely worth the trade-off.

Fun and engaging history of modern science
Well written and fun to read.Bill Brysons style really creates a nice true story, complete with the quirks and oddities of the charecters depicted.Highly recomended if you are interested in the history of science, or if you just enjoy a fun and educational read.

A Good Read for the Basics
This is a good book.And, like all Bill Bryson's work, it is wonderfully written with such a sense of humor! Bryson is very good at finding facts as well as funny historical anecdotes and idiosyncrasies.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Large print books    3. Large type books    4. Popular works    5. Reference    6. Science    7. Trivia    8. Reference / Trivia   

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Subjects:  1. General    2. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    3. Linguistics    4. Reference    5. Grammar   

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Reviews (3)

Amazingly comprehensive and well-written
This hardcover volume is one of the most thorough and informed discussions you're likely to find on legal issues affecting the elderly. The authors, who are both elder law attorneys, begin with a quote from Milton Berle: "I've got enough money for the rest of my life, unless I want to buy something." They wrote the book, the authors say, to give readers "more than a punchline" with which to face their future. After reading it, you'll be able to face your future as something of an expert yourself. Every adult should read it.
Easy to read and follow.Not just for seniors.Recommend it for all ages.Concise and to the point.Up-to-date with great resources in appendix.

The best guide in this topic I have seen!
Possibly the best legal guide of any type I have seen.It's hard to believe that this is written by a LAWYER because it's actually easy for a regular person to understand. Highly recommended!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Discrimination    2. Elderly    3. Estates & Trusts    4. Health    5. Large Print    6. Large print books    7. Law    8. Law and legislation    9. Legal Reference / Law Profession    10. Legal status, laws, etc.    11. Older people    12. Popular works    13. Reference    14. United States   

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Subjects:  1. Christianity - Catholicism    2. Reference    3. Religion    4. Religion - Classic Works   

Editorial Review

Harold Bloom's urgency in Read more

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Reviews (59)

Difficult Book with Some excellent Literary Summaries
After readingHarold Bloom's The Western Canon, I was interested in what this author had to say about the how and why of reading the major western literary classics.The author makes the following points; "WHY" to read, 1) to strengthen the self. Reading is a selfish act, to improve oneself as opposed to improving your neighbor or neighborhood "HOW" to read, 2)clear the mind of all thefactional, and political ideas of the current time period when the reader is seeking the universality of the spirit. 3) the recovery of the ironic .
So-So
Literary critic should have titled this little guide `What to Read and Why,' seeing as he devotes only a few paragraphs to why reading might be valuable. That said, Bloom is a terrifyingly accomplished reader, but he isn't much of a thinker or a critic in the way Benjamin or Derrida were. Bloom's incessant propensity to judge all literature from the `how is this compared to Shakespeare' lens is foolish and lacking in any insight. At times his criticism seems almost amateurish and rushed. He doesn't seem to be a very good reader of Hemingway, for instance. At the outset of a review of `Hills Like White Elephants,' Bloom writes that "Hemingway's personal mystique-his bravura poses as warrior, big-game hunter, bullfighter, and boxer-is irrelevant to `Hills Like White Elephants' as its male protagonist's insistence that `You know that I love you'" (47). Yet later in Bloom's review, he writes [on `The Snows of Kilimanjaro']: The irony is at Hemingway's expense, insofar as Harry prophesies the Hemingway who, nineteen days shor of his sixty-second birthday, turned a double-barreled shotgun on himself" (49). Bloom seems to have reversed tactics here. Never the less, Bloom is an undeniably great reader of poetry; in this volume he tells you all about his personal favorites: Stevens, Whitman, Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, etc. Kind of fun, but far from great criticism.

Bloom: To Know How Is To Know Why
For those who purchase Harold Bloom's HOW TO READ AND WHY, they probably expect a companion piece to HOW TO READ A BOOK by Mortimer Adler.With Adler, there is truth in advertising; his focus is indeed on the how.He emphasizes the more traditional skills of main idea, inference, conclusion, and details, all of which must be used to come to terms with the author. Bloom, however, starts where Adler leaves off.Bloom assumes that the reader knows how to meld his mind with that of the author. His focus on the how is really quite simple: the reader should read slowly, reread often and aloud, and allow his own ears to hear and overhear what words of wisdom fall from the lips of literature's most immortal characters. When Hamlet laments the common fate of man in any of his seven soliloquies, Bloom urges the reader to do more than just read; the reader should become Hamlet and speak as the troubled Dane does. It is only when the reader intones along with Hamlet, as opposed to passively listening to Olivier or Brannagh, that this reader becomes Hamlet and insinuates himself into a world of irony that Bloom relentlessly insists forms the philosophical underpinning of Shakespeare's moral vision. The great poems deserve no less.Bloom claims that poetry, like drama, is best appreciated in solitude and when spoken aloud by the reader.
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Subjects:  1. Books & Reading    2. Books and reading    3. History and criticism    4. Large type books    5. Literary Criticism    6. Literature    7. Literature - Classics / Criticism    8. Reference    9. Literary Criticism & Collections / Books & Reading   

Editorial Review

This is the kind of book where you can smell and hear and see the fictional world the writer has created, so palpably does the atmosphere come through. Set on an island in the straits north of Puget Sound, in Washington, where everyone is either a fisherman or a berry farmer, the story is nominally about a murder trial. But since it's set in the 1950s, lingering memories of World War II, internment camps and racism helps fuel suspicion of a Japanese-American fisherman, a lifelong resident of the islands. It's a great story, but the primary pleasure of the book is Guterson's renderings of the people and the place. ... Read more

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Satisfying novel
I stayed away from this book for a long time because the movie version never appealed to me.I am very glad I gave it a chance because it really fulfilled most of my requirements of a novel. The story was interesting and plausible both at the same time, the characters were appealing and multi-dimensional, and the setting was really fascinating (both in location and time).The story is a courtroom drama and mystery, but the novel is really about the havoc that racism and injustice has wrought on a small community.In that way it is a bit like "To Kill a Mockingbird".I was happy to see a novel address this shameful bit of American history in such a way.The author approaches it honestly with out any sensationalism.I hope other people will give this book a chance like I did.I look forward to reading more of his fiction.
An intelligent read
On one level, this novel is a whodunnit - we are following the trial of a fisherman accused of killing another fisherman. But since one is Japanese-American and the other white, the book is also an examination of racial bigotry and hatred.It is set in the American North-West among a strawberry growing and fishing community torn apart by WWII and the internment of Japanese-Americans.There is a love story, a vivd and visceral description of being a soldier in WWII, and the narrator's slow decline into loneliness and professional failure.But the book scores highest when is shows us how fear turns to mistrust and mistrust to injustice and hatred, all without becoming preachy.

A MOST UNUSUAL SETTING AND PLOT
"Snow Falling on Cedars" has an interesting plot about a fisherman, Carl Heine, who is found dead among his fishing nets.The setting is on an island north of Puget Sound in the year 1954. Accused of the murder is a Japanese-American, Kabuo Miyamoto, because of a dispute over farm land.The book has well-developed characters, particularly that of Hatsue, Kabuo's wife, and Ishmael Chambers, the local newspaper reporter.However, where the book does fall short is in the overabundant descriptions of the fishing industry, particularly at the beginning of the book, and the fishing community as a whole.The movie definitely told the story in a more graceful flowing, colourful and descriptive manner than the book. However, what does make the book a worthwhile read is the plot, itself, the intriguing characters, the strong emotions, racial tensions, and the pain from the aftermath of the second World War. Combine those ingredients together and you have an interesting book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Japanese Americans    4. Journalists    5. Literary    6. Reference    7. Trials (Murder)   

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Not comprehensive enough
This book is probably okay for junior-level undergraduate students who are writing their music papers, but will be too simplified for the more advanced music students who want to produce a good essay/term paper. The parts on 'Documentation' and 'Bibliography' tend to be incomprehensive and outdated. Very often, additional manuals are needed to supplement the lack of information, particularly when it comes to 'Citations.' ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Academic writing    2. Composition & Creative Writing - Academic    3. Composition & Creative Writing - General    4. Essays    5. Language Arts & Disciplines    6. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    7. Literature: Classics    8. Music (Specific Aspects)    9. Musicology    10. Reference    11. Report writing    12. Research And Report Writing    13. Music    14. Performing Arts / Theater / General    15. Writing skills   

Editorial Review

Her big movies are hard to find these days, and her name doesn't evoke the fan recognition awarded fellow MGM grads Lana Turner and Ava Gardner, yet for more than a decade during Hollywood's Read more

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Reviews (62)

A Good Read
I found this book fascinating from cover to cover. The glimpse into the world of MGM at its grandest is wonderful, and Esther herself is never dull. A page turner for movie fans. I agree with other reviews that Esther can come off badly in her "Do you know who I am?" attitude--it reads like she got really full of herself somewhere down the road. Plus, what kind of person stays married to a man who won't allow you to have a relationship with your own children? Sorry--there's no excuse. But this is a review of the book itself, not of the person, and it's a good read.

Ultimately a Dissapointment
I started out in admiration of how tough Esther Williams was. But I kept waiting for her to start having a decent personal life. At first, I thought how sad it was that people were unfeeling and cruel with her. (How is it that every single man she meets, btw, with a few barely mentioned exceptions, arecold, heartless and entirely self-absorbed? An LA thing?) But by the time she started having affairs of her own and marrying the domineering Lamas (she knew what she was getting herself into) I lost all respect or sympathy for her. Even so, I can't help liking her somehow and wishing things had been different. She seems like a friend that lets you down and yet you still want to like her.
A Swimmer Who Could Put On A Good Show.
She's classed with Betty Grable, Jane Powell, and Doris Day, though for the life of me, I am not sure why.They were all active out in Hollywood about the same time.Betty was the pinup of choice in WWII.Doris Day was everybody's favorite songbird, though her acting was less than desirable.Jane Powell was the girl next door.And they were all blondes (Hollywood blondes, for sure -- out of a bottle, as was Norma Baker who became Marilyn Monroe, the biggest phoney.) while the swimming movie star was a brunette.
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Subjects:  1. 1923-    2. American actors    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Entertainment & Performing Arts - Actors & Actresses    8. Large type books    9. Motion picture actors and actr    10. Motion picture actors and actresses    11. Reference    12. United States    13. Williams, Esther,    14. Women    15. Biography: general    16. Dictionaries of biography (Who's Who)    17. Williams, Esther   

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Subjects:  1. Reference   

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Advanced MLA Style
Gibaldi's MLA STYLE MANUAL AND GUIDE TO SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING describes itself perfectly.This fine reference book is designed for academics in the humanities who must adhere to the MLA style when writing papers, both for publication and advanced coursework.Not an introduction to MLA style, this book aims to guide the reader through the finer intricacies of scholarly writing by covering topics such as the proper use of punctuation, including slashes, square brackets, and semi-colons; using proper names from non-English speaking countries; questions of capitalization; abbreviations; and language and style.The author devotes an entire section to the legal issues of publishing academic papers, and another to thesis and dissertation formats. Perhaps the most detailed and helpful section concerns documentation and the format for citations, from corporate papers to electronic sources to books without page numbers.For those preparing for publication, the author offers practical guidelines for formatting manuscripts. Gibaldi's explanations are always clear and precise. the perfect reference source
This book is the ultimate guide for writers.It is one of two books published by the Modern Language Association, and of the two, this one provides the complete guide to the MLA style.This book serves graduate students and scholarly writers best.It discusses publishing and legalityas well as basics of writing and source citations.Many examples accompanythe explanations clearly exhibiting the proper usage; however, this book isnot necessary for the average research writer or undergraduate.If you arelooking for a quick reference guide to proper MLA style, this is not thebook for you.I would recommend the MLA HANDBOOK.The MLA HANDBOOKprovides an easier, condensed version of the MLA STYLE MANUAL.This bookis a waste of your money if all you need is information on how to do aworks cited page or an annotated bibliography.The handbook is cheaper andwould serve you much better.Regardless, the manual would serve anyonewell and is a perfect reference book for anyone's personal library.

MLA Style Guide...a great resource in most cases
When I picked this book up I was simply looking for ways to cite internet resources.It turns out the people at MLA have got a lot more to offer.The book did a great job at showing the hows and whys of writing well.Asfor citations, a critical aspect of most research, the Guide gave amultitude of different types of sources and how to cite them, not only inthe Works Cited but also in endnotes and footnotes.Perhaps my onlycomplaint would be the repetition in seperate chapters on citation.It wasnot initially clear what the purpose of the repetition was.That said, Iwill use this book again and again as a perfect tool when writing mypapers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Composition & Creative Writing - General    3. Handbooks, manuals, etc    4. Humanities literature    5. Language    6. Language Arts & Disciplines    7. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    8. Reference    9. Scholarly publishing    10. Style manuals    11. Writing Skills   

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Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. Dictionaries - General    3. English language    4. Large type books    5. Reference    6. United States    7. Reference / Dictionaries   

Editorial Review

The bible on self-publishing.Highly recommended by virtually everyone in the industry -- even other authors of books on the subject (many of whom probably followed the advice in Poynter's previous 11 editions). ... Read more

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Reviews (168)

Dan has done it again!
After receiving over 75 rejection letters from major publishers, I decided to launch a micro-publisher that would focus on cutting-edge leadership books. I began with my book "Leading People the Black Belt Way" and have several more books on the way in the near future. Dan Poynter's "Self Publishing Manual" has been invaluable in getting me started. I'm thrilled to read this new, updated version from the grandfather of self-publishing!
Everything You Need to Know to Self-Publish Your Own Book
This is a very informative book. I have written a nonfiction book that I was unable to get published. After reading this book, I have discovered how easy it is to publish my own book.
The Ultimate Self-Publishing Book
This is the most important self-publishing book you will ever read.Mr. Poynter has hit a grand-slam with this 15th edition of his classic book.The book provides valuable insight on many topics to include: writing your book, formatting your book, publishing your book, marketing your book and distribution.This book can potentially save you thousands of dollars and hours of time.I highly recommend it.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Publishing    3. Reference    4. Encyclopaedias & Reference Works    5. Writing & editing guides   

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Subjects:  1. Large Print    2. Reference    3. Religion - Commentaries / Reference   

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Subjects:  1. Large Print    2. Large print books    3. Large type books    4. Quotations    5. Quotations, English    6. Reference   

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Subjects:  1. Atlases    2. Large Print    3. Large type books    4. Reference   

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Excellent Thesaurus for Visually Impaired Students
Large Print Roget's II Thesaurus
Great book for elementary school kids who need a Theasurus and have a hard time reading the standard very small print Thesauruses.Easy to find the desired word.Because of the large print size, it is not as exhaustive (3500 entries) compared to other standard Thesauruses. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. Dictionaries - Synonyms/Antonyms    3. English language    4. Large print books    5. Large type books    6. Reference    7. Synonyms and antonyms    8. Thesauri   

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Subjects:  1. Fiction - General    2. General    3. Literary Criticism    4. Reference   

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A Love Song to Nature and Life
If you've read Farley Mowat, you know him as a passionate defender of the beautiful "Others" with whom we share our planet. This book is a joy-filled description of his early life and formation as a nature-lover. We hear of the wild beauty of Canada, the Quixotic plans his father devised and his mother endured, and the daring adventures which will become the foundation for his later writings. Although a light-hearted story overall, Farley does not avoid the difficult times, including a powerful depiction of the effect of the Depression on the Canadian provinces. It is a love song to the strength of character and perseverence of our northern cousins, as well.
Mowat is a true Canadian gem
I enjoy all of Mowat's books, but this one is particularly good.His style is conversational, his humor is biting. Clearly a man who does not suffer a fool lightly. Farley Mowat is a national gem. Buy the book...

Born Naked is one of the most amazing books around.
Canadian author Farley Mowat's Born Naked is a must-read glimpse into the author's much self-written about life. It's hilarious, it's poignant and amust for any Mowat fan. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Authors, Canadian    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Canada    7. Large type books    8. Reference    9. Social life and customs    10. Biography: general    11. Childhood and youth    12. Mowat, Farley   

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Great read !
I was really happy to recieve a Bible that I can easily read and the thumb tabs make it easier to get where I want to be fast.

a good modern language Bible
The NIV is one of the two best-selling Bible translations (the other being the KJV) and for good reason; it is a fluid, beautiful version in today's English, and is recommended by many Bible scholars as being "the most readable" Bible available.
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Subjects:  1. Bibles    2. Bibles - New International    3. Reference    4. Religion    5. Reference works    6. Religion & Beliefs    7. Religion / Bibles / New International    8. The Bible