Datasets:

ChunB1

/

books_raw

like 0

The King, the Mice and the Cheese by Nancy Gurney is an excellent children's book. It is one that I well remember from my own childhood and purchased for my daughter who loves it. It is about a king who has trouble with rude mice eating his cheese. He consults his wise men and they suggest cats to chase away the mice. The cats become a nuisance, so the wise men recommend the king bring in dogs to chase the cats away. The cycle goes on until the mice are finally brought back to chase away the elephants, brought in to chase away the lions that'd chased away the dogs. The story ends in compromise and friendship between the mice and the king. The story also teaches cause and effect relationships. The pictures that accompany the story are humorous and memorable. I was thrilled to discover that it is back in print. I *highly* recommend it for children ages 2 to 7.

The kids loved it!

My students (3 & 4 year olds) loved this book! Definitely recommend it to other teachers.

LOVE IT

Great!

Over and over the king has problems. Fortunately, he has wise men to help him solve his problems. Unfortunately, his wise men turn one problem into another problem. So, on top of all his other problems his wise men are a problem too. Who wants mice all over the place; naughty mice at that? And so many that they are in your food, even in your beard--you do have a beard? Well, the wise men have the answer to the problem. And the king is delighted, but not for long because the problem comes back again and again. In the end, the king wins ...and the king loses. How can he both win AND lose? (Picture Book: Fanciful Fiction) <a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Creative-Teacher-Activities-for-Language-Arts-Grades-4-through-8-and-Up/dp/1604945486/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Creative Teacher: Activities for Language Arts (Grades 4 through 8 and Up)</a>

I remember reading my parents' copy of this book until it fell apart. The story still makes me giggle. I just wanted to share it with my kids, who appreciated it even though most of them are teenagers now. The story is light-hearted and silly, but with a very powerful message about learning to live with the problems you have instead of trading them for larger problems. The artwork is hysterical, too.

I am very happy with the book!!! It is one of my children's favorite books and I was so pleased I could order it here!!!

My copy is so tattered, worn and so loved. A well done plot on how it's sometimes better to get along, than to try to work the problem.

This was one of my favorites when I was a small child, so I bought a copy for my nephew when he was just starting to read.

So, you think you have problems? Things could be worse and this clever book can prove it. The king starts out with a problem. The mice are eating his cheese. The more he tries to fix the problem, the worse it gets. The king finally arranges to bring back the mice when he comes to the realization that his original dilemma wasn't so intolerable after all. The solution requires cooperation from the king and the mice. It involves the cheese.

My mom bought this for my oldest son. He and his younger brother loved it. When the baby rolled around, so to speak, 9 years later, it became his favorite too. No one, child or , well, old child, fails to be delighted by this story. Oddly, they all seem to have the same favorite page, too (when the elephants are run out of town by the returning mice). This is a never-fail hit, and cheers everyone up as they face the prospect of the nap.

41 years later: The cheese is government cheese. The mice objected to the king's idea of good manners as species-centric, and rebelled. The king blamed the peasants, and forbade them to keep cats or chase mice from their homes. This made things worse. Peasants that could afford to do so moved as far away from mice as possible. I can't wait for the next chapter.

One of the best books I have ever read. The message is deep wisdom that our government leaders and makers of US foreign policy would do well to internalize. Your kids will like it too.

Finally back in print. What an awesome book. Loved it as a kid and now one of my kids' favorites. So happy I can now purchase for my niece.

To summarize the story, it's all about trying to deal with the problem you have in the first place (mice), rather than bringing in solutions that create even worse problems (cats, dogs, lions and elephants). But since you will likely be reading it to your kids, the story is not all that important at first. I had this as a boy and enjoyed the drawings, which gets a kid hooked on a book before anything else. My two-year-old LOVES this book, and fills in the words every time we get to words like "king" "mice" "cheese" "lion", etc. He really has no idea what the story teaches, but he loves to read it with me, and that's the key to a great kid's book.

I was given this book for my 8th birthday, in the year of its first publication. The Golden Treasury of Poetry was a constant companion; lost, alas, after "growing up" and making many life-moves. This year, 2009, 50 years after I first received this book, I recaptured it from a used book dealer in upstate NY, as a birthday present to myself for my 58th birthday. The book is my bridge back in time. A beloved collection of classics for children; don't let yours slip away!

I had this book as a child and loved it. The collection of poems is a broad and deep as I remembered

My aunt bought me this book in 1962 - I was ten years old. My younger sister and I read the poems and loved them all. We marked the book up by writing in it by trying to copy all the great illustrations in it. My dad, sister, and myself would read about Paul Revere's ride and The Common Cormorant and then talk about what we read. My father's favorite poem in it was The Children's Hour. When I was in my 30's I bought myself another copy of it. Both my sister and my dad have passed and this poetry book brings back all the memories that I shared with them. I'm 64 now and still remember the words to my favorite poems in this anthology. It will definitely make memories for any child who is lucky enough to get a copy.

I agree with another reviewer, that every home should have this book - partly for the poetry, and partly for the amazingly beautiful illustrations by Joan Walsh Anglund that accompany the poems. This is a book that can be enjoyed by people of any age. It is a wonderful introduction to poetry for children, yet it is not a silly children's book. It is a book full of some of the most beautiful and captivating poetry in the English language. I grew up with this book, and learned to love literature and poetry, and the magical world between the covers of a book. Oh! What flights of imagination I went on, reading this lovely book. When I got married, my husband quoted "Lochinvar" from memory, substituting his own name for the last word in the Lochinvar poem! I was so surprised, and everyone cracked up laughing. The reason I knew this poem by Sir Walter Scott was because of this book. "Tiger, Tiger, burning bright, in the forests of the night ..." - "The Highwayman came riding, riding, riding ..." The Fish - "... And I let the fish go." Kentucky Belle. The Battle of Bunker Hill. Wynken, Blynken and Nod. Short, funny poems by Ogden Nash. The Blind Men and the Elephant. Abou Ben Adhem - may his tribe increase! So many wonderful poems are in this book. My old book had fallen apart. I work at a school where bookbinding classes were taught. I brought my book in, and got it fixed. Now, just last week, although I never got to have children myself, life has given me the amazing gift of two little great granddaughters, ages five and eight. What better gift for them than this book, where they will be able to be enchanted by poetry as I was, to grow with it, and they can read the poem that great-grandpa recited by heart after he got married for the second time, way back before they were born. I am so grateful to see this book on Amazon. Thank you!

This was a wonderful book so I got it as a gift for my niece. It's a very thick book full of different poems on many topics. You will be able to find many that you love.

Looking for a Louis Untermeyer book from the 1980s and this was not the one,

Lifetime FAVORITE!

Its lovely just what my husband was looking for and how he had remembered it

I don't know that I can truly explain why I like this book so much. Started reading it to my son and daughter in approx 1960. They loved it and so did I like reading it to them. The Book contains a wonderful collection of poetry of many topics and styles, appealing to from toddlers to adults! I think it is a great family book. Had two more children when the first two were in Middle School. They liked it just as much and now I have given it to their children! Our youngest grandchild wouldn't let her father stop reading it to her in the evening and then demanded permission to take the book to bed. She is only 22 months old. Somewhere along the line in moving around the book was lost. I just bought it for my husband and me. Love it. Thank you Louis Untermeyer for this collection!

The poetry and illustrations are splendid. Although the book seems directed at children, adults will be inspired as well. It is one of those books that would stay in the family for generations. "Golden Treasury" is the right name for it! My dad gave me this book when I was about eight.-- this was in the seventies. It inspired me to write poetry and I won a poetry contest in school because of it. Somehow the collection reminds me of a better time, when people valued good things and were more sweet and innocent.

I grew up with this poetry book. I loved it then, I love it now. Too bad it is out of print.

I rated this a five because it's the first book I used to introduce my-now 45 year old-son to poetry. Custard the Magic Dragon was read over and over and he still remembers it to this day. It's a charming mix of poetry, rhymes and stories in verse. You'll treasure it for your children-and for yourself. If you can find a copy, get one and enjoy all it has to offer with your kids or by yourself.

A must for every home, with or without children. Delightful! Each and every poem is a classic treasure. Wonderful to read out loud.

One of my daughters, growing up, also loved this book, which I had had when I was a teenager. Because she was a bit careless, the cover was destroyed. It is so great to have a good copy again of this lovely collection which I can now read to my grandchildren. The Anglund illustrations are, of course, delightful, and many of the selections simply cannot be found anymore, of either the poems or the illustrations. A priceless book.

This was a favorite. I think it changed my life when I was just a child. I became a poetry lover and am one still. Simple, beautiful poems appropriate for children but not childish at all. Whitman, Hopkins, many famous poets included here. All these years later I can still remember lines from it. Genevieve Taggard's Millions of Strawberries came to me while I was eating strawberries a friend gave me. Although I could not remember the title, thanks to the wonders of the internet, I searched for the lines I remember and found the text. Then, I went to the bookshelf (I still have the book) and read it and many others. Fond, fond memories.

This is a favorite childhood book of mine. I hunted it down after getting married in hopes of reading it to my children someday. It's filled with wonderful classic poems. It has some funny, witty poems but it doesn't have many of the "silly" slapstick style poems that are so common in kids poetry to day. While some may see that as a liability, I think it's a great thing to expose kiddos to good literature from a young age. If all kids digest is junk food, they will get fat. If all they read is silly, slapstick poetry they will have a harder time appreciating classic stuff later on.

I fondly recall this collection of some of the world's best loved poetry. I've not read it in forty years, yet I can still recite passages word for word. I remember pouring over the poems, asking my mother what certain things meant, they disappearing to read some more. Lady Clair haunted my imagination, as did bold Lochenvar. And who wouldn't laugh at the little girl with the curl, right in the middle of her forehead? To this day I have a copy of Lone Dog by Irene Rutherford Mcleod hanging in my work cube, lovingly handwritten by my grandaughter, who now has the book and loves it like I did. My all time favorite poem, I must admit, is the The Hiwayman, by Alfred Noyes. I'm about to publish my eighth romance novel, and if I retrace my literary steps, I'll find an eleven-year-old girl sighing over the tragically doomed lovers. Though years have passed, this volume stands the test of time.

This volume is a memory from my childhood, filled with lovely poems that my father read to me before bed. I've been looking for it for 10 years. Now I will read it to my grand-daughters.

This book was given to my mom when she was 13 from her sister. She used to draw from the illustrations inside. When I was about 10, she let me start drawing from it. I absolutely love it! I have used it over the years to draw from, and now I teach art, and my students draw from these beautiful pen and ink illustrations. The book is lovely and full of wonderful poems and collections. And although the poetry is wonderful, I have to say the illustrations are my favorite ever. This is a classic you don't want to pass up!

It's a flash back to the past. I loved this book of poetry when I was in high school. This book was in pristine condition.

I love this little book which is wonderful to give as a gift to both adults and children. I already have my own copy but I wanted another to give one as a gift because it expresses in just a few, simple, touching words the way in which we would all like to be cherished,but probably never have been. It always makes me cry. I call it the agnostic's bible! Clare.

This book is dear and sweet, and the cover illustration and colors are simply beautiful. A win-win reading for children (and adults too).

"Great Day for Up" is a unique Dr. Seuss book and you can tell this just by looking at the cover. That is because while the book is written by Dr. Seuss it features the jolly drawings of the English artist Quentin Blake. Until this point every time I have read a book written by Dr. Seuss it was also illustrated by Dr. Seuss and when somebody else did the drawings Dr. Seuss used the name Theo. LeSieg (which is "Geisel" backwards). So the fact that this is a real "Dr. Seuss" book drawn by somebody else is pretty special. This Bright and Early Book provides rhymed text and illustrations introducing the many meanings of the word "up" as Seuss and Blake show beginning readers that this is a "Great day for up!" You get the point half way through the book but little kids should be able to hand on longer, especially when they are reading the book for themselves. Besides, by the end of "Great Day for Up" we get to the point where "EVERYONE on Earth is up!" (with one very important and rather ironic exception). As with all of the Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners what you have here is a brief and funny story, where the words are few and easy, there is a catchy rhythm, and the pictures are happy and colorful clues to the text. These are designed for an even lower age group than the Bright and Early Books that followed "The Cat in the Hat," which was the "Harry Potter" of its day when it came to encouraging even pre-schoolers to discover the delights of reading for themselves. This is not one of the most interesting volumes in the series, but overall these books were a delight.

Dr. Seuss has some really brilliant books. This book is just a so-so Dr. Seuss. As a parent who is familiar with about 15 Dr. Seuss books, this is one of my least favorite books. The book attempts to teach the child what "Up" means. There is a terrific amount of repetition, and the cleverness in the rhyming and pictures is not "Up!" to par with other Dr. Seuss books. My 6-month old children are too young to understand this book, but I think that Mommy and Daddy will tire of the book long before they have gotten the very simple and trivial message in this book : what is the difference between Up and Down ...

Children are normally confused by the multiplicity of meanings that a simple word can have when they start reading. Dr. Seuss has written a book here to can allow you to help your child understand that problem by looking at what "up" can mean in different contexts. The beautiful watercolor and inked outline illustrations by Quentin Blake provide great context for these meanings. "Up! Up! The sun is getting up. The sun gets up so UP with you!" Thus, this book begins. You can see that Dr. Seuss has already connected the idea of the sun rising above the horizon in the east with your rising from your bed. The book goes on to explore all the things that can rise. These includes ears on a rabbit, hands, whiskers, and eyes. Once he goes into eyes, he then points out that many living creatures have eyes (including worms, frogs, butterflies, whales, and insects). Then, Dr. Seuss returns to "up" and gives new meanings. These include taking something from a lower position to a higher one (like putting your feet up by walking on your hands), throwing things into the air (like balls), guiding things into the air (like kites), climbing (like going up a mountain -- Mt. Dill-ma-dilts in this case), and building mechanisms that can go up (like an elevator or a ferris wheel). Then, he returns ingeniously to the original concept of arising from bed: "Wake ever person, pig and pup, till EVERYONE on Earth is up!" Then comes the surprise ending that will keep you and your child chuckling for years. At first, you may just think the ending is there simply for humor, but it actually extends your child's understanding of what saying "up" means in terms of cause and effect. The book has all of the qualities I look for in an early reader. The language is simple. There is a limited vocabulary of short words. The illustrations tie in clearly to the words. The story is interesting, humorous, and upbeat. A child can learn to recognize the key word, up, in just a few readings. After your child has mastered this wonderful story, I suggest that you encourage your child to use this book to identify synonyms for "up" which will extend the value of the book. For example, you can use "arise" or "rise" in many of the contexts. Then you can discuss how a speaker or a writer chooses which word version of a concept to use. May all of your child's learning experiences be UP to the ones available in this book!

It arrived on time and in listed description.

"U" is for UP! Great book

Completly boring!!! Yes it's a childerns book that they will be able to read beacuse 60% of the book is the word Up. This one never gets picked for story time just sits on the shelf. We love Dr Seuss books but this one is disappointing.

After so many years. I remember this book. Guess I am not a "green eggs " and ham or cat in he hat kinda person

A delightful first time reader book, with delightful photos and repetition.

Another generation with this story of Dr. Seuss.

Good book and has my 1year old loves it since her favorite word is up.

In this early reader, Dr. Seuss explores the concept of up. What kinds of things can go up? What does up look like? In Seuss typical rhyming fashion we learn. The illustrations are done by Quentin Blake so are not typical of Dr. Seuss. They are interesting, colorful and fun. The story is simple and repetitious making it easy for young readers to learn how to read new words. Alongside the every day words, there are a few new things children might not know such as stilts and buttercups. This is a fun early reader that makes learning to read easy due to repetition and rhyming. It is written on the end of first grade reading level. Recommended for grades k-2.

Good conditions

Love it

This is an excellent book in teaching 3 and 4-year olds how to read. They feel very successful when reading this book.

Good

My son loves Dr. Seuss

Great story....read it to my kids when they were little, now am reading it to grandchildren. I will say, however, that the quality of the books is SO much different. Thin pages compared with our original copy with much sturdier covers and pages. However, that is a complaint for the manufacturer.....the story and illustrations are the same, and still excellent!

i am a collector of Dr Seuss books and this has made a great addition to my collection! thank you

It's a good book for young ones just learning to read but... For collectors or Dr. Seuss fans it's somewhat of a let down. Not having the signature look and style of the Dr Seuss books makes this one more of a curious oddity. Only recommended for fans who need every Seuss book.

What A Fun Book for the Grandkids. I'm adding to their Dr. Suess library. A big help for the ones who are learning to read.

This is such a great book about all things that go up! I love the illustrations & the rhythm of the rhymes, and so does my two-year-old. It's not too long, either, so she actually pays attention all the way through.

Not as great as I remembered it. It doesn't keep my 2 year old's attention. Maybe when he is older he will like it more,.

How can it be anything but great?! We all love Dr. Seuss books. They make great gifts for anyone you know!

A classic! I think children of all ages like to read this book, or have it read to them. Not as crazy as some of Dr Seuss's books.

Dr Seuss books are timeless and we never get tired of reading. I never read this to my children but my gransons are loving it.

It's Dr. Seuss. what's not to like. A great story that I remember reading as a kid that I am now reading to my child!

The beginner books by Dr. Seuss are fun and full of ways to teach emerging readers phonemic awareness a basic building block to literacy and a lifelong love of reading.

My girls loved this book when they were toddlers and I read it so often that I have most of it memorized. When I attended a baby shower where the hostess asked us to bring used books, it was my first thought. My adult children were horrified I would part with our copy, so there was nothing to do but buy a new one. "Wake every person, pig and pup, 'til everyone on earth is up!!!" Great fun for little ones.

I had this book when I was a kid and remember wanting it read on a VERY regular basis. Now I find it has the same effect on my son.

"Wake every person, pig, and pup, till everyone on earth is up! Except for me, please go away. No up for me, I'm sleeping in today!" We are fifth graders and this is our favorite book by Dr. Seuss, Great Day for Up. I can just feel the breeze when I go up, up, up, and away. Think of all the happiness you will miss if you sleep in ... when you can have fun, in all kinds of ways, with Dr. Seuss!!! This book is fun for you and me, wake up your mind and creativity!

Looking for an upbeat early reader? This one gets you going! "Great Day for Up" has upbeat vocabulary and phrasing...really colorful illustrations depicting all kinds of "UP" things, a few more difficult words, but it all makes for a great beginning reader. This book makes you happy just reading it!

I purchased this copy for my granddaughters' school library. It came in a reasonable time and is in reasonable condition. The librarian was happy with it.

I loved this book as a child so I purchased it for my God Son, it's in amazing condition. I could swear my own mother bought it for me years ago, I'm very impressed.

Dr. Suess's scansion and made-up words annoy me. My tri-lingual children have a hard enough time differentiating and isolating Standard English words, so I generally avoid Suess. The volume is a rare welcome exception (there are a few Suessisms) and is an excellent book for first readers. The story is plain, with the major intention of teaching your child to *read* his or her first words in English (in this case the word is "up"). But Quentin Blake's illustrations are superb and worth the price of the volume alone. The conclusion is a bit silly, and has a rather lazy aspect to it that parents need to guide their children on (no, it isn't okay to sleep in bed all day like the boy in the story, this is just a silly book"), but mostly this is unobjectionable.

This is one of those books that purports to be about something, and at some levels is actually about something pretty much unrelated. The next most important industry after oil in the Middle East is carpets. The author, Kremmer, is a journalist who spent a decade travelling around the region, reporting on various events for Australian new agencies of one sort or another. This is his story of his love affair with carpets, which turns into a pretty serious study of their styles, manufacture, sale and trade, and of the significance of these items in Muslim culture. While the oil is irrelevant to Muslims, except in terms of the money it generates, carpets can tell a lot about the heritage of the Muslim world. For the most part, this is interesting, and there's a lot to learn about Muslims and carpets. Only towards the end of the book does the author begin to veer into actual politics, and then, of course, he turns out to think that American policy in the Middle East is too agressive (this was late in the Clinton years...one shudders to think what his opinions are now). Thankfully, he at least hates Saddam Hussein and the mullahs who run Iran (journalists typically don't like governments that restrict freedom of the press, regardless of whatever else they do). This one proviso aside, there's a lot of intersting material here, and the book is well-written, the characters drawn interestingly, and the settings well-rendered. I would recommend this book.

Hand-woven carpets are one of the few products that Central Asia has consistently exported to the rest of the world, and by which the rest of the world knows of central Asia. As such, a traversal of the routes and bazaars that comprise the carpet trade would take one through many of the important places in Central Asia. Likewise, dealing with those involved in the trade would give insight into the history, economics and culture of those living in this area. This then is the subject of this book. The author travels the bazaars and trade routes of Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Kashmir looking for carpets. While doing so, his interactions with the locals open up a whole world of history, culture, religion, food, and habits that are alien to those in the west. Whether it is how to barter over goods, or the proper way to greet an older woman, the stories told by Mr. Kremmer bring to life places that many of us will never visit, yet that comprises a large part of this world both spatially and historically. The author intersperses his accounts with character studies of the various individuals he meets, side stories to fill in local histories, and editorials that connect what he seens in these far-off places to what occurs in Washington D.C. and the stockmarkets of the West. Overall, a great travel book, a great history book, and a great story that is told. I highly recommend this book.

The Carpet Wars is a sampler of informal writing from Australian journalist (and avid carpet collector) Christopher Kremmer over ten years in Central Asia. Since most of it was written, and concerns events, before 9/11, when the area was not established in the West's cultural radar as it is today, it gives a view of the region that is uncluttered by hindsight reevaluations. Kremmer writes of his time in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikstan, Kashmir, and Iran, giving us colorful and non-journalistic slices of life from each region. He enlivens his writings with vivid character studies of those he met on his travels, from dignitaries like ill-fated Afghan dictator Mohammed Najibullah and legendary guerilla Ahmad Shah Massoud to various carpet dealers Kremmer got to know over his time in the region. Between these character sketches and Kremmer's anecdotes, he delivers measured doses of regional history and politics, and he imparts a surprising amount of information about his favorite hobby, the Asian carpet. The result is more than just some very entertaining travel writing. Kremmer's lively and discursive work also functions as an excellent introduction to the Central Asian economy and politics. Besides being for those who just like to read about travel in interesting foreign parts, The Carpet Wars will also be useful for non-scholars who want to have some idea how movements like the Taliban came to be, but want to take a spoonful of sugar with this medicine. (Kremmer's book also taught me that I'll never know enough to bargain effectively for an Asian carpet -- but his rueful and wry work also admits that there is a certain pleasure in being cheated.)

I finished this book about six weeks ago, and I can't stop thinking about it. So often travel literature-type books by westerners in these kinds of far-off places can be either too clever, cynical or condescending at one end of the scale, or, at the other end too reverent, with a reverence that seems to really be an I-hate-where-I-am-from complex. Both extremes can get tiring pretty quickly. The Carpet Wars was exactly in the middle, and it was fascinating. It was extremely informative about the history, politics, religion and, yes, even the carpets of the region from Pakistan to Iran. Carpets were merely the thread (so to speak) that held the several first-hand accounts of travels to the region. Kremmer is a master story teller, and very funny. Sometimes it was hard to tell what was more enjoyable, the story he was telling or the way he was telling it. His accounts of places with which he is very familiar are told in the rich tones of a deep affection. When he is in a new place, like Isfahan, the account is in the vivid colors of someone seeing something for the first time, creating some of the best travel essays I have ever read. Seven weeks ago, Isfahan was just an exotic name to me, now it's at the top of places I hope I can see before I die. Its hard to say what recommends this book more, the fact that it is throughly enjoyable, or deeply infomrative. I haven't read Mr. Kremmer's book about Laos, but it is probably pretty good. Books like The Carpet Wars don't stick with you so long by accident.

Anyone interested in the fine art of rug weaving, the cultures in which Oriental carpets originate, the geography of ancient trade routes including The Silk Road, the history, economics and politics of the Middle East, and present day travel through the strife-torn region will find immense treasure in Christopher Kremmer's The Carpet Wars. "The early Muslims inhabited lands where people were born on carpets, prayed on them, and covered their tombs with them. For centuries, carpets have been a currency and an export, among the first commodities of a globalized trading system" writes the author, who has spent ten years in Asia reporting for the Australian press. He uses Oriental rugs as his motif for writing about his travels in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Tajikistan, Kashmir, and the former Soviet satellite countries of Central Asia. {Here, this reviewer admits his interest enfolds some bias because of my own travels through the region as a Peace Corps worker in less turbulent times. Also, I have the good fortune of working in a store where a wide variety of the very finest examples of Oriental carpets are sold.} In this book we read that second only to oil, hand made carpets are the region's principal export and were so long before Marco Polo made his famous travels along the Silk Road. Carpets created by various quarreling factions from the Middle and Near East are the focus for retelling how the fighting clans have damaged the carpet trade, effectively wiping out the middle and upper class of society, and left appalling poverty and misery in its wake. Kremmer describes how that even in the midst of war and turmoil, a bazaar will spring up during breaks in the fighting and the carpet merchants will quickly resume business as if nothing had happened. A disappointment for me was that the author omits a description of the many varieties and techniques of rug making; he remains focused on his travels through the Islamic world, giving us the benefit of his first hand witness to the misery. Believing that only Allah can create anything perfect, the Muslim carpet makers often will deliberately craft a minor flaw in their handiwork that only a practiced eye might discern. Also, we learn that many rugs woven by people living under the duress of conflict will reflect their anxieties and turmoil through the symbols of war - airplanes, helicopters, tanks, and guns. But the rugs also will contain symbols of their makers' traumatic lives not altogether discernible or understood. Like the great paintings of the Renaissance, these works of art may never be fully comprehended. It is enough that fortunate owners of hand knotted and woven rugs might appreciate not only their beauty but also how they portray the soulful deeper meaning of the lives of their creators, leaving a legacy for generations to come. This book is an armchair journey of immense interest. Highly recommended. More about this reviewer on the www at: [...]

A fascinating book for anyone who's ever dabbled in rugs. Even if you've been to an Arab souk or an Iranian bazaar, you've probably never come close to the real source of these beautiful objects. Kremmer's trek to the rug-making heartlands helps you appreciate that the carpet on your living room floor didn't materialise in a dealer's show room but was rather the product of a completely different society.

Christopher Kremmer's book takes you on a journey through the Central Asian countries most frequently in the news today, and provides an incomparable insight. The largest, and first, section, is an account of events in Afghanistan, which he has witnessed first-hand as a foreign correspondent. This book is no dry history, nor is it merely a travelogue, nor is it merely an extended piece of journalism. Kremmer comes to know and befriend people of different backgrounds within the region, and it is their stories, as well as the carpet trade and stories of emblematic carpets, through which the narrative is woven. We care about the future of the peoples of the region, because we care about what becomes of Kremmer's friends. What Christopher has managed to do is to make the internecine politics, the inhumanities, the brutalities, comprehensible, through his humanisation of peoples who might in lesser hands be reduced to the merely 'exotic' or even worse 'unknowable and inhuman'. Earlier this year I read 'Unexpected Light: Travels in Afghanistan' by Jason Elliot. I thoroughly recommend both these books if you desire to reach some understanding of a region of such importance to us all.

I love this series, but this entry is not Hillerman's best stuff. I'm not sure if he's running out of steam, or if the life stories of Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee don't allow much development at this point. The dense subplotting and evocative details about Navajo life, so evident in the best Leaphorn/Chee stories, are mostly missing here. Hillerman seems to have been motivated mainly by a desire to wrap up the Jim Chee/Bernie Manuelito relationship, which he does, but not in a particularly original way. If you are new to this series, try the books written in the 1980's to get a better sense of Hillerman's considerable talent; The Dark Wind is probably the best of the best.

I can almost smell the dry red clay and see that beautiful blue sky as I read this book. This book is a quick read but has some interesting twists to it. I can close my eyes and remember traveling a small state highway along the Great Divide on my way to see the V.L.A. near Datil, NM. I had read only a couple of the Jim Chee/Leaphorn books when I visited Gallup, New Mexico in 92 and 93 but I almost expected to see one of the books' characters appear at the Giant Truck Stop coffee shop or one of the tiny diners we saw on Hwy 36. Jim seems to be taking a big step in this book so I will wait patiently for another of these charming suspensful novels and I hope my husband gets me this one on tape too. Thank you Tony Hillerman.

"The Sinister Pig" (a term which has a couple of meanings in the book) is another fine addition to Tony Hillerman's Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee series. This one involves a somewhat more complex plot than most of the previous ones, and as for character development, Mr. Hillerman seems to take it for granted that the readers of this book have also read at least some of the others, and that therefore he does not need to go into too much detail as to the personalities of his characters. Having said that, though, I enjoyed the book very much, and my only real complaint is, as with "The Wailing Wind", it is, at about 230 pages, just too short. But it is always a rare treat to be reunited with our old friends from the Navajo Tribal Police, and as an added bonus this edition features a happy ending romantically for the ever-lovelorn Jim Chee. Here's hoping Mr. Hillerman keeps the Leaphorn/Chee series coming, and that he adds a hundred or so pages to his next tale.

Legendary lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and his protege, sergeant Jim Chee, have come a long way in the sixteen Hillerman books in which they have figured. The early books were traditional police procedurals set in the unique environment and society of the Navajo Reservation. The crimes that led to murder were relatively small in magnitude: stealing Indian artifacts, robbing a casino, or revenge. In recent Hillerman books, the crimes have grown in scope to encompass serial killing, international drug smuggling, and theft of billions of dollars worth of natural gas. Bigger is not necessarily better. The Sinister Pig seems closer to Ludlum that to early Hillerman. A CIA expert on middle eastern oil pipeline technology is murdered while on a freelance investigation for a US Senator in the Four Corners area. Both Chee and the local FBI agent are quickly frozen out of the investigation by FBI headquarters. Chee continues to probe for information with help from the retired Leaphorn, "Cowboy" Dashee (now a BLM law enforcement officer), and Bernie Manuelito who has joined the US Customs Border Patrol. As in Wailing Wind, Bernie is the pivotal character in the story. Through her eyes Hillerman shows the reader how the US Government goes about trying to interdict illegal immigration and drug trafficking on the border with Mexico. It is not pretty. Chee is as inept as ever in dealing with his romantic interest in Bernie. While there were genuine obstacles to overcome in Chee's earlier love affairs, his inability to make his true feelings known to Ms Manuelito seems merely callow. We know who the villain of the piece is almost from the outset. He not only has the CIA agent killed, but arranges to have a young congrssional aide he has impregnated vanish. Lacking the whodunit element, the reader has only suspense to fuel his interest. Hillerman's descriptive skill is as sharp as ever and his ear for dialogue as true. Leaphorn is still Leaphorn. Should we ask for anything more?

"The Sinister Pig" is another in Hillerman's long-running series of mystery novels centering upon the now retired, but hardly inactive, Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Sergeant Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police. This time the plot is in part inspired by the continuing scandal over the mismanagement - embezzlement and outright theft may be closer to the point - of funds due to Southwest Indian tribes for oil, gas, and coal taken from their reservations under Federal auspices. An investigator sent by a powerful Washington, DC, senator to nose around turns up dead with a bullet in his back. It is Jim Chee's case - or at least as much of the case as the FBI will let him handle - but it is immediately clear that somebody with high connections back in Washington wants the investigation squelched. Meanwhile, Jim Chee has something else on his mind. Bernadette Manuelito, formerly an officer in the Navajo Tribal Police, has taken a new job with the Border Patrol, 200 miles away, just when Chee was working up his resolve to make his personal interest clear to her. And now Bernie has stumbled on some mysterious goings-on along the Mexican border that might tie in to the unsolved murder back home. Hillerman departs somewhat from his usual format by writing several chapters from outside the viewpoint of Leaphorn and Chee (and Bernie Manuelito). Unlike in most Hillerman novels, we very quickly learn who the bad guys are, although a mystery remains until the final chapters as to exactly what they are doing. In general Hillerman's villains are not especially villainous, their motivations often arising from quite ordinary circumstances that lead them into crimes they never intended. But in "The Sinister Pig" the chief villain is as close to plain evil as Hillerman is ever likely to get. One disappointment: an element which usually sets Hillerman's mystery novels apart from all others is their exploration of the culture and religion of the Navajos and their Indian neighbors, this being integral to the book plot and often crucial to the solution of the mystery at hand. In the present novel we see almost nothing of this, except for some peripheral matters that only touch upon Jim Chee himself. Washington powerbrokers are a less engaging group than the people of the Big Rez. "The Sinister Pig" is not the best of Hillerman, to be sure, and it might be argued that it works primarily as simply being part of a continuing series about characters to whom we have come to feel close over the years. But a Hillerman book that is not amongst his best work is still a good mystery. And readers who count Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee as literary friends will want to find what has now happened in their personal lives. Hillerman's Navajo novels have continuing background stories that develop from novel to novel over time. Therefore, readers new to Hillerman would be well advised to begin not with this latest novel but back at the beginning of the series, getting to know the characters as their lives evolve. There's plenty of good reading to be had along the way.

happy

I chose this rating because I could not consider a lower rating for a Tony Hillerman novel. It is a perfect blend of mystery, folklore and culture. It seems that I have been reading these books for a good part of my 71 years. Now that I have discovered Anne Hillerman novels I will be reading Leaphorn and Chee stories for the foreseeable future.

Glad to have Hillerman on CD so I can enjoy the book on my travels.

Tony Hillerman was adept in his portrayals of the Navaho police, the scenery, & his plots are zesty. The book was from a Library, in almost pristine condition. Arrived very fast. Am heartily enjoying right now.

Another great Hillerman story. Interesting plot, great characters, happy ending for Bernie and Chee, not much more I can say.

Not everything I read is an ARC ... I'm a pretty dedicated library user as well. I've long been a fan of the American Southwest. It is one of my favorite places to visit and vacation. I've also been aware that Tony Hillerman - a name that any bibliophile should recognize - writes mysteries set in the American Southwest. So why haven't I read his works before this? Mostly I think it's because I've only recently developed an affection for the mystery/thriller genre. Although sixteenth in a series, I don't get the impression that reading the previous fifteen books in a necessity to enjoy this. The reader is likely to understand some of the character relationships that have developed over the course of the series, but the story itself seems to be contained within the covers. Bernadette "Bernie" Manuelito once worked for the Tribal Police but now is a Border Patrol/Customs Officer. She quickly develops a reputation for herself and while helping out some stranded border-crossers, she is told that a photo of her has been circulating around Mexico, identifying her as potentially dangerous and someone the criminals might want to be rid of. She becomes a target when she visits an exotic game ranch which was once a station for a gas pipeline. Unknown to Bernie, but figuring it out when he learns she's become a target, is Sergeant Jim Chee, who is madly in love with Bernie. The old pipe lines might be in use to smuggle something in to the country. But knowing what is being smuggled and who is the force (and money) behind the operation, is something that brings even more danger to Bernie, Chee, and Joe Leaphorn. I found this to be pretty standard (and average) mystery/thriller fare. The bad guys were appropriately bad, but they also seemed sort of 'Bond' bad - stereotyped bad guys. Wealthy, white, powerful, connected. I found the set-up really interesting and the regular characters pretty believable and worth following for a couple more books at least, but I was disappointed in the 'resolution' of the story. I'm not real fond of the deus ex machina ending or the dumb luck/getting out of a jam because of something or someone completely outside of the protagonists control. As I say, this was pretty average. It often felt very dated, not just but how characters were acting, but how they were being portrayed. I'll read a few more and see how I feel about the series. Looking for a good book? <em>The Sinister Pig</em> by Tony Hillerman is a pretty average mystery set in the American Southwest.

This has been one of the MOST captivating and intriguing of Hillerman's books yet!

The plot and action are fine. Tony Hillerman certainly can tell a story, and although this one is only on Navajo land for a short time as the scene for the murder which opens the book, Hillerman does an excellent job of re-setting the scene in southernmost New Mexico as Officer Bernie Manueliti leaves the Tribal Police for a new job with the US Border Patrol. Cowboy Dashie and Joe Leaphorn play their usual solid key roles, a rogue pilot/political henchman adds a great deal to the plot, an evil villain gets what he deserves, but the steady and taciturn Jim Chee is instead portrayed as a bumbling idiot, especially when facing his feelings for Manuelito. All the parts of the plot make sense and intersect nicely, the title fits nicely, but unfortunately there is very little authentic Navajo lore to add to the atmosphere. That is usually a highlight in a Hillerman novel, and I missed that. I still would have given the book 4 stars, if it weren't for the really weak "romance" between Chee and Manuelito. It never felt real or genuine, and its lame, sobbing 1950s-style resolution should make every female reader shake her head in despair. All mystery lovers and Tony Hillerman fans expect better from such a skilled author.

Ok reading

I read the book a few years ago and enjoyed it a lot.

Typical Hillerman, the only mystery set in modern day- series of American Indian culture wrapped in Traditional and Ancient ethnology that held my interest from start to finish, you will love the characters (the good guys) and despise the (bad guys) and see the unconscionable results of the Indian downfall, and hopeful transitions made for their future in transition. I recommend obtaining all of the series and read them in order, starting with the "Blessing Way".

A really enjoyable story that literally ventures off the reservation. A good plot with the usual characters, less of the mysticism that Hillerman sometimes seem to dwell upon.

If you love Hillerman, you'll love this!

A very good read.

Learn something new with every HIllerman book.

good read