The Design of Sites: Patterns for Creating Winning Web Sites (2nd Edition)

Book Description

Praise for the second edition of The Design of Sites

âIn my worldwide IBM marketing role, I have the benefit of working with some of the finest international interactive agencies and internal Web teams. As I read The Design of Sites, [I see] the insight from years of professional advice has been put to paper. Nowhere have I seen such a practical, effective, and easy-to-use book to solve and avoid Internet design issues. I keep a copy of the book handy to remind me of the things I forgot and to gain fresh perspectives. It never fails to deliver.â
âJohn Cilio, marketing manager, IBM System x & z Storage Synergy

âThe Design of Sites artfully brings forward the original intent of Christopher Alexander’s pattern language into the user experience design arena. It is a valuable and comprehensive reference.â
âGeorge Hackman, Jr., senior director of User Experience for User Interface Guidelines, Patterns and Standards, Oracle Corporation

âThe Design of Sites is one of the best tools I have in my usability toolbox. [These] Web UI design patterns make it easy for me to show my clients how to get the most usability bang for their buck.â
âClaudia Alden Case, usability consultant and interaction designer, Alden Case Enterprises, Inc.

âIf only biology class had been like this. Lucid text, bulletproof content, and a comprehensive taxonomy that’s just as much a source of inspiration as it is a production tool. This is a really, really good book. If you build Web sites, read it.â
âMarc Campbell, author of Web Design Garage

Praise for the First Edition of The Design of Sites

âStop reinventing the wheel every time you design a Web site! The Design of Sites helps you rethink your Web sites in terms of genres and patterns. Once you have identified the patterns and applied the best practices for those patterns as outlined in this book, you will reduce your design effort by 50 percent . . . at least!â
âPawan R. Vora, vice president, Information Architecture, Seurat Company

âThe content [in The Design of Sites] could make a novice into a seasoned professional over a weekend. Many companies pay a fortune for the information contained in the book’s primary chapters.â
âJohn Cilio, marketing manager, IBM System x & z Storage Synergy

âThis book has many handy checklists for what you should and should not do in creating a conventional Web site. Just following the authors’ suggestions would put your site in the top few percent for readability and usability.â
âJef Raskin, creator of the Macintosh computer and author of The Humane Interface

âNow that The Design of Sites has made its appearance, we won’t have to put up with those poorly designed Web pages. These authors have captured patterns from successful Web designers, including their own experience in consulting and teaching, and have made this information accessible to all of us. The book is readable yet full of worthwhile informationâa valuable addition to any Web designer’s bookshelf.â
âLinda Rising, independent consultant and author of The Patterns Handbook, The Pattern Almanac 2000, and Design Patterns in Communications Software

â[The Design of Sites] bridges the gap from theory to practice and makes it possible for people in the Web-design space to use user-centered design principles in their workâwithout having to undertake extensive training.â
âMaya Venkatraman, human interface engineer, Sun Microsystems

âThe coverage [in The Design of Sites] is excellentâissues go beyond the traditional âdesign the best page’ focus and do a good job of showing the context. I haven’t seen any other book with the kind of breadth this has.â
âTerry Winograd, professor of computer science, Stanford University, and editor of Bringing Design to Software

âWith this book as a reference, you can benefit from what companies like Yahoo! have learned and apply it to your site, even if you don’t have a design and research team similarly sized and staffed.â
âFrom the foreword by Irene Au, director of User Experience, Google; former vice president of User Experience and Design, Yahoo!

The Design of Sites, Second Edition, is the definitive reference for the principles, patterns, methodologies, and best practices underlying exceptional Web design. If you are involved in the creation of dynamic Web sites, this book will give you all the necessary tools and techniques to create effortless end-user Web experiences, improve customer satisfaction, and achieve a balanced approach to Web design.

After a comprehensive tutorial covering the foundations of good Web site design, you will move on to discover the thirteen major Web design pattern groups. These patterns solve recurring design problems and help design teams avoid reinventing the wheel. Patterns range from creating a solid navigation framework and the all-important home page, to instilling trust and building credibility with your customers and improving site performance through better design.

The book features

Coverage of AJAX, the Mobile Web, and online communities
Seventeen new design patterns to add to the original ninety, including the new blog site type
More than twenty significantly updated patterns
450 four-color screen shots and diagrams, including more than 150 new images
Key site elements, including site maps, style sheets, dynamic elements, and customer profiles
Clear, visual organization with color-coded sections for easy reference
A balanced approach to Web design that takes both customer and business needs into account

FOREWORD

In 1979, Christopher Alexander wrote his seminal book, A Pattern Language, in which he introduced an innovative yet practical language for architecture, building, and planning. Since then the concept has been applied to other domains, from computer science to user interface design. The fact that what began as an architectural concept has been extended and is still in use today is a testament to its value and validity. Simply put, a design pattern is a generic solution to a commonly recurring problem, whether for software, buildings, landscaping, or Web design.

Design patterns are particularly relevant to Web design because they are so critical to usability. One of the tenets to building a usable product is to support users’ mental models for how things should work. Consistency reinforces and helps build ease of use into a product as users learn over time how to navigate the product and build a mental model for how to per-form tasks. Design patterns are a means for capturing such best practices and provide a guide for implementing solutions in a consistent manner.

Design patterns can also help an organization scale as it grows. As former vice president of the User Experience and Design group at Yahoo!, I was faced with the challenge of creating effective designs for our ever-expanding suite of products and services with limited budget and head count. With the team growing rapidly and organized along separate product lines, designers increasingly worked independently of each other, and yet I found many to be solving the same design problems. Harvesting and implementing best practices became critical to Yahoo!’s ability to deliver quality design efficiently and consistently. Moreover, with Web design patterns established, the front-end engineers could create reusable, modular code, thereby improving quality and speeding up our development time as well as design time.

The authors of The Design of Sites often cite Yahoo! in their examples. These designs were based on extensive usability and ethnographic research, capturing the best practices identified. With Yahoo!’s broad product offering, the team has encountered almost every major consumer product and interface issue. With this book as a reference, you can benefit from what companies like Yahoo! have learned and apply them to your site, even if you don’t have a design and research team similarly sized and staffed.

User interactions on the Web are fluid and seamless. With a single click of the mouse, a user can be on a completely different site, which could have its own look and feel and interaction model. Thus, it is more important than ever that the design community understands, applies, and participates in the development of Web design patterns. The more widely common design patterns are used across the Web, the easier the Web will be for users. And that is a good thing for everyone.

To be sure, design patterns are no substitute for thoughtful design, which takes into consideration the constraints and context of its application. But design patterns should be the starting point for anyone designing Web sites and should be followed whenever possible. Designers can start with something known to work and modify or refine it as needed. Time saved from not having to reinvent the wheel frees up designers’ time to ...

Customer Reviews:

More than simply patterns.......2007-10-08

This book was highly recommended in a presentation on UI design patterns that I attended. Until I bought my copy I didn't realize how extremely useful it was.

Unlike other UI design pattern books, it covers more than basic page/widget level items. These include types of sites (eCommerce, news, etc.), sections and pages (message boards, help systems, newsletters), as well as lower level items.

Less obvious, but more practical for those with little or no background in UI design, is that it distills a huge amount of research, best ideas/practices and general usability guidelines. This can be invaluable when creating new and unfamiliar web sites/pages/interface elements quickly.

This new edition ensures that it's more current in response though they make clear that for all the hype about new technologies, most of the basic patterns have not changed. Where something HAS changed, they note it.

Beyond the patterns are well written explanations of user (or their preferred term "consumer") centered design practices. Though there are many other books on that subject, it does make this almost a singular "one-book" resource.

Amazing book cover to cover.......2007-10-05

I bought this book on a whim after passing its unimpressive cover on the bookshelf several times. After looking through it, this book is absolutely awesome. It details the largest and most common design and usability issues that designers and users face when creating or revamping a website. The book then offers a variety of proven solutions to these problems. It's indexed well and very easy to hone in on specific issues.

Really awesome book - I'd say equally perfect for site developers, content writers, wireframers and site analysts.

Must to have on every designer's shelf........2007-10-04

It is the kind of dictionary for the web application designers. You can go by index, find the matching scenario and refer to it to for your problem. Very handy and all time useful.

Must to have on every designer's shelf.

Was hoping for some more fundamentals.......2007-09-29

I was hoping this book would have more fundamental design insights that could be applied to various situations. However, I found it to be a bit too obvious with samples and ideas based on common websites. The design points were ones anyone who browses the web could have figured out on their own. Essentially the book would use popular websites as models and say do your sites like this. There was no obvious indicator that these were even patterns per se. Just that these sites are popular so they must be the best way of doing it. That didn't seem particularly convincing when most sites design changes every 2-3 years. It also didn't highlight the shortcomings and tradeoffs you must make when choosing a particular pattern. Essentially this book wasn't much use to me since the websites I work on don't fit any of their models. I was hoping for a book where you can apply *fundamental* design patterns to all types of situations not just the specific ones mentioned (e.g. The best way to format entry fields, when to use a pop up versus show everything at once, how mnay items to show in a list, when to use pagination versus list scrolling, and the why's and hows and tradeoffs and all that stuff we consider when designing a web site.) I was hoping for something along the lines of the Microsoft style guide I read several years ago, but catered for the web.

Buy this if you are a serious web designer.......2007-09-22

If you are serious about web design, buy this book before any other technology specific book. The pattern oriented approach for web design, used in this book, is unique and very insigtful. It's style of providing a catalog of web design patterns is very similar to the famous "gang of four" book on software design pattern.

I also liked the way many popular web sites are analyzed and dissected to elucidate many design issues commonly faced.

The American Promise: A History of the United States, Volume I: To 1877

Average customer rating:

A bit jumpy
Comprehensive History 1 Textbook

The American Promise: A History of the United States, Volume I: To 1877
James L. Roark , Michael Johnson , Patricia Cline Cohen , Sarah Stage , Alan Lawson , and Susan M. Hartmann
Manufacturer: Bedford/St. Martin's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312406886

Customer Reviews:

A bit jumpy.......2007-06-28

I am currently using this textbook for my History from 1460-1877 online and find that this book is very detailed. There are a lot of details in this book that I have not had in any other history book. The American Promise focuses on some certain historical times, places and people that have been a bit looked over in other books. The only problem I have come across with this textbook is that you have to go back and forth quite a bit to cross-reference. It seems some information may be lacking and the book itself is trying to get too many details instead of focusing on the larger picture of some things or just skipping over some major historical times.

Comprehensive History 1 Textbook.......2005-09-13

I really like this textbook because it presents the material in a way that I can easily grasp and remember. Past history books have bored me, but this one isn't too bad :) It's also great that it's in paperback because that makes it cheaper!

Average customer rating:

Thriller--not a mystery or detective novel
Mystery
Good but not great: An audiobook review
Good, but with some inconsistencies
Quantity has seriously eclipsed quality

Four Blind Mice
James Patterson
Manufacturer: Little, Brown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316693006
Release Date: 2002-11-18

Amazon.com

In this latest thriller from perennial bestselling author James Patterson, Washington cop Alex Cross gets involved in his partner's effort to save the life of an old Army buddy who's facing execution for a horrendous and inexplicable murder spree in North Carolina. The Army's evidence against Sergeant Ellis Cooper, a decorated Vietnam vet, is overwhelming, which isn't surprising since it's all been planted by a quartet of killers whose reason for framing the erstwhile hero isn't revealed until long after they are. The big secret is who set the murderers loose, and in true cliffhanger fashion, Patterson keeps it under wraps until the very end. Meanwhile, his usual blend of action, violence, fast pacing and uninspired-though-serviceable prose prevail, and will probably do so all the way to the top of the bestseller lists. --Jane Adams

Book Description

Alex Cross is on his way to resign from the Washington Police when his partner John Sampson shows up at his door. One of Sampson's oldest friends has been framed for murder and, worse yet, is subject to the insular laws of the U.S. Army. The evidence is strong enough to send him to the gas chamber.

Cross and Sampson plunge into a case where military codes of honor conceal dark currents of revenge and ambition, and the men controlling the moves have the best weapons and training the world can offer. Drawing on their years of street training and an almost telepathic mutual trust, Cross and Sampson go deep into military lines to confront the most terrifying-and lethal-killer they have ever encountered.

Customer Reviews:

Thriller--not a mystery or detective novel.......2007-07-14

The mystery/detective novel was a rather pure form in its earlier days. The focus was not on the murder itself and the detailed agony of the victim. In fact, the crime was disposed of rather quickly. The story was how the detective, through investigation and logic, revealed the murderer. There was no sex, no outright violence and certainly no sadism.

Somewhere along the line the detective novel evolved into the "thriller," in which the theme ranged far and wide. In most novels by James Patterson there is a pervasive vein of sadism, as there is in "Four Blind Mice." Ex-rangers from the U.S. Army, men who had fought in Viet Nam, continue their killing for hire and for pleasure in America. The sadism is very detailed and has nothing to do with the plot itself. For example, there is a lengthy and gruesome description of how the rangers tortured and killed a woman suspected of being Viet Cong. Perhaps it is to show that the men were not nice fellows, but the fact that they murdered people at all should establish that.

The detectives who trail the killers are bedroom hoppers, narrated with rather specific detail. Again, the sex has nothing to do with the plot, with tracking down the killers. One has to suspect that the sex is to titilate the sort of reader who can be titilated or manipulated by this.

The actual plot is not of much interest, nor is how the criminals were caught. What sells the Patterson books is the violence, the sadism, the sex--and short chapters for those with short attention spans. And because of this, I suspect the Patterson books will not be long remembered. Readers still read Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Philo Vance, etc., and they will be doing so when the Cross books are in the dustbin.

Mystery .......2007-07-03

Alex Cross the mystery solver. Great read. Fast moving and exciting. Never go wrong with James Patterson reading

Good but not great: An audiobook review.......2007-05-04

After reading a few reviews, it sounds like the audio version actually helps the story a bit. The two narrators are both quite good, with the exception that some of the bad guys sound too much like one another.

I am glad to get back to the world of Alex Cross. I have read or heard 3 other Patterson books this year and have been sorely disappointed with two. I only liked one (Jester) and I was looking forward to getting back to comfortable ground with Alex Cross.

The strength of Patterson's Cross books is the realistic conversations - the rhythms, cadences, colloquialisms and vocabulary sound right. They sound so right that I am reminded of a personal story. Way back before Patterson's picture was plastered all over the back of every one of his books, I used to work in a used book store. The Alex Cross books started filtering in and Mrs. Rivers, the assistant manager and an elderly African-American woman (also an avid mystery/thriller reader) placed Patterson's books in the African-American authors section. She was shocked when a book came in with his face on the back. She commented that she never would have believed that a white man could have pulled that off so well. He still pulls it off.

However, the story flows in a herky-jerky manner. Sampson and Cross gleen clues from things that should not provide clues. For example, while in Raleigh, NC investigating an old ritualistic multiple murder, they hear that a single prostitute was killed. No details are provided of the prostitute's murder, but still they know it is connected. How?

Patterson is intent on moving the personal lives of Cross and Sampson forward. That is appropriate. At times, though, it felt as if that was the only part of the story he really put a lot of thought into. The rest seemed to be rather sloppily tossed in there - the connections were loose, characters are introduced than dropped.

So, my grade: B-

Good conversation. Like the characters. My suggestion: Slow down "James Patterson, Inc." and take the time to work out some of the kinks and make these books better.

Good, but with some inconsistencies.......2007-04-07

I picked this up at an airport before an international flight. I've read a few Patterson books recently. This was not quite as good as some of the others. Part of the problem might have been me reading them out of chronological order (this is another Alex Cross book). I didn't really care for the ending. There also seemed to be some technical and story inconsistencies.

Quantity has seriously eclipsed quality.......2007-01-23

While I have read numerous books by James Patterson, only a few have been part of his "Alex Cross" series. The Cross books have a mechanical, mass-produced feel to them. However, with Patterson churning out something like 5-6 books a year, that's hardly a surprise. I don't mind someone being prolific, but it's almost gotten to where he should open up a chain of drive-through windows and donate a portion of his profits to re-seeding forests. We're getting true pulp fiction of the distinctly hastily-written-and-not-well-researched variety. There isn't nearly the attention to detail in these novels as in, say, a Michael Connelly crime thriller. There were also way too many implausibilities in this book for me to take it very seriously - even as fanciful entertainment.

The "four blind mice" in this book are three Army Rangers who served together in Vietnam (and a fourth 'mouse' that is revealed at the end of the book). Upon their return, the 3 continue to kill for both profit - as contract hit men - and fun (they're deranged "good 'ol boys" who truly get their kicks from killing even when no money is involved). But the amount of killing they do - and their complete lack of caution to keep from being caught - simply defies reason. These guys would have been caught within a week by even the most dysfunctional police force in the country. And they're supposed to be "professionals"? Uh, right.

A few examples:

1. They abduct a prostitute, let her out in the woods, and then "hunt her down" for sport before killing her. Just as they are about to start their hunt after releasing her, a police cruiser stops to ask the 3 men what they are doing on the side of the road with their lights off. They give an answer that satisfies the cop and he drives off. There is NO WAY that when the prostitute's body was later found, the cop wouldn't have tied it to the 3 guys on the side of the road and launched a major manhunt.

2. Another cop later pulls them over and they shoot him. Then, one of them gets in the car and simply drives it into the bushes on the side of the road to hide it. No attempt to even wear gloves before touching the inside of the cop car or the steering wheel.

3. The men go to a house full of call-girls and kill everyone inside. Again, no attempt to conceal fingerprints on doorknobs, clothes, furniture, etc.

Professional killers are simply not this cavalier when it comes to covering their tracks. With such huge deficiencies in the details, it was awfully hard to take Mr. Patterson's fiction seriously in this book. It was like these characters had been on one continuous joy ride / killing spree for the last 20 years without getting caught. With guys this back-slapping careless? I'm sorry, it just ain't gonna happen.

To be honest, there wasn't much here in the way of either mystery or thrill. In fact, the only real mystery is where Cross's long-distance romance with Jamilla is going to eventually end up.

Will I continue to read books by this author? Yes, but I won't generally expect too much from them - especially the crime thrillers. I enjoyed his recent books more in the genre of Nicholas Sparks better. One was called "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas" and the other "Sam's Letters to Jennifer." Because they didn't rely on much of anything requiring research or technical detail - just books about human relationships - they were far better and far more plausible reads.

Patterson has the imagination to tell some very good stories. The problem is usually in the execution, not the story itself. I'm afraid quantity is definitely eclipsing quality as he attempts to churn out a book every few months. I'm not sure what's driving him to produce books like a machine gun - he's certainly made his millions with so many bestsellers and several movies. In fact, his books have grossed over $1 billion - so you do the math. It's astronomical even if he gets only 10% of that. One would think that as he near retirement age and with all his success, he'd take the advice that Nana constantly gives to Alex Cross in this book: slow down, don't work so much, and don't be so driven. I'd certainly like him to slow down enough to write better books.

Average customer rating:

Not a handbook for 'rule of thumb' engineering
Where's the useful stuff?
A Misleading Description
Reference book for engineers
A very useful reference

Handbook of Heat Transfer
Warren M. Rohsenow , James P. Hartnett , and Young I. Cho
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0070535558

Book Description

This wholly revised edition of a classic handbook reference, written by some of the most eminent practitioners in the field, is designed to be your all-in-one source book on heat transfer issues and problem-solving. It includes the latest advances in the field, as well as covering subjects from microscale heat transfer to thermophysical properties of new refrigerants. An invaluable guide to this most crucial factor in virtually every industrial and environmental process.

Customer Reviews:

Not a handbook for 'rule of thumb' engineering.......2006-12-16

This book is a resource for understanding/solving complex heat transfer. There are no pages wasted on useless information, just vital information pertinent to the topic. The book is well laid out and well referenced. The chapter on heat pipes is a bit lacking. Overall an excellent heat transfer reference.

Where's the useful stuff?.......2005-08-28

You could spend the rest of your life reading this book! It would be useful for any professor or A student or other intellectual studying the material in depth. But for a practicing engineer who has little available time to ponder the specifics, it would take a "lot" of effort to find material that could be put to work in this text. If you are interested in deriving the equations you need yourself, or if you're analysing a unique design, then this is the book for you. But if you are busy with standardized systems and technology, find another reference.

A Misleading Description.......2004-12-16

I was expecting more tables and equations especially for natural convection external flow. There is also very little useful information about forced convection external flow. I also would have liked to see some sample calculations to demonstrate how to use this book better.

There is plenty of theory despite the product's description and most of it is probably unnecessary for a handbook. It's more like a big, expensive text for heat transfer than a handbook. A person would have to be an engineer, mathematician, or physicist to deal with the level of mathematics presented in this book.

There is a fair amount of information about internal flow for both forced and natural convection, but this book's value is quite limited. I am dissappointed with this book and would not purchase it again if I lost it.

Reference book for engineers.......2004-04-02

This is not an introductory book on heat transfer! Instead it is a thorough treatment on heat transfer in a stringent an extensive manner. This book places greater emphasis on correctness than "easy-to-understand-ness". However, if you do read it, you gain a lot compared to most introductory heat transfer books. If you are interested in forced convection heat transfer, this book gives well documented equations and charts for a great number of shapes, though mostly internal flow. This is a very serious book for serious engineers!

A very useful reference.......2001-06-29

I found very useful the way thermal conductivity was approached. I was used to solve simple problems by means of "Temperature response charts". Now it is possible to use formulas instead of graphs.

Remembering the Kanji I: A Complete Course on How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Japanese Characters (Remembering the Kanji)

Average customer rating:

NOT WORTH IT AND AMAZON CANNOT GET THIS TITLE
Heisig vs. Halpern
Simply Excellent
As memory buff...
Good Second Round

Remembering the Kanji I: A Complete Course on How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Japanese Characters (Remembering the Kanji)
James W. Heisig
Manufacturer: Japan Publications (USA)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0870407392

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NOT WORTH IT AND AMAZON CANNOT GET THIS TITLE.......2007-04-08

Just want to say. Amazon cannot get this book. the 4-6weeks is complete waste of time. I have waited months and motnhs and months. I forked over the $200 for my own copy. Expenisive and all it really is is a dictionary. Don't be fooled by it. It is no different in explanation than a simple dictionary is. All dicionaries (if well made) will group kanji by radicals. Many books for less are more effective.

Heisig vs. Halpern.......2007-03-28

This is a review of the Fourth Edition:

Remembering the Kanji I: A Complete Course on How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Japanese Characters Vol. 1 4th Edition,

which has just been reprinted:

Remembering the Kanji: A Complete Course on How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Japanese Characters (Manoa)

I have a certain familiarity with the spoken Japanese language but I realized a couple of years ago that if I were ever to develop a useful level of skill at Japanese I would have to learn the written language as well. The Kana are not a problem, no more difficult than learning the Greek alphabet, for example, but the Kanji are another matter. After trying Japanese for Busy People (Kana version) Vol. II and some of the on-line kanji sites, I realized that I would need something a bit more organized and thoughtful if I were ever to learn the Kanji in my lifetime.

First a word about ideographs versus alphabets. Alphabets were originally ideographic symbols that represented meaning as well as sound. Over time the symbols lost the original semantic content and became purely phonetic representations. Kanji retain much of the semantic content alphabets have lost and thereby add great richness, as well as difficulty, to the written languages that use them. As I have progressed through Heisig's book I have come to appreciate the depth of insight the Kanji offer into Japanese culture and the Chinese culture from which so much of it is derived.

James Heisig is a teacher of philosophy and religion living in Japan, and has translated several works of the Kyoto School of Philosophy. His description of how he developed his method of learning the kanji, given in the introduction, is fascinating.

His method is simple, belying its underlying sophistication:

1. First he assigns each character a unique English reading.
2. He then anchors that character in memory with a vivid mnemonic. (After the first 500 characters he leaves it up to the learner to make up the mnemonics.)
3. Lastly, the characters are learned in a specific order that is based on their internal logic.

The sophistication of this method is that it taps into the emotional and associational aspects of learning rather than relying just on the brute force of repetition. Repetition of course has its place, but it is inefficient when used alone.

His mnemonics are sometimes cheesy, sometimes weird, and sometimes quite interesting, illuminating the inner poetry of the characters. For example, Heisig #299 "fall" (Halpern #2318, also "fall") is composed of the radicals "flower", "water", and "each". His mnemonic: "When WATER falls, it splats and splashes; when FLOWER petals fall, they float gently in the breeze. To EACH thing its own way of falling." Another interesting one is Heisig #163 "anxiety" (Halpern #1022 "vexed"), composed of the radicals "fire" and "head": "The existential condition of ANXIETY that arises from the inevitable frustration of our worldly passions is contained in this character. The HEAD is set AFIRE, causing deep torment of spirit (and a whopper of a headache)."

Heisig points out that Chinese students learning Japanese have a great advantage because of their knowledge of the Kanji, even though spoken Chinese and Japanese have virtually nothing in common. He adds that Japanese methods of learning the Kanji ignore the internal logic of the characters and rely mostly on brute force repetition. This works reasonably well for Japanese students who are immersed in a Kanji culture, but it is punishing for foreigners. The goal of his method is to bring the English-speaker up to level of the Chinese-speaker who knows the kanji, both beginning to learn Japanese. He feels it is best to first learn a solid English reading for all the most common characters and then to go back later as one learns the spoken Japanese language and pin down the Japanese and Chinese readings.

As I progressed through the book making flash cards according to Heisig's directions, I became curious about the Japanese meaning of the Kanji. After all, if I were going to learn all these characters, I might as well make sure I was learning them in a way that would ultimately be useful. So I ignored Heisig's advice and began to check his English readings with a couple of dictionaries and began finding descrepancies. I eventually decided to be more systematic and purchased NTC's New Japanese-English Character Dictionary edited by Jack Halpern. (Halpern also edited the The Kodansha Kanji Learners Dictionary (Japanese for Busy People), which I think is a more condensed version of the NTC dictionary.)

I started keying Heisig's characters to Halpern's dictionary for future reference, and have tabulated the first 463 of Heisig's readings in this manner, comparing each of them to the "core" meaning given by Halpern. I have divided them into four categories and listed the numbers of characters in each category:

1. Heisig reading identical with Halpern: 203
2. Heisig reading related to Halpern: 243
3. Heisig reading unrelated to Halpern: 10
4. Heisig reading unlisted in Halpern: 17

The "related" meanings are sometimes very close synonyms, sometimes archaic readings, occasionally fairly tangential. Some representative examples with fairly close but not identical meanings:

Heisig #313: "refreshing"...Halpern #521: "cool"
Heisig #434: "vie"..........Halpern #1847: "compete"
Heisig #187: "perfect"......Halpern #2201: "complete"

Some anomalies and curiosities:

Heisig's #460 "plum" is listed by Halpern as #925 "Japanese apricot". Heisig does not list a character for "plum" that corresponds with Halpern's #2398 "plum". However, they both agree on the character for "apricot", Heisig #203, Halpern #2397.

Heisig #208 "town" is the same as Halpern #834 "village", while Halpern #1113 "town" is the same as Heisig #92 "village". My "NOAD" The New Oxford American Dictionary: Book and CD-ROM package (New Look for Oxford Dictionaries)says a "town" is larger than a "village" but smaller than a "city", so Halpern would appear to have the correct English reading for these two characters.

Heisig identifies two very similar characters as unnumbered "primitives" he calls "mending" and "zoo". Halpern doesn't distinguish between the two, gives the reading for the single character as #3480 "animal counter".

Heisig and Halpern are both very intelligent and dedicated individuals who have worked hard to make the Japanese writing system more accessible to English-speakers. They both express the same frustrations with the methods available to them in the 1970's when they were both first struggling with the Japanese language. While Halpern has the advantage of modern linguistics and computer technology, Heisig using his own intuition and the dictionaries available to him at the time has better insight into the actual technique of learning.

What is the upshot of all this? Clearly, however you do it, learning the Kanji takes time. I can't yet read written Japanese, but I know a lot more about the Kanji than I used to. I plan to stick with Heisig since I see little down-side to his method. There is so much more to learning the Kanji than just memorizing a reading that having a firmly anchored English reading, even if it's not a precise one, is better than floating aimlessly in a sea of random symbols. Heisig at least offers a method that pins things down. Halpern's dictionary complements Heisig by giving a translation based on modern linguistics and database analysis. Together they may help me to eventually achieve a minimum level of Japanese literacy. In the meantime, I can at least decipher the meaning of "crazy lunatic" on the Kanji tattoo vending machine in my local supermarket: A "dog" who thinks he's "king".

epops

Note: The Wikipedia article "Remembering the Kanji I" gives a critique of Heisig's method and several interesting links, including one to a PDF sample of the first 200 of Heisig's kanji readings. The prospective student can use this to try his method out without buying the whole book.

Simply Excellent.......2007-03-25

After living in Japan for one year, I decided to jump in and study Kanji. I had studied Chinese over 25 years ago and still knew SOME (perhaps 20) of the characters, but not many. After getting this book, and starting to study, it became obvious that the method used is so superior to anything I have seen anywhere else, that it must simply be tried to be believed. I was able to write, easily from memory over 2 weeks later, over 75 new Kanji which I only studied for a few hours. The title of the book really does say it all... the secret is in the meaning, and remembering it becaomes easy once you begin to use the technique offered by Heisig.

My friend here in Japan can read well over 1000 Kanji from using this book. Of course the problem is the book is out of circulation... and I only found my in a TINY bookstore in Yokohama... Gambatte finding a new one.

As memory buff..........2007-03-15

This book is worth more than gold. I fancy the idea of learning to speak, read, and write Japanese someday.. but until then I am approaching this book as a memory practitioner than as a linguist. Simply put, not knowing the Kanji makes me feel deficient as a learner of Japanese language.. and I can tell you I quit learning Japanese so many times because every time I study a Japanese book and see those Kanjis it just irritates me.

With the Heisig system I have no reason to doubt that a person with acceptable discipline can acquire these Kanjis within 4-6 month.. even under a month if really disciplined. As a memory practitioner, I will say that the imagery used is just a tool (or "crutch" as someone else put it). With enough repetition one will get to a point where imagery is not necessary. This is a simple truth proven in many different context. In essence, results are same as in the case of those who learn Kanji via repetition of writing.. but the advantage of using Heisig system over repetition [of writing] is, of course, the ability to recite it in your head as you're headed off for sleep or on the road (and repetition in writing requires sitting up straight and.. well for any person you can only sit still for so many hours). And the fault of writing is that if you forget.. that's it. You have to go back to the reference book and look it up. But using Heisig system you can "think" your way back to what that Kanji means until you acquire independence from imagery.. which you will want to develop as you can't afford to spend time thinking about them (too inefficient).

You won't learn how to pronunciate.. you won't learn how to use read these characters in their Japanese equivalents.. in short you won't know the usage of these Kanjis. Once again, this book teaches English speakers how to remember just the Kanjis in English equivalents (which I am sure is bad exercise).. and nothing more (hence my claim of using this book as just memory exercise).

Heisig really deserves a special praise. It takes a lot of time to come up with these imageries... I know because I have applied this technique to other subjects. It's time consuming when we have to come up with it. $42 bucks (as the time of this writing) is really a small price to pay... buy this book if you're looking for a lazy way to learn Kanji. Otherwise... nothing wrong with doing it the old-fashion way of repetition, repetition, repetition.. but if you learn Heisig system you're .25-.5 of your way there into mastering the first 2,000 Kanjis or so.

Good Second Round.......2006-03-21

This is an excellent book for learning the Kanji characters. But I call it a good second round because you should learn Kana first (meaning hiragana and then katakana) and some basic Japanese phrases first, and the book makes much more sense. Read some books on the japanese culture also to learn even more and making it easier (since you will know honorific ideas etc).

The books only downfall is that it takes you a while to realize the characters on impact. I mean you see the symbol then translet it into what it looks like, idetify it, and then understand it, as opposed to just seeing it and knowing it.

To get around the only downfall, buy some books with Japanese writing (ones that Japan would sell to kids and young adults), and read them. The more you read, the more you understand them. You can even import DVD's of english movies you love, and just use the Japanese subtitles! (Requires a different DVD player than the US version). All in all, no better way to learn on your own.

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

Average customer rating:

A Classic
Identity is Built to Last
Built to last
Must-read for anyone interested in business
Great insight

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
James C. Collins , and Jerry I. Porras
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0887307396

Amazon.com

This analysis of what makes great companies great has been hailed everywhere as an instant classic and one of the best business titles since In Search of Excellence. The authors, James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras, spent six years in research, and they freely admit that their own preconceptions about business success were devastated by their actual findings--along with the preconceptions of virtually everyone else.

Built to Last identifies 18 "visionary" companies and sets out to determine what's special about them. To get on the list, a company had to be world famous, have a stellar brand image, and be at least 50 years old. We're talking about companies that even a layperson knows to be, well, different: the Disneys, the Wal-Marts, the Mercks.

Whatever the key to the success of these companies, the key to the success of this book is that the authors don't waste time comparing them to business failures. Instead, they use a control group of "successful-but-second-rank" companies to highlight what's special about their 18 "visionary" picks. Thus Disney is compared to Columbia Pictures, Ford to GM, Hewlett Packard to Texas Instruments, and so on.

The core myth, according to the authors, is that visionary companies must start with a great product and be pushed into the future by charismatic leaders. There are examples of that pattern, they admit: Johnson & Johnson, for one. But there are also just too many counterexamples--in fact, the majority of the "visionary" companies, including giants like 3M, Sony, and TI, don't fit the model. They were characterized by total lack of an initial business plan or key idea and by remarkably self-effacing leaders. Collins and Porras are much more impressed with something else they shared: an almost cult-like devotion to a "core ideology" or identity, and active indoctrination of employees into "ideologically commitment" to the company.

The comparison with the business "B"-team does tend to raise a significant methodological problem: which companies are to be counted as "visionary" in the first place? There's an air of circularity here, as if you achieve "visionary" status by ... achieving visionary status. So many roads lead to Rome that the book is less practical than it might appear. But that's exactly the point of an eloquent chapter on 3M. This wildly successful company had no master plan, little structure, and no prima donnas. Instead it had an atmosphere in which bright people were both keen to see the company succeed and unafraid to "try a lot of stuff and keep what works." --Richard Farr

Book Description

"This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor even is it about just having a corporate vision. This is a book about something far more important, enduring, and substantial. This is a book about visionary companies." So write James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras in this groundbreaking book that shatters myths, provides new insights, and gives practical guidance to those who would like to build landmark companies that stand the test of time.Drawing upon a six-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Collins and Porras took eighteen truly exceptional and long-lasting companies -- they have an average age of nearly one hundred years and have outperformed the general stock market by a factor of fifteen since 1926 -- and studied each company in direct comparison to one of its top competitors. They examined the companies from their very beginnings to the present day -- as start-ups, as midsize companies, and as large corporations. Throughout, the authors asked: "What makes the truly exceptional companies different from other companies?"What separates General Electric, 3M, Merck, Wal-Mart, Hewlett-Packard, Walt Disney, and Philip Morris from their rivals? How, for example, did Procter & Gamble, which began life substantially behind rival Colgate, eventually prevail as the premier institution in its industry? How was Motorola able to move from a humble battery repair business into integrated circuits and cellular communications, while Zenith never became dominant in anything other than TVs? How did Boeing unseat McDonnell-Douglas as the world's best commercial aircraft company -- what did Boeing have that McDonnell-Douglas lacked?By answering such questions, Collins and Porras go beyond the incessant barrage of management buzzwords and fads of the day to discover timeless qualities that have consistently distinguished outstanding companies. They also provide inspiration to all executives and entrepreneurs by destroying the false but widely accepted idea that only charismatic visionary leaders can build visionary companies.Filled with hundreds of specific examples and organized into a coherent framework of practical concepts that can be applied by managers and entrepreneurs at all levels, Built to Last provides a master blueprint for building organizations that will prosper long into the twenty-first century and beyond.

Customer Reviews:

A Classic.......2007-10-16

"Built to Last" is an enlightening and interesting classic on business strategic management. The authors, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras spent six years in research and compared the practices of 18 visionary companies in the USA to those of a matched set of good, though not great, companies. Their fundamental observation is that average companies are driven by the power of "or:" You can have either short term profits OR long term growth, either stability OR progress. Visionary companies, in contrast, embrace the power of "and:" You preserve the core AND stimulate progress.

The authors then methodically, step-by-step proceed to explain how great companies erect structures that embrace these seemingly contradictory goals. The great companies the authors studied, contrary to conventional wisdom, are not profit focused at their core but rather, they are `value' focused. These values are a sort of nucleus, around which leaders in visionary companies grow the company. This was the case in such great companies as Disney, Wal-Mart, Merck, Ford, Hewlett Packard, 3M, Johnson and Johnson and others.

Among the core myths that Collins and Porras shattered are that visionary companies must start with a great product and be pushed into the future by charismatic leaders. Instead the great visionary companies they studied were characterized by total lack of an initial business plan or key idea and by remarkably self-effacing leaders. The authors are much more impressed with the great companies' almost cult-like devotion to a "core ideology" or identity, and active indoctrination of employees into "ideological commitment" to the company.

The book is interesting to read, is humorous, is among the best, easiest to follow guide to strategic management. The book also provides guidelines to help managers at all levels to apply the concepts. It is well written with compelling case studies. I highly recommend the book to those looking for a practical down-to-earth book that is readable and useful.

Identity is Built to Last.......2007-08-30

It is interesting to review a business book more than 10 years after it has been labeled a best seller - is it still relevant today? Yes, in the case of this classic! The lessons conveyed are as useful today, as they were when it was first published. No surprise, given what the authors set out to discover when they began their research: What distinguishes long-time, high performing companies from their competitors? Their key concept about what it takes to build a visionary company - "preserve the core and stimulate progress" seems to be a fundamental truth about the evolutionary nature of free markets. Certainly their, "Try Lots of Stuff and Keep What Works" and "Good Enough Never Is", lessons sound like evolutionary processes of adaptation.

The key concept might be more simply described by saying, "Maintain your identity - core values & purpose - while focusing on a living performance vision." That makes it a personal concept as well as an organizational concept - not a bad thing when you consider that any organization is a collection of people. When something makes sense for the individual and the organization, perhaps there-in resides the reason it is a long-term winner! Dennis DeWilde, Author of The Performance Connection

Built to last.......2007-08-10

This is the most relevant, well-presented, easy-to-read research project I've seen. The data is easily transferable to to practical use. I have seen its implementation make a really big positive difference in groups within organizations.

Must-read for anyone interested in business.......2007-04-13

This book is the result of an elaborative research and a great data-analysis. It gives an insight into the some of the greatest companies of the world in different fields and different time-periods.

Authors have done a great job in explaining and justifying their research and data through the appendices and bibliography. A study of all the existing companies to find the visionary ones is really a daunting task and this research team has done a terrific job in establishing a definition of a "visionary company".

Must-read for professionals at any level of the organization hierarchy!!!

Great insight.......2007-03-30

Both Built to Last and Good to Great are the best business books anyone can ever read. Nice work!

Literature of the Western World, Volume I: The Ancient World Through the Renaissance (5th Edition)

Average customer rating:

boring as hell?
A Rhapsody of Words

Literature of the Western World, Volume I: The Ancient World Through the Renaissance (5th Edition)
Brian Wilkie , and James Hurt
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 013018666X

Customer Reviews:

boring as hell?.......2007-07-17

I got a request to review this...there you go. It's for school...of course it's boring.

A Rhapsody of Words.......2007-02-17

The book is perfect. It was exactly the book I needed and it got here in a timely fashion, all the better since I had waited so late to order it. It is in perfect condition.

I Kissed Dating Goodbye: A New Attitude Toward Relationships And Romance

Average customer rating:

It's Good to Be Challenged to Think!
Very Clear, Very Helpful
I Kissed Dating Goodbye
Not working.
Excellent book ! Highly recommended.

I Kissed Dating Goodbye: A New Attitude Toward Relationships And Romance
Joshua Harris , and Rebecca St. James
Manufacturer: Multnomah
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1576730360
Release Date: 1997-04-01

Amazon.com

While most Christians agree to seek purity and save sex for marriage, few have been given a blueprint for how that should affect their view of dating and love. In I Kissed Dating Goodbye, Joshua Harris exposes the "Seven Habits of Highly Defective Dating" and offers a realistic outline of how to have a biblical vision of marriage. Harris contends that one must begin with a new attitude, viewing love, purity, and singleness from God's perspective rather than thinking that love and romance are to be enjoyed "solely for recreation." In such well-named chapters as "Guarding Your Heart" and "What Matters at Fifty," Harris encourages the reader to look at one's character rather than reveling in infatuation, to regard love as a truly selfless, biblical act rather than a feeling. He refutes the concept that we are victims of "falling in love" (that it is beyond our control), saying that "God wants us to seek guidance from scriptural truth, not feeling. Smart love looks beyond personal desires and the gratification of the moment. It looks at the big picture: serving others and glorifying God." Before you roll your eyes, moaning that this sounds terribly unromantic, know that Harris does a superb job of couching his convictions in the sincere belief that if we are purposeful in our singleness and date with integrity, a fulfilled marriage awaits us--in God's timing. --Jill Heatherly

Book Description

Joshua Harris's first book, written when he was only 21, turned the Christian singles scene upside down...and people are still talking. More than 800,000 copies later, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, with its inspiring call to sincere love, real purity, and purposeful singleness, remains the benchmark for books on Christian dating. Now, for the first time since its release, the national #1 bestseller has been expanded with new content and updated for new readers. Honest and practical, it challenges cultural assumptions about relationships and provides solid, biblical alternatives to society's norm.

Tired of the game? Kiss dating goodbye.

Going out? Been dumped? Waiting for a call that doesn’t come? Have you tasted pain in dating, drifted through one romance or, possibly, several of them?

Ever wondered, Isn’t there a better way?

I Kissed Dating Goodbye shows what it means to entrust your love life to God. Joshua Harris shares his story of giving up dating and discovering that God has something even betterâa life of sincere love, true purity, and purposeful singleness.

Download Description

Customer Reviews:

It's Good to Be Challenged to Think!.......2007-09-01

I found this book to be extreemly helpful and I think Josh does a great job at sharing his heart and helping people see the other side. I realize that there are many people out there who are very upset with this book and think the author is way out of line, but I also realize that people don't often like to hear things that are different from the mainstring of things. We don't like to be different and thought of as wierd.

I respect Josh and his honest approach on the subject of dating. I personally know many people who have been helped after reading this book. Some people think that Josh comes across in a harsh manner and is against dating. I didn't feel that at all after I read it. In fact, I have many close friends who have listened to Josh's advice and have gotten married. Probably in some people's mind they were extreem in how they dated, but they have been saved from alot of heartache. As I look at their marriages, I see them all still very much in love! They didn't do everything exactly like Josh did, but they found his advice very helpful. No book is perfect except God's Word, but we can learn from others. Whenever we read a book we need to read it with discretion.

Josh is very much for marriage and for dating God's way. He encourages people to get more serious about purity and thinking of the other person's best interest. Dating and getting involved physically is selfish love and not at all the way God has it planned. I was definately challenged in how I think.

I would encourage anyone to read this book. It is very well written, easy to read, and yet very profound. If you read it with the attitude you won't like it, I'm sure you probably won't. Just be open to God's voice and hear His message to you. Many of the principles Josh lays out are from God's Word. He has alot of valuable things to say, and I think if we are willing to listen we will learn alot. If you're a Chistian, ask God for wisdom as you read it! God loves to be involved in our lives, especially our love lives.

Very Clear, Very Helpful.......2007-07-23

Joshua Harris's book is very well put together and has a great message. Each chapter is nicely outlined and easy to read. He confronts a lot of stereotypes about dating and provides great advice. A must read!

I Kissed Dating Goodbye.......2007-07-05

This is an excellent book for anyone who is interested in a serious relationship. It gives great advice and a way to honor God in all that you do and say. I would encourage all to read this book to get your dating life in order.

Not working. .......2007-06-26

This book has haunted me as many other christian singles in their 20's. I personally think this book has contributed to the de-testical-ification of guys in the church. I know a ton of attractive women (they seem to outnumber the single men greatly) who are not happy about their singleness in the church only to be faced with 30 year old adolecents who are afraid or unwilling to ask them out. Thanks Josh! Well anyway, I am getting married in 10 days and I met my soon-to-be husband on a christian dating website so bollocks to Mr. Harris.

Excellent book ! Highly recommended........2007-05-26

If you are a Christian in America you need to read this book. It is absolutley great. Puts the whole idea of dating, romance, finding a mate through the lense of Scripture. You will be blessed by this refreshing book. After you read it you will be telling your friends about it and loaning it out!

Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement)

Average customer rating:

Good start.
Demonawesome
Okay
loved it
First Party Fluff?

Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement)
James Jacob , and Erik Mona
Manufacturer: Wizards of the Coast
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0786939192
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Book Description

Raw Chaos and Pure Evil

Out of the maelstrom of chaos the demons came–a primordial horde of perverse souls consumed by hatred. They are as ancient and infinite as the multiverse itself. Even the bottomless Abyss could not contain their malice, and so they spread out across the planes, corrupting and destroying everything in their path. No living soul is beyond their reach, and with each conquered soul their numbers grow. What can stand against such a terrifying onslaught?

This supplement for the D&D® game presents the definitive treatise on demons and their unspeakable home plane. Along with information about the physiology, psychology, society, and schemes of demonkind, you’ll find feats, spells, items, and tactics commonly employed by demons and those who oppose them. This book also provides detailed information on various demons, demon lords, and Abyssal layers.

For use with these Dungeons & Dragons® core books
Player’s Handbook™ Dungeon Master’s Guide™ Monster Manual™

Customer Reviews:

Good start........2007-05-13

This book is very useful. Anyone facing the forces of chaos and evil (Or running them) will find this useful. Also, finally there are good stats for yocholols for 3.5e.

Demonawesome.......2007-05-07

If you are a DM of higher level games and need some seriously nasty beasties to toss at your adventuring crew, then this book will foot the bill.

Okay.......2007-01-12

Demons just aren't that complex. Lots of stuff here if you like demons. If you're not going to run a campaign centered around them, skip this. If you're going to run a game centered around them, there are new demons here, updates to old ones, history, etc.

The cover on mine was upside down.

loved it.......2006-11-11

i dont do reviews but this book has plenty of 411 for player and dm
alike

First Party Fluff?.......2006-11-07

Outside of the campaign setting books, their hasn't been much quality descriptive material from WotC. Generally, have stuck to mechanics and this has worked well from them. Honestly, when I heard of this book I assumed it was going to be another hodgepodge of feats, spells and PrCs glued together by some "generic to the point of being antiseptic" fluff. It, for better or worse, is not.

What this book gives you is a short primer on Demons and what they are about, some demon related mechanics, some setting information on the Abyss and some new monsters. This would all be good except there is so little of each that the book really doesn't get the job done. We sort of get the reverse of what was expected, a hodgepodge of description glued together by random mechanics. This is not to say the book is without charm. Some of the monsters of interesting and some of the description is inspiring, but it is extremely lean on content in an already thin book.

Average customer rating:

A must have!
WOW!
I Wish...
Wonderful and inspiring!!
It was an inspiration !

I Wish I Were a Butterfly
James Howe
Manufacturer: Voyager Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0152380132

Book Description

The littlest cricket of Swampswallow Pond is convinced only by the Wise Old One that being special has nothing to do with physical metamorphosis, flashy colors, or shimmering wings. “The cricket is every child who stopped the music because someone criticized casually, thoughtlessly. It takes a wise friend to bring the music back.”--School Library Journal

Customer Reviews:

A must have!.......2005-12-08

As a future teacher, I am always looking for books that will be both enjoyable and educational. This is a great book for social studies concepts in younger grades (K-2) and excellent for elements of literature in older grades (3+). The message is one that children can never hear enough: You have gifts that should not be neglected!

WOW!.......2002-04-21

As a teacher, I can not tell you enough how fabulous this book is! It not only has beautiful illustrations it also has a beautiful message! I use this whenever I teach my butterfly unit, and this is always the kids favorite book that I read! Buy it - you will not regret it!

I Wish..........2000-07-19

This is the story of a little cricket who comes to realize his true beauty after being helped by a wise old spider. The little cricket lives in Swampswallow Pond where most of the other crickets are happy spending their days fiddling. This little cricket is not happy. He has been told by the frog at the edge of the pond that he is ugly. He envies all the other creatures that live in Swampswallow Pond. The cricket questions several of the creatures about his beauty, but it isn't until he comes upon the wise old spider that he is able to find his own beauty. Follow Up: Ask students what they think about the story. Students will brainstorm ideas about wishes. Students can write about their own wishes and dreams.Make a class book. Students will write about some things they like about themselves. Draw a different student's name each day and have everyone write the student a letter telling them what they like about that person. Perform this story as a reader's theater.

Wonderful and inspiring!!.......1999-10-29

I am a senior in high school, and our English teacher shared this story with us, and had us to look for a deeper meaning. It is wonderful and inspiring. I want a copy so I can share it with my children one of these days.

It was an inspiration !.......1997-06-09

My son has 6 years old and he is starting to learn the best knowledge in life : to read. Every week he brings a book from his school's library and it is a very special moment for us when we sit together and I read for him. I really enjoy it but this last week was more than special because this book had an important message and it was an inspiration for both of us.

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