The Case Against Lawyers
Highly recommended

As a lawyer, district attorney, and then judge, Catherine Crier got to know the ins and outs of how the American judicial process really worked. Forget what you learned in civics class, what Ms. Crier saw was that the American judicial process works poorly, too often to the detriment of the whole country. In this book, she sets out her case that the American legal system is broken, and is seriously in need of repair.

As with many Americans, I watched in dismay as people won multi-million dollar punitive awards, often on the very strangest flights of logic. My wife worked at a school where parents learned to show up for parent-teacher meetings with a lawyer! Overall, it might be argued that Ms. Crier is overstating her case, but she makes an excellent argument, one that should be taken seriously. She exposes abusers of the system from trial lawyers to corporate lobbyist, showing that neither political party can avoid blame for the mess we are currently in.

If you are interested in reading about the American judicial system, or want to read about a debate that is sure to increase in the *near* future, then I highly recommend that you get this book.

legallibraries
What to Expect When Youre Expecting, Third Edition
What To Expect When Youre Expecting

I got this book when pregnant for the first time. That pregnancy ended in miscarriage--a lot of these reviews mention that the book is not helpful or misleading when dealing with miscarriage symptoms/dignosis--but miscarriage is very mysterious, and no book can cover all possible miscarriage situations, thats what your Dr. is for .
Now that Im pregnant again, I find this book helpful as a reference for symptoms and very thorough in covering what to expect in labor.
I dont agree with their preachy approach to pregnancy eating--even when they say you can cheat, they recommend a "muffin flavored with natural fruit juice..." Come on! Pregnancy is hard enough without denying yourself occasional cookies or ice cream. The implication that every bite of junk food you eat could be harmful to your baby is over the top and unrealistic.
I recommend it as a reference for how you may be feeling during pregnancy, physically and mentally, as its been very accurate in my case, but some of the advice is a bit too rigid for me.
parent-to-be
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
"Come here, my precious..."

These are classic books. I bought them for 2 reasons: 1 because my whole class was reading it, 2 because their making a movie. I have read The Hobbit and am on page 85 of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Id say that The Hobbit is probably one of the best books ive ever read, but it gets confuseing at times. The maps arent really that well drawn and there are spelling errors, but thats because J.R.R. Tolkien is English or something and thats how they spell stuff there. Anyway, The Hobbit is a very exciting fairy tale about a little hobbit, Bilbo Baggins,mind you, who is chosen by the great wizard, Gandalf, to recover stolen "jools" that are rightfully the dwarves that were taken from them by the evil dragon, Smaug. They venture many places in this book, such as as shift-shaping bears house, the goblins cave, Smaugs mountain, and many other places. It is extremly detailed,so detail in fact that its very hard not to get lost while reading it...and yes, thats a bad thing. Overall i would rate this book 9/10 and (what ive read) of LOTH a 7/10. If you like this book, you should defenitely check out the Harry Potter series... you may be suprised.I know I was.
science-fiction-web
Perfect Im Not: Boomer on Beer, Brawls, Backaches, and Baseball
Hes a mess

Here is just another way of generating more money for another Yankee. He is a disgrace to baseball and too overweight to play it. If you want to know about lifestyles of real people in baseball, read something about The Boston RedSox and their fans. I wouldnt buy this book if I had a disease and reading it was the only way to cure it.

sportsreading
The New Way Things Work
Essential for any armchair engineer, young or old

David Macaulay spent three years working on the original The Way Things Work, released in 1988. He made it a labour of love, and it shows -- the level of detail in his illustrations reveals not only a steady hand, but a sharp wit as well. This revised 1998 edition adds several entries, but on the whole, the original has largely been left intact, and its strength still carries.

David is able to make clear how the things we use every day, from toaster ovens to televisions, work, in a way that will make you say "Aha!" The full-colour drawings, which make up the majority of the work, are fanciful, yet convey everything they need to without becoming overly technical. Anecdotes are used throughout the volume without becoming overbearing to introduce new concepts. As the author aptly puts it, this is a book for children of all ages.

The organization of the book is spotless: Mr. Macaulay first starts with simple mechanical machines and the principles behind them, then puts them together to make more complex compound machines. Moving on through the five major sections, he brings together jet engines and automatic transmissions, and finally digital computers and the global internet. His foreboding, eloquent, yet level-headed, presentation on the merits of nuclear power will send shivers down your spine. The hardback is closed off with a special section, Eureka! The Invention of Machines, which brings together some of the important dates and names who are responsible for the creation or discovery of each item explained in the book.

teen-books