Woody Allen Books

I smoked a pack a day for 23 years. I tried every possible way to quit and nothing worked until I read this book.

My story is pretty much the same as all the other reviews. Halfway through I had already decided to quit but I kept smoking until the end (as recommended by Mr. Carr). By the time I got to the end I was excited, happy, and looking forward to quitting. Then I quit without any pain or irritability, and hardly any cravings whatsoever.

That was about 9 months ago and I haven't had a puff since (and I'm quite certain that I won't ever again). Don't bother with gum, patches, pills, or other pharmaceuticals. The whole industry is a sham. All you need is Allen Carr's book and a few hours to read it. Thanks Allen!

This is a fantastic book! I can't believe how easily it worked for me. Stopping smoking is so hard for almost anyone caught in the grip of nicotine addiction, yet this book makes it almost simple to stop the cycle.

The whole premise is to re-brainwash your brain into believing you don't need the cigarettes. You will read the same statements over and over throughout the book and it eventually gets into your brain and becomes true.

You are instructed to keep smoking until you complete the book. I did take about 2 weeks to read it, as I knew when I was finished, that would be the end and my final cigarette. I wasn't sure it would work as I was going along but didn't figure I had much to lose. Even as I shut the book, having smoked my final cigarette, I thought to myself, "I don't know..." Well, it did work. And with no pain or cravings at all. I was amazed! The first couple days were the trickiest (and to be expected) but it wasn't anything like I expected. After reading this book, I have not been tempted to go back to smoking since I stopped 4 months ago.

I was once a 2 pack a day smoker, got hypnotized and stopped for 15 years. Then somehow I got caught up into the cycle once again during a stressful place in my life. Back up to a pack a day, I realized I didn't want to do this again and luckily I found this book.

I purchased the book for my brother and my sister. It's that good. It really works!

Treat nicotine addiction like alcohol addiction and realize you can never have "just one", and you will be free forever. Just keep an open mind and try reading the book. It works for almost anyone that reads it. If it doesn't, read it again!

I bought this after seeing so many five star reviews. I tell you, I didn't intend to stop smoking. Just wanted to see what they were talking about. Lo and behold, I stopped before getting halfway thru the book(Eight year smoker). As of today (5/14/08), it's been five weeks since I stopped. I truly don't need that monster any more. Now, I gotta get my wife to read it. God bless.

I am entering this review to pick an argument with those who gives the book 4, 3, or 2 stars, based on their opinions to the tune of "yes, I quit smoking, but the book is horribly written", "...there are so many repetitions", "...the logic is faulty at places".

As if there were so many other (working!) books on the market, so many (working!) methods to stop smoking, that nobody should be subject to suffering through a less-than-perfectly-written book just to get rid of the habit. As if there weren't a huge pharmaceutical industry supposed to help people stop smoking (but not helping). As if thousands of physicians, hypnotists, acupuncturists, etc., etc., hadn't built their careers around our addiction to nicotine. As if many people weren't spending thousands of dollars on Nicorette, nicotine patches, hypnosis sessions, etc., with no lasting success.

Dear Smoker! If you are looking for a rigorous study of smoking/stopping smoking, or for a piece of fine reading on the subject, look elsewhere.

It absolutely SHOULDN'T MATTER to you how well the book is written. What does matter is that it works. While reading the book, there were moments when I thought the author was insulting my intelligence. A couple of times I wondered whether the publisher's main goal was saving on editors, so many repetitions and logic faults were "missed". All the reviewers who say "I quit but..." have their facts after "but" correct.

However, it's obvious that the book is written this way ON PURPOSE. It aims not at winning your admiration for the author's mastery of words, but at HAVING you stop smoking. That goal appears to get achieved in the vast majority of cases. And the way it's achieved is not by giving the reader the scientific info on smoking or telling anecdotes about successful quitters. It sort of re-tools the way the reader-smoker thinks about smoking and the process of quitting. For that the author employs methods of NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming). THAT'S WHY the text may seem weird to many readers.

My 5 stars go not to the author's style, not to the scientific facts presented in the book, but to the product that HAD GOT me stop smoking. That's after many attempts over a decade, using nearly all other well known methods. Had it been not a book but a pill, an injection, a nursery rhyme, or a hit on the back of my head with a club, had it cost not $10 but $1000, it would still get 5 stars from me and would still be worth the money.

This book made my mother stop smoking this past Februray. She's 58 years old, and smoked since her early teens. She was diagnosed with COPD (chronic obstrutic pulmonary disease) due to smoking on 6-06-06. Ironically between that date and being told that diagnosis and placed on Albuterol inhaler she only quit for a month. She continued- and her conditioned worsened when she came down with a bought of routine bronchitis that was inches away from walking phenumonea. Her lungs could not fight it off anymore. To top it off, The albuterol inhalers were reformulated and lost their effectivenss for some persons. After going into the doctors again for her bronchitis (I had to drag her there), and being placed on an excellent new medication for COPD called Spiriva, AND, convincing her to read this book- SHE QUIT, AND her lungs are dramatically improved within just several months time. She could even cut in half her other medications, and practically eliminated one altogether. Her phlem, cough- all that is better. She should have done this years ago. I'm 31 years old and I remember this was going to be a Christmas presant to me when I was 12. I feel through my persistence in taking her to the doctors (she is just not one to be worried about things like this as crazy as it sounds), getting her on that Spiriva, and me researching this site on this wonderful book FINALLY got through to her that these things are nothing but life destroyers. I believe you should quit not just because you know you should, but because you truly WANT to. Never give up on somebody or yourself for that matter. It can take a long time- but in this case persistance paid off- and this was MY Christmas presant to her.

I bought this book as an additional material to study for the CISA exam. However it didn't help me with the exam at all. Furthermore, in an attempt to cover many things, it did not cover anything in detail. This book is just an endless recollection of bullet points. On top of that, it misses very sensitive topics like disaster recovery planning.

Audit is not the most exciting topic in the world, but this no fluff book really sets the standard. The care the authors took is obvious from the start, the table of contents is one of the most detailed I have ever seen, it allows the book to be used as a reference.

My favorite chapter was Quality Management, best job of making quality approachable I have seen to date. My least favorite was Project Management, it seemed to lack the application and lean to theory a bit.

I am not an auditor, but as an auditee, this book really helped me understand how they think. Recommended!

Not having much experience in the IT audit field, this book was a great resource and was easy to understand.

This book has some material relevant to the CISA examination based on the 2003 content areas, although it is not organized or focused as a CISA examination guide. If you are looking for CISA review material for the test, I would strongly suggest to stick with ISACA's combination of review manual and questions CD. I also searched everywhere for study aids for this grueling test and ended up using ISACA's expensive material, but it proved to be the best choice as I passed the Dec 2006 test.

However, as owner of a copy of this book, I assure you that this is an excellent reference of IT management, planning, implementation, risk assessment and control procedures for anyone in the IT business. Most of the material is still relevant as of 2007.

This is a huge book but spends no more then 1 page on any topic. In my opinion the authors only have financial audit experience and little understanding of IT controls. This book shows the failure of the 'integrated auditor' as the authors are tyring to be IT auditors with little IT experience. They touch on some very good points in a few instances and, in general, the book is decent. The authors do not know much outside of the CISA, IIA and financial based certifications as they seem to think that the ISSA (Information Systems Security Assoc.) is sponsored by ISC2/CISSP's (it is not). Overall, I have not been impressed with this book.

Very handy cookbook reference for my office bookshelf. I've used it a number of times, and it's more than paid for itself in expediting regularly-scheduled inquiries of our AD structure here at GEICO HQ.

Excellent reference if you work with AD on a regular basis either as an admin or a developer. Each "how to" offers methods for manually performing a specific task as well as (where possible) how to automate the task using code. Should be on every Windows admin/developer's desk.

Overall, this is a great book for reference.

There are a number of areas where I think the book falls short - all of the scripts are very hard coded scripts that don't tell you how to do some functions that would make their scripts actually useful (like "pull the list of users with attributes from a tab-delimited file and create them" or something similar, this would make mass creation of users actually useful, instead of "create user1, user2, user3, etc..."). I think that the writers expect you to be a VB expert (or at least close to it) if you're going to actually make the vb scripts useful.

Most of the scripts are "How to use a script to do the same functions that you can already do in AD with ADUC or another MMC", but I think that the most important thing for me about the book is what it inspires me to think of doing. Things that MS doesn't necessarily expect you to do. I'm still not seeing a way to add sidHistory to an object (MS does it with another applet - there is a way...), but there are so many things in the book that just have me thinking about how you can implement changes to an environment that MS says you can't do. What they really mean is "You can't do that with the GUI tools that we provide you".

I am so glad that this book was recommended to me by a guy I took a class on scripting from. I use this book everyday (almost). I even took it on vacation with me for light reading.

Hard to say in words to adequately describe how much I like this book. I highly recommend to anyone who works with AD.

I am reading this book again for the 3rd time. When you lst read it the concepts seem simple but they are complicated and require much thought. Seth whoever/whatever he is, I think was clever to make it seem simple as to not stop anyone from reading it but below these concepts are very important things about being human. I just wish that Jane had thought to perpare a wookbook to go with it. Or that someone steeped in the Seth knowledge would create one. It would be very useful to use alongside while reading this book.It is too bad that there is an "entity" thing involved because so many people will never accept this on those terms. Teens could also use the teachings/explanations of reality during those turbulent times of growing up. I am surprised that many people have never heard of Jane Roberts. Such a shame--but again, it's the "entity" factor that keeps people from this extremely important explanation of how we as humans believe our way to success for failure (or both at times) in life. If you are ever in the "dark night of the soul" of your life--get this book. It will uplift you and open a door to let in the light. There are more people that read the Seth books than are willing to admit and that is ashame that this information isn't there. I even heard Oprah on the radio admit that she read Seth! But I don't see her admitting to it on her show. Now that really would get a lot of attention. I wish she would have done a Seth show rather than the stupid Secret!

For me, it's been a long and meandering path back to Seth's teachings. I first read "Seth Speaks" and "The Nature of Personal Reality" in the mid-70's. I had some trouble understanding them and really, wasn't yet able to "get" what he was saying. But I guess it planted the seed. I am now re-reading "Seth Speaks" with great delight and much greater understanding.

Go ahead and read metaphysical books by other authors, especially if this stuff is new to you. Then, when you have the basics, read Seth. His books are rich and dense with complex information that is not that difficult if you take your time with it. They are definitely worth the effort. And if you apply what you learn, your life will be much happier and richer.

The ideas about life and the universe presented in this book are profound. The Seth Books may be the biggest philosophical treasure of the 20th Century.
What if children were raised on these ideas? We would have a world of responsible individuals, unafraid, open to discourse, without religious bigotry. The way these ideas mesh with "The Elegant Universe" (Brian Green) (quantum physics) is uncanny. Maybe this is all very true! But even readers with technical problems about the possibilities of energy personalities contacting us from other dimensions, should give the philosophy a chance. Just read the "what" even if you're skeptical about the "who".

Far from some oversimplification of how we create reality, Seth leads the reader, step by step, into the incredibly complex nature of the soul. I read and reread, probably only a few pages at a time, as the material is so spiritually stimulating yet thick with new information that it must be digested (at least for me) a little at a time. The authenticity of the material is indisputable making this (as well as all Seth books) an essential read for any sincere seeker.

This is one of those rare books that can literally change your life. Physically, it's just paper and ink, but the IDEAS it contains--

For anyone who has deep questions about oneself and the circumstances of one's life, this book is an astonishing eye-opener as well as a practical workbook. Highest recommendation.

My Uncle, G. Max White, gave my son a hand-crafted peanut butter feeder that he'd made and stained. He explained to his great-nephew, in specific detail, the kinds of birds he would start to see. We hung the feeder outside my son's window and within three days the birds started to arrive. My son was elated! We decided to add a birdseed feeder, a woodpecker feeder, a finch feeder, and a hummingbird feeder to his collection. We put a songbird clock on the wall next to his window so he could compare the birds he saw with it until we received the field guides we ordered from Amazon. He was in heaven!

We purchased the National Geographic guide and The Audubon Backyard guide, but THE SIBLEY FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS of EASTERN NORTH AMERICA is by far the best. Everything about each bird is all on one page. The illustrations, "(more than 4200 total)" are smaller but plenty large enough to see each bird's features.

We are able to see the bird's appearance from juvenile to adult and breeding or non-breeding. We love the way we can look at the characteristics of the bird, the detailed descriptions and a map showing where the bird thrives all on the same page. It is informative and concise.

My son has discovered a vast array of birds in our area. He has been intrigued by their characteristics and songs. Uncle Max's love for birds and nature, and the spirit that has been passed on to my son through his artwork, lit the spark! My son's enthusiasm for bird watching has been fueled by referencing David Sibley's meticulous and inspiring work, THE SIBLEY FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. Together, G. Max White and David Sibley have encouraged my son's passion for birds; a love that will last a lifetime!

This is a compact field guide derived from David Allen Sibley's highly regarded _The Sibley Guide to Birds_. This may be heresy, but in this instance the derivative surpasses the original, and that is no mean feat.

Most notably, it is compact enough to carry into the field, and that's where birders try to sort through as many diagnostic puzzles as possible. Most species accounts include fewer visual representations than the corresponding accounts found in the Guide to Birds, but the illustrations selected are usually quite sufficient.

Remarkably, the text associated with many species accounts is more informative than the information found in the larger guide: more information about habitat preferences, behavior, and description.

I have noticed some separation from the binding near the middle of each of the two field guides I have (eastern and western) but in neither instance is it really a problem. This isn't going to be my primary North American guide (I'll still rely on the National Geographic field guide for that purpose) but if I carry two guides into the field this will often be the second.

The Sibley field guides are the current standards of birding in North America. Nothing else needs to be said. If you're going to buy one birding field guide - this is the one.

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America is the companion volume to The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America.

The Eastern volume covers the 650 bird species found east of the Rocky Mountains. As with any bird field guide, the user wants comprehensive, easily accessible, clear information that make identifications quick and indisputable. Sibley's field guides cover all the species within the range of the volume arranging the birds in vertical columns on the page with most two-page spreads showing four species. This means that there is room for large detailed, beautiful illustrations with field marks for the diagnostic features. These marks are extremely helpful for the new birder to show what to look for and how to distinguish one species from another. This arrangement is particularly helpful when confronted with the terrible and mysterious LBJs or little brown jobs. The reader can make quick comparisons between similar species.

The text covers key identification characteristics and field marks on the illustrations, whether the species is common, uncommon, rare, etc. to an area, nesting, behavior, food and feeding, and voice description. Accompanying the text is an excellent range map showing the bird's full North American distribution.

The inside of the front cover gives a quick reference guide to the parts of a bird and what the various colors mean on the range maps. The inside of the back cover provides a map of the USA and Canada, i.e., what counts as North America for birding purposes. The first leaf inside the back cover is a Quick Index to allow the user relatively fast access to the groups of species.

The volume is compact enough to fit into a hip pocket with a bit of manoeuvring. Since it covers only part of North America, it is lighter than single volume field guides covering all of North America.

The Sibley field guides have two exceptional features. One is that if there is some interesting or noteworthy characteristic about a bird or group of birds, Sibley put in a text box. For example, there is a text box on Woodpecker Climbing Motions explaining the roll of the feet and tail in climbing. The other feature is, if a species is more common in the east say rather than the west, then the Eastern volume will have more illustrations and adjusts the text to reflect more about the species. For example, in the Western volume, the Blue Jay has four illustrations and the text starts with "uncommon", while in the Eastern volume the Blue Jay has five illustrations and the text starts out with "common".

A single field guide is never sufficient. A birder needs to compare the information and illustrations of two or more field guides. This and its companion volume are excellent choices for one of the guides and I highly recommend them.

Don't order this book if you are over 40. While the Sibley guides are well loved by many people, this version challenges the printing industry in terms of small type. If you can read 4-6 point type or walk around the woods with a magnifying glass, maybe you will find this field guide useful. I myself was totally disgusted that I could not read it in the house with my reading glasses on. I wondered if I was being picky, so I compared it to other field guides I have for birds, flowers, mammals, and trees. No question. The type in this book is much smaller and harder to read than any other field guide on my shelves. In addition, the copy I received seemed to be off color for anything that was a reddish tint.

Andrea Immer Robinson's Great Wine Made Simple (2005) succeeds brilliantly in making sense of the complex worlds of wine. I have read several introductions to wine, including Michael Broadbent's Michael Broadbent's Wine Tasting (Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides), Jancis Robinson's How to Taste: A Guide to Enjoying Wine, Mark Oldman's Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine: 108 Ingenious Shortcuts to Navigate the World of Wine with Confidence and Style, and Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 2008 Edition (Windows on the World Complete Wine Course) and I recommend them all, but I learned the most from Andrea Robinson's book. Her original and easy-to-follow approach will greatly enhance the appreciation of wine for new and experienced wine drinkers alike.

There are dozens of wine grapes, but Robinson reduces this complexity by emphasizing the "Big Six." These are three white grapes (riesling, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay) and three red grapes (pinot noir, merlot/cabernet sauvignon, syrah or shiraz) that provide most of the world's quality wines. Each group of three is listed in ascending order of body style, i.e., light, medium, or full. She clarifies these styles by comparing their weight, richness, and thickness in the mouth to skim milk, whole milk, and cream. Robinson then lays out tasting sequences with easily available wines that show the distinctive quality and body of each grape. You quickly get an idea of the world's primary wine styles.

In the succeeding chapters on taste, Robinson recommends that you taste wines side by side in carefully chosen pairs that will highlight key tastes. This method is far superior to tasting one wine at a sitting. Wines can generate a seemingly infinite number of tastes and here Robinson simplifies things by concentrating on pairs of wine that exemplify the major style terms of dry, crisp, oaky, tannic, buttery, grassy, spicy, floral, and Old World vs. New World.

In another great innovation, Robinson introduces flavor maps of the wine world combining where grapes are grown with climates. The maps are a bit hard to read at first, but well worth the effort, because they help you predict what a wine will taste like once you know where it's from. For example, white grapes grown in cool climates may produce light bodied wines with apple or pear flavors while white grapes grown in warm climates may produce full bodied wines with pineapple or mango flavors. I found the flavor maps to be the most valuable part of the book, because they help you organize the world's wines into a system that explains why they taste the way they do.

The remainder of the book is more conventional in its approach, with surveys of French, Italian, American regions and so on followed by such topics as shopping for wine, wine and food, and wine gear. In these sections, Robinson continues to communicate key information about wine without oversimplifying.

I think Great Wine Made Simple does make a few missteps. A major omission is that only the briefest mention is made of serving temperatures. She does note that whites tend to be served too cold and reds too warm. Robinson's 2008 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone, which I also highly recommend, does a satisfactory job explaining how to serve various types of wine; but I like Andrew Oldman's general rule that white wines should be chilled for several hours and then removed 15 minutes before serving while reds should be refrigerated for 15 minutes before serving. Robinson could have said more about how to analyze the finish of a wine. Here I like the approach of her mentor, Kevin Zraly at Windows of the World in New York City, who describes what you should expect at fifteen second intervals in the minute or so after you have swallowed the wine.

Robinson occasionally criticizes other wine writers for being too technical. In part she does this because she feels that beginners will lose interest when confronted with overly technical prose, but this assumes that readers don't know how to select a basic introduction to wine as opposed to a more advanced book. Robinson's ideas easily stand on their own and are not strengthened by disparagement of those who write at a more detailed level or use specialized wine terminology.

To end, my criticisms are minor compared to Robinson's substantial achievement. She has assembled an impressive apparatus for appreciating wine. My wine knowledge increased by several orders of magnitude after having read her book, and I know I will be returning to it for years to come.

This is the first wine book that does exactly what it promises.....you will be able to read a wine bottle label in the store or wine list in the restaurant and know what you are buying and buy what you want. That is a great boon to all wine drinkers out there, the majority of whom didn't have wine training in finishing school or a butler/sommelier at home. I have always know what taste I like but now I know how to read the label to find the type of wine that I want. This book will serve the experienced drinker as well with a system of classifying wine into groups for organizing your wine celler and advice about making those all important pairings with food. This book makes a fantastic gift as well.

This book came in the mail very quickly and will make a great Xmas gift for my husband.

This is simply the best introduction to wine and winetasting that I have found. Many wine books get bogged down in minutiae, without telling you why it is significant. For example, they will spend three pages telling you about the soil and climate in a small region of say, France, without telling you how it affects the flavor and quality of the wine (i.e., why you should care). Somewhere in there will be a vague one sentence statement about how the wines taste "fruity" or "fresh." Andrea Immer's book actually concentrates on how to taste wine, using all your senses, and what specifically to look for in the color, nose, and flavor. She gives you a list of wines to taste, and through a series of tasting exercises you learn to recognize different flavors and aromas in wine. Her flavor map is an ingenious way to explain what flavors to expect from wines of the same grape grown in different climate zones, and it works! One heads up though, be prepared to drop some change on these tastings. Many of the tastings in the earlier chapters are affordable, but in the later chapters (read France and Italy), we found some of the wines to be cost prohibitive. While the earlier tastings are absolutely essential to getting the most out of the book, we chose to dispense with some of the later ones (Maybe some day I'll buy that $80.00 Barolo). My suggestion: Buy the book, do the tastings in the first five chapters, and learn a heck of a lot about wine.

If you have room for only one wine book, this is the book to own. Andrea Robinson nee Immer is a master sommelier who started out with Kevin Zraly at Windows on the World, and has become one of the great wine teachers in the world. I met her in 2001 at the Wine Expo in Boston, attended a wine tasting of Australian wines, and took her intensive three day course on wine at the French Culinary Institute last fall. My initial impressions still stand [from my wine diary]:

It was a joy to watch Andrea Immer in action and to discuss her book for a few minutes afterwards. Her approach to learning about wine is superb, and I recommend this book strongly to anyone, beginner or more advanced. Her enthusiasm and knowledge is infectious.

The approach works; Robinson has taught her approach to thousands of people -- restaurant guests, sommeliers, chefs, waiters, bartenders, in a wide variety of restaurants and bars. "The light goes on every time."

Check the Comments for a summary of Andrea's approach to learning about wine.

It's not a pretty job, but someone had to make this book. This history, though despicable, should not be hidden any more than the Jewish Holocaust should be. Germans need(ed) to face their history and as a white person I can say American whites need to do so too.

One gropes for words -- and many adjectives such as "horrific", "vile", and "gruesome" spring to mind -- but ultimately words fall far short. Which is why this collection of 98 photographs of lynchings that occurred throughout the United States (not just the South) is so important. Many but not all were the product of racism. All reflect a mob inhumanity and cruelty that boggles the mind and rends the soul. Although not on the same massive scale as the Nazi treatment of the Jews, this nation's lynching history, as graphically documented in this book, is equally disturbing. (How does one "rank" such atrocities anyway?) And what makes this even more sickening was that so many of these executions were public spectacles, community functions that were commemorated and celebrated with post cards and other commercial ephemera and even mementos from the victims' bodies.

Although not cheap ($41.16 at Amazon), WITHOUT SANCTUARY should be in every general public library in the United States, and at some point before graduation from high school every student should somehow be exposed to it, alongside the standard pronouncements of our nation's high and noble ideals (the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Gettysburg Address, etc.).

Tearful, hurtful, and very difficult to ignore. These images should give every American pause, to ask one's self a question about justice, even today. We as Americans, out of fear, out of hate because these humans simply had dark skin found this type of treatment to be just fine. Of course not all were Black, but when one thinks of lynching one automatically sees a black face at the end of that rope.

Shame on America. Too long did America look the other way, and the few who were arrested, and tried for such a vicious crime were set free, by juries made up of sympathic citizens who believed lynching was a just sentence, even for trival crimes. Crimes unproven by the way.

This book again makes me shutter to think our fore parents treated other Human Being this way or that our fore parents were the victims. Even now I fear this kind of terror in America is alive and well just below the surface, and screaming to be released. Even now in this the 21st century. For I fear we learned very little, and we continue to be hateful toward our fellow man. He or She talks different, dresses different, has different skin, does not believe in God, or does not speak English. Meanwhile at the very root of a resurgence of such behavior is a Gaovenment which will not enforce it's own laws. Refuses to protect us all from invaders. Real or otherwise.

Yes America we can pass this way again, but I hope enough of us read such books, educate our children, and grand children that only barbarians treat Human Beings with such disregard. If you need a reminder, this book is it.

I didn't know lynching was this bad. To hear about it, is one thing. To see it, is quite another, especially the faces of the witnesses who enjoy it. Those who would witness a hanging, and enjoy it, unfortunately, have children that grow up to be just like their parents and we wonder why our world is so messed up. I think if these were shown in schools, to the older children, maybe they will learn compassion and ensure that it won't happen in the future.

I am going to purchase this book based on the reviews here, but I have a question for those that bought the book and know a great deal regarding this chapter in American History.

What I am very curious about is this...did the white people who participated in these lynchings make up the majority regarding the mindset of most white folks at the time? What I mean by that is this...the big story recently has been about dog fighting in America. How it's an awful subculture, and how the men and women who participate in this not only just fight dogs, but they shoot, lynch, and drown the dogs that don't show enough "fighting spirit." However, I certainly would not say that most of America feels this way about animals. I would say the average American enjoys animals, and feels they deserve to be treated with respect (even if they are ironically eating a Hamburger at the time they say this).

So my question is...do you think (or know) if the white people who engaged in these horrific acts represent the mindset of the majority of white folks in that time period? Or, were the whites who supported/enjoyed/participated in these lynchings similar to the people who support and participate in horrific things like dog fighting and other awful crimes--they are more in the minority when it comes to what the majority of Americans think and believe in?

I thought this book was very informative,and yet unusual. He reverses your brain by opening our minds to the the brain-washing we were programmed from many years ago.I thought this book is quite incredible. I would recommed this book and Allan Carrs book on How to Quit Drinking as well to anyone who is considering quitting.It's a MUST HAVE!He is an inspiration and genius!

I don't usually write reviews but all the positive reviews about this book helped me make the decision to purchase it and gave me hope. So I hope this helps you.
I ordered this book out of curiosity and was very skeptic about the outcome. It took me over a month to finish it and I doubted myself the whole time. Yet after I finished reading, I put out the last cigarette and felt immediate relief. The first couple of days were a little strange, because I used to plan my whole day around smoking, but it turned out OK.I have more energy, feel better and even endure the company of smokers easily, without being tempted. This book is about putting your thinking in a different perspective, adopting a non-smoker's frame of mind.
Try it even if you're skeptic about it. You have nothing to loose and so much to gain!
I am getting it as a Christmas gift for all my smoking friends.

This book is magic. It really really works. Not scary stuff, just makes you face the facts of why on earth do you smoke. I don't anymore!!!

My sister stop smoking with this book after many years of trying and given this book to all my friends and family to stop smoking.
Is worth every penny!
Probably the best thing you can do for you !

...and I am still free from cigarette smoking.

The writing style took a little getting used to, but I allowed myself to believe what it is saying, and I found that I was freed from my previously-held beliefs about smoking. "Cured" sounds far-fetched, but that's how I feel now. I smoked for 16 years, and of the many times I attempted to quit, this was the only successful method.

Try it, even if you don't feel ready to. After all, you can keep smoking while you read the book (indeed, the book instructs you to do so).

Readers will get one third of the way through this book and say, "What's so comforting about this book? This book is SAD!"

Well, parts of the book ARE sad...but other part and inspiring and uplifting. You just have to keep reading till the end. I had a chance to hear the song, "The Spirit of Christmas," that goes with the book: it is wonderful!

I can't wait for this book to be made into a MOVIE!

I also loved:This Christmas Night: Reflections from Our Hearts to Your Home

This book was in my opinion average at best. Yes it had some sad parts, yes it had some warm parts, but all very expectant. You knew what was coming down the road with every page turned. To me it just wasn't worth the time I spent reading it. You can judge a book by how often you think about it once you've finished it. Does it linger on your mind? Does it strike an emotion in you when you think about it? This book does none of that. Once I finished it and put it down, I never thought about it again. The writing style of the Author felt more like someone that is in high school. No depth. The book was also very short with larger font so it didn't take more than a an hour and half to read.

This book gets better with each reading...and so far I've read it six times!

This is a book of comfort, inspiration, faith...a parable about the rewards of anonymous service...a story of eternal bonds. This story shows how service to others can make a life meaningful, even after the most severe and traumatic of tragidies.

Life can bring you to your knees in despair...but it can also exalt you when you learn what great things can come of everyday kindnesses.

This book has made me really think!

John Allen is a consumate story teller...a modern day Dickens. I contacted HCI Books and they told me John is working on another book that should be completed soon. I cannot wait to read it!

Also recommended: The Christmas Jars--wonderful!

So who reads Christmas books in the summer? I do. I have since I was a kid. Don't ask why...I couldn't tell you. If that makes me crazy, so...I'm crazy.

But I had to take a moment and share my thoughts about "Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices." This book starts out typical enough: A man is buying Christmas gifts for his family. But a few pages later BANG/WHAM...I won't tell you what happens, but let's just say it's not what you'd expect from a Christmas story.

But it's the ending that realy gets you. And it makes you feel like there's hope for everyone, no matter what.

Allen's book isn't just a great Christmas book. It's a great book...period.

Another book I'd recommend it Richard Siddoway's "A Christmas Wish."

Why would my friend give me a Christmas book when it wasn't Christmas?

Why?

She knew that I had just suffered a devastating loss. And she explained that "Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices" was more than a holiday novel...it was a parable that showed how service and thinking of others ultimately brings peace after a loss.

The other book my dear friend gave me had a less perplexing title: "I Wasn't Ready To Say Goodbye" by Brook Noel.
While Allen's book was lyrical and parable-like, Noel's book was filled with straightfoward advice.

Because my friend helped me out so very much by giving these books to me when I needed them most, I wanted, in turn, to tell others about these books. They are wonderful and comforting.

And isn't it interesting: one book that helped me was set during the holiday season, and the other book was written by someone with the name "Noel."

This book is a great read. It is refeshing to be able to read words, thoughts and dreams from people as they perform such honorable duty overseas. This book is powerful and should be required reading for all, especially Americans.

Some anti-war activist may think it is "pro-war" but it isn't just that. This book reveals personal thoughts and challenges faced by American military personnel in wars from the Civil War until the later conflicts in the 20th century. It is pro-war, anti-war and everything in between.

This book reminds me of the sacrifice that so many make for their country. It is a great tribute for those who have served.

I actually read a review about this book and gave it as a gift to my sister-in-law who teaches high school history. She LOVES it and told me it was an amazing collection of actual letters. She said all of the teachers that she works with have been borrowing it!!

I received this book as a gift because my family knows I love reading personal histories from those who lived it and "War Letters" seemed perfect for that. I enjoy learning what life was like for the average citizen in an era, whether its someone riding the Erie Canal in 1840, a foot soldier in the American revolution, or a journal from the Civil War.

This is a remarkable book and taken individually there are many, many heart-rending emotional stories that probably need to be read by many people. It does in fact put a personal face on war. Because it is a collection of letters, the book is easily read in short spurts; you don't want (and shouldn't) read this book quickly.

I only gave the book 4 stars because I actually found it hard to read. While the personal letters (the spelling, mannerisms of the authors) help tell their stories, it also keeps the book from developing any flow. Some letters are agonzingly slow to read and understand. I'm certainly not faulting the authors or their stories; but if you're looking for a great, well-written, smooth-flowing story that you can't put down, this isn't it.

i only gave it three stars because many of the stories were more about patriotism than about the war themselves. Of course every book has its bias so its still a useful and moving read when taken with this grain of salt.

This book is awesome, I have read it numerous times. My heart goes out to the letters writers and receivers... I urge you to spread the word of this book... It will really open your eyes to see that Military Personel and their signifigant others are real people, with real feelings... I really look forward to another book like this coming out. I will definately buy it.