Woody Allen Books

This book should have been second, with Without Knowing Why 1st.
But it was a good book.

Now Bliss Carter is in Peru, and she wants to see all there is to see. she is an amateur archeologist and she works in a library.
Bliss follows her sister Erith now that her sister is married to Dom she wants to give them some time together.
But because she has been very sick, her sister won't let her be by herself.
In comes Quintin Quintero, or Quin and so starts to lies, yep here we go again. Quin wants Bliss to stay in Peru, and instead of just telling her how he feels he gives her what he believes will be a deal she can't refuse.
The sites she gets to see are for her wonderful, until she realizes she only wants to see Quin, and she doesn't think he feels the same way.
Of course we get to see the two of them get in the very close incounter, but not quite.
This is a very funny book. Although Bliss is a little naive she is so likeable and sweet you can't help liking her.
But Quin is so rough with her at times you wonder what does she see in him. He is so different from a man you would expect Erith to send to help her sister, It isn't until the end of the book that you start to like him.
But for a better read. Try Susan Fox, for the same type try Helen Brooks, and Rebecca Winters.

Jessica Steele is the most wonderful writer in the entire world! Her books are so great and FLIGHT OF DISCOVERY is not an exception to the rule! Her characters are realistic and fun! In my own writing I look to her work and the letters she has sent to me for guidance. If you are a fan of funny and touching works of romance then Ms. Steele is definitely the authoress for you!

After 6 years of college and 19 years as an engineer/project manager, I have read many books on leadership. Net: This is the best book on people & leadership I have ever read, and Hal Shook is a true American icon. I have worked with many leaders, some excellent and some right out of Dilbert. This book reminds me of the excellent leader, one who can create a win-win scenario for both employees AND customers. The leaders and companies who implement the Flying Spirit formula will have employees delighted to come to work. This is a MUST READ.

Flying Spirit is a very good book to add to one's portfolio of resources relating business performance to organizational dynamics. What leaders and managers often fail to recognize is the relationship between product and people. And that to achieve outstanding performance requires that business understand that goals and objectives are only achieved through people.

Another vital concept that Flying Spirit speaks to is the alignment of organizational and individual mission-values-players. In great organizations, there is an alignment of shared purpose. The real differentiation among companies is alignment, look at Southwest Airlines as a model for this.

Hal Shook takes these principles and shows how they worked for him in the military. Good story telling with a key component of execution, making it all happen.

This is a working book. For me highlighted, tabbed and underlined. Very readable. Flying Spirit is an excellent addition to ones "tool kit" for moving organizational leadership and management into the 21st century.

It takes a special outlook to draw lessons from life experience, and a rarer genius still to share the benefits of these lessons with other people. Hal Shook has done both by translating lessons learned in the air to those which can be applied on the ground. It shows you how to walk the talk of leadership where it matters most, in organizational life. Flying Spirit is a flight manual for the workplace, addressing critical issues from values and mission to alignment, problem solving, and team effort, demonstrating that organizations are made of, by, and for people. While the book claims to be a leader's guide to creating great organizations, the underlying message is empowerment of the individuals and teams that make up the organization.

A common complaint of job seekers and leaders alike is that you can't get a job without experience, and you can't get experience without a job. Experience is the said to be a poor teacher, because it gives the test before the lesson. Flying Spirit gives you both at the same time, through vivid anecdotes from the author's experience, concise questions to focus your thinking, useful reference charts, and interactive exercises that translate ideas into action.

After reading this book it will never be so easy to blame the boss or the system, because it shows how adversarial thinking works against everyone. The challenge will be how to apply it where you work, even if it means having to change the place that you work. Wherever you work, this book will show you how to get more out of your work than just a paycheck.

I first met Hal & Marilyn Shook over 20 years ago, attending their course in Career and Life Planning, which they still offer through their company, Life Management Services. The emphasis of the course at that time was individual job search and career development, and I remember thinking at the time that this course empowered individuals to use the same tools of creative strategic planning that organizations used. In Flying Spirit it is as if the tools of career and life planning have been boldly reapplied at the organizational level, so that everyone wins.

An organization imbued with Flying Spirit will have no problem attracting good people. I would like to see individuals encouraged to expect this kind of approach from the organizations they work for. Some things are worth driving a hard bargain for, and this book shows why.

Every person born is a highly probabilistic creature, having been randomly put together by a chance selection from twenty-three chromosomes from each parent. The combinatorial variation is remarkable even in extremely homogeneous populations, and even more so in multicultural populations where there are great disparities in the average abilities of different groups. Blacks excel in sports of speed leading to their total dominance in professional sports. Jews excel in verbal intelligence leading to their remarkable dominance in law, academics, politics, and the media. And other groups fall in between these group-based genetic differences. However, it is evident throughout this book that these issues will not be dealt with honestly and directly. They will be tip-toed around, especially intelligence.

This book ignores the more communitarian morality of Asian countries and/or western particularistic moral theories. They do take it up in Appendix II, "Methodology." There they state simply that a communitarian moral theory only exists as a condemnation of liberalism -- it does not attempt to put forth its own communitarian moral theory as rigorously as has been put forth by liberalism or a Rawlsian theory. Notice the irony here, that the same charge can be made against those (Gould, Lewontin, Rose, Kamin, et al.) who claim that there is no difference in the average intelligence of races or that genes do not matter. They also, like the communitarian moralists, have only attacked empiricists who have developed sociobiology and intelligence as genetically based. So now we have the kettle calling the stove black.

These authors are concerned that society will become more stratified with regards to genetic capital by various groups. That is, the well-to-do will be able to use genetic engineering to eliminate unwanted genes as well as enhance their children's potential by inserting new "improved" genes into their genetic code -- including altering the germ line genes that will be carried on to successive generations. Is this a fair criticism? Not really, because this is how evolution progresses and it has already occurred as I stated above. Groups, because of breeding are not the same. Again, using the example of Ashkenazi Jews or east Asians who dominate the economies of south Asian countries, multiculturalist societies are already made up of groups who are not equal. Ashkenazi Jews have and average IQ of 117 and live among populations with an average IQ of 100. Malaysians have an average IQ of 90 with a troublesome east Asian minority, that will not assimilate, and has an average IQ of about 106 that dominates the economy. Australians have a troublesome minority of aborigines with a low IQ. These and many other examples show that there is nothing new about some groups eugenically rising above other groups, in terms of intelligence at least. But now that we have new tools at our disposal, those of us who would like to acquire the high intelligence of Ashkenazi Jews for example are told that it is somehow unjust!

I would like to suggest that this book is a landmark in the intellectual history of the human race on a par with Rousseau's Social Contract and Darwin's Origin of the Species. This book is a great achievement for the authors (a "dream team" of practicing bioethicists). I had just enough training in ethics (B.A. Michigan 1982) to understand the book and I enjoyed it immensely.

I wonder, however, whether this book would probably be inaccessible to many readers who should read it. I expect we will need a really thorough set of "Cliff Notes" (or "Genomic Ethics for Dummies"), since this book seems designed to be read by the modern ethical philosopher, moreso than the educated members of the public. Perhaps the reviewers on Amazon.com could provide such a service for the world. I was fortunate to have an advance peek at the book through a conference held in San Diego in January, so I have had some time to reflect on the book's implications.

This book made me intrigued about the prospect for some people using the genome to have better babies (see the book on Designer Babies by Dr. Gosden for the "how to" on in vitro fertilization). Under secular ethical principles, as outlined in this book, do parents have an ethical obligation to use genomic information to have a "healthier" child? If so, what are the ethical boundaries of that obligation? NPR had a report some time ago about some achondroplastic dwarf parents who wanted to choose a child with their genetic "defect" --- is that sometime ethically prohibited by the principles in this book? The parental choice issues raised by this book strike me as the issue ripe for controversy. These are the fundamental questions that this book raises for every member of the human race who plans to procreate (or already has procreated).

My kids will be entering the first generation where prospects for improving admission to the aristocracy (e.g. to an Ivy League school) arguably could begin at the moment of conception (if in vitro, aided by genomic data to screen embryoes). I find that interesting and a little bit alarming.

Chance to Choice also addresses myriad ethical issues (those relating to "distributive justice" in the mode of John Rawls' Theory of Justice) that will spin off from the genome project. They suggest that genetic discrimination (the "genetic ghetto") may arise if we are not careful about how this information is used.

For anyone planning to make a living from the genome, some understanding of this book is essential to their success in business (I am an attorney involved in biotech issues and I think that this book point to (but does not map out) the boundaries of what companies can do with the genome).

My EMail is tredick@chapinlaw.com if anyone interested in discussing this book's implications further. I think that people will be talking about this one until the talking, bipedal genetically enhanced, vegetarian activist cows come home sometime in the next hundred years (just kidding... ;).

I plan to buy some extra copies on Amazon.com to give away or mark up with highlighters (those parts I need to read many times to really understand). It really is a great and timely book.

Tom

This book addresses all of the neccessary details of the social ramafications involved with our knowledge of the human genome. In this book, the heart wrenching accounts of America's eugenic movement are powerful enough to move anyone to become actively involved in the issues at hand. A real eye opener, one which makes it painstakingly clear that we are not prepared to deal with the information that we have aquired about ourselves and eachother.

In her book: Gifts my Father Gave Me (Finding Joy After Tragedy), Sharon Knutson-Felix puts it out there; her life, and these experiences that have shaped her and made her the woman she is.

I've only cried, while reading a book, one other time in all the hundreds and hundreds of books I've read: The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst. And actually that's really a short story, not even a book.

I sat down with this book at 10 last night after I put my son to bed; and I read, and read until 3 in the morning. By the time I was done with the book there were bunches of tissue lying next to me, and I had went through a whole gamut of emotions that left me feeling drained, but at the same time I felt strangely enlightened.

This book made me laugh and cry; I was horrified and wowed. I can't even say how I would have been under the circumstances. I can only hope that I could be as strong as she was and make it through, and go on to grant forgiveness; not only to others but to herself.

The main gift that her father gave her was faith; and it was the cornerstone to everything else he instilled her with. She always fell back on her faith. Maybe because some where along the way I lost mines that I was even more wowed by this.

I knew going in that this was about her, and her life, its losses, and subsequent healing; however, I wasn't prepared to find myself reading and just wishing that it would be different. I sat there immersed in this book, willing her son and husband not to die; crying with each of her losses. Of course these things have already happened, and all the willing and praying in the world can't change that.

Nevertheless, at the end of the book I found myself thinking: God wouldn't give you more than you can handle right? He knew this woman was made of some seriously strong stuff and if anyone could make it through this she could. I took some solace in that. Sharon went on to help so many other people learn to cope with their losses. With her losses she's helped so many others; can we even put a number to it? Gifts my Father Gave Me has left me armed and hopeful and has helped to me look at the losses I've suffered in a whole new way.

I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone; and I hope it helps you as much as it has me.

I'm no book reviewer. I can barely lace a sentence together, so please be forewarned!

This story is unlike anything I have ever read before. Sharon opens her family album and shares her life with incredible honesty - the good, the bad and the ugly are all inside. Through her humor and candor she teaches the reader that apparently unsurvivable challenges are surmountable.

Quite simply, Sharon's story is a reminder that no matter how bad things might seem today, there is a tomorrow to look forward to with hope.

A worthy read, especially for wives and mothers.

The six year old son of Sharon Knutson-Felix died when a reckless driver jumped a curb and hit the child. She was plunged into the kind of grief only a parent can know, when her husband (on duty as a police officer) was killed by yet another reckless driver. Written with the assistance of Allen R. Kates, "Gifts My Father Gave Me: Finding Joy After Tragedy" is Sharon's personal story of how she came to be able to forgive those reckless drivers who had destroyed her world. This is a memoir of a woman who found the courage and faith to remain a compassionate and loving mother, an informed and caring citizen, and a human being able to transform loss and despair into joy and thanksgiving. "Gifts My Father Gave Me" is inspired and inspiring. Deftly told with pathos and with humor, Sharon's life is laid out for anyone to read, but is most especially recommended to the attention of anyone who has lost a loved one of their own and is seeking to come to terms with tragedy and recover life's joys.

Maddox's book lays out the extent to which religion and politics are intertwined in Australia in minute detail. The voice is pragmatic, but there are unmistakably dire implications for the country. Even though Australia is not as overtly influenced by the Religious Right as the US, Maddox makes it clear that there is a great deal more _covert_ action taking place that has been deliberately obscured.

Although this book is now a little dated, it remains a valuable resource for exposing some of the key players in this situation - and I look forward with anticipation to Maddox providing us with an updated edition.

Marion Maddox's "God Under Howard" is a fascinating book. It discusses the role of religion in Australian politics during the tenure (still ongoing at the time of writing) of Australia's second-longest-serving Prime Minister, John Howard.

Maddox parallels the beliefs and tactics of the religious right in US politics with those of the conservative Liberal Party government lead by John Howard in Australia. However, the book is not only limited to Howard's tenure as Prime Minister (1996-present). The opening chapter outlines the influence of religion in Howard's early life. In addition it examines the role of political tactics borrowed from the US religious right in Howard's time in opposition, and how these tactics helped him rise to power.

Historical discussions about Howard's youth, and about debates in Australian Parliament over euthanasia and equal employment opportunities are very interesting.

From a purely political-science point of view, the analysis of how a quite secular country like Australia has been influenced by religiously-based political movements is very interesting. This book would be enjoyed by anyone interested in Australian politics, comparative world politics, and religion.

There are some moderate biases in this book, mostly opposing some of the Howard Government's policies, and opposing people who interpret Christianity as saying that Jesus wanted people to be rich. These biases are not overwhelming, and much of the treatment of subject matter in the book is objective and even-handed.

The book paints a picture that religious-right views are strongly pervasive in Australian politics, and strongly influence many Australian politicians. Recently, the Australian Parliament voted to effectively lift restrictions on the abortion drug RU486 and on theraputic cloning for stem cell research, this development somewhat undermines the image of Australian politics that this book presents.

This book makes a clear case for why some of the Bush Christian rhetoric does not work so effectively (at least yet)in polarising Australian public opinion. Having established this, it makes an even more compelling case for the indirect manipulation of public opinion by the subtle use of 'us' and 'them' labelling.

This is not just about the politics and religious beliefs of leaders.

It is also about the role of the popular media in presenting opinions as facts without analalysing either what is actually being said or what it might mean in the eyes/ears of the recipient.

I recommend this book to all who are interested in, or care, about the kind of country we want Australia to be. But we need to think about who we (collectively) are. Reading this book will help stimulate thought on this.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I got mine bargin elsewhere for $... but it was worth every penny! The first part of the book features 10 different themed menus which is great cuz I always get tired of just making mashed potatoes and rice for side dishes. The menus come complete with entrees and 1st courses, etc.....

The rest of the book features pictures and is dividing into the standard sections that most cookbooks have: chicken, meat, poultry, starters/1st courses, deserts, etc.....

I love this book because the recipes are gourmet but indgredients are not rare and they are not as complicated to make.

This book is great if you are not into "comfort foods" and want to really cook something that tastes divine and pleases your husband/significant other :)

I've cooked at least a dozen recipes from this cookbook. Each one is easy. All of them turn out great! The recipes use standard ingredients and spices found in most kitchens. The photos are mouth-watering. Get this book! Also makes a great gift.

All the recipes are easy to make and delicious!! If I come home late and need to put something together, I go right for this book. The Oriental Spaghetti with Shredded Vegetables and Spicy Peanut Sauce is great and to make it easier, I just have all carrots. The Grilled Flank Steak is a snap with white rice on the side. All the recipes are simple and tasty with stuff you can easily find at your local grocery store. I highly recommend it, especially if you don't have a lot of time to put a meal together.

This referance and coffee table book is an interesting and beautiful compilation of materials from many sources. The author led the Corgi dynasty in design during the golden years of this historical toy manufacturer. This is not a price guide, but more of a research resource. Inside you will find a complete listing of catalogues and variations from the early days of Mettoy(1933) through the 1980's. It contains an amazing amount of information and should DEFINITELY be in the library of anyone who ever owned a Green Hornet car, or ejected the little crook from his or her James Bond Aston-Martin DB5 ejector car. If you used to drool over these toys in the toystore like I did when I was young, you need this book. It is a warm and wonderful trip down memory lane for both the collector and the person who owned these toys as a youngster. ... This book is 512 Pages and approximately 12" by 12". Hard cover is a nice red leatherette with a golden Corgi silhouette embossed on the front. You will love it.

This is the special collectors' edition of a book which is already eagerly sought after in its standard edition.

Corgi Toys were die-cast metal model cars and trucks, made in Great Britain from the mid fifties and enjoying their heyday in the 1960s. Marcel van Cleemput was chief designer of Corgi Toys from the start of production in 1956 until the company went bust in 1983. (It was later revived but that's another story). Here he has assembled the ultimate catalog, full descriptions of every model Corgi ever made, with photographs of almost all of them, around 1000 in all, most in color. Always technically superior to their rivals, Corgi's greatest achievement was the legendary model of James Bond's Aston Martin from the movie "Goldfinger" - complete with a working miniature ejector seat.

If this book was simply a catalog it would still be a must-have for collectors (of whom there are many worldwide). But it's much more. Van Cleemput clearly loved his wo! rk and was himself a collector throughout his career. He's included anecdotes of what it was like to work at Corgi (somewhat chaotic at times, it seems) and points out the technical sophistication of models children took for granted at the time.

If you're a collector this book is absolutely essential - and in this deluxe edition even more desirable. But there's much enjoyment to be had if you only played with these models as a child. Turn the pages and say "I used to have that one." Or if you had a sharp eye for an investment when you were only six years old, you can say "I've still got that one - it its original box!"

Corgi Toys were die-cast metal model cars and trucks, made in Great Britain from the mid fifties, and enjoying their heyday in the 1960s. Marcel van Cleemput was chief designer of Corgi Toys from the start of prodution in 1956 until the company went bust in 1983. (It was later revived but that's another story). Here he has assembled the ultimate catalog, full descriptions of every model Corgi ever made, with photographs of almost all of them, around 1000 in all, most in color. Always technically superior to their rivals, Corgi's greatest achievement was the legendary model of James Bond's Aston Martin from the movie "Goldfinger" - complete with a working miniature ejector seat.

If this book was simply a catalog it would still be a must-have for collectors (of whom there are many worldwide). But it's much more. Van Cleemput clearly loved his work and was himself a collector throughout his career. He's included anecdotes of what it was like to work at Corgi (somewhat chaotic at times, it seems) and points out the technical sophistication of models children took for granted at the time.

If you're a collector this book is absloutely essential. But there's much enjoyment to be had if you only played with these models as a child. Turn the pages of this lavishly - beautifully - produced book and say "I used to have that one." Or if you had a sharp eye for an investment when you were only six years old, you can say "I've still got that one - in its original box!"

I must admit that the only time I may have been in awe of athletes was prior to my teenage years.
Never have I pondered over the question, what makes a champion?
However, upon glancing at the table of contents of a book entitled The Heart Of A Champion: Celebrating The Spirit And Character Of Great American Sports Heroes authored by the well-known sports writer and commentator Frank Deford, I was hooked.

Deford has written twelve previous books including novels, biography, sports, social history, humour and has been called the world's greatest sports writer. If you have won the six-time Sportswriter award of the Year and are a member of the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters, being called the greatest sports writer is an understatement.

Sports fans very often treat their sports heroes like demi-gods, however, from the very onset of the book, Deford makes it abundantly clear that athletes are neither gods nor heroes. They are our dream models. As he states: "we imagine ourselves in their places in our daydreams."
Why do many of us look up to our baseball, hockey, basketball or football athletes?

According to Deford, "it is because a sports star is so visible and so beguiling, but also, classical. Athletes not only join us together in this more complicated culture, they connect us to the simpler past. In their glory, they make us feel more whole."

The book is divided into seven sections five of which deal with a particular aspect of what constitutes an essential ingredient of athletic greatness. These five are: commitment, grace, courage, team effort and perseverance.

Within each of these sections Deford refers to athletes who portray a particular attribute that contributes to his or her greatness.

Who can argue that courage is the defining quality of hockey star Mario Lemieux? This Canadian hockey star suffered from excruciating back pains and was forced to undergo two operations. However, what is more amazing is that he overcame the dreadful Hodgkin's decease, a form of cancer and returned to play hockey.

How about Jackie Robinson, who Deford describes as the indisputably single most important athlete in our culture and probably the finest.
The quality of grace is attributed to Robinson, who had to overcome problems with some of his own teammates, blatant racism on the baseball field, and threats from spectators. Nevertheless, he succeeded and paved the way for other African Americans to play in the major leagues.

These are just some of the many seductive stories included in the book along with the 250 full color and black and white photos and illustrations. A book I am sure will find shelf space in the homes and libraries of the many sports enthusiasts.

This review first appared on reviewer's own site

Great sports athletes really inspire us. And as I read Frank Deford's inspiring profiles of Cal Ripken, Jr., Tiger Woods, Jerry Rice, Chris Evert, Jackie Robinson, the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team, and ohers, I was again sent back to relive some of the greatest sports moments of my life. The photos enhance the categories of commitment, grace, courage, team effort and perseverance. Frank Deford has captured the enduring spirit of these amazing men and women, and thanks to Wheaties, they ae enshrined in our minds and hearts forever. If you have a sports lover in your family, this is the book to get them this Chrsitmas.

Do you remember growing up and hearing about Wheaties, The Breakfast of Champions? We were always told that if we ate our Wheaties, we would grow up to be champions as well. Well, that part of the story never did hold true for me, but the champions that did appear on the front of the cereal box over the years have proved to be an enduring selection of sports heroes who have great stories behind their acheivements.

In this very engaging and beautifully photographed book, the front of the Wheaties' boxes that I remember as a child have come to life. The author, Frank Deford, has written great essays to allow us to better understand the underlying stories behind the athletic acheivements of these memorable champions of sports.

Interestingly enough, I am not a big follower of sports and originally purchased this book as an early Christmas gift for my brother. Sitting down for a cup of coffee, I became involved with the book and found myself enjoying the well written stories and great historical photos. I've decided to keep this copy, and I'll buy my brothers and nephews additional copies for their own use. I'm sure they will enjoy the great gift.

I highly recommend this book. Trust me, it is much better than reading the back of the Wheaties box while enjoying a bowl of cereal.

Want to read a mixture of politics, secrets, romance, and a search for one's true self, then this book is a "must read."

If ever the old adage, "don't judge a book by it's cover" were true... it's here. Don't let the cover mislead you - this is no sappy romance. Robin Allen knows her craft and knows it well. She takes all the elements of a good book and manipulates them into a masterful novel. Characters you love. Characters you hate. Subplots so well interwoven into the main storyline you will be thinking about them long after you finish this book. This book is a must for ANYONE'S reading list.

When I first began this novel, I concluded early on that in the end it would turn out to be just another romantic novel with the typical "break-up to make-up" story-line. Boy, was I WRONG! Robin Allen has weaved together an interesting cast of characters driven by love, anger, fear, and power. Wonderfully written, the plot thickens with every turn of the page. Move over Danielle Steele and John Grisham and make way for Robin Allen.

Once you begin to read Allen's personal story you will not be able to put it down. It is very well written. It truly is a motivational story of triumph and one that I will treasure and share with my children. It provides a unique perspective on a very difficult time period. If you have read "Night" by Elie Wiesell, "The Diary Of Anne Frank" , or "Survival In Auschwitz" by Primo Levi, reading this will provide a very different perspective of life as a Jew in hiding in rural Poland during the early to mid 1940's.

I thought this book was terrific. To think that this person went through this horrifying experience just sends chills down my spine. It's so important to keep these stories alive and to pass them on to future generations. We must never forget!

I thought this book was a well written, fascinating drama describing what life was like for the Jews of Europe during the Holocaust. Highly recommend it!