Editorial Review

Finally, someone who tells history like it was, without the old textbook gloss that's put so many students into premature naptime and misinformed the few who stayed awake. Davis corrects the myths and misconceptions from Columbus up through the Clinton administration, and shows that truth is more entertaining than propaganda. ... Read more

Reviews (129)

Misses many points
Yes, there is a disconnect between what is taught what is real sometimes, although I had a problem with this book being a bit too persuading. Personally, I think exposing students to the founding documents as early as possible is critical.A better choice for students might be "The Elementary Common Sense of Thomas Paine: the famous pamphlet, Common Sense, adapted and illustrated for all readers." Reading the founding documents first can be a good first step to avoiding misconceptions in American History later.

Great Marxist parody of US History
This was absolutely the funniest parody I have ever read. The eager repetition of "The Supremem Court interpreted the 14th Amendment to give civil rights to Corporations" as the SINGLE WORST argument to ever come forth from that body was one of the funniest lietmotif's in this hysterical parody of US History told from the standpoint of an over-the-top Marxist. Worse than cowboys were BUSINESSMEN!! Eugene Debs and WEB Dubois were the ONLY white americans who were not evil!
Too Politically Correct
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one to notice the anti-White preaching in this book. Not what I expected at all because this is how History is taught today and this is supposed to be an answer to that. I was expecting to learn a lot more - most of the things mentioned I already knew. I graduated from high school in '89 and then got a Bachelor's degree from a state college that wasn't in History. Perhaps this book would be useful to those who have less education. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. History    3. History - U.S.    4. History: World    5. Miscellanea    6. United States    7. United States - General    8. United States History (General)    9. History / General   

Reviews (4)

A Fight for Freedom
This book has a very powerful message to it.This made me think about all the things that I take for granted.With Amari beingfifteen, I can relate to her.Usually you can not find books like this now a days. This book makes me think more about how lucky I am and how there are kids in the world that aren't as fortunate as I am.Sharon knows how to grab the readers attention. My friends and I are not big readers and we thought this book was good, and it is one of the very few books that we can stand to read.Drapers knows how to catch your wondering eye because whenIsaw this book on the amazon website I wanted to read it and I was not really interested in reading any other books.
VEEEEEEEEEEERY Good!
Copper Sun was an exceptional book.I completely fell in love with it.The characters were well developed, the plot wasn't very predictable, and it gave me a sense of awe and wonder when I finished it. The book is under the genre of historical fiction and is about a 15 year old slave girl who was captured and sold into slavery from her native home in Africa.However, this isn't your typical fly-away-to-freedom slavery book.Amari, the maincharacter, was raped and brutally beaten before she escaped to freedom with her white friend and a young boy.Sharon Draper offers two perspectives-that of Amari and of her white comrad Polly.Ironically instead of escaping to the North, they escape to the South where a non-discriminatory fort exists.There all are free and equal which is extremely uncommon during the year 1738.I won't tell anymore-you have to read it for yourself!

Sharon Draper's Newest Won't Disappoint
I bought this book because
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Subjects:  1. African Americans    2. Children's Books - Young Adult    3. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    6. Fiction    7. General    8. Historical - United States - Colonial    9. Historical Fiction (Young Adult)    10. History    11. Indentured servants    12. Juvenile Fiction    13. People & Places - General    14. People & Places - United States - Asian American    15. Slavery    16. Social Issues - Friendship    17. Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism    18. South Carolina    19. Juvenile Fiction / People & Places / General   

Reviews (262)

The 10 star book "Tears ofa Tiger"
This book is amazing. It really gets you to think about a lot of things. You always say well that will never happen to me, but niether did Andy. It is a story that so many kids can relate to . Sharon Draper really out did herself in this book. This is the kind of book i could read over and over and over and never get tired of reading it. It really touched me in a special place and thought me that tomorrow is not promised and never take what you have or the people in your life for granted. I give this book 10 stars.

beyond amazing.
words cant explain how good this book was. i had to read it for a school thing and i read it in an hour it was so good. and so meaningful. its one of the reasons i will never drink. im fourteen and all my friends do but i dont plan on drinking ever, and defiantly not getting drunk. i was balling my eyes out. crying SO hard over this book.
Great Read for Middle School children
This book deals very well with controversial topics such as drunk driving and suicide. Draper tells the story in a matter of fact manner that students will read and learn from. As a teacher of middle school children, I found this book very helpful and moving and well researched. Though somewhat predictable and heavyhanded, the story achieves it purpose and would be welcome in any classroom library. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    3. Death    4. Fiction    5. High schools    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Schools    8. Social Issues - Death & Dying    9. Social Issues - Drugs, Alcohol, & Substance Abuse    10. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    11. Social Issues - Suicide    12. Juvenile Fiction / Ethnic / African American   

Editorial Review

Patrick Stewart's one-man production of Dickens's Read more

Reviews (135)

A Nice Price (Even For Scrooge)
I've always liked the story of "A Christmas Carol", whether it was a live action film version, the Muppet version, the Disney animated version, even one of the dozens of sitcom parodies. I finally got round to reading the original, and I quite enjoyed it. Even though I'd seen and heard so many versions of the story, reading it was still very special.
Wonderfully Spooky.
this is not the best of Charles Dickens but it is one of his triumphs and his shortest book.
the christmas carol
the author is Charles dickens. there are 112 pges. the story begins w/ scrooge in his counting-house on a frigid, foggy christmas eve in london. the characters are: scrooge, bob cratchit, tiny tim, jacob marely, the ghosts of christmas past, present, and future, fred, fezziwig, belle, peter cratchit, martha cratchit, the portly gentlemen, and mrs. cratchit. the setting is one frigid, foggy christmas eve in london to a happy but still cold christmas day. the beginning of the plot starts by an old man named scrooge, a very greedy person who hates christmas and loves money, counting his money in a counitng house. the rising action is: the mean old man is haunted by four ghost, including Bob marely. this book is very inspiring book to those who are mean greedy of money and those especially that hate christmas.i like this book because i used to take christmas as a day of juss getting presents and it taught me that christmas is really about love and family. this book showed me that even though they give me a cheap gift but to thank the person fer giving it to me. like the saying goes,: "its the thoght that counts." if you are a hater or that u dont really care about christmas, read this book. it will changhe ur thought aboput christmas. this book is very interesting. readers all over the world should read it. this book teaches people that take Christmas fer granted a lesson. this book inspires, teches, and somewhat entertains. read dis book! and you'll think so 2. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Christmas    2. Christmas stories    3. Classics    4. Fiction    5. Ghosts    6. Literature - Classics / Criticism    7. Literature: Classics    8. Fiction / Classics   

Reviews (182)

Great vision, holes in the follow through
Interesting SciFi is never really about science, but about society.
Saw movie first, then read book
Generally, the movie (Bladerunner) is much better.I am surprised that they got that much of a movie out of the book.The book is darker and less exciting.The story is quite different, though, and the book explains some things you see in the movie that go without explanation.Overall, I am glad I read it.

A great book, but probably mainly for Sci-fi fans.
I gave it a 5, cause its one of the best sci-fi books i've ever read. It's a great book i would reccomend to everyone who likes sci-fi, or want to get into the genre. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction - Science Fiction    2. Science Fiction    3. Science Fiction - General    4. Fiction / Science Fiction / General   

Reviews (54)

it sounds like this
Here's the thing about Sarah Dessen.She lets us in.Into these lives of characters who share their pain with us so intensely it's like you already know them.And you want to help them finally be the people they want to be, even if they don't know it yet.
Just Listen
Just Listen
This book is amazing.
I really loved this book as I do her others as well including: The Truth About Forever, This Lullaby, Dreamland, Someone Like You, and That Summer.She is a truly amazing writer that indulges so deeply into the subconscience of the main character and shows you the journey that they have to go through to grow, learn, develope, and share.Each book always reminds me something in my own life and is therefore easy to relate to.Her books are not only for young adults but for adults especially women who have children or don't because anyone can relate to these stories of growing up.She is a truly inspirational writer and this was a great book.I couldn't put it down and read it in 4 and a half hours. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children's All Ages - Fiction - General    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    4. Fiction    5. Girls & Women    6. Interpersonal relations    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Models (Persons)    9. Self-actualization (Psychology)    10. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    11. Social Issues - Friendship    12. Social Issues - Sexual Abuse    13. Juvenile Fiction / Girls & Women   

Reviews (18)

Loved it,
I'm a big fan of long drawn out novles. I've always been a fan of Dickens. This book has on eof my favorite stories by his pen: Great Expectations. His style is very personal I found it a lot like Tolkien. His ability to tell a good tale is clear as the reader becomes part of the story. Very nice volume and worth the time and money in my opinion.

Lousy Binding
I've read all but "A Christmas Carol" in this edition. I've found several typos. Moreover, the binding is becoming unglued. I estimate by the time I finish "A Christmas Carol" the binding will be totally exposed. I value permanent books (otherwise I would buy paperbacks). I suggest anyone who enjoys Dickens buy a better edition.

Dickens Classics
I am a teacher building a classroom library for my students to use. This collection of classics are a must have. I like the way the book is put together and the classic look and feel that it has. The book looks as though it could have come from a private library of a weathly book collector. Great buy! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. 19th century    3. Classics    4. England    5. Fiction    6. History    7. London (England)    8. Paris (France)    9. Revolution, 1789-1799    10. Sale Adult - Literature - Classics & Contemporary    11. Social life and customs    12. 19th century fiction    13. Fiction / Classics    14. Sale Books   

Reviews (1)

"Mankind Was My Business!"
"The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop in the comprehensive ocean of my business." - Marley's Ghost
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Reviews (88)

A Saga of Human Expectations and Failures
Of all English writers,Charles Dickens is the champion of the genre of "Bildungsroman",a department of fiction writing pertaining to growth and development of the protagonist. Dickens's writings are darkly underlined by an all-dimensionsal illustration ofaperson's character and by an uncanny portrayal of childhood. "Nicholas Nickleby","David Copperfield" and "Great Expectations" have gone into the literary folklore as novels containing some of the finest amd most vivid passages ever composed on children's psyche and indignified lives. Perhaps the author's this ability to paint children's woe stems froms his own abusive and disruptive boyhood and perhaps in several of his fancy's infants,Dickens was actually trying to reflect his very own horrible childhood. "David Copperfield" is undoubtably his most personal and in certain fractions autobiographical novel but in "Great Expectations",employing a compatible first person narrative method,Charles Dickens conjures up a very much real life character who,like David Copperfield,narrates the story of his life as he progresses through his childhood,errors of judgements and unseeming expectations to a tragi-joyous adulthood;as he stives on in life with a plethora of illusions;as he realises the moments of truth one by one.
Phenomenal
Dickens's Great Expectations is a novel of exceeding quality with, perhaps, only a few minor flaws that fail to significantly detract from the overall greatness of the work.Were I able to, I would give the book four and a half stars, rather than the four I've assigned it.As other reviewers have already amply commented on the book's numerous merits, I should like only to point out , what I thought to be, its foremost shortcoming.Although intentional by Dickens, I found my extreme dislike of Pip for much of the book to be a nuisance, chiefly because, as narrator, Pip set the tone of the narrative.It can be difficult not to equate the loathing of the narrator with the book itself.Luckily enough this was not a particularly prominent failing, and did not heavily tax me.Besides this, I found the book to be splendid, particularly during the bits concerning Joe and Mr. Wemmick, who were, at times, heartwarming and emotionally evocative to an extreme degree.In short, Great Expectations is one of Dickens's greats, with only minor, easily overlooked flaws.

the shadow of no parting
It is impossible to exaggerate the satisfaction this book gives to its reader and the power of its deep human sympathy. If you were to read only ten books in your lifetime, Charles Dickens' GREAT EXPECTATIONS should be one of them.
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Subjects:  1. Benefactors    2. Classics    3. Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870    4. Ex-convicts    5. Fiction    6. Fiction - General    7. General    8. Literary    9. Literature: Classics    10. Man-woman relationships    11. 19th century fiction    12. Classic fiction    13. Fiction / Classics   

Reviews (149)

Disappointed.
I enjoyed Dick's short stories and was expecting the same quality from those in this book, i.e. an engaging plot and interesting characters. Scenes play out tediously with characters and their mind chatter ceaselessly flowing (to a point where it becomes annoying) with bits and pieces of information and occasional dialogue that tries to move whatever plot there is along. There were numerous characters none of which were very interesting or that one could attach affection to. It got to a point three quarters of the way in that I said to myself "Who really cares what happens?"
First Rate Fiction
Dick is the master of the sleight of hand, defying reality with his novels and short stories.Plus, like all great sci fi, or speculative fiction, he creates a "real" world with "real" people and yet somehow makes the reader keep turning those pages.A great read, by a great story-teller.

extraordinary book but quite depressing reading...
I had known this book for quite a long time before finally buying and reading it.So I was aware of its basics.
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Subjects:  1. Alternative histories (Fiction    2. Alternative histories (Fiction)    3. Dick, Philip K. - Prose & Criticism    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - Science Fiction    6. Science Fiction - General    7. Science fiction    8. Fantasy    9. Fiction / Science Fiction / General   

Reviews (54)

One can see why it's a Classic

Agreat book from Canada
This is one of the best book I have read for several years.
Wise and Mature
I've read Fifth Business five or six times over a 22-year period, and the older I become, the more it speaks to me.I think it's because Davies writes with a wisdom and maturity that is so rare these days that it's astonishing to find.
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Subjects:  1. Christian hagiography    2. Davies, Robertson - Prose & Criticism    3. Fiction    4. History teachers    5. Literary    6. Literature - Classics / Criticism    7. Literature: Classics    8. School principals    9. Veterans    10. World War, 1914-1918    11. Fiction / Literary    12. Literature: Texts    13. Modern fiction   

Reviews (130)

Revelations from three generations
This is a great book full of revelations about three generations of women.The mother in the story is very ill and trying to think of the best way to help her daughter.She decides to go back to the Indian reservation where she was born.Each woman keeps her personal thoughts to herself and only through their stories told to the reader do we find out the things they don't tell their own family.Well worth the read.

one of the best things i've read in years
dorris does something amazing here. he tells the story in three parts: mother, daughter, and granddaughter. we see how the same story looks completely different depending on who is telling it. each section adds another layer to the reader's understanding. a great depiction of the complicated mother-daughter relationship, the way the love is intense and yet not always seen for what it is.

Looking for love
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water is a novel written by Michael Dorris and published in 1987. It is written from the viewpoints of three people, Rayona, Christine, and Ida, exchanging viewpoints between different sections of the book. From the very beginning that the protagonists of this story are not your typical picture of the quietly happy and satisfied American Family. Parenting is an On the Job Training (OJT) program, which hopefully a good role model is demonstrated through their parents. No matter how good parents are, they still make mistakes, and for the most part they correct their errors and life goes on.Unfortunately, a good role model for Christine was severely lacking, which promulgated through the raising of Rayona. Christine and Rayona seem to have a definite bonding, yet it is hampered by Christine's neglect Rayona due to drug addiction, alcoholism, and bar hopping in hopes of replacing her negligently straying husband. Christine is definitely absent emotionally from Rayona.As in the song "Looking for Love (In all the wrong places)" by Johnny Lee, Christine was doing exactly that. Rayona remained optimistic about love even through long periods of inconsideration from both her parents. Christine discovered that mothering Rayona was the true love she had been missing, although this discovery came when she discovered she had six months to live. Ida demonstrated the closest to true Christian Love, although it started through selfish means. The Bible says "No one shows greater love than when he lays down his life for his friends" (ISV). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. General    4. Popular American Fiction    5. Fiction / General    6. Modern fiction    7. Sagas   

Editorial Review

Emily Dickinson proved that brevity can be beautiful. Only now is her complete Read more

Reviews (43)

You buy this only if you know the REAL poems
Amazingly enough, some of her UNEDITED poems are just recently being published....Although they're still hard to find. Anyone who has read her biography will understand why her unedited writings do not exist until at least 2005. And what has been promised is still not altogether available, as far as I can find.
A Must for American Lit. teachers
Only when I started a unit on Emily Dickinson did I notice discrepancies between various published versions of her poems.For example, some student anthologies preserved her quirky capitalizations, others didn't.One day a student reading from her own book said her version of "The Soul selects her own Society" had an entirely different verb in the fourth line.It was then I discovered that Dickinson's editors had betrayed her by "correcting" her grammar and diction.That very afternoon I ordered this book which restores her poems to their originaland better state.I should add the book is beautifully printed, solidly bound, and an excellent value.

Supremely Soulful
Pretty much an autodidact at poetry (thus having utterly no pretense to credentials with which to browbeat those with different views) I've come to regard Emily as one of the very best poets of all time and, among other things, one of the very best of Christian theologians. Notwithstanding what various far better credentialed experts have pronounced to the contrary, Emily was indeed a Christian, though quite solitary, mystical, and hardly conventional. Take for example (J) 823:
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Subjects:  1. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    2. General    3. Poetry    4. Poetry / General    5. Works by individual poets: 19th century   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (47)

Read the Fifth Bussiness, but skip the rest
If you ask me to rank each part of this trilogy seperately, i would give the Fifth Business a 5 Star, The Manticore a 2 star and World of Wonders simply one star. Davies' obsession with Jung makes Manticore rather pretencious and unbearably monotonous to read. For the case of World of Wonders, its creation and value, in my opinion, might only rest on the romantic idea of the completion of a triology, which is a thing that Davies loves to do but failes to do well.

Starts well, ends badly
This was a dissapointing book.The first part of the trilogy went well enough, Davies has a skill at making dowdy characters interesting enough to sustain his plot.Other reviewers found fault with the second part, the Jungian analysis.The conceit of advancing the story through the conversation of doctor and patient is handled a little amateurishly, but it is done well enough to sustain the flow, and all in all it seemed the best of the trilogy to me.It would have been a better book to end after two.The final part is so forced that the plot and characters are reduced to a thin skeleton for hanging some tired and simplistic pseudo-speculations on the nature of religion and myth.The setup of a "scandanavian" film maker and his camera man is a pathetic little device if you've read the Bergman its nipped from. So it was that two-thirds of the way through the final part, I gave up and closed the thing.It reminded me of the Frankenstein monster, cobbled together out of stolen members. But unlike that great work of fantasy, there is no mad genius behind it.

To dree one's weird
The above title of this review is the gnomic answer of a sort given to the question asked by many of the characters in this trilogy, "Who killed Boy Staunton?" at the end by Ramsay.But to find out what this means, you'll have to look up the history of the word "weird" when it was still a noun, before the "three weird sisters" of Macbeth launched the word into its long trek to the adjective we know today.-So it is with much of this work, lots of interesting, fascinating tangents to follow, if one is so inclined.
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Subjects:  1. Didactic fiction, Canadian    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. General    5. Psychological fiction, Canadian    6. Fiction / Literary    7. Modern fiction   

Editorial Review

Sharon Draper has indeed forged a fiery name for herself in the field of young adult literature--that of a courageous writer, willing to tackle tough, real-life problems while developing honorable, streetwise role models for troubled teens. Her previous novel, Read more

Reviews (116)

Why this book inspired me
Forged by Fire influenced me in may different ways.The more I read the book themore it became violent.It made me think what if I wa sin this situation.Would I have the courage to stand up to my step-father and get help.I learned to perserver and not give up.That is what I learned from this book.

Review by Aaron
I think that Forged by Fired is a good book for teenagers to read. I think it is a good book to read because it tells what to do if you are getting abused by your parents. This is a book that could happen in real life. I think both girls and boys would enjoy this book. I listened to this book on audio tape and I like how the guy could talk in many types of voices. The suspense of the story made me wanting to keep on listening to it. This book is the second book in a set of three. I would recommend reading the other two.

Stop fast forwarding, please press "slow"
I want to stress that the actual plot of the story and the characters were interesting and I enjoyed their purpose, action, dialogue. But I read a review about this book somewhere that said that too much happened at once in the beginning. I don't take peoples' reviews too seriously until I read the book, but this time around, I wish I would have listened.The author tried to cram FAR too much into one small book of 156 pages.The boy was 3 years old at the beginning and by the time it ended, he was 17.People were on drugs, in jail, out of jail, court cases complete, basketball tryouts, friends made, learned to cook, car accidents, dying, all within a few pages.The whole time I read this story, I felt like the author had written an outline of what should happen in each chapter and instead of fleshing it out and letting it grow progressively, she just rammed it altogether and then threw in stuff that happened in a previous book.I read one book by her and bought them all...and now I'm starting to regret it.I hope the fourth one is better, because I loved the first one about Andy, couldn't get into the "Romiette and Julio" book at all, and now this one is crammed.I'm confused over whether I like this author or not--in the book about Andy, the dialogue was on point and the plot was organized and easy-to-understand.In the "Romiette and Julio" book, the dialogue was out of wack and the story was slow. This book had great dialogue and an interesting plot like the Andy book, but it went entirely too fast.I feel like I'm reading books from several different people instead of one. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Brothers and sisters    2. Child abuse    3. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    4. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    6. Family - Siblings    7. Family - Stepfamilies    8. Fiction    9. Juvenile Fiction    10. People & Places - United States - African-American    11. Social Issues - Drugs, Alcohol, & Substance Abuse    12. Social Issues - Physical & Emotional Abuse    13. Social Issues - Sexual Abuse    14. Social Situations - Physical & Emotional Abuse    15. Stepfamilies    16. Juvenile Fiction / Ethnic / African American   

Reviews (31)

Fantastic!!!
This book is continuation of Tears of a Tiger. Keisha was Andy's girlfriend and now left with rest of her friends Ronda, Tyrone, BJ, Gerald, and Leon to survive without out their two friends Andy and Rob, who both died. Now in her senior year Keisha is selected class president and is having the best year. The principal's 23-year-old son is the new track coach and he has his eye on Keisha. Slowly Keisha begins to find comfort in 23-year-old Jonathan and starts going out with him. Soon the relationship takes a wrong turns when Jonathan takes Keisha to his apartment and tries to rape and kill her with his jack knife.
Painfully Wonderful
There is pain in this book that you hope no one goes through. It follows Keisha after the death of her boyfriend, which is one thing she could've done without and then the near-rape she encounters. (Read TEARS OF A TIGER first.)
Christian's Review
In the book a girl named Keisha has just lost her boyfriend. Andy killed himself because he and his best friends Rob, Tyrone, and B.J were in a car accident. Rob was the only one that didn't make it out of the car and he burned to death. Andy felt that it was his fault so he walked around with all this on his shoulders until he killed himself. Keisha had just broken up with Andy because of all his problems. That summer Keisha took Andy's little brother with her to the cookout. The cookout was something that the high school does every year and the students come and bring their little brothers and sisters. This summer, Keisha saw a guy that she thought was hot, so the summer passed and the new school year came. When she saw him, she acted as if she hadn't noticed him, but she did and she really liked him. At the same time, Leon liked her but she really had not paid any attion to that until one day she gave him a ride home and his dad started to say all this embracing