Albus Dumbledore. Is there any wizard in the Harry Potter series wiser, or more powerful? Well, you can own a replica of his wand! When I had enough money saved up for this, I asked my mother to order it for me, but unfortunately, a delay in the actual ordering caused a LONG wait. I believe this was due to the amazing fact revealed about it in the seventh book, which was released between the ti...

Voldemort, the most evil wizard of all time. Voldemort is believed by many to be amongst the most evil of people, real or fictional. I was glad to find I could own a replica of his wand. I ordered it with the Dumbledore's wand replica and had to wait about a month after ordering before it was even shipped, so it's definitely a popular item. I opened the shipping package, and the Ollivander's wa...

My husband and I have a Sterling and Noble wall clock in our bedroom.  It is a very simple design in basic black.  It reminds me of the kind of clock you would see hanging on the wall of a classroom. The reason we purchased this clock is because it has big numbers and is easy to see, even from across the room.  My eyesight is not the best anymore, and my husband has diabetes...

This is a great compilation of synopses of salient concepts in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, science and economics. The author does a phenomenal job of explaining the concepts on a level appropriate for the educated lay reader.Some of the concepts I found interesting were: Gresham's law, Laissez Faire Economics, the invisible hand the Pythagorean theorem, Archimedes' Princ...

Ghosts and Haunts of the Civil War, Authentic Accounts of the Strange and Unexplained is a fantastic collection of strange stories that you will not find in your college history textbook. Coleman has put together a great set of Civil War ghost stories covering haunted battlefields, phantom soldiers in hotels, ghosts of executed abolitionists and more. There are 36 stories in all. Many areas are...

Unsolved Mysteries of History by Paul Aron is a great collection of stories of mysterious events, objects and happenstances throughout history. Some of the mysteries include: a discussion of the Neanderthals and their place in the human evolutionary tree, the construction of stonehenge, the construction of the pyramids of Giza, the Trojan war, the resurrection of Christ, the Nazca lines, the st...

Unsolved Mysteries of American History is another intriguing collection of historical tales by Paul Aron. Some of the mysteries include: when did the first people arrive in America (was it Leif Ericsson?), where did Christopher Columbus land?, how did Cortez manage to conquer the Aztecs?, did Pocohantas really save John Smith?, was Daniel Boone a traitor?, Benedict Arnold - why?, was Meriwether...

The Barmaid's Brain and Other Strange Tales from Science by Jay Ingram is a collection of extraordinary stories of science. With over twenty stories including: homo aquaticus, bacteria eaters, the antlion king, Saint Joan of Arc (and questions such as, "why do moths fly to light?") this book will amaze you over and over. I found many of the stories to be quite fascinating. Some we...

Six Great Scientists by J.G. Crowther is a collection of mini-biographies on some of the greatest scientists in human history. The opening chapter is on Copernicus and primarily the development of his hekiocentric theory. Much is revealed about his role in government and economics - attributes that I was previously unaware of. Galileo and Newton are introduced next. The synopsis of the birth of...

Death: A History of Man's Obsessions and Fears by Robert Wilkins is an amazing book if you're morbidly curious. This book is filled with many twisted anecdotes and some spectacular (and disturbing) photos. Covered are the histories of live burial, body snatching, the embalming process and more. The story of the Jom Jones mass suicide is also included. The section on mummification was pa...

Bram Stoker's Dracula is a classic that goes largely unread in school. I was never required to read it in any of my English or Literature courses. This is unfortunate because it's a fantastic book. This story is the cornerstone of contemporary vampire lore. Much different than I expected, the book is a collection of journal entries by the characters involved. Mina Harker whose engaged t...

Princess Petal, by Lesley Rees, is a very attractive board book.  It has all sorts of sparkly illustrations and a sturdy board backing.While the illustrations are pretty, the story leaves a lot to be desired.  It is very inane, completely uneducational, and poorly written.  The whole theme of a princess getting dressed up to be the prettiest one there is demeaning to women, as we...

Mermaid Marina by Lesley Rees, is an attractive board book, filled with whimsical sparkly illustrations. It's intended for children aged three to six.  It's one in a series of four books.While the pictures are attractive, the story is terrible.  Marina is a mermaid, who gets ready for a party where everyone is amazed at how pretty she looks.  The story itself is poor...

A Guide to Heraldry is a great book if you are curious about various historical arms or wish to have a useful pocketbook for heraldric designs.  I personally use it as a guidebook for painting historically-accurate medieval soldiers and it's especially great for this use!  It also serves to help you create your own arms if you are interested or creative since it includes guideline...

When my sister and I were little, this was our favorate Christmas story.  It was actually a series of stories bound together way back in "the day".  Both of us are grown with our own kids now.  Not too long ago our parents saw the individual books at Barnes and Nobles and bought both our kids one so we could read it to them.  Four years later it is still ...

If you've ever wondered what you're mentally capable of, Mind Games is a great book to read.  This book goes over many factual and weird mental tips and tricks.  It covers scientifically-valid feats such as memorizing a deck of cards or tips on beating a lie detector, but it also goes into questionable content such as extra-sensory perception or reading auras.  However, y...

        This book tells of the extraordinary life of Mother Teresa. It is a biography beautifully written by Joanna Hurley. The photographs in this book are spectacular and capture the very essence of the holiness of Mother Teresa. She personifies pure beauty of heart and soul.  Mother Teresa was born as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in the Balkins in 1910. She a...

Noblecollection.com is a site in which you can find recreations of props from some of the most popular movies, or other upper quality items with the theme of that movie. Before I go on, it should be noted that I have ordered other items from this site and have been VERY satisfied, so the problem may be only with this product. Anyway, when I saw this item in the catalog, I thought it looked awes...

"The Universe in 3-D" by L. C. Casterlin includes "NASA's most spectacular photos."  It is a hardcover book with a difference.  A flap on the back of the cover has special 3D lenses in it to look through.  Inside the book are more than seventy pages.  Each 2 page spread has a double picture of a NASA photograph made to be looked at through the 3D glas...

This Sticker Book - Space by Barnes and Nobles books is a square softcover book with over two hundred full color stickers inside.  The stickers are reusable if you put them on paper that is pretty smooth.  The stickers are large and cover the planets, constellations, space exploration, galaxies, black holes, and a lot of other space related things.  They are all realistic and inc...