A good introductory primer on chess tactics. It is basic, but at that level it works. The format is to present a chess position and ask the reader to...moreA good introductory primer on chess tactics. It is basic, but at that level it works. The format is to present a chess position and ask the reader to decide how to achieve a checkmate or some other gain in a couple of moves; each problem is presented on one page with the answer on the next page, on the right-hand side of the book - once you've gone through it, you turn it over, as it continues back through the book on the other pages in the same way. The problems slowly get progressively more technical, though as mentioned it stays pretty basic all the way.
When I read this as a teenager who was just starting to play chess seriously, this was what I needed, with a good balance of explanation and practical application and not over my head. I'm planning to give my grandchildren a copy in another year or two when they're ready.(less)
A classic that will always be fun to read - Tolkien has created a rich, complex and very different world that at the same time feels familiar in a lot...moreA classic that will always be fun to read - Tolkien has created a rich, complex and very different world that at the same time feels familiar in a lot of ways. The characters tend to remind us of people we've known, and the book makes a person wonder what he/she would do in the same circumstances.(less)
Just okay. This book is pretty basic and limited and it's a bit dated now, having been published in 1999; and based on my experience working with adol...moreJust okay. This book is pretty basic and limited and it's a bit dated now, having been published in 1999; and based on my experience working with adolescent gang members in a social services program and with adult inmates in two prisons, I see some major gaps in the information presented. The biggest is the linkage between prison gangs and street gangs, which are often so tight that for practical purposes there's no separation. The second is in the author's coverage of white gangs - he paints a fairly good picture of skinhead gangs, but completely omits the biker gangs and their ties to the white supremacist gangs like the Aryan Brotherhood, which are often the most dangerous gangs around due to their propensity for extreme violence. Finally, he merely skims over the involvement of gangs in organized crime - the drug trade, home invasion robberies, prostitution, and protection rackets, for example. All in all, the author could have done a lot more with this topic.(less)
This series keeps developing more depth, and the characters grow as real people do in children and adolescence. This book, together with the second in...moreThis series keeps developing more depth, and the characters grow as real people do in children and adolescence. This book, together with the second in the series, seems to indicate that things are going to get deeper and darker for Harry and his friends each year, which will be covered by one volume per year in the series.
I find myself wishing that the author would skip or abbreviate the nastiness with Harry's adoptive Muggle family, his aunt, uncle, and cousin. We get the idea! They're mean people and they don't like Harry or his magical world. Still, once Rowling gets past that, the story comes alive again. We (my wife and I read these aloud together) find that the story keeps getting better and leaves us looking forward to the rest of the series.(less)
A wonderful book, a book that should be read by every parent, teacher, counselor, and social worker who is involved in the lives of preteen and adoles...moreA wonderful book, a book that should be read by every parent, teacher, counselor, and social worker who is involved in the lives of preteen and adolescent girls. I found this invaluable both as a family therapist and in my relationship with my own daughter.(less)
A great story with a lot going on. As always, Dickens created memorable characters for this one, and the maturation and growth of wisdom in the protag...moreA great story with a lot going on. As always, Dickens created memorable characters for this one, and the maturation and growth of wisdom in the protagonist is beautifully shown. He did more to make his darker characters understandable in this book than in some others, invoking more of a "there but for the grace of God" reaction. It is also interesting that he wrote two endings. At first he wrote what he considered the most realistic and reasonable ending, but it wasn't rosy enough for his publisher or readership, so he was pressured into coming up with an alternative happy ending which, as he anticipated, didn't feel true to the rest of the story. Unfortunately, when a film was made based on the book, they chose the happy ending although it wasn't true to the characters. (less)
Every parent should read this book. It is a clear, practical, and uplifting exploration of how to use the Myers-Briggs personality type system first t...moreEvery parent should read this book. It is a clear, practical, and uplifting exploration of how to use the Myers-Briggs personality type system first to better understand your child (and yourself) and then to find more effective ways to communicate, teach, and discipline. It will probably make your relationship with your child much better and foster more mutual understanding, respect, and appreciation. It was quite helpful to me when my own kids were teenagers (although it would have been even better if I'd known what it taught me when they were born), and in turn I've recommended it for their use with my grandchildren.(less)
Very powerful. The scope of the story is broader than was the case in The Hunger Games, and the characters continue to grow. More than one writer has...moreVery powerful. The scope of the story is broader than was the case in The Hunger Games, and the characters continue to grow. More than one writer has noted that a key to creating strong fiction is to create deeply interesting and appealing characters, then do terrible things to them and see how they cope, and the author does so in ways more harrowing than most I've read. (less)
Wonderfully done - informative, sometimes heartbreaking. The companion to the Ken Burns video documentary, which is every bit as good as the one he ma...moreWonderfully done - informative, sometimes heartbreaking. The companion to the Ken Burns video documentary, which is every bit as good as the one he made on the Civil War almost a generation ago. As the title indicates, and like that earlier work, this tells the story of the war primarily from the point of view of the ordinary men and women who served in it and their families rather than of the heads of state, generals, and admirals on whom histories have more often focused. In this case, unlike what was possible for The Civil War, the story is enriched by extensive interviews with surviving participants, where the passage of time left only letters and photographs for the earlier war. This is somewhat in the philosophical tradition of Studs Terkel's "The Good War," and like that book, it presents the war as necessary while emphatically putting the quotation marks around "Good War" by showing the tragedy and brutality of it and making the point that there has never been a good war, although there have been wars like this one that were necessary and were the least of the available evils.
I can't recommend this book and the documentary it accompanies strongly enough for anyone who wants to understand the most influential period of the 20th century for this country, and that should include all of us. If more history was presented this way, more people would take an interest in it, and we wouldn't live in a culture where more young people know who Madonna is than know whose side we were on in this war.(less)
Gee makes a persuasive case that playing video games, as part of a balanced range of activities, enhances the emotional, cognitive, and social growth...moreGee makes a persuasive case that playing video games, as part of a balanced range of activities, enhances the emotional, cognitive, and social growth of children, adolescents, and adults. This isn't his first book on this subject, but he covers some new ground and backs up his assertions with examples from specific games. I would have given this five stars except for two things - first, a lot of the content overlaps with his earlier work; second, and to me equally important, his editor really let him down - this book is more riddled with typos, word mix-ups, mis-punctuations, and other basic instances of sloppy writing, that I had to go back and re-read some sentences and paragraphs two and three times to figure out what he meant for them to say. Still, a very worthwhile read on this subject.(less)
Fascinating and handy both to understand things as an adult and sometimes to help explain things to children - a great book for anyone who looks at th...moreFascinating and handy both to understand things as an adult and sometimes to help explain things to children - a great book for anyone who looks at things and wonders what's going on behind what they see.(less)
In this book the gifted architect, artist, and historian David MacAulay tells the story of the design and construction of a typical frontier town of t...moreIn this book the gifted architect, artist, and historian David MacAulay tells the story of the design and construction of a typical frontier town of the Roman empire, a standardized plan meant to implant the Roman culture on the frontier. Clear, whimsical, and painlessly informative, this is another in a great series from MacAulay along with Castle, Cathedral, Pyramid, Mill, Mosque, and Unbuilding. A lot of fun - I wish these books had been around when I was a kid.(less)
This book kept me up late - Stephen King commented that he couldn't stop reading it, and I also found it intense and gripping, and often very moving....moreThis book kept me up late - Stephen King commented that he couldn't stop reading it, and I also found it intense and gripping, and often very moving. Some booksellers classify this as a YA novel, and its protagonist is a 16-year-old girl, but it's definitely substantial enough for grown-ups. I am looking forward to the second and third books in this trilogy, and on the strength of this story I'll pick up anything else I see by this author, too.(less)
After Catching Fire, I wondered where the author would take the characters in this third volume of the trilogy, how she would resolve some looming pro...moreAfter Catching Fire, I wondered where the author would take the characters in this third volume of the trilogy, how she would resolve some looming problems, and how she would avoid predictability. She handled all three concerns masterfully - this is one of the best series I've read. I recommend it strongly, but not for readers younger than their mid-teens, just as I wouldn't let my children read The Lord of the Rings until they were that age. The story arc has great beauties to it, but heartbreak and nightmares as well.(less)
Touching and vivid. Some of the images from this author's poetry will be with me for a while - this is part of what's behind all those blue stars in w...moreTouching and vivid. Some of the images from this author's poetry will be with me for a while - this is part of what's behind all those blue stars in windows, the impact of war on the people back at home who love the warriors and fear for them. Enlightening for me; during my 20 years in the Marine Corps I rarely thought about this aspect of my service.(less)
Another useful reference for planning moves or vacations. We wanted to visit places we were thinking of moving in person before making our decisions,...moreAnother useful reference for planning moves or vacations. We wanted to visit places we were thinking of moving in person before making our decisions, but needed some resources to help us narrow down the list of places we would even visit. This book, along with the Places Rated Almanac, was quite helpful and well worth buying.(less)
The saga continues. This time the apparently requisite unpleasantness with Harry's adoptive family at the beginning is briefer, which is a relief. He...moreThe saga continues. This time the apparently requisite unpleasantness with Harry's adoptive family at the beginning is briefer, which is a relief. He seems to be growing to a degree where he is less vulnerable to them.
The writing is still not all that great in terms of style and form, but the content overcomes that. This is entertaining and thought-provoking for children, and it gets them reading and thinking of books as a source of fun and vicarious adventure, and that's wonderful.
The dark parts of the story continue to get darker and harsher - there are parts that could qualify as a true horror story, and some painful ordeals and losses along with some seriously nasty villains, people you wouldn't want to meet. For that reason, I would urge people to be careful in deciding to give this to children or to read it to or with them. Some younger kids could find parts too intense or frightening.(less)
A brilliant job of making complicated things understandable in simple terms, from the author of Cathedral, Pyramid, and other books about how various...moreA brilliant job of making complicated things understandable in simple terms, from the author of Cathedral, Pyramid, and other books about how various structures were built. Fascinating and informative for adults too; a hard book to put down.(less)
Outstanding. The author thoroughly covers the controversy over the dangers of lead-based ammunition (and ammunition with toxic primers) for hunting, r...moreOutstanding. The author thoroughly covers the controversy over the dangers of lead-based ammunition (and ammunition with toxic primers) for hunting, recreational target shooting, law enforcement and military use, and home defense, presenting the evidence for problems and the reasons some question whether there is a serious problem.
Sapp states up front that he's a liberal, a hunter and avid shooter, and a parent who wants a healthy world for his children; he admits to skepticism as to the strength of the evidence, but unlike many he presents all sides of the debate respectfully, regardless of where his heart lies.
As well as explaining the arguments for switching to non-lead and non-toxic-primer ammunition, he talks about the various alternatives - steel, tungsten, copper, brass, other alloys, and combinations of the above - goes on to describe changes to hunting techniques that they make necessary (many have shorter effective ranges because they are less dense and slow down faster due to resistance from the air after firing) and profiles the many types of shotgun shells and rifle and handgun cartridges available at the time of writing (2010) and the companies that make them.
Additionally, Sapp addresses the needs of the many shooters who use muzzle-loading black-powder firearms and those who reload their own ammunition (as a reloader myself, I particularly appreciate that content.)
If I was going to research and write a book on this subject, I can only hope I would do as good a job as Rick Sapp did here. But I don't have to, because he's done it for the shooting community.(less)
What a great imaginary world! The writing is kind of clunky and sometimes cliched, but that isn't as important as the appeal of the characters, settin...moreWhat a great imaginary world! The writing is kind of clunky and sometimes cliched, but that isn't as important as the appeal of the characters, settings, and events. Rowling is rightly praised for producing a story that is getting a lot of kids involved in reading that might have been passively watching TV otherwise. Great stuff. I would caution, though, that some of it is dark or harsh enough to provoke fear and anxiety in younger kids, so parents should read it through first and think about that before giving it to their children or reading it to/with them.(less)
Bigger, deeper, richer, and often darker than The Hobbit; I wouldn't hesitate to share the Hobbit with my 5-year-old grandson, but some parts of the T...moreBigger, deeper, richer, and often darker than The Hobbit; I wouldn't hesitate to share the Hobbit with my 5-year-old grandson, but some parts of the Trilogy would be nightmare material for him until he's older - some of the beings and situations in Tolkien's world, even some that were fairly tame in The Hobbit but are more deeply explored here, are worthy of Stephen King. If I was going on a trip to Mars and could only take ten books, I'd take this story.(less)
This is the companion volume to the author's text/reference on the same topic - this will be useful in applying the principles of Dialectical Behavior...moreThis is the companion volume to the author's text/reference on the same topic - this will be useful in applying the principles of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for any clinician whose clientele includes people suffering from the problems that go with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) or with its root causes - posttraumatic stress disorder, attachment issues, addictions, and others.(less)
A simple little story, but moving and deeply sad. The story follows the experiences, parallel in some ways, of two teenage boys who can't wait to get...moreA simple little story, but moving and deeply sad. The story follows the experiences, parallel in some ways, of two teenage boys who can't wait to get into the fighting in World War II. One is American, one German. Both find their romantic illusions being stripped away by harsh realities; this strikes a personal note with me. This is what Kurt Vonnegut was talking about when he subtitles his partly autobiographical novel Slaughterhouse Five, much of which is about World War II, The Children's Crusade.(less)
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