As a member of Generation-X (that means in 1998 I'm 35...)I find this book puts many things about life today in perspective. An excellent and easy read, I would recommend this to anyone who is fascinated by social and demographical characteristics of our society. A word of warning though, for all you Gen-Xers out there... You may develop a new found hatred of people in their late 40s and early 50s... It's a fun book. Read it.

I read this book in the summer of 1996, and found it to be an excellent tool. It takes a very organized approach to presenting the history of demographics and applying demographics to trends that we have observed over the past. It is highly relevant to life in rural Ontario which is where i was living at the time. Issues like the future importance of hospital closings, school development, and social programs should all be viewed in the context of demographics.

After reading this I went on to read Faith Popcorn's books, and found them to be rather flat predictions that demographics could easily fortell. Boom Bust & Echo is a useful toolkit for business people with lots of examples to draw from. My wife and I had our own company at the time, and I had to make her read the book so we could re-assess our strategy in light of this under-used tool, and it allowed us to reposition our company without straying from our original mission.

This book is Historical information on both the area I grown up in and family bacvkground. I greatly enjojed not only ready this book, but found that being about to see many of the places and items mentioned in the bok added to my enjoyment. Please note that "Boy Captive of Old Deerfield" proceeds this and "Boys of the Border" follows this. All 3 are excellant and contain much interesting information on the settlement of Western Mass.

This is the first in a series that cronicles young Stephen's life in an early American, frontier town and capture by indians from Canada. The book was not only hard to put down because of continual actions, but I was always learning a little bet here and there about early colional life and Native American life.

The first chapter was a little tough getting used to some of the Olde English spelling an phrases. But soon I no longer noticed them at all. I would recommend this book to anyone from about 5th grade and up.

I won't spoil the ending, but do yourself a favor and order "The Boy Captive in Canada" at the same time because the story doesn't end in this book. It continues into the next.

Tim Wynne-Jones' Boy In The Burning House tells of a boy who is still struggling with his father's disappearance when a schoolmate reveals that the local pastor has murdered him. A dangerous investigation begins which draws him into mental illness and possible realities: recommended for older readers.

This book is already published in Canada. Both my 11 year old son and I read this book. It kept my son on the edge of his seat and I enjoyed it as well.

The story revolves around a 14 year old loner named Jim, whose father disappears under mysterious circumstances, and is presumed to have committed suicide. While the boy and his mother struggle with the day to day challenges that inevitably result, the boy meets up with Ruth Rose, a very unusual and erratic teen, who believes her stepfather is a murderer. Jim doesn't want to get involved in Ruth Rose's rantings, but he can't help but get drawn into the mystery.

Although the subject matter deals with some very heavy topics, the author manages to inject some humorous moments and plenty of suspense, which keep the story from becoming too intense for youthful readers. I thought the author did a commendable job exploring the topics of mental health and social acceptance.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone 11 and over.

The authors have developed a great set of questions that teach AND entertain. The solutions include additional information related to the original question helping kids increase their depth of knowledge...a super idea.

Brainquest Canada is a great product to not only keep your children entertained, but have them learn at the same time - without them even knowing it! The trivia questions will also show most parents that it is not just kids who have a lot to learn about Canada. A must for anyone with children.

I could not but help reading this book over night.As a teacher in junior high school in Taiwan, I am quite accoutomed to kids have the same problems as Abraham described in this exotic book. I am absorbed by his tremendous effort to overcome his hereditary setback and use his right brain hemisphere to achive great success in a society designed by and for the left brain people. And I learned an important lesson in this book, a word in time is really a great help to people around you. Without the encouraging words, Abraham might have given himself in his early life when he felt frustrated and embarrassed. After reading this book, I am deeply concerned that I can help my students with my words just like those wonderful guys in Abraham's life who gave him kind concern and help. And those concern and help turned out to be a blessing to a poor yound man and make him be someone. Gee, that's great.Everyone needs someone else to encourage him, and everyone can be someone else's lucky-giver.

This book is excellent. I couldn't put it down. It is refreshing but sad to see how a dyslexic person struggles through even the smallest tasks. Mr schmitt tells about his dyslexic life. He is the brilliant idiot--he holds several college degrees but can't tie his shoes and can't teach school. Anyone who knows someone with a learning disability will enjoy this book. It will bring a better understanding of what a learning disabled person has to overcome--and provides proof positive that it can be done! It is a truly sad but remarkable journey that Mr. Schmitt will take you on if you read this book. You will laugh and cry and your heart will break. But such a happly ending.

This book was a favorite of my husband when he was a little boy....it was a nightly ritual for each of our four children. Now we are awaiting the birth of our first grandchild and this is the first gift we will purchase for him (or her?). The beautiful art work in this book will live in a child's imagination forever. Classic tales are meant to be read with a child snuggled on your lap!If you like this book be sure to check out "The Gateway to Storyland" also a Platt & Monk classic.

This Children's book was mine and my brothers favorite one to be read at night, it has stories and poems like 'The Owl and the Pussycat' and 'Winken, Blinken and Nod'. It has the most wonderful pictures, they ingrave themselves on your sleepy eyelids and your little one will have nothing but sweet dreams. Now I have a daughter, and a son on the way and would love to share this experience with them, but my brother has already lay claim to our one childhood copy!

After 1044 pages, 813 black and white photographs, 194 color photographs, 165 line drawings, and 135 distribution maps, cacti lovers will have no problems finding their favorite cacti in the wild or getting background on their systematics. This is a wonderful book, and one can never tire of perusing its contents. It is rich with information and an excellent introduction for those readers first entering the exotic world of cacti. Some of the most interesting parts of the book include: 1. The use of the scanning electron microscope to study surface patterns of cacti. Students of botany will realize that correlating the fine structure of cacti with taxonomy would be an interesting research project. 2. The root system of the Opuntia echinocarpa cholla. 3. The metabolism of cacti: the Craseulacean acid metabolism which allows closing of the stomata during the day. 4. The chemical chracters of cacti, particularly the use of two-dimensional chromatograms. 5. The evolutionary relationships within the family of cacti. 6. The role of asexual reproduction in promoting the survival of hybrids in chollas and prickly pears.
The book will no doubt serve as an excellent reference book in many years to come.

an awesome reference for everyone. this book hasgreat color photographs and information on hardiness and soil types for specilizedplants. very thorough as to identification and various hybrids if any. also has nice color photos and line drawings of each plant in detail

In reviews of this book, much is made of the author's race and sexual orientation; little has been said about his talent for fashioning words and sentences into crystalline, jewel-like stories. Quan explores themes of self-discovery and the search for identity among shifting layers and labels, and accumulates a number of exotic literary passport stamps along the way. This is fiction the way fiction ought to be written. Quan's prose is poignant, taut, and lucid: he finds just the right way to put things, free from excess, and achieves small miracles with this minimalist technique. ... his writing is so transparent, non-writers overlook his technical skill to yap about the politics. This does the book a disservice. Check this one out. Andy's a hell of a storyteller, and the themes he explores speak to a broad range of human experience. I had to get a friend to send me this book from Canada well before it was available in the States, and it was worth the effort. This is a writer to watch.

A few years ago, a Yale graduate named Eric Liu published The Accidental Asian, an eloquent series of essays tracing the young author's quest to come to grips with his Oriental heritage after growing up under the Euro-dominant influence of continental USA. That book now seems rather quaint beside the Canadian-authored Calendar Boy. It isn't just Andy Quan's value-added "otherness" of queer sexuality that gives this book more edge - although some of the bitchy irony that drives these stories surely arises from that. It's rather that Quan is a lot funnier about cultural disharmony, less forgiving of polite society and more aggressive in taking the piss out of PC earnestness. In "What I Really Hate", there's as much disdain for the cha-cha-cha-ing Chinese dancers as for the drooling rice queens. His take on fetishism is refreshingly inventive, as in "How to Cook Chinese Rice" and "Hair", and yet there's a haunting sort of beauty in the darker subject of a Japanese girl's attempted suicide ("Almost Flying"). With a disciplined, poet's eye - short, punchy sentences and well-rendered visuals - this book's a keeper (review originally published on Red Salamander's website.)