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. Alistair Horne's The Price of Glory is a superbly written and haunting account of the horrendous battle at Verdun in 1916 between the French and German Armies. The Germans consciously attacked the fortress system they knew the French would defend in order to bleed the French Army to death, which, for its own reasons, willingly accepted the challenge. The Battle of Verdun was a condensed version of the entire First World War. In this 10 month-long battle, the Germans made impressive initial gains, but were unable to exploit their advantage due to the unyielding French defense that denied them final victory. The feuds between German generals and administrative problems also worked against their initial success. Sir Alistair Horne The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916 is the vivid and horrifying tale of one of the bloodiest battles in history.
Verdun was the symbol of the will of France; "Ils ne passeront pas" became the famous pledge in the greatest battle of attrition the world had ever seen. The book outlines the German's extensive and rapid buildup of resources and their careful security measures in their attempt to take this fortress system. The battle that lasted from February 21st to December 18th 1916 resulted in 1.2 million casualties for both sides. Horne reveals the character and personality of the generals: Falkenhayn, Joffre, Crown Prince, Knobelsdorf, de Castelnau, Petain, Neville, and Mangin, showing their unique strengths and weaknesses and how those character traits affected their decisions in battle. The underground battles for Forts Doumamont and Vaux are described in chilling detail. The ingenious dirty tricks used by both sides were depicted: the wearing of captured uniforms, the use of false blinker signals, and the Germans firing duds from the 420mm siege mortars to get the Frenchmen to go underground while German infantry swarmed the trench works. There are vivid descriptions of the use of poison gas and graphic accounts of the first use of the flamethrower on a battlefield. Horne takes a catastrophic battle of unthinkable proportions and makes it all too real.

Fairly quick read, great insight on both the leaders and the soldiers who fought. Brush up on your french though, Some quotes and a few short passages are in french, Without translation. That was my only complaint. If you've gotten as far as to read these reviews then I encourage you to buy the book...you will enjoy it.

The Battle of Verdun was a condensed version of the entire First World War. In this 10 month-long battle, the Germans made impressive initial gains, but were unable to exploit their advantage due to the adamant and intense French defense that denied them final victory. The feuds between German generals and administrative problems also worked against their initial success. Sir Alistair Horne brings all these issues to live and many others in what is a stunningly impressive book.

This engagement was fought entirely between French and German units. What makes Sir Alister's book so important is that most accounts of World War I in English tend to focus on the experiences of the United Kingdom. The French Army, however, contributed more division to the western front than the British. The focus on a battle in which no British units participated is rare in an English-language publication. The book is also an easy read. One testament to the caliber of the prose is that it has stayed in print since its initial publication over 40 years ago, which is no easy thing.

The leading figures in this study are names well-known to any student of the Great War: Falkenhayn, Joffre, Castelnau, Petain, Crown Prince Wilhelm and Nivelle. Horne does an excellent job of giving his readers short biographical sketches that breath life into these legendary names in a way that presents them as they were--human beings with strengths and frailties like everyone else.

As good as this book is there are some problems. Readers with out any ability in French might find Horne's passages in this language rather confusing. Sir Alistair's argument that Verdun cost Germany any chance of winning the war seems a little suspect as well. The German Army remained an effective force until the last stages of the conflict. Other factors, such as diplomatic ineptitude and provoking the United States to enter the war probably did more to cost the Germans victory than the defeat at Verdun. Still, even with those points in mind, this book is quite impressive and readers will enjoy it.

This is a classic and the main lines of the book are relevant today. Some minor deatails are now obsolete from the viewpoint of the modern historiography. Holger Afflerbach's biography of Falkenhayn was published about 10 years ago. Horne didn't knew all the facts about this notorious commander of the German high command. An other book from the German point of view, Paul Ettighoffer's Verdun is great, but like Afflerbach's biografy not available in English as far as I know. It gives a completely different story about the fall of Fort Douaumont. Ettighoffer made me suspect that Horne misinterpreted the code name "Gericht" of the German attac. Horne makes Falkenhayn to look too dumb, the operation Gericht had some military sense, a little, but not much anyway. No serious historian can deny the main point of Horne. No one can whitewash Falkenhayn's name and Verdun remains one of the greatest military disasters of human history. Don't hesitate too much. Horne's Verdun is still a wonderful book to read.

This is a good book on the battle of Verdun. Its probably the best book in English on the subject and it very accessable to the ordinary reader in terms of explaining the battle and telling its story.

Many people focus on the extraordinary lose of life associated with the battle on both sides. But the battle is very interesting as an example of a strategy gone wrong. Both sides lost their prespective on events with disasterous consequences. The initial German plan was for an offensive in a strong and critical sector of the french front that would force the French into a counterattack with disproportionate losses on their side. What went wrong at first was that the German attacks were more successful than the german side ever imagined they would be. The success of the attacks created an impression that an outright victory at Verdun might be possible. This impression led to huge losses to the german army. The Germans had in fact blundered into the trap they had hoped to set for the French. And once the losses started to mount, they losses themselves became part of a circular logic that kept the offensive going. Once the germans had exhausted their offensive push, the French did what the Germans had originally expected them to do and launched counteroffensives with huge losses to take back everything that they had lost.

The lessons I took from the book is that plans have to be objectively re-evaluated on a regular basis. Emotion and prestige need to take second place to an understanding of what can be gained at what cost. Finally, that victory fever can fool a leader implimenting a successful strategy into making enormous gambles to win a bigger victory than the strategy was intended to deliver.

Beyond the questions of strategy, the book shows the true acts of what can only be called heroism on both sides in the different phases of the battle. There were shocking victories and bitter defenses on both sides. Horne also does a wonderful job of going beyond the battle into its effects on French culture, history and politics in the postwar period. There is no other book about Verdun in english that even comes close and few books on the first world war that capture it so well.

This third of Burgett's four books about his experiences in the 101st Airborne during World War II reveals a young man (19 at the time) at what could be easily seen as his finest (or worst) hours. The author gives this book an intense personal touch that is missing in many accounts of this unit during its defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Burgett takes the reader into the hell he lived through, vividly describing the shortages of basic military necessities such as weapons and ammunition, the incredible struggle for Noville in the early days of the battle and the withdrawal back to the main lines, and the difficulties of being ready to fight after coping with the harsh winter of the Ardennes and the lack of sleep, food, and water.

But what really comes through most clearly in this account is death. Burgett sees much of it in just a few weeks. He sees close friends (the "old men" of his company) and replacements die in what seems to be a random pattern. He takes the lives of German troops without a shred of remorse, yet almost shoots a fellow paratrooper who shot a prisoner of war.

Burgett does not portray himself as a hero--only as a man doing his job. He was very good (and I would also say lucky) at what he did. His story is not the nice neat narrative found in many accounts of the Bulge. It is dark, chilling, and brutal. It makes one wonder what men like him endured--both during the war and the many years since. I highly recommend it and the others volumes about his time in the 101st.

Donald Burgett gives a great view of WWII through the eyes of a 101st airborne paratrooper.

It has taken me far too long to review this book. But what I should say is, this book was single handedly responsible for sponsoring my adoration of military history books and the history of the Second World War.

It is very well written, easy to read, accurate to the finest detail without ever losing the story. It stands alone as one of the finest examples of a first person account of the war by an American paratrooper of the 506th PIR of the 101st Airborne. It would have been a classic by itself, but it the companion piece to a priceless series of four part series by Burgett.

I really enjoyed the descriptions of battles so clearly written I'm sure you could find the streets today. The story of destroying German tanks in the dead of a fog is gripping as anything that happened during the epic Battle of the Bulge.

The impact of this book was one that made me want to be a paratrooper, helped spawned a life-long (over twelve years at this point) love affair with history, one trip to Europe and lead to my BA in History. My copy has been dog eared, read three times and kept in a place of honor among my over 250 World War Two history books.

My only regret is I haven't met the author.

The real story of how a few ill equipped, but determined Allies held the line and were victorious over one of the greatest war machines ever assembled. This truly was the "Greatest Generation"!

"Seven Roads to Hell" is paratrooper Donald Burgett's memoire of the defense of Bastogne by elements of the 101st Airborne and 9th Armor Divisions during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. Burgett, a member of A Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, has captured the foxhole-level details of the heroic defense of that key Belgian crossroads.

Burgett picks up the story as his unit goes into a rest area after the fierce fighting of Operation Market-Garden in Holland. His unit has been decimated by weeks of combat, and desperately needs rest and refit; instead, the tired and poorly equiped paratroopers are rushed to the front in the Ardennes to help stem a sudden German offensive. The paratroopers lack winter clothing, food, water, and ammunition, but with the elan of the airborne, undertake the defense of Bastogne against German tank and infantry units.

Burgett has provided some commentary on the larger picture, but sticks largely to telling the story as it was visible to him. Burgett is nothing if not honest in his telling and graphic in his details. He and his fellow paratroopers freeze, starve, fight, and strive to make sense of the chaos that is ground-level combat. Burgett's prose is straightforward and he has a terrific eye for details. There is no sense here of the false heroic; Burgett and his mates are fighting for each other.

This book, like Burgett's earlier book on D-Day, is highly recommended to the reader with an interest in the Second World War and especially in infantry combat. Those present and former members of the 506th Infantry may find it an especially inspiring piece of regimental history.

This is an extraordinary book. Gives tremendous insite in to why some crimals lead the path they do. Phenominal read.

Shot in the Heart is a harrowing tale of growing up in the dysfunctional family that produced the infamous killer Gary Gilmore. It's a riveting tale that will remain with the reader long after he or she has finished the book.

There is, however, a strange discrepancy in this work. The author, who wrote for Rolling Stone magazine, touches on the tragic death of John Lennon and how this senseless killing affected him. He then says that his mother, knowing that the author greatly admired Lennon, telephoned him the day after Lennon's death to offer some words of comfort. A few pages later, however, the author mentioned that his mother died in June 1980-almost six months before Lennon was killed.

Is this a mere typographical error, or is something weirder going on? Much earlier in the book, the author relates how his mother told him that she was traumatized as a young girl because her father once forced her to view a public hanging in Utah-in fact, his mother told her sons many stories about executions. The author goes on to say, however, that his mother could not have witnessed this hanging because "(t)here were no semi-public executions in Utah after about 1919, when (his) mother would have been six years old." And it should also be noted that nightmares, ghosts, and a Ouija board make appearances in Shot in the Heart.

Is the past being repeated here? Does Mikal Gilmore believe he spoke to his mother six months after her death-or are we just dealing with a careless editor?

Editing notwithstanding, Shot in the Heart is a compelling memoir. It could be read as a companion piece to Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven-also an outstanding read.

Unbelievably well written. This is the best book I have ever read. The story is gripping Mikal Gilmore seems to capture the reader from the first sentence and never lets go. I found myself trying to read less pages as I finished the book in fear of ACTUALLY finishing the book:) Immediately after I read the last page, I went back to the first page and started reading it again. I would suggest reading it twice, it is better the second time around.

This book stays with you. In telling the story of his own troubled family Mikal Gilmore manages to tell a story about families themselves- all the love, guilt, loyalty and anger that define them. This is a book about searching for meaning, about the toll poverty takes on the human spirit, about broken dreams, the violence of faith, and our terrible hunger for something to believe in. It's uniquely American in the same way books like Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" or Jean Stein's "Edie: an American Biography"
are- as much about the society around its subjects as the subjects themselves. I wholeheartedly consider this book a masterpiece.

I first heard about Shot in the heart several years ago, on a tv show. The last thing I wanted to read was an apologist for Gary Gilmore making excuses. That's about the last thing Shot in the Heart is. Instead, Mikal Gilmore explores how family myths and mysteries shape our sense of self and of our family, and how this affects our vision of our place in this world. He also explores how you can love someone, even if they are incredibly dysfunctional. Gilmore writes with tenderness and courage about his family, the kind of family that made mine seem relatively normal. They were wretched, miserable people, in many ways, but they were his family.
I have always been puzzled by the editing problems I noticed in the book, however. It's not just the mixup on when Bessie Gilmore died. There are two other date discrepancies, one of which has to do with Gary's execution. I'm from Utah, and I picked up on that error right away.
My sister lives in Portland, and Mikal Gilmore's description of a Northwest Portland neighborhood is dead on. Gilmore knows what he's talking about-- he just needed a better editor, I think

The princess needs a bit of deportment apparently.


When you decide you need to work on the aristocratic side of a girl, of course you would send her off with a pig keeper and a beast man, wouldn't you?

Because of this, and a bit of a princess triangle, they all end up in a Land of the Giants type scenario, or at least in part.

Here, along with a bit of magic, is a fantasy book where a crow actually comes in useful as a good thing.

This is a great series. One of my favorites and my husband's favorites.

All of Alexander's main characters are back in this book (besides Doli I think), and once again Alexander does a wonderful job of portraying the battle of good vs. evil in the fun garb of a fictional adventure. This book highlights self-sacrafice, as Taran has to choose whether or not to help the man competing for the same things that he wants. It also highlights the immorality of selfishness, as Glew is pretty much selfishness incarnate and ends up stuck in a cave with no way to get out, until Taran and co. decide to be merciful to him even though he tried to kill them.

This books is lots of fun, definitely a recommended read, along with the rest of the series.

Overall grade: A-

As a kid I read the Prydain books again and again. I can't resist some Harry Potter comparisons, and since they make a good common point of reference, I'll use the device here. The Prydain books aren't quite as exciting and magical as HP, but they have many of the same coming of age problems expressed through allegory, and frankly I find the characters better developed, more humorous, and more likeable. This is the third in the five book series, and to my mind the weakest but still very, very enjoyable. The protagonist of this book, as of the others is Taran of Caer Dallben, an orphan of unknown parentage and now an Assistant Pig-Keeper. He is being raised by a monastic collection of former war heroes and semi-wizards, and is always insecure about his lineage. In this book he also struggles with the crisis of his best friend, the princess Eilonwy, being forced to leave to learn to be a lady. Other main and recurring characters, save perhaps for the princess, are more or less also neurotic in delightful ways. Alexander avoids formula, even though the plot when described could sound like a million sword and sorcerer books. The depth and likeability of the characters lifts it above most fantasy books,though, especially fantasy books for kids. We grow up with Taran, and the character he develops is character that would almost universally be recognized as admirable. I highly, highly recommend all of them- at least as much as the HP books. Again, I think this may be the weakest one, but it's still terrific.

Dont mind if I rated this 4 stars. THis is a great book, I couldnt stop reading it, but its just that THe book of Three was more interesting. I read this book since 5th grade(now im in 6th grade)its a lot interesting.
I hope this review will be useful to you !!!
thanks!!!

I just recently finished a college-level history class, so I was well brushed up on my US history. That's half of why this book is so hilarious - I know what really happened, and Dave Barry makes very funny spins on it. He has the capacity to make the bleakest parts of history look absolutely histerical and silly, and for that, I give it my highest recommendation.

According to Dave Barry, hundreds of thousands of years ago, America was very different. For one thing, there were no car commercials which had broadcast toward Earth from another planet far away. Twenty thousand years ago the Land Bridge was constructed and completed on October 8th. Centuries later Mayans down in Mexico constructed a calendar that it can still be used to tell the location of celestial
bodies... they're out in space.

In a takeoff of where George Washington slept, there were stories that arose. Likewise where Dave Barry slept, there were (different) stories that arose. Have a few laughs on U.S.

I've read all of Dave Barry's stuff, novels too, and this is, hands down the funniest thing you'll ever sink your eyeballs into. It stays on my bedside table where I can get a little twisted history fix now and then. Read it, re-read it and read it again.

I first read this book when I was 12. I next read it... probably when I was still 12. I'm not one to read and re-read books, but this one will always be an exception. If Jon Stewart's "America" uses humor to expose the dysfunctional state of our country in the 21st century, Barry uses laughter to show how we got to this pitiful point. Buy it and read, then re-read it every other year or so. It only takes a couple of hours, and it never gets old.

Dave Barry's "Dave Barry Slept Here" is a hilarious pseudo/satire-history of the United States. Anyone familiar with Dave Barry's wit from his columns will immediately recognize the same wit unleashed on so much of our history that we have heard, if not necessarily really learned, throughout our lives.

Dave Barry writes like a high-school student - intentionally, of course. He attributes great advances to "technology," isn't interested in the Smoot-Hawley Tariff so he skips it because it sounds boring, and decides that every important event in American history happened on October 8th so that he doesn't have to remember any more dates (even the Fourth of July happened on October 8th, 1776). And he ends every chapter with hilarious "discussion questions" that are just as funny as the text.

I've read and re-read this hilarious book, and it's great to just pick up and start reading in the middle whenever you need a good chuckle. Anyone who likes Dave Barry, enjoys American history, or is interested in what three-word sentence you can rearrange the letters in "Spiro Agnew" to spell (hint: the first word is "grow") should read this book and enjoy!

This is book written for children but I have to tell you I loved this book as much as my 8 year did. I had to stop reading once or twice because I was so chocked up.

The writer did an amazing job of drawing you inside the mind of Squirrel the dog. I felt like I was the dog living this story at time. I tell you what, I look at our dog in a whole new light.

This is a classic must read for all.

This is such a wonderful and special book. You dont want to finish you just want it to keep going.

This book is a good book. Even though it was sad in parts, the happy moments that Squirrel experienced made up for it. The narration was so real that I felt like I was there, and Squirrel's voice was perfect. It allowed me to feel her emotions, hear her thoughts, and hope that everything would work out for her!I hoped that she would find Bone the whole way through the book. I recommend this book to all second graders and above. If you don't love dogs, you will after this book.

"I've known of dogs who were treated cruelly by human hands and dogs who were treated with the gentlest touch, dogs who starved and dogs who grew fat from too many treats. I've known all of these dogs and I've been all of these dogs."

This is a quote from Squirrel, the main character of the book A Dog's Life-An
Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin. Squirrel is a female dog who has lost all of her family, thanks to humans. She lost her mom, her brother, and others who were really important to her, but Squirrel is a smart dog. She doesn't judge all humans as being cruel to dogs.
When Squirrel was a puppy she lived with her mom, Mother, and her brother, Bone. Squirrel originally had four siblings, but only her brother and she survived. Mother called her puppies Bone and Squirrel because for mother dogs it's a tradition to name their dogs after what they enjoy. One day Mother left to hunt for food. Bone and Squirrel waited calmly for her, but soon became anxious. Mother never came back. She had been shot by a hunter. Bone realized that their mom wasn't going to come back so one day he just decided to leave. He just trotted off toward the woods. Squirrel wasn't going to let her brother leave too. She ran after him. While traveling they came upon a bag. Their noses didn't lie to them; there was chicken in the bag. The bag was across the street, but Bone didn't care. He ran across the streets not caring about the big, speeding cars. Squirrel followed him and just when Bone was about to stick his head into the bag, two big, rough hands grabbed them. The hands belonged to a woman and a man. Bone and Squirrel were taken against their will by the couple, but after one night they found themselves being thrown out of a car window and smashing hardly on a cement parking lot. Squirrel and Bone had been too much nuisance to the man, so he had gotten rid if them while his wife was sleeping. Bone and Squirrel yelped with pain and licked at their injuries. Two women came by and scooped up Bone wiping his bleeding nose with a tissue, leaving poor Squirrel where she was. Squirrel didn't know what to do. Her mom was gone and her brother was leaving right now. She ran after Bone as fast as she could (not very fast because of her injured shoulder), but the women, with Bone, got into a car and drove away. Squirrel was alone in the world, but then Squirrel met another dog, Moon, and her adventures of looking for Bone and for the right home continued.
This book touches my heart, like no other book has. It's sad, adventurous, happy, and every other emotion you can think of. I would recommend this book to all the dog lovers and to people who like adventurous and heart touching books. This book is cool because the story is told by the point of view of Squirrel. I really like that about this book. It shows you that life is tough for every living thing, especially for homeless. This book also shows you how to be independent.
What will happen to Squirrel and Moon? Will they survive or will they die? If they survive, will they ever find the right home? What about her brother? Is he alive? Will they ever find the right human to live with? Read the book A Dog's Life-An Autobiography of a Stray to find out.

Whenever I find myself caring about stray dogs and cats, I feel guilty. How many stray children are out there, ones with homes and ones without? Then I have to concentrate on the issue at hand: stray dogs and cats. "A Dog's Life: Autobiography of a Stray" is not an easy read.

Author of the Baby Sitter series, Ann M. Martin is apparently a proponent of humane treatment of animals and population control. This topic must be near and dear to her to go from the adventures of babysitting to tackle the topic of strays. The powerful and emotional message she delivers in this first person account of a stray dog is, quite frankly, heart-wrenching. After reading the book, I would not place it in the school library where I am librarian. Finally, I did but I warn students about its content.

The narrator is born stray with a brother. After Squirrel, as she calls herself, and Bone, her brother are old enough, they head out on their own. A couple stops and picks them up along a busy highway, takes them home without a clue in caring for young dogs. After Bone bites the man, he packs them up and dumps them on a busy street near a mall. During the rest of the story, Squirrel refers to this episode as "being thrown away."

Another couple stops to pick up the male and leaves our narrator to fend for herself. It is at this point in the story when I began crying and cried for the rest of the book. Squirrel is so confused in this strange place all alone. She learns to fend for herself and find food. It is one pitiful episode after another trying to find food, finding shelter, finding safety, avoiding humans, who always bring trouble and harm.

When Squirrel reaches her old age and is facing another long cold winter, she lucks into the yard of another aging being, a woman. In a long process the woman befriends the dog and invites her in, following the dictates of the dog--when to go out and return in. This woman finally gives Squirrel a real name--Addie. She has a warm bed beside the fire, she has the proper food to eat, the vet tends her, and the woman talks to her all the time in her own loneliness.

I won't relate the ending here. If you choose to read this book, you will have the absolute pleasure of the last few pages.

Excellent advice from a incredible coach. From time management to management contribution this book offers what you need to achieve management positions. A must.

Peter Drucker was such a prolific and important writer, thinker, researcher, teacher, and philosopher! Although he is best known a the father of modern management theory, I find that his ideas are applicable to a wide variety of positions and enterprises.

The Effective Executive, like most of his works, is written with the assumption that the reader is part of an institution and needs to learn to function within the challenges of the corporate environment. I have never had a traditional job or position in a large institution, but can totally relate to the challenges of what Drucker refers to as executives and knowledge workers.

As a professional musician and holistic music teacher ([...]), I have worked to integrate the creative, intuitive sides of human nature with the organizational, rational aspects, both for myself and my clients.

Like many artists, I was never taught the principals of management and have had to adapt and educate myself along the way. I owe a lot to Peter Drucker for helping me make sense of the nature of effectiveness and management.

Drucker's wisdom transcends culture and industry. Just the acknowledgement that effectiveness is a skill in-and-of-itself, apart from intelligence, talent, charisma, or creativity, is a powerful distinction. His encouragement that it can be (and must be) learned is a relief!

His 5 basic practices for effective executives are invaluable insights. Here they are, paraphrased:

1) Be aware of and manage your time
2) Focus on results, not efforts
3) Play to and develop strengths, not weaknesses (yours and others')
4) Concentrate and align your actions and your purpose
5) Learn to make good decisions

The examples in the book are a bit old-school, but the principles still hold true. Thank you, Peter, for putting into words what so many of us were never taught at home or in school!

In the spring of 1980, I spent a full day with Peter Drucker.
He then made a full-day presentation at the University of
Southern California in Los Angeles. I made sure to arrive early
so I could sit front row, center. I spent a stimulating day
listening and watching as "the master" spoke on the subject of
managerial effectiveness.

Drucker, a true renaissance man, supported his points with
examples from the worlds of business, government, sports, music
and war.

In "The Effective Executive," Drucker likewise draws on his broad
knowledge. He writes that, to be effective, an executive (whom he
defines as any knowledge worker responsible for making decisions) must master five specific skills...

-- Managing time
-- Choosing what to contribute
-- Mobilizing strength
-- Setting the right priorities
-- Making the right decisions

About managing time, Drucker offers that the effective executive
eliminates time-wasting activities and consolidates time spent on
important projects.

On choosing what to contribute to the organization, he tells that
the effective executive asks "What can I contribute to
significantly affect the performance and results of this
organization"? And he stays focused on results rather than on
efforts.

Regarding the subject of mobilizing strength, Drucker councils
executives to hire and manage people with an emphasis on their
strengths rather than concern about their weaknesses. And
he advises executives to discover and mobilize their own
individual working style.

About setting the right priorities, he offers two important
thoughts. First, "It is more important to convert an opportunity
into results than to solve a problem -- which only restores the
equilibrium of yesterday." And second, "Concentration -- that is,
the courage to impose on time and events his own decision as to
what really matters and comes first -- is the executive's only
hope of becoming the master of time and events instead of their
whipping boy."

On making decisions, he advises stimulating disagreement among the
management team. For disagreement brings consideration of alternatives, in turn, brings understanding. He also reminds us that a decision isn't complete until it becomes a detailed work assignment. Until then, it is merely a good intention.

As with each of Drucker's books, "The Effective Executive" is
loaded with quotable "Druckerisms." For example...

-- "The truly important events on the outside are not the trends.
They are changes in the trends."

-- "He [the effective executive] always assumes that the event
that clamors for his attention is in reality a symptom. He looks
for the true problem. He is not content with doctoring the
symptom alone."

-- "One of the most obvious facts of social and political life is
the longevity of the temporary."

Upon finishing writing my own book, "Strategic Thinking: A Four
Piece Puzzle," I wrote to Peter Drucker asking if he'd write an
endorsement for the book. Sure, I knew it was a long shot, but
what could I lose except a postage stamp?

Sure enough, he turned me down. He mailed back my letter on
which he had scrawled four words, "I don't do that."

I've kept that letter. For two reasons... Not only is it the shortest rejection letter I've ever received, but, more importantly, it's a personal note from the master himself -- Peter Drucker.

I have read everything Drucker has published. This one is as good as all the others.

Peter Drucker wrote this book back in 1966 and it is as pertinent today as it was then. It concentrates on a small number of practices to help executives manage themselves - a precursor to managing others. Drucker makes the point that, "No one is born an effective executive. No one is a natural... It must be learned...In addition, it is not exceedingly difficult." That's welcome news for all of us. We simply need to follow the practices outlined in this book.

The book is meant for a wide audience as Drucker's definition of the executive is broad - "Anyone that is responsible for a contribution that materially affects the capacity of the organization to perform and to obtain results."

The first step on the journey is to "know thy time." Too many managers have no idea where they spend there time. Drucker recommends managers start by recording their time to discover where it is being spent. Once identified, they need to stop wasting time on things that are not important and then work to consolidate freed time into chunks. Significant blocks of time of 2 hours or so are needed to complete important things.

Next executives must ask of themselves, "What can I contribute that will significantly affect the performance and results of the organization." This helps the manager look outward and to identify and prioritize those tasks that are most important to complete.

Then the managers should do the first things first and do them one at a time. "The secret of those people who do so many things and apparently so many difficult things is that they do only one thing at a time. As a result, they need much less time in the end than the rest of us."

Finally, Drucker outlines how to make effective decisions. He craftily breaks down the elements of the decision process and explains how managers can improve in this discipline.

The book is filled with examples and supporting information. Drucker writes in a refreshingly honest and straightforward style. Many refer to this book as a classic. It is worthy of the designation. So much of what is written today is borrowed from Drucker. Managers can not go wrong adding this one to their arsenal of tools.

-- Nick McCormick - Author, Lead Well and Prosper: 15 Successful Strategies for Becoming a Good Manager

I watched THE NANNY and I like her performance a lot then I read this I know that show is the real her.

Fran Drescher is obviously an extremely talented woman. Sharp and witty, she was not only the star and co-creator of the '90s show The Nanny, but also served as one of its producers, writers and directors. Her book Enter Whining is a funny, gossipy tale of her ascent to the stratosphere of Hollywood stardom, but we're not talking Kitty Kelley here. Readers who already love Drescher will adore this book, as it's full of sweet, happy stories and profiles about the author's adventures as a struggling actress and her eventual success.

Drescher comes across as being very down-to-earth, still the starstruck chick from Queens who probably still has to pinch herself now and then, unable to quite believe how far she's come. She writes pretty much the way she speaks, with her occasional Yiddishisms and the trademark, "Meanwhile..." She offers an especially moving chapter about the rape she suffered early in her career, and while she refrains from providing the details, it's a harrowing read all the same. It's the only time in the book where she moves away from the lighthearted tone she adopts elsewhere, but she manages to seamlessly integrate it into her story without indulging in self-pity.

There's a lot of backstory about the making and filming of The Nanny, but readers seeking lots of behind-the-scenes anecdotes will be disappointed. This is Drescher's story -- and a good one at that -- so we'll have to wait for another book on The Nanny show itself, hopefully to be written by Drescher and Jacobson.

By the way, everyone knows that Drescher and Jacobson separated and then divorced in the late '90s, a few years after this book was published, so it does leave a somewhat bittersweet taste in one's mouth in the end. Drescher writes affectionately and lovingly about her husband, their long courtship and marriage; it's obvious they were devoted to each other and considered each other soulmates.

A great, quick read and a must for any Drescher fan.

This 1995 book tells the story of how Fran Drescher made it to the top of the TV sitcom business. Her humor and kindness come through very well in a writing style that evokes her very unique voice. Perhaps not as frank as her 2003 book about fighting uterine cancer, it still provides a lot of insight into what makes this woman tick. You feel that you would really enjoy knowing her.

This book is all about Fran Drescher's extremely interesting and unique life up to 1996.In it, she writes in a humorous vein about almost everything that happened in her life, from the highs like meeting and later marrying her husband, creating and starring in the hit tv show "The Nanny" and later meeting "God's gift to all little Jewish girls in need of a leader", Babs herself, to the lows like discovering a growth in her body.But with the help of family and friends, she didn't let the negative things get her down.We should all be strong enough to follow her example. She also provides some interesting tidbits like how "The Nanny" was produced and about talk shows and their hosts.Sure, she goes on quite a bit on her worries about her weight and her looks, but she's just human like the rest of us and a lot of people have the same worries.The book has some nice black & white photos of her, her family and her friends in almost all the chapters.I enjoyed reading the book very much even though it's short.I can't recommend this book highly enough to not just the fans of her work, but to all fans of comedy.

The book Enter Whining, by Fran Drescher, is a biography. To me this book was very entertaining, it told all about her life and how she got from being a little child to where she is at today. The book also has many pictures in it so you can see and picture what she is talking about while you are reading. The way it is written is like she was writing to herself in her own diary, but towards the end she addresses it to her mother.
How the book starts out is when she was little and how she first got started being on television. Fran started when she was around ten, she was in commercials at first then she moved up to be in the background of some movies. When she got to be in the background for the movies she always thought that she was actually in the movie so she got really excited, but it ended up that she was just in the background.She was still happy to be in the background though, intill one day when she was the actual star of the movie and that changed her whole life because then she got to star in any movie that she got a chance to. Ever since that first time starring in a movie then she moved on to being in a television show called ''The Nanny''.
Throughout the biography she writes about this guy that she has been seeing for a while now and she doesn't really mention his name at all intill she starts getting into detail about him. His name is Dave which come to find out, is her husband. Fran has been with Dave for most of her life now, she states that it is hard for her to have a husband and be moving all of the time. To me Fran has a very fun filled life and is happy with what she does for a living.

His opening paradigm (chapter 1) is remarkable. I remember it, even years later! And how he builds on that is excellent. One of his best.

Like some other Christian authors, Lucado has such a large library of books that deciding on one can be daunting for a new comer.
So, if you've never read anything by Lucado before, I recommend you start right here.
"In the Grip of Grace" is by far my favorite work by Max.
Enjoy!

Also recommended: He Still Moves Stones and When God Whispers Your Name

I was drifting from the church. I had (and continue to have) a different perspective on the church from certain issues. I was taking a "don't ask, don't tell" approach to homosexuality, basically saying, what they want to do is between them and God, and it's not the role of man to place judgment on them for that. And certainly not the role of man (or church) to LEGISLATE morality. But, before I get someone ripping my head off for that opinion, you can imagine that it isn't popular in the church.

When I read this book, I saw so many people in the Church in the role of the second brother in the parable of the river. The Fault-Finding Judgmentalist. And at that point I was instantly hooked into this book. I felt like this was someone who saw things from my perspective, whether he agreed with me or not. He could at least see what I was thinking, of this much I was assured. He doesn't mention any of those controversial topics explicitly, but I feel like the interpretation is valid.

Simply put, I came away feeling a greater love and appreciation for God, and feeling thankful for His grace that has saved me. I'm still more far from the Church than I would prefer. It will take awhile for me to find my way completely back. But guided by my re-growing faith, and books like this, I won't be gone forever.

My review is not meant to be a beautiful write up for Max, I am sure he is a great guy, but hey, even his insurance company has problems with him. (I must be a the judgemental type) This book helped me realize that no matter how hard I try or how hard I think I am trying its not good enough. I cant jump to the moon, I cant make it up the river alone, and I cant place a value of a sin and try to "repay it with good". I am helpless. The book made me feel uncompfortable and small, but compared to God I think thats exactly how we have to feel to even accept his grace let alone understand it.

I reccomend this book to anyone who is desperate enough to listen. Dont read this for entertainment, Max is funny, but not that funny. Read it if you want to change. I know I did.

Thanks Max, for allowing God to use you as His megaphone.

I have been a church goer my whole life and just went with the flow, never really in touch with God...until I read this book. I read it, and it turned me right around. This book will make you embrace the grace of an awesome God. If your life is off track this book will show you what is being offered to you, and if you've already accepted your forgiveness, this book will make you smile when you think of what an awesome God you serve. I love this book because it shows me how much God truly loves me and it sparked me into reading my bible daily and leading a different life. I love the joy that this book portrays that we Christians need to remember and embrace daily.

This children's book is about a King who is very reluctant to get out of the bathtub. His court makes several unsuccessful attempts throughout the course of the day to lure him out of the tub. Instead of getting him out of his bubble bath they end up joining him in the bath partaking in the activity they requested. It takes a creative thought from an unlikely source to figure out how to get King Bidgood to finally get out.

The story line is humorous, repetitive, and entertaining. You can't help but chuckle or at least smile when you turn the page after a failed character has left the bathtub and are standing in the court dripping wet from head to toe. The simple text has a repetitive pattern that is easy for children to catch on to and join in with. The repetition pattern has minor changes from time to time that keep the story progressing. For instance, the line "come in cried the king" is repeated throughout the book but is followed by a different word repeated three times depending on the activity requested; "yum yum yum", "jig jig jig".

The incredibly detailed life like illustrations will keep your attention long after the text on the page has been read. From the small delicate bubbles that float out of the King's bathroom to the elaborate and accurate period clothing of the court. The color use throughout the book changes gradually with each turn of the page. At the beginning of the book "when the sun came up" the general color of the page is yellow then fades into light blue during the day, pink and red in the evening, and finally purple and navy blue "when the night got dark".

I enjoyed this book as a child just as much as I do now as an adult. It's one of those books that every time you read it you'll find something different that wasn't previously noticed. I recommend it for everyone but in particularly grades 1-3 who will comprehend and enjoy this masterpiece.

This is my all-time favorite childrens picture book! The story is simple and delightful. The pictures are fantastic! My kids have studied the details in these pages. Reading it always made them want to go play in the tub for hours. We have worn out our copy and I most recently bought this for a grandchild. If only all childrens picture books were this lovely.

King Bidgood's in the bathtub and he won't get out! This book has been a favorite in my household for years. The illustrations are exquisite and the meter of the verse makes it fun to read. The Wood team have done another wonderful job with this book.

I bought this book many years ago when my now 25 year old daughter was a baby. It is extraordinary. The illustrations are breathtaking, and I remember getting lost in them - much to the disappointment of my children who wanted to get on with the story. I still have the book and still enjoy getting lost in King Bidgood's world.

"Help, help cried the Page" is the captivating beginning of Audrey and Don Wood's picture book King Bidgood's in the Bathtub. The good old King has climbed into the tub and now refuses to get out. This story is a wonderful experience for children of all ages, especially the ones disguised as adults. The simple rhyme and diction coupled with the amazing illustrations allow your young readers to relate to the issues so cleverly addressed in this work of art.

RHYME:
The entire book is written with a simple, repetitive rhyme scheme. There are many benefits to this style. First of all, it works very well for those children who are just developing their reading skills. Children generally, like things that they can repeat and follow even anticipate easily. Wood's repetitions make this easy for many children while her small variations keep the story interesting. Every child will soon be able to sing out "come in" with the king and then wait anxiously for the "boom, boom, boom" the "trout," or even the "jig." The small variations also allow the child to follow the timeline of the story easily which encourages their ability to do `tell backs,' where the child reaches an age when then can relate and retell the story with the appropriate order of events. The simple references that Wood includes to the sun going up, getting hot, growing dim, and the moon shining bright are very clear references that the child can use. The interactions that the child participates in while developing these skills help to keep a child with the shortest attention span involved. Also the excitement that learning will create will keep your parental senses from getting tired of reading the same book again and again because it will never be quite the same to your child.

The repetition of the rhymes can also be connected to repetition of simple acts in both of your lives. There are generally two types of children, one that really hates the bathtub and the other that never want to get out. The bathtub represents a constant, repeating battle in your life either way. Children who do not like to bathe are encouraged to enjoy it by all of the fun things that can be done in the tub. You can do everything from "battle in the tub" to "dance in the tub." What child can say no to that? For the rest of you, the book is about getting out of the tub after all and a simple telling of the story and then an enactment of the end where mom "pulled the plug" can be a wonderful and stress free way to get that very hygiene oriented child out of the bath and into their bed.

DICTION:
Once again the simple text is very beneficial for the new reader. There are no big words to be asked about and worried over, accept maybe "masquerade ball" and the pictures define that one so well that it really isn't a problem. Any child can understand that the page is calling for help and that everyone else is trying and failing. This simple understanding of what seem like big concepts can really help the child to develop a love and excitement for learning. The contrast between the direct call for "help" by the page and the round about reasons to "get out" offered by the members of the court shows how they want the king to get out of the water but are afraid to tell him what to do. They may offend his kinglyness. This is similar to the classic story of the Emperor's New Clothes where while everyone knows that the kind looks ridiculous it takes a poor fool to tell him so. Except in this case the king is in the bathtub and the only one willing to be direct enough and to take affirmative action to get him out is the page.

The very simple diction that Wood employs is in direct contrast to the very elaborate ways that the court members try to remove King Bidgood from the bathtub. In the end it is a simple action by a simple boy that confounds all of their extravagant attempts. This really boosts a child's self esteem. They are able to understand through this very primitive text that their small ideas can make a huge difference because they can see things that the adults in their world miss.

ILLUSTRATIONS:
The amazing illustrations give the child another chance to see things that you, as parents are missing. There are many ways to measure art work that could easily be applied to Wood's illustrations but by name they do not matter to a child at all. What matters is their ability to be incredibly realistic and to bring to life a fantastical story about a king who refuses to get out of the bathtub and all of the fun he has battling, feasting, fishing, and dancing in his bathroom. The illustrations are vibrant and very busy. They immediately capture the child's attention and can keep them entertained finding new details for years to come. When Wood is asked about how she comes up with the ideas for her stories she says that they are a mix of her life, her son's life, and her day dreams. This is clearly represented in the contrast between the simple fanciful text and the complex and realistic pictures. It also relates very well to the child whose mind's reality can be very different from the world that you live in. This book can provide a very productive outlet for the erratic idea's prominent in the life of a young child. The final pages of the book also reinforce a child's confidence in his own ideas. The simple text "glub, glub, glub" is contrasted with the very smug looking page triumphantly holding the plug while the king runs from the room in nothing but his towel and crown. To a child with ideas that seem simple and perhaps even irrational to the general adult world this is the perfect picture of all of the success they can yet achieve.

Children of all ages and even the daring adult can experience the wonder of Audrey Wood's world through the simplicity of the rhyme and diction when it is contrasted with the amazing complexity of the illustrations in King Bidgood's in the Bathtub. Once in this world it is no trouble to learn and grow with the characters. For children it is especially rewarding to relate to the transformation from an overworked and stressed page to a triumphant one.