House

This is an amazing play value. I actually purchased ours at a yard sale (!) and now want more for gifts! Sturdy (my four year old has not ruined it in over a year), amazingly detailed, and EXCELLENT play value for the money. Travels well and I'm pleased to find a gift that melds "toy" with "book" and, most importantly, is inexpensive and easy to pack and ship to my friend(s).

This is not just another creative pop-up book -its a beautifully designed doll house that will mesmerize your kids! This amazing paper-doll mansion is full of charming features like a hanging chandelier, toilet lid that lifts, piano, tea set, rocking horse, and more.

Perfect for grandparents to have on hand when the kids come over for a visit and a babysitters best friend! This completely portable doll house stores easily on your bookshelf between "Cinderella" and "Little Women." At ( ) it's a steal! END

An oversized, 3 dimensional doll house comes to life when you unfold this book. Eight elegant rooms are decorated victorian style with hanging chandeliers and all! This pop-up book is well crafted and very durable. It's design keeps your curiosity as you open every drawer, cupboard and closet. The 3-D pieces allow you to imaginary play with all the beds, chairs, sinks and even the tub and toilet! A delight to my 4 year old and I are the perforated paper doll characters that are inside. We enjoyed hours of playing doll house together. When you are all through, you just close the book and watch all the rooms fold right back into place for safe storage. I highly recommend this for anyone young and old who likes doll houses.

We enjoyed the story within the story of this book. It tells why some huts are round and some are square to this day in a small African village. This story is of men's & women's strengths & differences, the celebration of family and of the tradition of storytelling. The artwork adds to the quality of this book.

The Village of Round and Square Houses, is a story told byalittle girl, Osa, about how the people in her Central African villageof Tos ended up having the men live in square houses and the women in round ones. Osa's story begins with vivid descriptions and pictures of day to day life including their eating rituals in which the men come to eat with the women and children in the round house. Grifalconi uses bright, beautiful colors and illustrations, which help set the happy and peaceful mood. As Osa's grandmother tells her the story of how the great Naka Mountain burst open sending lava, ashes and smoke everywhere, Grifalconi does a good job of depicting the eruption. She contrasts the color orange on black and later shows the village and people all covered with ashes, with only two houses left standing. Since Naka had spared them and these two houses, the men and women split up and have been living this way ever since. The language and descriptions that she uses to tell the story are unique and informative; she keeps the reader wanting to know more. Grifalconi also does a good job of portraying the culture and tradition in the small village. In a note to the reader at the beginning of the book, she states that this village of Tos really does exist but that it is almost entirely isolated which makes its culture unique with different traditions from other African villages. The story, The Village of the Round and Square Houses, tells of the importance of family and the respect given to the elders. For the eldest in this family has the wooden stool to sit on and the next eldest has the grass mat. The children help the women cook, and everyone eats supper taking turns in order, starting with the eldest right down to the youngest child. Osa's grandmother tells the story of how their village ended up the way it is now. All members of the village respect her grandmother, and she is known as the best storyteller in the village. By telling stories she is able to pass on the culture of their village. In their 1988 Children's Literature Association Quarterly article, "Sharon Bell Mathis: Features of a Culture," Darwin L. Henderson and Arlene Harris Mitchell examine Mathis's work. Sharon Bell Mathis's works and Grifalconi's, The Village of Round and Square Houses, are similar because they both deal with celebrating life, children, family, survival, spiritual strength and culture. The oral tradition of story-telling is important to Mathis, and Grifalconi has the grandmother orally pass on the story of Naka. For me, this story by the grandmother is one of the most important things in the book because it gives the reason for having the women live in round houses and the men live in square ones, and it gives insight into part of their culture. This shows that oral tradition and culture are important aspects to both authors when writing children's books. I found this book stimulating to look at and interesting to read. The illustrations are great and add a lot to the story though it was a great story in itself. I definitely want to check out more of Ann Grifalconi's work.

This is a wonderful book to share with children. Children need to know that different cultures do things differently. Culture is a big part of people and how they live their lives. This book was awarded a Caldecott Honor in 1987 for the wonderful pastel pictures. I, myself, loved this book and so did my children in the classroom.

I was astonished to discover how many interesting and amazing facts Lee Wardlaw came up with in her history of ice cream. This carefully researched book is written with style and humor -- just like all her books. It's full of amusing stories and reads almost like a novel. Kids will love telling their friends what they've learned about this delicious subject. An excellent book for kids -- and their parents too.

Lee Wardlaw, the fun food expert who also wrote BUBBLEMANIA: THE CHEWY HISTORY OF BUBBLE GUM, has topped that smackin' good read with one about the number-1-greatest-dessert-on-earth...ice cream. You might ask me why I would read about ice cream when I could just eat ice cream, and I would say you have a pretty good question. But I have ten great answers. (By the way, I could think of 101 reasons why you should read this book, but Lee Wardlaw already wrote 101 WAYS TO BUG YOUR PARENTS, and I don't want to bug her!)

TEN REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD READ ABOUT ICE CREAM WHEN YOU COULD BE EATING IT:

1. If there is ever an earthquake large enough to destroy all of the ice cream companies on earth, you will have this book and be able to start your own company and save the world.

2. This book has GREAT ideas about the best possible careers. Name one job better than inventing ice cream flavors.

3. The next time your moms tells you not to stir up your ice cream, you can tell her authority that ice cream is better that way. The man with the million dollar taste buds says so.

4. When you go out with friends, you can win the game of naming the weirdest flavors of ice cream. How about tuna fish ice cream?

5. Feel like royalty. Ice cream was once so rare that only kings and queens could afford it.

6. When your teacher starts going on and on about the father of our country, you can point out that there was somebody much more important: Jacob Fussell, the father of the American ice cream industry.

7. Improve your self-esteem. Did you know that it was a kid who first got the idea for an ice cream Sundae? Talk about an important invention.

8. This book will give you reasons to LOVE math and science. Ice cream couldn't happen without them. Your grades are guaranteed to go up a whole mark after reading this book. We'll start with an easy one: If you have a gallon of cookies'n'cream ice cream and four hungry kids, how much fudge sauce will your mom have to buy?

9. There's a whole chapter of recipes! Make your own ice cream! No freezer? Make it in a plastic sandwich bag!

10. I saved the best for last. You don't have to read about ice cream instead of eating it. You can do both at the same time. Just don't get the book sticky. Your mom and dad will want to read it, too!

With this book, Lee Wardlaw has completed the great triumvirate of ice cream books. First there was Chocolate, Strawberry and Vanilla by Anne Cooper Funderburg, giving us the first really accurate, complete, and very readable history of ice cream published in the twentieth century. And then there was Frozen Desserts by Caroline Liddell and Robin Weir, the best and most complete recipe book on ice cream written in the twentieth century. All that was lacking in the Ice Screamer's library was a good, readable, accurate book for children, and now, after having patiently waited until the new millenium and thanks to Lee Wardlaw, noted children's author, we have that book. The library is complete, God is on his throne, all is right with the world, and the only emperor is the emperor of ice cream. So what makes this book so good? Where to start.....well, just take a look at the cover. You cannot resist picking up this book, and then, well, then you've had it. First, there is the readability. I started the book and didn't stop until it was finished. Like I usually do with a good bowl of homemade ice cream, I devoured it too fast. So I had to read it again...same thing, couldn't put it down. Immediately apparent in Lee's style in all her books, and it is evident here as well, is that she doesn't talk "down" to children. The language is direct and simple wihout being patronizing; the style "speaks" to the reader casually yet matter-of-factly, which of course means that adults flock to her books as eagerly as children do. Then there are the delightful illustrations by Sandra Forrest. My personal favorite is the soda jerk on page 76. And besides these illustrations, each chapter begins with a great black and white photo of a classic ice cream scene, many are historic and rare. The book is complete. Chapters on the history of ice cream, the story of certain ice cream treats, and recipes are of course to be expected and these are complete, concise and accurate. When fact tends to blur with fancy, Lee tells us so. When myth runs smack into history, Lee tells us so. But her facts are impeccable; accurate and concise. It is a very, very well researched book, yet so fun to read, every page turns with a smile or a chuckle. And then, like the surprise bit of crunch in butter brickle, there are the sidebars, adding tantalizing factoids and anecdotes just to make us salivate for more. Mmmmm....Good! But the real charm to me is in the "extra" chapters. I didn't expect to see a chapter on soda fountains and soda jerks, but here it is! I didn't expect to see a chapter on cones and cone manufacturers, but surprise!, here it is! The story behind some well known ice cream companies? Here it is! And just as a good topping makes a great sundae, take a look at the the chapter called The Man With the Million Dollar Taste Buds. I've met this wild and crazy guy, and if anyone could do justice to him, Lee Wardlaw has done so. To be perfectly honest, I've known for nearly two years that this book would be published this year, and I've been eagerly awaiting its release with great anticipation. I am happy to say that this book far exceeds all my greatest expectations. Are there any faults to this book? Well, yes, there are; ...two, in fact. First, I find that just like a bowl of my favorite ice cream, it's finished before I am satisfied. But this is the same problem I have with any good book on ice cream; I just want it to go on, and on, and on, never really having to close the final cover. And second, it seems to be classified as a children's book, and I suspect when it hits the bookshelves this summer, we'll find it in the children's section, but don't let it fool you. It is actually advertised as "Ages 8 and up"; especially notice the "and up"... that means it's for children of all ages. One of the uniquely endearing qualities of ice cream is that with every bite, it continually reminds us that inside we have always been, and will always be... children. The obvious conclusion is that this book is for anyone who loves ice cream. So the question begs to be asked: Who in the world could possibly not enjoy it? I can't imagine.

Any student of foreign policy simply must read this book. In fact, anyone with a remote interst in international affairs would benefit from its contents. Kissinger presents an honest and intimate assessment of world events from 1968 to early 1973. His comments on personal relationships and candid opinions of world leaders like De Gaul, Mao, Nixon, Brandt, Brezhnev, Gandhi (Indira), Rabin and others are insightful. Kissinger covers world event touching on Vietnam, India/Pakistan relations, Middle Eastern conflicts, Russian and Chinese relationships and domestic affairs among others. The reader is afforded touching personal insight into many events that shaped the cold war world and continue to impact foreign policy today. It is a privlege to read someone with so vast an intellect that is as critical of himself as he is of other policy makers. The book is as often serious as it is funny. Kissinger honestly portrays his personal point of view on all the issues facing him. It is not every day we get to read about the nuances of policy making with such honesty and clarity. Kissinger also provides behind the scene insight into the Nixon presidency and all its ravaging conflicts and triumphs. If world issues and politics interest you then this book will as well.

The title of this review stems from an ancient Chinese proverb. Henry A. Kissinger's book, White House Years is the first of a three-volume trilogy that covers his remarkable career. This initial book begins with his appointment as National Security Advisor to Richard M. Nixon January 1969, and ends with the initialing of the Paris Peace Accords in 1973. Kissinger lets the reader know early on, they were under no illusions their journey would be easy or joyous.

He paints a vivid picture of Lyndon Johnson at Nixon's inauguration. If a political heavyweight like L.B.J. could be humbled by (sic) "Veetnam" no one could expect an easy time. Nixon, who had made a career of exhorting political opponents to, "Get tough with the Communists," now had his turn. He would either succeed where his predecessors had failed, or share L.B.J.s fate.

A series of opportunities to "get tough" with the Communists soon followed. The Soviets continued to harass Berlin; the Strateg!ic Arms Limitation (SALT) Talks provided critics from the right and left; West German leader Willie Brandt's Ostpolitik threatened the cohesion of the Atlantic Alliance and the Soviets' establishment of a submarine base at Cienfuegos, Cuba created a situation reminiscent of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also, the election of Salvador Allende in Chile threatened to introduce a second, Communist state into the Western Hemisphere. Elsewhere, a crisis was brewing between India and Pakistan, and the powder keg in the Middle East threatened to explode at any time.

All these things occurred while the bulk of our military forces were mired in a seemingly endless stalemate in Vietnam that was tearing our nation apart and steadily draining both our coffers and our national resolve. Any of them had the potential to bring the two nuclear equipped superpowers into direct confrontation at any time. Kissinger calmly states: "Statesmen do not have the right to ask to serve only in simple t!imes." The early '70's were anything but, "simple times."

White House Years is a first-person account from a key player in each of these crises. Kissinger takes us step-for-step through the decision-making process they undertook before each action. These deliberations led to the most spectacular diplomatic initiative of our time: Nixon's historic trip to The Peoples Republic of China! The diplomatic opportunities made possible by this trip still shape our world today. Among other things it made Hanoi serious about negotiating an end to the War in Vietnam.

Dr. Kissinger narrates the maddening, secret negotiations with North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho in Paris. The differences between what the Communists were feeding the Western media and what they were saying behind closed doors makes the reader both loathe and admire them for their political skill. Their efforts finally led to the signing of the Paris Peace Accords. Kissinger sincerely believed South Vietnam would surv!ive. Unfortunately, he was wrong.

White House Years reads like a Greek tragedy. The reader gets excited and then remembers how it all ends. The very secretiveness that produced spectacular successes also sowed the seeds that would lead to Nixon's self-destruction.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the War in Vietnam and/or international relations. The conduct of international diplomacy today is still unquestionably influenced by the events narrated here. I am much better informed for having read it. You will be as well!

Dr. Kissinger's book is a must read for those wishing to gain insight into the politics of the diplomatic process. He takes great pains to be fair in his assessment of a number of personalities from President Nixon, to Indira Gandi. Self-observations are modest to the point of self-deprecation. The chapters in which he chronicles the Nixon Administration's involvement in the Vietnam War is worth the price of the book. Mr. Kissinger's observation of this tumultuous time in our history is candid, sometimes sad, but scholarly without being pedantic. I highly recommend this book.

If you are looking for beautiful and innovative ways to dress your windows, this is the book you have to buy. So many other drapery books are so blah. This one is gorgeous, after you glean all of the ideas you can from it, you can place it on your coffee table and share it's beauty with your guests. Not only did I find great ideas in this book, I so enjoyed reading the stories that the author/designer wrote about each of the clients whose homes were featured in the book.

I recently moved to Little Rock and found myself searching for draperies for my home. Unable to purchase quality window coverings I began searching for the newest and most creative ideas. The book " The Window " offers the most wonderful treatments. It has given me great ideas in fabrics, hardware and even fun ways to decorate my home. This book will definitely
give a kick start to your decorating dreams.

I found this book to be the most inspirational decorating book I've ever bought. It is so full of great ideas and wonderful pictures. I love how directions are put step by step in the book. This is well worth your money.

This is one of the only "introductory" books that actually bring value : after reading it you will understand the whole marketing processes in telco and how the marketing database supports it.

It provides a 360° presentation of all the components :

- Data sources

- Data Analysis (with many segmentation case)

- Processes, especially marketing campaign

- IT architecture (for managers ...)

I believe that the logic presented here can be extended to other industry : financial services, utilities, ...

A very good and easy reading

After reading some database marketing books, I just want to say this book is the best one for telecom direct marketing guys. As a direct marketing professional, I think this practical guide help me build strong confidence to get a related job in the telecompany next year.

Thank you, Mr. Mattison!

As an experienced telecommunications executive, I found this book to be amazingly easy to read, straightforward in its approach and insightful in its application. A MUST READ for anyone dealing with marketing in the communications industry, and any other industry for that matter. MAKES CRM UNDERSTANDABLE AND TANGIBLE.

Characters that seem real and believable. A story that works out the characters' problems in due course without forcing actions on them. And it was sheer pleasure to read a book set in Ireland that didn't make everyone in it out to be dark, dirty, horrible, mean, or viscious. Too many of such books that I've read - whether fiction or nonfiction - seem to want all of the Irish, especially the clergy and religious, to be nothing but bad news.

Alice Taylor has outdone herself again. This book retains your interest at all times and it is very hard to put down till you are done. You need not be of Irish heritage to enjoy this book. Once you start, you cannot stop!

the characters in this story are well-developed. events are well-paced and not rushed but Taylor doesn't include any unnecessary details. one is drawn into the lives of this people in this beautiful Irish village/town without being subjected by sappiness or overemotion.

This is one of the three books I bought when I first started planning my workshop. Beacuse my workshop is in an old one car garage, I needed some ideas for storage of tools, and a good sturdy workbench. Engler really put some time into choosing what items to put into this book. I've already built a cabinet makers workbench, and the adjustable stool in the back of the book, and I'm very happy with the way both of them turned out.

Take into consideration that I'm a novice woodworker, and it didn't take me very long at all to build these two things. This book is well oraganized and well presented. The plans are simple to follow and the materials are pretty easy to find in local hardware and woodshop stores. Overall this book is a great investment for the amount of knowledge you get in return.

This book was the third book I bought when I started planning my workshop. As I flipped through the book at the local book store I saw that is was full of usefull information on how to build benches and storage for my workshop. So once I got it home and read it cover to cover, I was convinced I had spent my money wisely. I've already used the plans to build a cabinet makers work bench, and the adjustable stool in the very back of the book. The book shows the general plans, and u can alter them to fit your individual needs. It is straighforward, and very usefull. What else could you ask for?

When I started getting together my tools, and supplies for my workshop, I wasn't sure what to mount this to or where to put that. So I went looking around to the usual places....book stores and hobby shops and of course Amazon.com. And I found this book here....looked through the description, and ordered it right away. Nick Engler lays it out in a very straight forward and forthright manner. Detailed plans, and just general ideas for tool storage, work benches, and planning ideas for every shop. This book is the is a must read, for anyone who is starting their own workshop, or just looking for new ideas.

Finally, a thorough treatment of this critical area! Ward does an excellent job of describing what makes product/service development so unique in telecommunications. I also believe the book does a very good job of explaining how to **improve** processes so the organization is optimized for service creation.

If you truly understand (or need to understand) the challenges and sometimes, the pain, in getting telecom services deployed to rate-payers and subscribers, you will appreciate this book. As one who has lived through aspects of this, I enjoyed the reading it. In fact, recommended it to one manager who had his whole team read it!

This book is foundational for anyone who desires to understand the right way to develop product and services in telecom/network centric companies.

There are plenty of books on new product development, but very few on service development. Fewer still -- in fact non-existent until now -- are books on telecommunications service development. This book was written to fill that void and to provide a much needed methodology for those involved in bringing new communication-based services to market.

"World-Class Telecommunications Service Development" begins by examining why traditional product development methodologies -- methodologies which have gained acceptance in the discrete manufacturing world -- don't apply to an industry where the product is not a tangible commodity but rather an 'always-on' service. Here, the product being developed and delivered is primarily a set of business processes. Indeed, this role of 'process' is so central to what's involved in developing products for this industry that it serves as the book's main message and theme ("in telecom, the process is the product").

If we accept the role of processes in the development of new services, then we need to understand what's involved in actually creating these systems-based, inter-departmental delivery processes. Re-working a manufacturing model won't do the job. What's needed are logical product and process models designed specifically for this environment in this time.

In this book, you'll discover some proven (albeit high-level) approaches for logically modeling new services. You'll also learn techniques for managing the complex and highly cross-disciplinary process known as product development across the entire enterprise. Weaving together hands-on, structured models and methods with valuable management techniques and insights, this book offers a blend of information needed for any person -- whether at the executive, engineering, marketing or product management level -- involved in bringing new products to market.

The book is organized into 7 sections:

Part I looks at today's telecommunications services industry and at some of the characteristics that make this industry unique.

Part II offers a product development framework consisting of three separate but related perspectives. The first two of these perspectives involve the product -- the network service and the service delivery process. The third perspective -- the product development process -- is the process by which a company brings these two parts together in the creation of a new product.

Part III looks at how providers decide what products to build. In this section, issues involved in evaluating, defining, structuring and packaging the product are considered.

Part IV examines the processes of service delivery. Here, the individual processes that make up the end-to-end service delivery view are identified and reviewed, with a discussion on what's involved in linking these processes together.

Part V considers what's at stake in developing systems-based business processes. This section explores some of the issues providers face in integrating and automating their service delivery systems and processes.

Part VI examines what is required within the organization to launch and support the product. This section looks at the last three phases of the development cycle: development, implementation and launch. (The three preceding phases, opportunity analysis, feasibility and definition, are covered in earlier sections).

Part VII concludes with a discussion on organizational issues, and on ways organizations can make their development efforts more effective. This section includes chapters on effective team building and rapid development approaches. It ends with some thoughts on what it means to be a world-class service provider.

eward@wardassociates.net

Until now there's been almost nothing on this subject. The author has done an outstanding job of bringing together diverse information and adding her own experiences. She's made a valuable contribution to an area rarely written about - telecommunications service development. Ms. Ward's Framework for Telecommunications Service Development provides an invaluable tool to the way successful organiztions should take an idea and carry it through the entire life cycle.

I found this to be a truly great book. However, it took me a while to get to this point because, as soon as I got it home, my wife fell in love with it and I couldn't tear it away from her for a long time. The historical perspective combined with the "love interest" capability make it both fun to read and remarkably useful. It is a reference work to be be cherished and used for years.

My small business is planning to give dozens as Christmas gifts to our clients.

Bought this book as a gift for my wife. She spent 2 hours revieweing all her friends' and relatives' birthdays and found most of them to right on the money. We had a dinner party and it was great fun to read everyone's information. A great entertaining book!

I purchased this excellent book while visiting New York.It covers every birthday sign from 1900 to 2001 and is written by 7 astrologers.At 864 pages fully illustrated it is fabulous value.
No dinner party is complete with out this huge source of reference as we discovered, everyone was looking up their birthday and reading it out then looking up their children ,parents and even grandparents.One of our guests became so engrossed we never heard from him the whole evening.
The entries are amazingly accurate the history and special reports fascinating, it also includes your love potential,your luck magnetism and your drive and amition.All the chinese signs are included and it even includes mystical cards.
I can really recommend the book if you have to make a speech at a birthday or special occasion it is invaluable.
I discovered this when making the speech for my mothers 79th birthday. All her history , destiny and personality were so accurate, the speech was a great success.