Product Description
The Alden family rents a houseboat to drift down the river, and encounters a mystery in the little towns along the river, involving a fast black car. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A great mystery for kids
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are taking a trip downriver in a houseboat! But along the way, many mysterious things happen. The Aldens have solved mysteries before, but can they sove this one? I would recommend this book for kids ages 5-14.

A good review
This was a good book to read.I read this book recently.I have never lived on a houseboat but I have been in several boats.This book was completely different from the previous book in the series.The first book was good because I was in the age group when I had the book read to me by my school teacher.

Wonderful for younger kids!
Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are taking a trip downriver in a houseboat! But along the way, many mysterious things happen. The Aldens have solved mysteries before, but can they sove this one? I would recommend this book for kids ages 5-9. They can follow the Aldens along for all of their mysteries, making friends, and giving help to everyone!

This book was good, but some of her others were better.
This book was incredably interesting but i do like the one titled "The Amusement Park Mystery" better.I belive someone other than herself wrote that story after the origional author passed away.I hope thenew mystery writers keep on writing the box car mysteries cuz i wanna be awriter!!

My first experience with the boxcar children
The Houseboat Mystery was the first book that I read in The Boxcar Children Mysteries series.I began reading these books when I was nine and continued to do so throughout my fourth grade year. These are excellent books for children in this age group.Boys and girls alike should enjoy them.I'm twenty five now and can still remember these fascinating stories.I remember that after I had read all of the books in this series that my school library had to offer, I was stuck on mystery books. I read mystery titles from other authors that my library had in stock, but none compared to these. I wish that I could thank the author personally. ... Read more

Product Description
The most comprehensive -- and easiest to use -- guide to California residential property management available.

Every California landlord and residential property manager needs The California Landlord's Law Book: Rights & Responsibilities. The definitive guide for over 20 years, it clearly and comprehensively covers everything you need to know about:

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
These letters record the friendship between two novelists, David Garnett and Sylvia Townsend Warner, which lasted 56 years. They are concerned with the good things in life, such as books and food, and also document the way in which the two writers encouraged and criticized each other's work. ... Read more

Product Description
All of David Sedaris' best in one box set, now on CD and at 20% off the combined CD prices of individual titles! The set includes ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY with a full hour of bonus tracks not available on cassette; NAKED; HOLIDAYS ON ICE; and BARREL FEVER AND OTHER STORIES. This timeless collection combines poignancy, humor, and the sparkling imagination of one of America's best-loved humorists.Amazon.com Review
Star radio storyteller David Sedaris presents his collected works in one audio box set. The longest (at five hours) is his latest, Me Talk Pretty One Day, which contains two live performances from San Francisco. Welcome to a world where dogs outrank children, guitars have breasts, and Sedaris's fellow language-class students try to convey the concept of Easter to a Moroccan Muslim in their fledgling French (translated into English): "It is a party for the little boy of God," says one. "Then he be die one day on two ... morsels of ... lumber," says another. Sedaris is hilarious, and his Billie Holiday impression is amazing.

The three-hour, Christmas-themed Holidays on Ice is the gem of the collection. It has his greatest hit, "SantaLand Diaries," a chronicle of his stint as an elf at Macy's, covering everything from the preliminary group lectures ("You are not a dancer. If you were a real dancer you wouldn't be here. You're an elf and you're going to wear panties like an elf.") to the perils of inter-elf flirtation. Other hits feature the crazed newsletter "Season's Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!!" and the prostitute coworker his sister brought home one Yuletide, giving "the phrase 'ho, ho, ho' whole different meaning." Barrel Fever contains the fulminatingly funny "Glen's Homophobia Newsletter, Vol. 3, No. 2" and "Parade," discussing the narrator's perhaps not fully plausible gay relationships with Bruce Springsteen, Mike Tyson, and Peter Jennings. Naked describes his adventures in a nudist colony, but his family tales are, as ever, nonpareil. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

Road trip with your parents
If there's anything worse than a root canal or a tax audit, it's an 18 hour road trip with your parents. Why aren't you married yet? How are your finances? When are you going to quit smoking? All of these questions can be deferred by popping in one of these CDs. This has to be one of Sedaris' best work thus far. A decade ago I fell in love with "me talk pretty" but was disappointed with "Barrel Fever." I'd just about given up when I stumbled upon this recording.

Fabulous
The CD's "Naked" and "Me Talk Pretty One Day" were worth the price of the CD.I don't know if I'd spend the money on the other ones, but these were priceless.

I love this box set.
I have it loaded on all my computers and every iPod. Because you cannot have enough Sedaris. And what if I need to listen to "Me Talk Pretty One Day" and it was on the other computer? Huh? What then?!?!

The books are hilarious but hearing them read by David Sedaris himself is even better.

Thus far, absolutely brilliant
I adore David's writing and can't imagine anyone more suited to reading it. His impressions are simply wonderful!

One tiny complaint/question: where's his Billie Holiday doing the Oscar Meyer Weiner song? Getting ahold of that was one of the main reasons I bought this collection. Who's taken it out and why?

Could use more "live" tracks
David Sedaris is truly one of my favorite authors and I love to read his work.However, if you have never HEARD Mr. Sedaris' voice before, it takes some getting used to.At first it is almost painful to listen to because his voice is so... so... um... he sounds like Woody Allen doing a Woody Allen imitation.

Nevertheless, his live tracks are hilarious - a little less "in the microphone," if you will.If I could read and drive at the same time on my long business trips, that would be my preferred method of receiving David Sedaris' material. ... Read more

Product Description
If you are driving, pull over.If you are at work, close your door-unless you don't mind your colleagues seeing you doubled over, in tears, on your office floor.With this CD, taped before a delirious sold out audience at Carnegie Hall, you are there as David Sedaris performs new stories from his upcoming book.A parrot who mimics an ice maker, lovers quarreling over a rubber hand, and a Santa Claus who moonlights from his job as bishop of Turkey-the cast of characters in these stories is like no other.This new work will appeal to David's loyal fans as well as admirers of the classic comedy albums of George Carlin, Bill Cosby and Steve Martin. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (44)

Classic Sedaris
Fans of David know it is even more fun to hear him on radio or CD than read his books, although they are entertaining also.
Some classic tales here, especially with his sisters Amy and Gretchen. My favorite is the Christmas story told him by a Dutch man.

funny!
Sedaris speaking off the cuff, not a reading of any of his material I have read elsewhere. Poking fun at Amy, overall very funny, great for roadtrips!

David Sidaris at Carnegie Hall
David Sedaris is just as funny in person - if not more so, than on the printed page.

The Best Sedaris Live Recording, Laugh your Butt off!
this is the best recording of david sedaris ever.. he does old stuff, newer stuff, his voice and style makes it super extra funny, Don't miss this!

FUNNY!!!!
My sister-in-law gave us this cd a few years ago to listen to on our trip home after a visit with her and my brother-in-law.We had a 5 hour drive from Dallas to home.It was a good thing we visited the restroom before we left.We were in Dallas traffic laughing so hard at Mr. Sedaris' stories, we would have peed our pants otherwise!He is a treasure!!!!I gave this purchase as a Christmas gift to a friend of mine.She loved it! ... Read more

Product Description
David Sedaris, who regularly appears on NPR, isfun, satirical and brazen. A wonderful collection of his greatest work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

live performances are terrific!studio readings are just ok
This box set is an easy and economical way to get most all of David Sedaris releases.Bought this for a cross-country drive.The live performances in front of an audience are mostly great, some are terrific!The studio recordings are good but are naturally they don't have the same energy.I'm pleased with the purchase.

Awesome set - if you overlook the flimsy packaging.
I love all things Sedaris. I've heard him on the radio. I've seen him in person. I've loathed him for his success because it seems to come to him see easily and I resent him for that. Putting my personal issues aside I would have to say that this is some of the best money I've ever spent in my life. Did I say, ever? Yup. You get everything with this set, which includes the envy of those who know you. It's sort of like owning an iPad in a room full of stone tablets and chisels. Am I making sense? Probably not, but that's because I'm giddy listening to Slumus Lordicus for the eighth time. The only thing that sucks about this set is that the packaging is flimsy and useless. The set is broken down into four individual folios which hold a half dozen CDs each (something like that). This is bad because his books are between one and four CDs each and so you have "books" which must be sleeved into two different folios. Also, the folios have no information on them whatsoever so in order to find what you're looking for you have to open up all of the folios and pull out each of the CDs. This is a minor irritation only until you upload your files digitally, then it's not a problem. However, for me it remains that a set so pricey should have come in more robust packaging.

Sedaris box set
It was a bit diassapointing when listening to the cd's there were some skips in what appeared to be damaged areas. But the seller did warn that the condition was not pristine. It arrived quickly and generally I was satisfied with the honesty of the seller. The not paying attention is on me.

Amazon needs a better grasp of what "new" means...
For the material and David Sedaris, 5 stars, no question.BUT - I bought this as a "new" product directly from Amazon, not from a third party seller, yet when I checked out all of the discs to make sure everything was in good condition, it was very clear that this was used, re-packaged merchandise.5 or 6 of the discs had obvious fingerprints and dirty/greasy smudges.3 of them had a sticky, glue-like residue on them which I managed to clean off with some lighter fluid and a tissue; this may have been glue from the packaging, I didn't really look further into that yet (that has been a problem on a few box sets I've owned).Overall, the packaging had plenty of scuff marks and was obviously worn - not that it was ripped to shreds or anything like that, but it just looked like something that had been used for a few weeks, then repackaged (the flimsy shrink wrap should have been my first clue).

Anyways, I was able to clean everything up and there were no fatal scratches on any of the discs, so I'm not going to make any further issue of it with Amazon... besides which, I'm just not in the mood to pack it all up again, send it back, and wait for another set - just wanted to share this experience in a public forum.

A great collection, although lacking much organization
I don't have any other David Sedaris audio books, so this was a wonderful chance for me to get a lot of Sedaris, for a great price! I knew from prior reviews what I was getting, and it really doesn't matter to me that it is not organized in any particular fashion and that you can't figure out from the packaging where you can find which book. I just want as much Sedaris as possible to listen to when I drive long distance in the car. This collection is comprehensive and kept me laughing for many, many hours. It's a great way to get a lot of Sedaris audio books in one economical collection if you don't need or want corresponding written material to guide you. ... Read more

Product Description
This collection of images capture sculptor David Nash's intimate exploration of the properties of trees and timber. The accompanying essay by Marina Warner explores Nash's influences, approach and the mythical status of trees throughout history. ... Read more

Product Description
An American Family is about the Warner family of Philadelphia's Blockley Township. R. David Warner Sr., the author, is qualified to write this book because he and his father are the twelfth and thirteenth generation of a family which settled on the shores of the Schuylkill River five years before William Penn laid out the city. Before his death in 1992, the author's father wrote a series of letters containing the stories told to him as a child in the early twentieth century. He researched the public records of both the Historical Societies and the Quaker Meetinghouse to build upon the actual accounts of his family members. He spent the last twenty years of his life collecting this historical information.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the author's great-grandfather began building on the names and facts about family members. The information he gathered was also used to write this book. Actual letters written from the foxholes of the civil war are typical of the documents used to complete this book. Our past can only be retrieved from what we remember and from the historical records that have been kept. Without memories and without records, we have no personal history! ... Read more

Product Description
This study compares the opinions of campus administrators, art-faculty members and student artists concerning institutional solutions and policy options relating to the exhibition of controversial student art work in the community colleges of Maryland. It investigates specific issues of academic freedom, exhibition space and administrative responsibility for campus neutrality. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
For anyone who's had a loved one die from cancer, Dancingat the Edge of Life will hit home and hit hard. After a peskycough drove her to the doctor's office, 30-year-old poet and writerGale Warner was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a viciouslymalignant form of the disease. She immediately started to record heroften extraordinary thoughts in a diary. When she passed away a littlemore than a year later, she had compiled 1,000 pages of her spiritualand physical illumination and desperation, from the ecstasy of livingthrough a good day to the excruciation of a bone marrow transplant.

What makes this book remarkable is Warner's perspective through itall. Though not particularly religious, she endured her treatment withJob-like patience, fortitude, and grace, reasoning that with eachsetback--and with each victory--she ought to be able to unveil a lifelesson, to become closer to the spirit of the earth. She alsoperceived her bone marrow transplant as a ritual reincarnation ofsorts. While her earth-goddess philosophy may strike some readers asbeing too far out in left field (she writes of feeling as if she's achannel of sorts for the pollution and destruction of the land), herlove of the earth and perception of her role on it is extraordinarilythought provoking. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

intuitive
What a mature, positive and loving book by an author who spoke so wonderously of her life.... indeed, of what life can be if experienced so profoundly and openly.It's a beautiful book.

Gale Warner Gave Us A Gift
By letting us into her thoughts as she moved from hope to resignation, Gale Warner has allowed us to witness close-up the emotional process of dying.I've read this book over and over, trying to really grasp what it must have been like to have understood, and written "We are entering a new reality" (the time when she recognized and had to fully comprehend that she was not responding,would not recover, and that death was imminent.)Whether or not you share her profound relationship with the natural world, her assertion that she has had sufficient joy and experience in her life really does ring true.I've never read anything quite like this:it is an amazing gift.

an important book
I feel it's a privilege for me to have followed Gale Warner on her journey: What was her journey? A journey we'll all have to embark on, sooner or later (hopefully, later), since we're all going to die. GaleWarner was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 30 and lived13more months. In these months, she wrote in her journal about her thoughts,her insights, her struggle, her pain, and finally her acceptance andserenity: But it was never easy, never simple. Gale Warner saw cancer asthe ultimate test of her faith (her particular, private sort of faith). Sheworked and struggled with her own mortality. In her ownwords-

"Limits. In order to boil water, you must put it in a pot.The pot sets a limit and so does cancer. When you learn you are notimmortal, that you may only have a few years to embrace life, you startdoing so. The photo of the Earth on my wall shows its beauty- and itslimits. It would not be the same if those same colors and swirls weresloshed all over space".

"Dancing at the edge of life" isan important book, because in the end, everybody has to find their ownanswers or anyway, start asking their own questions. I would recommend thisbook to anyone and of course, not only to people with cancer. You don'thave to get diagnosed with lymphoma to start thinking of the"big" questions, you don't have to wait to have cancer in orderto learn how to live.

Another reason that makes this memoir important, isthat Gale Warner must have been a very special, intelligent & sensitiveperson. She had worked as an environmental journalist & was also anaccomplished poet. A person that fully embraced life was ultimately able tofully embrace the journey towards death.

Her story teaches us that spiritual awareness is a choice.
Gale Warner's story is positive proof that each of us, if we make aconscious choice, can see and feel the Spirit of God in everything andeveryone, in spite of, and especially during, adversity and pain.It isthe little moments, Gale's descriptions of that divine CONNECTEDNESS,consistent and enduring, that touches me the most.Her tender, poeticprose allows us to glimpse the radiant, spiritual essence that is thebirthright we all share.During these troubled times, the world findsitself somewhat short of role models, but with the loving gift of"Dancing at the Edge of Life," Gale remains a lasting example. In her own words, she was and is "a daughter of the four winds, achild of the moon and rain and sun ... sister of the whale, and thejuniper."I suspect that she now shines brightly in the heavens; eachperson who reads this book will feel the warmth of her glow, and best ofall, will want to share it with others.

Make room on your shelves...this one's a keeper!
If ever a book had the potential to change lives for the better, it's thisone. Gale's diary reveals a sensitive, intelligent and spiritual woman -whose genuine attraction to life reminds me of an infant's sweet, simplefascination with its newly discovered hand. I was most inspired by hercourage during the final months of her conflict with cancer: it neverfaltered - even as she struggled to define her religious beliefs.Thisbook leaves one with a rekindled passion for life. Tonight at dusk I'mgoing to seek out the sunset ...something I haven't done since I was a kid. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first collection of essays devoted to the work of this much under-rated and important twentieth-century writer. The essays engage with some of the variety of Warner's output - her short fiction, letters and fantasy writing - as well as her major novels. This collection includes a range of approaches to the work of a writer who has much to say to contemporary readers and whose work, long appreciated by feminist readers in particular, is now being considered by academic critics and a wider audience. ... Read more

Product Description
Want "best-in-class" instructions on how to lead andchampion change? Then look no further. The Change Champion’sFieldguide, described as a book that will, "become one of the mostquoted, referenced, and used business books in the first decade of the2000's," by Professor Vijay Govindarajan, of the Tuck School ofBusiness at Dartmouth College, contains successful tools, instruments,case studies, and models from the best in the industry that you canimmediately apply for initiating and leading change within your socialor organizational system. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

This Book Doesn't Live Up to Glowing Reviews
Our Organizational Development book club selected this to read, in part, on the reputation of the editors and on the strength of the reviews on Amazon from customers and other reviewers.However, in general we found the book to be a somewhat disappointing hodgepodge of articles on change concepts and succession management.The articles ranged from the very good --Appreciative Inquiry and Positive Deviance --to the generic.There were several basic issues (including typos) that frankly should have been caught in editing.While it did have many useful chapters and contained a nice organizational structure and outline, the content itself was hit and miss, and the bookunfortunately, didn't live up to its glowing reviews.

You can't become a champion without measuring your results
"This fieldguide is for all change champions who are learning about, seeking to, or who are in the midst of leading social or organizational change...The purpose of this fieldguide is to provide you with all of the necessary elements to implement a best practice change or leadership development initiative within your organization or social system. Contributors in this book are widely recognized as among the best in organizational change and leadership development. They provide invaluable lessons in succeeding during crisis or growth modes and economies...Within the forthcoming chapters, you will learn:

*Key elements of leading successful and result-driven change

*Tools, models, instruments, and strategies for leading change

*Trends and research on innovation, change and leadership

*Critical success factors and critical failure factors

*How to design, implement, and evaluate change and leadership initiatives (pp.viii-xi)".

In this context, D. Ulrich, M. Goldsmith, L. Carter, J. Bolt, and N. Smallwood (the editors) divide this invaluable book including twenty-two chapters of 'best practice' into three sections: (1). Transformational and Large Scale Change, (2). Fundamentals of Leading Change, (3). Transformational Leadership and Sustaining Results. They say, "we have different interests, clients, and approaches. We have each experienced successes and failures while hoping only for success. The failures were almost always failures to make correct assumptions about the fit between type of intervention, organizational system, and situation. It is these failures that help us learn; they make us humble and open our minds to different approaches...This fieldguide presents you with an array of choices for how to approach many complex situations. You will find many ideas that you can adapt to your own situation and needs. And, when you do lead change, lead with the same passion, humility, creativity, and commitment to stakeholders, customers, and excellence that have been exhibited by the change champions contributing to this book (from the Introduction)."

In the last chapter of the fieldguide, 'You Can't Be a Champion Unless You Keep Score,' John Sullivan focuses on importance of measuring results. He says that "If this were the Olympics, it would be obvious to all that you couldn't become a champion without measuring results. In fact, the definition of a champion is 'the one with the best results.' In the general business world the use of numbers and metrics is part of life...Within all major firms all projects, products, and business units are evaluated on the basis of numerical results. However, in direct contrast, we within HR resist using metrics, almost like developing them was the equivalent of a root canal...The Watson Wyatt Human Capital Index study demonstrated that the potential impact of people programs on a firm's overall market value could be as high as 47 percent. The road is clear and the time is right. HR must now seize this unprecedented opportunity to adopt metrics and to become the next 'corporate hero' (pp.279-283)"

Therefore, after saying "metrics are the fastest and the cheapest way to change behavior in business," he demonstrates:

I.Nine reasons to utilize metrics: (1). Meeting your goals, (2). Driving improvement, (3). Obtain funding, (4). Early warning a.k.a 'smoke detectors,' (5). Understanding critical success factors, (6). Shift to fact-based decisions, (7). Metrics change behaviors, (8). Eliminate confusion, (9). Builds coordination/cooperation.

II.Eight steps in developing metrics: (1). Select a metric for each program goal, (2). Choosing between soft and hard metrics, (3). Understanding the different categories of business impact, (4). Selecting simple but attention-getting metrics, (5). Understanding the characteristics of great measures, (6). Selecting from standard HR metrics, (7). Selecting from advanced metrics, (8). Building the business case for increased HR funding.

III.Eleven decision factors for approving HR projects: (1). A low initial investment, (2). The project has a high ROI, (3). Similar projects implemented elsewhere have a high success rate or a low risk of failure, (4). The project starts right away without a long delay, (5). There is a short payback period, (6). The project has a complete set of accurate results metrics and a method for collecting metric information, (7). No new headcount is required, (8). The project has negative consequences for failure built in, (9). The program gives us a competitive advantage over other firms, (10). The program can demonstrate that it increases worker productivity, (11). A project team is credible and has high success rate on previous projects.

Finally, Sullivan writes, "HR professionals understand that the world of business has recently lost its tolerance for decisions made without facts and for programs that don't produce measurable results...Metrics can provide you with the opportunity to be superior performer by letting you know unambiguously where you are and how far you have to go. Your future path is clear; you can't become a champion...without measuring your results (pp.297-298)."

I highly recommend this invaluable fieldguide to all change champions of the future.

A steal for the price - like buying 22 books in 1!
This book is an absolute steal for the price. It is extremely generous in the information it provides. There are 22 chapters of the best theories, practices, and examples in change/business management and leadership/organization development -- with an eye towards getting results that matter for you and your organization. This book has already helped me to make my job more valuable inside of my organization - as well as helped me to better understand how to get my ideas implemented faster - and improved my chances of getting a promotion! Thank you to the publisher and editors for providing me with a book that has far exceeded my expectations.

Direct info. Do it Now!
Read this book line by line and you will be able to apply the suggestions and get results taht matter. The ROI in the case studies are under estimated. Notice that the outcomes take into account the people. What can I say more...go for it.

Useful for anyone from the bottom up!
I started reading this book and I still cannot place it down - it's brimming with information that I can use to help others and myself change during difficult times or the best times in my organization. As a manager in my organization, I have to stay knowledgeable of all of the best management practices in the industry- - this is the best book I have found for this purpose. You could pay for $1000 and up attending conferences and $5000 on research reports and never find this kind of management knowledge. ... Read more

Product Description
The major element of the budget of all educational institutions is spent on people. Their management and motivation is a prime concern of educational managers. At a time of unprecedented changes, this book provides the first ever comprehensive coverage of the key aspects of human resource management - central to the success of every educational institution. "Human Resource Management in Higher and Further Education" has been written by a team of senior educational managers, academics and external experts. They examine the current major issues and future challenges; reflect and explore the trend toward greater managerialism; and include helpful case studies as well as analytical accounts of the topics covered. This is an essential guide to all the important areas of human resource and personnel management as they relate to further and higher education institutions. ... Read more

Product Description
Father of the detective story and the modern gothic horror tale, Edgar Allan Poe was also a great lyric poet who influenced a professional international audience as diverse as Baudelaire and Dostoyevsky.his American contemporary, Emerson, dismissed him as "the jingle man," but Europe admired and emulated his romanticism and theory of poetic unity.

Poe explores love, death and despair, reflecting the anguish he suffered throughout his own short, troubled life.

Performed here by various stars, including Christopher Cazenove, Joel Gray, Gregory Hines, Roger Rees, David Warner and Michael York, the emotion and reality of Poe's feelings are brought to life. ... Read more