S Books

Being an author and reviewer when my grandchild asked for this kit as a present I was thrilled. It's always nice to see a child want to follow in your footsteps. Was it worth the money? You bet it was.
Inside is everything that was needed for her to use to create her first book. The instructions were easy to follow and she got right to work.
What a great book was made. Her illustrations were exactly as she drew them and she was thrilled to see her very own story come alive. She loves being able to share it with others and it has given her great pride to see she has a book just like her Grammy.
This is well worth your money and will bring a lot of joy and happiness to any child that receives it. I am proud to recommend this product.

I had gotten this for my daughters 7th birthday, she was always finding bits of paper around the house and trying to write stories on them. She absolutely loved the gift. I had her start writing the story out on regular paper and then I helped her get it going when she was done. I made sure to count all her words and after we got the story down on the papers I told her that all she needed to do was draw a picture of what was happening in the story on that page. She did a great job. I finished filling out the paperwork and sent it in. I received an e-mail letting me know that they had gotten the story and that her book would soon be here. When she got the book she said was very pleased with how her book turned out. There were no miss spelled words and the pictures looked great! It looks absolutely beautiful, she brought it to school and everywhere. I plan on getting another illustory for her this year as well.

On the topic of miss spelled words...there is a box that you can check to have them keep the spelling the way it was written (in the case that your kid wrote it out and spelled something in a very unique manner and you wanted to keep it that way forever!)

This is such a great item and worth every penny. We'd love to do these every year and get duplicate copies for our families. This is a great way to capture the different stages of creativity in your children - and rewarding to them when they see their story "published" in a real book. Highly recommended for all ages!

this product is great in theory...

I bought this for my 7 year old son. He decided to make his story online and it took him DAYS to complete. He worked very hard on it. After he was done I filled out the "about the author" section and uploaded his picture. Well part that was eaten by their website or something. Because I rechecked it before I put the order through and it wasn't there. So I re-entered it and clicked all the way through to the checkout.

WE got the book (finally, since they send it via media mail)and it had many errors - it had strange shapes that aren't on the screen when you are editing the the book on the website. and it was missing the "about the author" section. My son was in tears. I emailed the company and they were very slow to respond. They said they would send me a link to print out a return shipping label. They didn't until I emailed them AGAIN a few days later to ask for it.

I decided not to mess with the "about the author" section on the website and manually filled it on the form out when I returned the book to them (which I think is silly that they make you return the defective book) Since they failed to include it in the first book I thought I had better write it out for them.

Well I received the 2nd book about 2 weeks later and there is still a few errors and the "about the author" section is HALF of what I had entered on their website the FIRST time. it only says: "about the author" and a picture. No paragraph about my son. They completely disregarded everything I manually wrote out on their form when I sent back the book.

ugh, I am not dealing with this company any more. They need to work out the bugs on their website and get employees that can pay attention. And make their website more user friendly.

Very disappointing.

For my daughter's first birthday, I wrote and illustrated a story for her about the day she was born. I'm no artist, mind you, but she loves it. (If you want to, I believe you can use the computer to make very simple sticker-like illustrations instead of drawing.) It was especially meaningful to her when her baby sister was born this last year. I am buying a new one for the little sister as well. I think it's a terrific idea for making a personalized keepsake FOR your child or grandchild.

The only drawback, you do have to be a little creative regarding the words per page limit.

Best historical military related book I have read. Very well written and honest comments by the author and easy to understand. Great reading as well as a good history lesson on the U.S. army after WW2 by one of America's greatest warriors!

This is a story of a soldier in an army in decline, a lost war and a premature end of a magnificaint career. It is also the most motivating war story that I've ever read. It is the story of a man with barely a 7th grade education who joins the army at 15 years old and earns a battlefield commission in Korea and in Vietnam becomes the only soldier to be awarded two Distinguished Service Crosses, 10 Silver Stars and three times nominated for the Medal of Honor (which he did not recieve) and became the youngest Colonel in Vietnam. The book is a cry for military reform and it is also a war story. Hackworth tells of the desparate fights on nameless hills in Korea in a fasion that makes you wish that you were there, not an easy task, with the Korean War. When a lackluster soldier is killed Hackworth is proud that he died well and makes him a hero to the unit. He never seems to feel fear-"I guess I just like war...I like the cameradship. Adversity brings out the best in men"- Hackworth told Ward Just in the book "Military Men." In Vietnam Hack often took hopeless situations and turned them into victory. In a way his resignation was a victory, this self educated soldier stood up to a buracatic army that was losing a war while others went along. This is the most motivating book that I've ever read, so much so that I retured to active duty after reading it, insisting on infantry. David Hackworth may have been "Once An Eagle" but he was no colonel Kurtz-as the hardback dusk cover suggested. Hackworth died in 2005 from cancer, the only fight that he ever lost.

Colonel David Hackworth was a soldier's soldier. Born too late to see active service in the crucible of WW II, he lied about his age and enlisted in the Army as soon as he could. Often credited as being the most decorated American soldier of his era, Hack was well-known within the U.S. Army for his courage, honesty, and derring-do exploits.

Hack ranks right up their with the U.S. Marine's Chesty Puller and Gregory "Pappy" Boyington as the sort of officer who is a pain in the a** to have around in peacetime -- but who is exactly the sort of leader you want when the bullets start to fly. It is impossible to read about Hackworth's battlefield experiences during the Korean War without getting a lump in your throat for the privations those poor guys suffered. (Many U.S. Army units were airlifted from the States via Japan directly into combat in Korea, still wearing their Class 'A' uniforms -- totally unprepared for the Korean winters and the raging fighting they found upon landing.)

Col. Hackworth's Vietnam experiences are fascinating, too. As he rose in rank he displayed an uncanny ability to call a spade a spade, and his dismay with how the war was being fought eventually led to his being personally cashiered out of the Army by the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army!

Buy this book and read it -- you're in for a real treat! Hack was the real thing, and his demonstrated courage and abrasive honesty make him worthy of study and appreciation by both junior and senior officers throughout the armed services.

Captain Michael L. Pandzik, U.S. Navy Reserve (Retired)

This book was an inspirational read. Even though it takes forever to read this book, it's well worth the time. Hack's experiences shared in this book changed my outlook on life, and my outlook on human interaction/organization.

I would recommend this book to anyone, as I'm sure his experience can be applicable to anything you will ever have to deal with in life.

Excellent Read......... Highly Recommended ... 5 stars

About Face chronicles the experiences of the youngest colonel serving during the Vietnam circumstances. The book itself begins in February 1951 with Hackworth facing the enemy in Korea and is divided into twenty-three chapters. About Face follows David Hackworth the length of his military journey from the days when as a young soldier nick-named 'Combat' he charged into the face of the enemy along a path to near ruin at the hands of disgruntled superiors. The work includes maps, author's notes, a foreword by Ward Just, an Epilogue and an Appendix including a Glossary, Index and final notes.

About Face is a well written page turner presented in language clearly understood by the typical reader. The book is certain to interest those who have any link at all to the Vietnam situation faced by so many men and women from our country. The book helps to demarcate what happened, when and to whom.

I first read About Face written by Col. David Hackworth during the late 1980s. I found it particularly helpful in helping me...a woman with little knowledge of anything military, understand better my children's dad, a land based Viet Nam combat vet and the problems he had to deal with before his death.

As the wife of yet a second Viet Nam combat vet, special forces, I suggest this book for anyone who wants a better understanding of the debt of gratitude and respect we citizens owe those who served during the action in Vietnam and those who willing to serve in The United States Military today.

Molly Martin
Reviewer

I rented this book on CD and thought, how could I go wrong with Nora Roberts. I found this book to be slow and I really did not care about the characters. The language bothered me and Eve Dallas just did not come across well in this book. I did not find this book interesting and for an 8 hour drive I fought to finish it. Nora is too good for this kind of writing. Read her Irish trilogy a much better choice.

Once again Eve tracks down the sadistic bad guy. Ms Robb has a superior talent. I am glad she decided to share this talent with the rest of the world. I hope she continues in this matter.

As ever with the Death series JD Robb rocks. All the favorites character are here and continues to draw you into their lives. You feel invested and entwined in their lives as Eve & Company continue solving crimes and making you care.

Another winning book in the "...IN DEATH" series, this one finds Eve fighting for justice for the lower class citizens of New York.

After finding a street sleeper dead in his crib, his heart surgically removed, it doesn't take Eve long to figure out that there's some type of conspiracy involved within the medical community. When the threats become personal and Eve is forced to hand over her weapon and her badge, her personal life takes a turn for the worse.

This is a very emotional Eve & Roarke read, and highly recommended!

Someone is killing the homeless of New York, in the year 2058, and removing their body parts! As Lieutenant Eve Dallas unravels the mystery behind who is killing them and why (affectionately known as the "sidewalk sleeper murders"), she is forced to face an adversary who will stop at nothing, including framing her for murder, to get her thrown off the case. Torn between a love for the job, a pursuit for the truth, and fighting to keep the one thing that she REALLY loves, besides Roarke, her badge, Eve is stripped of everything, and for the first time in the series, we see Eve really vulnerable and hurting (even too sad to spare with Summerset, who we all know she has a love/hate relationship with). With her true friends support, Eve continues her journey in discovering the truth, no matter what the consequences. And we all learn how really important her careeer and badge are.

If you love the "in death" series, you will love this book as well. You even get an opportunity to see Dr. Mira, Feeney, McNab, Peabody, Baxter, Webster (old lover of Eve's), and Commander Whitney. And I finally find out how Trueheart and Dr. Louise's characters are introduced into the "in death" series. [I must admit that I have not read the series in order, so finding out these things is always helpful]. I highly recommend this book.

Lawrence Ritter in his original Preface describes his book as about the early days of baseball. I'm going to make a correction. Mind you it is the only one I will make. His book is about the early days of modern professional Baseball.
With that being put aside , I must praise Mr. Ritter for his most original idea for a book. He took upon himself to travel the U.S.A. in search of the very players who established our National Pastime in the early part of the 20th Century. People talk of Shakespeare and Churchill as prolific writers of the English language. What Mr. Ritter has done is an epiphany for writing a book. His concept was indeed very simple. Why not seek out the very best living Baseball Players of the early 20th Century, and ask them to please describe their experiences.
In the early to middle 1960's when Mr. Ritter did this, he was able to talk to these pioneers of modern baseball in the twilight of their wise years. These 26 men had time to reflect on their careers and describe an age unknown to us. Mr. Ritter traveled to these men and I'm sure asked the correct questions and let these gentlemen record their responses on tape. What he captured will stir the heart of each true Baseball Fan.
For the record my two favorites are Stanley Coveleski and Bill Wambsganss. You can guess from these selections what my favorite team is.

I really enjoyed listening to the stories from some of our classic baseball heros. They brough history to life. This audio book was one of the best purchases I've made. I truly enjoyed just listening to these remarkable men tell there own stories of baseball's past.

I had read where this was considered by many as "the best baseball book of all time." Well, you know how hype like that works; rarely is anything as good as it's built up. Not in this case. This really IS fantastic baseball material. It's so good that several people have copied its format since but nobody has come close to duplicating it. It's the content, though, not the form that makes this so entertaining.

The "it," by the way, refers to letting former players talk into a tape recorder and write down exactly what they say. In this book, we get ballplayers who played in the wildest era in baseball history: the Deadball Era. Thus, you get some incredible stories, many of which are just jewels, things you will treasure if you're a fan and you love baseball history.

If for nothing else, the story about Germany Shaefer's pinch hit home run is worth the price of the book. It is the funniest baseball anectdote I have ever heard or read.

Baseball great Ted Williams said when he finished reading this book, he started over and read it again. I believe it.

Lawrence Ritter recorded and wrote what has amounted to an instant classic, from the year it was published in 1966. All the hype, folks, isn't hype: it's the truth - a fabulous collection of baseball stories.

I have been an avid reader of baseball history for most of my life and I first purchased this book in the 80's and wore it out and purchased another copy. There isn't a season that goes by that I don't read it again. When you read the interviews of the ballplayers, recorded by Lawrence Ritter, it's as if you are a fly on the wall hearing the conversations first hand and the ghosts of seasons long past are brought back to life.

You get a first person account of some of the most famous moments in early baseball history through the fond recollections of some of the participants. Merkle's boner, Snodgrass' muff, Wambsgan's unassisted World Series Triple play are all recounted. The most entertaining parts of the book recount tales of Germany Schaefer stealing first base, the chronicles of Charles Victory Faust, and Wilbert Robinson attempting to catch a grapefruit dropped from an airplane. You get a glimpse of Ty Cobb from his teammates Davy Jones and Sam Crawford. You get several different takes on the great manager John McGraw from several different players who once played for him.

This is hands down the greatest sports book I have read. It's not only a great history of the early days of 20th century baseball but a wonderful piece of Americana. The book breaths humanity and paints a portrait of the ballplayers of the past who played for the love of the game unsullied by steroids and multimillion dollar contracts.

Statistically, baseball back then couldn't be more at variance with the game now. Cy Young threw 511 career victories, and 750 complete games. In 1909, Ty Cobb led the majors both in batting average (.377) and home runs (9). Cobb's teammate Sam Crawford hit over 300 triples in his career.

What to make of such numbers? Lawrence S. Ritter's "The Glory Of Their Times" strips away the statistical confusion by getting to the heart of Major League Baseball's early days, the players themselves. An economics professor, Ritter invested his downtime from 1962-66 in interviewing elderly men, baseball players all who knew what it was like to face a Walter Johnson fastball, or have Ty Cobb slide into the base they were covering.

"People were more unique then, more unusual, more different from each other," says Davy Jones, who played on the Tigers with Cobb and Crawford. "Now people are all more or less alike, company men, security minded, conformity - that sort of stuff. In everything, not just baseball."

Transcriptions of Ritter's interviews with Jones and 21 other former players, including Crawford and two others then in the Hall of Fame, makes up the whole of "The Glory Of Their Times," published in 1966 and later extended with four more interviews in 1984. Nearly all the interviews offer both testimony and color for the game as it was then.

Bill Wambsganss tells us about his unassisted triple play in the 1920 World Series, and how Ring Lardner once used his last name to rhyme with "clam's chance" and "Ray Chapman's pants". Fred Snodgrass tells us about his famous muffed fly in the 1911 World Series, and how his New York Giants tried to psyche out the Philadelphia Athletics by sitting on the dugout bench, ostentatiously sharpening their spikes.

You hear so much about another famous World Series moment, the Merkle "boner" of 1908, that you feel like you were there on the field, too. There's a Rashomon-like quality to hearing various interviewees give their different takes on such things as the character of John McGraw and whether "Giant Killer" Harry Coveleski was run out of the league when he was caught chewing on bologna. (Snodgrass says so, while Harry's brother Stanley, a major-league pitcher himself, calls it "a lot of bull".

Not all the interviews are riveting. One wishes Ritter could have pushed some of the old players more, like the rumors that swirled around Smoky Joe Wood involving fixes. But allowing the subjects the reins probably drew more color out of them than a Grand Jury could have. I love how Crawford keeps telling Ritter he hasn't much time to talk, while giving Ritter one of the longest and most entertaining interviews in the book, describing how players would allow themselves to be rubbed down with "Go Fast," a noxious combination of Vaseline and Tabasco sauce that made them sweat like a sauna.

"I hope I haven't said anything I shouldn't," Crawford says at the end. "There are a lot of the old-timers still left,you know, and they're liable to say, 'That fathead, who the hell does he think he is, anyway, popping off like that!'"

If you like baseball even a little, you will enjoy "The Glory Of Their Times" quite a lot.

NOTE: My review does not regard the quality of the book, i.e., the writing, the plot, etc. Rather, the one star is strictly for PDF downloads from the book's publisher, iUniverse. Please be warned that iUniverse doesn't provide necessary info prior to ordering that could be used to decide on whether to buy the book or not. When I recently ordered a PDF download of a book from iUniverse, I was expecting an instant download. On the contrary, instead I got an e-mail from iUniverse saying my e-book would be coming eventually in an e-mail to follow. But after several days, that second e-mail never arrived, so I contacted customer service and they sent me a link to the book. (My complaint here is that iUniverse should say up front that their e-books are not instant downloads.) Next, upon getting the link, I downloaded the book to my work computer. That worked fine, but be warned that you can only view the book on the computer that it is downloaded to. You can't print the e-book, and you can't attach the e-book to an e-mail to send to your home computer. (So, my second complaint is that iUniverse should reveal this info up front, before a book is ordered.) I sure won't order any more e-books from iUniverse until they clean up their act. Spread the word!

I learned about Torpedo after a friend pointed me to the books of John Hindinger. Jeff Edwards and John Hindinger's books show up each other's pages, and since I liked Rogue Trident and Rogue Avenger, I gave Torpedo a shot.

My overall take on Torpedo - fun and clever! Edwards unfolds the plot like a chess match, except that the rules of the game roll out at along with the plot. Some of the plot seems contrived, but the author keeps it in the realm of plausible reality.

Torpedo moves fast, and Commander Jim Bowie is likable. However, character development is thin, as with many first effort (most?) naval novels. There are plenty of tidbits of naval fact sprinkled in here that I skimmed through, but I figure that most male readers would appreciate them. I did, however, really like some of the side stories like the `baked potato'. Of course, not enough female characters for me, but I've learned to excuse that when reading naval fiction.

I was thinking 3.5 stars but rounded up to 4 for being clever and animated. I pretty much read it in a couple days and enjoyed it, and that's what matters.

Having been a reserve armed cavalry officer, I know little or nothing about submarines and destroyers. This novel was a fine education by somebody who clearly knows what he is talking about and, furthermore, very well written.
I join all before me in giving it my highest rating. If there is more where this came from, please let me know!

Jeff Edward's "Torpedo" is riveting! A great storyline mixed with an intricate knowledge of the subject matter gives the reader a real sense of "being there" as the story unfolds. I found the interjection facts regarding the historical development of the torpedo enhanced the gravity of the subject matter and made the story even more of a page-turner. I highly recommend "Torpedo" and congratulate Jeff Edwards on a torpedo-proof debut.

I recently discovered that Jeff Edwards has finished his next book, The Seventh Angel.
Put me in line for the first copy!

I have been waiting for Jeff's next book ever since I finished reading Torpedo. Scenes from the book often come to mind and I have at remind myself that Torpedo is book, not a movie. (Although it should be.)

The character development is so complete and action sequences so believable that I felt that I was on the ship with the crew while missiles launched from the enemy sub came flying at them from out of the sea.

Thanks for a great book. Give me more!

Byron Mettler, Author Speed Kills!

I would just like to say that this sender wasted no time and I received the book promplty within the week that i ordered it. Also, the book was just as they promised it would be. Thank you very much. I have asked and paid extra for items to be expedited before and they still took forever.

For those who are wondering if the BRS Physiology book is worth it: IT DEFINITELY IS!!! I am very happy that I purchased it and know that I will be using it for decades... yes I said decades.

This book is awesome, but I can still criticize it. I read it along with the little Guyton book, and used it as a main source a couple of days before the NBME, which we took at the end of our physiology class in medical school. I read the entire book in two days, and understood it all! It is a fast dirty way to study physiology that hits all the necessary points. However, it has its down points. The book is in bullet point format all the time. It became a little degrading to see point after point, which is why I used the pocket Guyton book. Guytons pocket book is another source that I highly recommend because it explains rather than bullet points, and if the bullet points in this book become too much for you, try pocket Guyton. Also, the sections of this book may not follow your class lecture. It can be unpleasant to search for what your studying. If the book had sections smaller than 30 pages it would help. Another word of warning, this book is build for medical school. This book is not intended as a source for PhD work, etc. However, if you are in med school, this is a necessary evil!

The book had a lot of concepts that really helped with my learning of physio throughout the course and later with prepping for the physio shelf exam. My only beef with the content was with the impertinent discussions of molecular similarities between some hormones, but overall, I was pretty satisfied with the book.

This book is an amazing tool for my Medical School Physiology class, it will be a vital piece of my USMLE study regimen.

I think this is the best BRS there is. I used this book for course exam prep as well as board review. It is a great tool to highlight important concepts, and it explains things in a simple and effective way with the right amount of information.

If you want to know about Mike Yon's background and what makes him tick, read Danger Close.

The thing I will remember most about this book is that, surprisingly, it was a deeply touching tribute to his mother. The military stuff is all extremely interesting, to the point where you won't be able to put it down. But the book goes far deeper. It's a timeless story from the heart -- one that every son wishes he could write for his mother. On the outside, the author is a tough-as-nails soldier. But on the inside, he's still a little boy who continually reaches back to his mother's love to guide him through life. This is as it should be. God bless all the good mothers of the world.

I haven't read this book yet (sorry for the 5 star rating), but have picked up on his online magazine (blog). Michael Yon has and is travelling all around Iraq - mostly in the hotspots with the U.S. Army (Strykers), where he does his reporting. I find his weekly dispatches informative and interesting, and will definitely be picking up his book. If you liked his book, please go to http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/ and start reading at the bottom (where he started writing) and work your way up. New dispatches posted weekly (mostly). Also, it seems he's doing this out of his own pocket, so donate towards his blog if you can. From his online magazine:

Michael Yon, author of "Danger Close," is currently in Iraq. Email: [...] Michael Yon is an independent, informed observer chronicling the monumentally important events in the efforts to stabilize Iraq. His dispatches have the benefit of his life experiences without drawbacks based on deadlines or demands of marketplace. The cost of these dispatches is borne solely by Michael. Readers who enjoy these dispatches and want to support Michael's mission in Iraq, can make a contribution using the PayPal links

Mr. Yon is currently in Northern Iraq and writes periodic pieces on the web about his experiences with American forces. He is a very dedicated and personable guy who is just trying to do the right thing. I enjoyed this book very much but would have liked to know what happened after the car wreck. How did his SF career end,etc. Anyway those of you who are interested in personal military type accounts will definetly enjoy this book. It received an award for his writing style.

Although Mike Yon and myself both graduated from Winter Haven High School it was years apart and I never had the pleasure of meeting him. I found the book enjoyable because I could relate to some of the local places that he mentioned. But the story was well written and interesting besides being informative despite that fact. Charles E. Gist author of the historical fiction novel "The Other Side of The River"

I read this book last semester for a Criminal Justice class and it is amazing. It opened my eyes to exactly how wrong the war on drugs is. This book is my #1 recommended book. If more people would read it I think we'd finally be able to find our way out of this fruitless war.

This is one of the best books I've read on the drug war to date (and I've read a bunch). The book carefully went through the origins, history, and effects of the drug war in a captivating and easy to follow manner. When finished, the reader will be left with an iron-clad indictment of the drug war which has covered all angles. This really is one of the most comprehensive and well written books on the drug war, and I highly recommend it.

Q: What is the difference between the Prohibition and America's war on drugs? Mike Gray's overall answer is "very little," but the one glaring difference is that when Prohibition failed, the country repealed the Constitutional Amendment which had created it. Alcohol use remained at about the same level before, during and after the Prohibition years, but the murder, official corruption and gang battles that accompanied official proscription came and went. DRUG CRAZY analyzes the upshot of that distinction and its enormous worldwide effects. The U.S. led anti-drug effort has cost us hundreds of billions of dollars in enforcement efforts alone, not to mention the cost of prisons, imprisonment and court proceedings and has succeeded in creating an international drug consortium with an annual income higher than the U.S. defense budget. Thousands of innocent bystanders have died in sprays of automatic fire and bomb blasts. It has made pot easier to get than alcohol for most American teens and brought Colombian, Bolivian and Mexican democracy to the brink of collapse. Damningly, Gray reports that every refereed study since the 1890s has suggested that marijuana is harmless and that the opiates and cocaine are no more dangerous than alcohol (perhaps less). Even the infamous "crack babies" we heard about for a few years turned out to be an unsubstantiated myth. In every country where legalization and controlled prescriptive availability of harder drugs has been tried, addiction rates remained stable or fell, crime decreased and most addicts proceeded to live normal workaday lives. The U.S. has forced other countries to quit such programs through fiscal pressure and outright lies, insisting that all adopt our abolitionist stance. We have managed to export violence, crack cocaine, corruption and other benefits to numerous other nations along with our failed policy. At the same time, and to make matters worse, the nature of enforcement has become a defacto racist effort. Cocaine in Wall Street boardrooms is harder to see than crack runners on Main Street and while whites are the disproportionate users of illegal drugs, blacks are the disproportionate arrestees. In this country, one in four black males is either in prison, under probation or on parole, mostly as a result of drug or drug related crimes. Small wonder, as the author points out, that blacks think O.J. Simpson was framed: it is their daily experience. Police routinely lie in court to make drug charges stick. (Since private deals between consenting parties are very hard to actually witness, when police claim that a perpetrator dropped a bag or in some other way made evidence visible it is understood by judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and defendants that it is "acceptable" false testimony to cover an illegal search. So perjury is permitted in the name of enforcement.) Amazingly, the whole morass of current drug problems and policies could be eliminated with the stroke of a pen. Minus prohibition the drug cartels would be defunded. If prices fell, many farmers would find other crops more appealing. If currently illegal substances were distributed by prescription or through state-licensed stores, kids would be infrequently exposed. (How many pushers are selling beer in front of your local elementary school these days?) Mike Gray has brought his story telling skill (The China Syndrome and other screenplays) and his investigative/documentary bent (American Revolution and The Murder of Fred Hampton) to bear on an urgent national and international problem. His recommendations and observations are difficult to refute and his is a well considered voice in a growing debate which affects us all. Even now, the genie released when California and Arizona approved medical marijuana use is being clumsily stuffed back in the bottle by Federal mandate, disenfranchising voters and creating a rising uproar. As former U.S. Attorney General Elliott Richardson observes: "Anyone who thinks the war on drugs is succeeding should read this book. It shifts the burden of proof from the critics of existing policy to its defenders."

When it became clear that the medicines called opiates were highly addictive and caused health problems, they were dealt with as nicotine and alcohol are dealt with today. There were honest and realistic public service messages warning of the dangers of opiates, and there was medical help that greatly limited the damage they did to the individual and which had a chance of eliminating his or her addiction. These methods worked, and where they are applied they work today. Then in the second decade of the twentieth century the country took a nose-dive into authoritarian attitudes and corruption, and people got the strange idea that you could eliminate a practice you didn't like simply by passing a law against it. Alcohol, and the opiates were completely banned, as was marijuana which was now designated a "drug" because of its association with minority groups. Alcohol use, which had always hovered between widespread and universal, had been declining but now became more common than ever before. Worse, the alcoholic drinks that were taken became much harder and not being regulated they might contain enough alcohol to be dangerous. Worse still, an untold number of criminals were created, crime of all kinds increased radically, organized crime came to control whole districts and corruption reached heights never seen before. "Public service messages" regarding what were now illegal "drugs" became simple expressions of hatred having very little to do with the "drugs" they were about, and everyone actually familiar with those "drugs" knew it. Medical treatment by doctors who were actually trying to help their paitents was declared illegal, and a number of doctors went to prison. The lives of opiate addicts had usually been no worse than the lives of nicotine addicts, but now those lives became impossible. Addicts could no longer hold jobs raise children or do anything else but concentrate on their addiction. Current "rehabilitation" for opiate addicts is an expression of hatred for those addicts and makes no attempt to help them. It mostly consists of telling them they are evil it they don't break their habits, and for those addicted to opiates or nicotine, breaking the habit altogether is usually not possible. Opiate use had always been an insignificant phenomenon nationwide, and in the early part of the century when it was being dealt with intelligently, it was declining. But then the hate laws were passed, and now a measurable percentage of the population is addicted and condemed to ruined, useless lives, organized crime is more powerful now than at any time in history, and whole countries like Columbia are completely dominated by corruption-- as are large sections of others like the United States and Mexico. None of this needed to happen. The things we call "drugs" were handled intelligently at the beginning of the twentieth century or were never a problem in the first place. If realistic laws were passed, the worst of the damage would be fixed very quickly since it is directly caused by bad laws. The rest of the damage would take a decade to undo, but if we begin treating the opiates as we treat nicotine and alcohol we will gradually undo it.
I think that is a pretty good thumbnail of what Mike Grey had to say, and he is completely right. Everyone in the country should read this book. Our real addiction is to hatred.

Author Mike Gray tackles the failed drug war in this book and effectively shows how the present war has many similarities to alcohol prohibition in early part of the twentieth century. Gray begins his discussion of the subject of drugs by taking the reader back to 1925, in the city of Chicago, during the height of the nightmare of prohibition. Gangs ruled the streets. The air was filled with the smell of cheap booze and the sound of gunfire. Police were defenseless to the total chaos going on all around them. They simply could not stop the manufacture and consumption of alcohol. There was too much money to be made by selling this "forbidden fruit". There was no possible way that this "war" on alcohol could ever be won.

Does this sound familiar? It should, because the same thing is going on right now. The government's failed attempt to eliminate alcohol is now being attempted a second time with the war on drugs. These laws are discussed in the book with a history lesson on the various court rulings and congressional decisions that led to the present prohibitions on drugs. These laws have some of their roots in the U.S. Congress. According to the book, marijuana itself became illegal as the result of a lie told to congress by Fred Vinson, a man who would later become the U.S. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Vinson was sitting in a congressional hearing one day, just before congress was about to vote on whether or not marijuana should be made illegal. The American Medical Association knew of the benefits of marijuana in medical treatments, and was strongly against such a law. But when Vinson was questioned by congress, he lied and said that the AMA backed the proposed law 100 percent to make marijuana illegal. This was enough to help push the law through congress. Vinson's lie, coupled with the onslaught of government propaganda against marijuana, marked the beginning of America's second nightmare with prohibition.

The lying and deception by government cooled off a bit during the 1940 to 1960 period. But then, the lying and deception continued when President Nixon decided to revive the anti- drug crusade, in part to cover- up his own problems with Vietnam and Watergate. George Bush then escalated the damage even more by scaring the public into backing his anti- drug package and his "get tough" policies against drug dealers and drug users. Gray talks about these and other political maneuvers; why they happened and the true motives behind these so- called "moral" crusaders.

The present- day situation looks pretty bleak. Gray points out that the United States is now the largest jailer in the world with roughly half of all prisoners being non- violent drug offenders. We have also corrupted our police officers, with many of them actively taking part in the drug trade; cutting special deals, accepting bribes, etc, because of the allure of easy money. Respect for law enforcement is low, and violent criminals have been allowed early release to make way for non- violent drug offenders, thanks to mandatory minimum sentences.

This book is an easily manageable length: about 198 pages and fairly easy to read. There are a total of eleven chapters and two appendices. Appendix "A" details the changes in the U.S. murder rate, showing how it peaked during alcohol prohibition and during the present- day drug prohibition. It also shows graphs depicting the U.S. prison population and the Federal Drug budget. And to give the book some balance, Appendix "B" contains a listing of activist organizations, both pro- drug war and anti- drug war, along with a brief description of each and their respective websites.

As Mike Gray points out, the War on Drugs is one of America's greatest failures. Gray never specifically condemns the war. He wrote this book as a means to educate the reader on the motives behind drug prohibition and the reasons that politicians continue to fight a losing battle when they know that the war is not winnable. Gray never resorts to name calling or any form of moral persuasion. He really doesn't need to. He lets the facts speak for themselves, illustrating the endless problems created by a war of prohibition and why it is so important to stop this insanity once and for all.

Found this book by accident, but it was a very interesting book for that age group. I would recommend it.

This book is such and adorable addition to any personal or classroom library! As a soon to be teacher, I would certainly use this adorable book to supplement a geography lesson or a lesson on the states. An absolute must have for any children's/classroom library!

Okay, call me a sucker for any book that teaches while it entertains. This book excels at both. The premise is that, in the middle of the night, the state of New York woke up from a dream and shouted to all the other states, "HEY, EVERYONE--LET'S HAVE A TALENT SHOW!" And so they did. And what a rompus, good time was had by all. There's plenty of over-the-top humor, song ditties, and corny jokes (thank you, Iowa!), but it's the illustrations that kept me enthralled. This book is so visually appealing, that I'd have turned to its pages again and again, even if it only said "BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!" I'm guessing your wee ones who can't read will find it equally addicting. Maybe you'll get lucky and overhear them making up the story themselves.

I love Laurie Keller's books, especially The Scrambled States of America. She was partially my inspiration when I was writing The Little Man In the Map. The Little Man In the Map: With Clues To Remember All 50 States
Books like these can spark an interest in learning more about this wonderful country and the world.

My alumnae group read this book to 3rd graders at an inner-city school and the kids loved it! We had a map and games to go with it and the program was a big success. I highly recommend this book for teachers.

As a health-conscious omnivore, I was looking for a book to help me get past the sandwich-rut in my lunch box. I don't have kids, but I can attest that my husband and I love the recipes in this book, and I feel even better about my health with these vegan recipes. Even if you're not vegan, you're sure to get great ideas.

This is exactly the book to get for any vegan who brings a lunch to school or work. The meals are geared towards young children and the book is geared towards their parents, but the content is suitable for any vegan who makes sack lunches and is tired of PB&J all the time.

They need to make two more books:
1. The Vegan Children's Cookbook - the easy stuff that kids can prepare themselves
2. The Vegan Worker - more adult sack lunch and picnic foods

Vegan Lunch Box really doesn't need yet another stellar review, but it's getting one anyway! This book is full of more than great recipes, it is full of great complete meals, each one balanced and fulfilling. I have only had a chance to try a few of the meals so far, but I don't think I could be without this book now. Everything I have tried tastes great and is easy to make. Now all I need is one of those bento boxes or stackable stainless steel things and I'm set! Thanks so much to Jennifer and her family for publishing this wonderful book.

Having looked at the blog at [...]a number of times, or should I say drooled over the blog, I finally purchased the book. I have to say this is an amazing book with fantastic recipes, photos, ideas, tips and hints that are great for kids and adults. I can't wait to fill my new lunchbox with some of these vegan goodies!!!

This book has made me excited about packing a lunch! All the recipes look delicious and I can't wait to try them all out! Jennifer McCann has done such a wonderful job of showing that vegan meals (specifically lunches) can be diverse, healthy and fun! No one has to feel deprived when eating from home after reading this book!