Works Books

Max Lucado addresses a pretty fool-proof section of the Bible here. It's a decent book; however, like serving someone a hard-boiled egg, it's pretty hard to screw up.

It is a helpful book for anyone unfamiliar with Jesus' most simplistic yet profound sermon. But, for those already familiar with the Beatitudes, this book serves more as a good reminder than it does as a provider of new insight into Biblical text.

For that reason, I found the book lacking in intellectual/theological stimulation.

Max Lacudo explains the beatitudes in such a simple yet enlightening way one can't help but say "yes" as you read! He literally changed my life as I realized through this book that I too wanted to be up on the Mountain, and not left in the valley. And King of the Mountain is not the goal! For anyone looking to find the light this is the book! I keep extra copies to pass on and give as gifts. A wonderful book!

Great study on the beattitudes for small groups.
Chapters are short enough not to be a burden on busy people.

I read this several years ago, and just read it again. It is a great book over the beattitudes. Max Lucado does a great job of teaching through stories and this book is no exception. It gave me a fresh perspective a very popular Bible passage.

I have read this book at least 5 times. Without a doubt this book has the happiest ending a story could ever have!

I recommend That's How the Light Gets In: Memoir of a Psychiatrist by Susan Rako, M.D. The title comes from a song by Leonard Cohen: "There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." Rako's book is remarkably candid, insightful, and wonderfully well-written. It's a fine read. The writing just flows.

This is an outstanding book. I read it through twice - something I almost never do. Wallin clearly expounds theory, summarising attachment theory and related fields, and moving on to clinical applications. It is very readable, and I warmly recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their practice of attachment-informed psychotherapy, or learn about attachment theory and related developing fields such as mentalisation. Wallin's discussion of mindfulness is especially interesting and thought provoking.

This is an outstanding collection by the main thinkers in AT and a must reference for anyone working in the field. It is not always easy reading but a more overall coverage of the subect from start to present will be hard to find.

David Wallin presents a skillful integration of the road maps of attachment theory, intersubjectivity, neuroscience and mindfulness to help readers develop a Wise Understanding of the journey from a wounded "me" to a healthy "I" to experiencing an awareness beyond the personal self that we could call the realm of the Wise Self.

I'm a doctoral student in clinical psych and I loved this book. While it somewhat deepened my depth of knowledge concerning attachment in psychotherapy, moreso it does an excellent job of showing how it directly relates to what you actually do in a session. It's coverage of and relavence to the current analytic climate (e.g. relational psychoanalysis/intersubjectivity theory) is excellent and supplemented by a thorough discussion of the current empirical evidence coming to our field via related fields (e.g. neuropsych research, cognitive science, etc.). I would recommend this book to any student as part of their graduate training in clinical psych or as an accompanying text to a graduate level psychodynamic or developmental course.

There are many editions of Roget's Thesaurus, but this is one of the best. The print is large enough to easily read, and in each section there are several alternative words or ideas suggested. For example, if one looks up the idea "event" other closely related ideas are listed, and when one goes to the word section that reflect the idea of event, several alternate idea selections are listed with their corresponding number location (not just the word, but the word idea and its number location). This makes researching the concept much easier.

All in all this is the best thesaurus I have seen. Other thesaurus's which are more dictionary-like simply do not have the range of words and concepts that Roget's reflects. Believe me, if I had taken the time to research a few words for this review it would have been a lot better!

If you need a thesaurus get a Roget's, and this is one of the best Roget's you can buy. Plus, the price is good.

AD2

Bartlett's Roget is such a useful resource for me I recently bought a second copy. Unfortunately, the second copy proved to have a number of missing pages, a sad fact discovered after my 30 day return had expired. Enjoy the book - it's marvelous! - but check that it has all it's pages before you dig in.

The Thesaurus literally arrived the next day (and I think I ordered after the 12nn deadline). I was pleasantly surprised. I would do business with them again.

Upon first seeing (and hefting) this volume, I was impressed by its size and hopeful of its contents. After all, it has 1400+ good sized pages, and weighs... well - a bit! "Wow! What a resource!" I thought. Turns out: only 848 of those pages are the actual thesaurus, the other 567 are an index. To be fair, that Index is a useful addition; as I, for one, haven't mastered the left-brain heavy savoir faire apparently necessary to navigate the typical thesaurus. Likewise, the volume itself is useful. I looked long and hard before buying it, and think it is certainly one of the best on the market. This is by no means your `quick and dirty' Roget's Pocket version. It provides a lengthy treatment of most words I've had occasion to investigate. With Bartlett's, I bought The Synonym Finder as what I intended to be a supplemental companion volume. Using them together, however, I find they very often duplicate the exact same synonym lists. The major difference is that - for me - the latter is easier to use. To be fair, Bartlett's does have some special interest sections, such as a 4 ½ page list of Phobias: listed by name and type; or a list of "Children's Games and Party Games," etc. To be honest, as well as fair: in the year+ that I've used this volume, I've never had occasion to use that feature. To be positive as well as negative: in that same period of time, I've never sought a word and not found it listed in either volume. That's not `less than impressive' as I write for a living and do so on an advanced level, so the words I seek are not common fare. Finally: to be practical, the price tag attached to this item is quite reasonable, in my judgment. My advice is this: Both Bartlett's and The Synonym Finder are excellent volumes. Buy whichever one your brain will find easier to use. But don't buy both.

As a student, translator, and writer, this thesaurus has become one of my best friends. It is organized in a very creative way, with an index in the back referring to the various sections of the book's body, where terms are grouped by topic. In the index, you look up the word for which you need related words, and then you choose between the many terms under that heading, each with a distinct variation in meaning. You can thereby turn to the section that best relates to the meaning you are looking for.

Once you've turned to the section referred to in the index, you not only find an extensive list of synomyms for that term, but you also have, on that same page, words that are related but which fall in different parts of speech. That has been very useful for me. And since the terms are grouped by topic, you can look through neighboring entries and pages of entries, finding all kinds of similar and related words, whereas, in a traditional thesaurus layout, the only thing adjacent to your entry would be those words that start with the same letters.

In short, what makes this thesaurus so wonderful is that you have access to an extensive range of word power, since the words referenced in the entry you're interested in are not limited to the space just below the word itself: they are spread throughout the book in logical groups, and the index quickly directs you to the sense of the word that you are interested in.

The book is a compilation of short stories about the most influential children that he has worked with over the years, and once I started it I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone (I personally think this would be a great book for expecting parents to read). You will learn so much about the developing brain and about how early childhood trauma can drastically shape the course of the rest of someone's life.

My Professor, Nina Mogar, is a friend of Dr. Bruce Perry. For her class she suggested we buy the book, because she incorporates it into her curriculum. Everything we know about children, will change when reading this book. This book delves into the neurobiology of children, rather than just studying behaviorism. Dr. Bruce Perry's stories from his own experience, helps us understand children. I also suggest that you visit this link: http://www.visualrecord.com/wishspace/education/childvideos375.html There you will find lectures from Nina Mogar, an extraordinary teacher who has fought for children for over 30 years. She is an amazing woman, and she said she will never retire until she gets the message out of helping children. But how do we define helping children? Both Dr. Bruce Perry and Nina Mogar shape that understanding, and know, what some may even say radical, ways to help children. They have challenged common ideas that we believe are okay to use with children such as: time-out, the idea that teaching children earlier is better, testing, teaching a child to share, recess being shortened, etc... things that many elementary schools are using in their teaching environment. This book will help you to help.

This book is a brilliant summary of the essential information for anyone working with children and families. I thank the authors.

Assisted by a talented science writer, child psychiatrist Bruce Perry presents a series of heartbreaking stories of children severely damaged by trauma. But that's only one side of this remarkable book. The other side is how many of these profoundly damaged children were assisted to heal.

Perry explains his "neurosequential" approach that sequentially targets brain regions left undeveloped by abuse or neglect. He presents compelling cases to illustrate how the child's age at the time of the abuse or neglect will determine the gaps in neurological development and how his interventions sequentially target those developmental gaps. For children whose brains were stalled out in infancy, for example, therapy may start with healing touch or rhythm before moving on to higher brain activities.

The focus, always, is on the child's humanity. Perry explains the importance of listening and letting the child set the pace. He warns of the damage caused by well-intentioned but poorly trained therapists who push children to open up, or who administer punitive interventions in the guise of treatment. Healing is not about a specific technique administered in cookbook fashion but, rather, about love, and restoring shattered human connections.

This is an enlightening and heartening book and a real page-turner to boot. The neurological underpinnings of the trauma theory are presented in clear English accessible to anyone who can read. If you're a mental health professional, psychologist, or psychiatrist, you'll love this book. If you're a parent or a teacher, it's also for you. Whoever you are, it's for you. I guarantee you will be engaged and inspired.

The book lives up to its fascinating title. Perry has worked for years with traumatized and neglected children and his take on dealing with them is based on research showing how the brain develops and the impact of neglect and abuse on it. In other words, if a child is abused or neglected in the first year of life (approximately), physical changes take place in the brain or rather, neurological connections that should be made, are not. (This is a vast simplification.) So as a child gets older and begins exhibiting antisocial behaviors that land him or her in special classes or even mental hospitals, it is not because he or she prefers to act this way but because the child's brain is unable to function in a way that enables him or her to become socialized. Perry, having done a great deal of research on this subject himself, spits in the eye of a lot of "accepted" practices when it comes to children's mental health. I'm always interested to read views that oppose the generally accepted norms. My daughter loaned me this book which she is reading as part of her Ph.D. program in pre- and postnatal psychology. It certainly fits right in with her assertion that we need to pay much more attention to what is happening in the first year of life (and before), not only because the child's personality is being formed, but because his brain is as well (and perhaps this is the same thing). The stories in this book are heart wrenching, but Perry does show that there are ways to help or at the very least, understand.

This is a good visual book on the life of Johnny Cash - it is indeed a collectors item.

Bill Miller, who put together this book about The Man In Black from his own personal collection of Johnny and June Carter Cash memorabilia, knew him well, loved him and was loved by him for many years. The love that Bill Miller had for Johnny Cash is apparent on each and every page from the International Fan Club button with June's autograph to the last lyrics Johnny ever wrote. There were times when I laughed out loud.. and there were times when I had to hold the book upright to keep from staining it with my tears.

An amazing book about an amazing man compiled by a friend of Johnny Cash.. What more could you ask for (except for it to go on for many more pages)!

FOR THOSE OF US WHO FOLLOWED JOHNNY CASH FROM ALMOST DAY ONE, THIS IS POSSIBLY THE MOST PERSONAL AND MOST FULFILLING BOOK EVER DONE ABOUT HIS LIFE. BILL MILLER, A CLOSE FRIEND OF JOHNNY'S SINCE CHILDHOOD, HAS PUT TOGETHER A SCRAPBOOK.COLLAGE OF THE VERY BEST OF JOHNNY'S LOVING AND CARING PERSONALITY. IT'S LIKE GOING BACK IN MY OWN CHILDHOOD, TO THE FIRST TIME I HEARD THE GREAT MAN SING. THAT VOICE, IT WAS LIKE NOTHING WE'D EVER HEARD BEFORE. LATER, THANKS TO MY UNCLE PLAYING ON VENUE'S WITH JOHNNY, I ALSO GOT TO MEET HIM, AND ALWAYS HE WAS KIND, CONSIDERATE AND TO A YOUNG PERSON, OVERWHELMING.

BILL SENT MY WIFE AND I A COPY AND IT'S JUST A TREASURE. EVEN IF YOU BECAME A FAN LATER ON, THIS IS A BOOK THAT GOES BEYOND ALL THE OTHERS. IT'S LIKE JOHNNY HIMSELF LEFT YOU SOME OF HIS PERSONAL BELONGINGS AND GAVE YOU A GOING AWAY PRESENT. WE LOVE THIS BOOK AND TREASURE IT AND THANK BILL MILLER, HIMSELF AN OBVIOUSLY KIND AND LOVING MAN. BUY IT, YOU WON'T BE SORRY AND 25 YEARS FROM NOW THIS ONE BOOK WILL BE THE ONE EVERYONE TRIES TO FIND. IT'S SO GREAT!

I just loved this scrapbook-style memoir by someone who was probably Cash's biggest fan. The photos and the stories were just wonderful and the layout was fantastic.

Bill Miller is an amazing man. He and Johnny Cash were friends for many years. They shared a love of collectibles.

This book shares some very rare memorbilia from Johnny and June's lives. Bill Miller has more CASH memorbilia than most anyone I have ever met. I am so pleased that he is sharing all of those treasures. They should be shared.

One thing you should know...Bill Miller is donating ALL monies, from the sale of this book, to the SOS Children's Village. That really speaks volumes.

God Bless Bill Miller. For his dedication to preserving the memories, for his ongoing support of Johnny Cash fans at his website (http://www.johnnycash.com), for his vision to help those SOS children, and for ALWAYS being a stand up guy. Johnny always told me that Bill was a good man. And he was always right. :)

Kelly Hancock
Hendersonville, Tennessee

For all you kids out there who picked up a guitar because you wanted to be a Beatle, this book shows you how to do it.

First, be exceedingly talented and charming, then WORK YOUR TAIL OFF! Within these pages is detailed documentation of exactly what the Beatles did to attain, then retain, their unparalleled success.

No other band, save possibly The Ramones, put in more stage time wherever they could, and we all know the results.

Read this book, young musicians, then go out there and do it, for the sake of us music fans.

Thanks to Mr. Lewisohn for this book. We look forward to his multivolume bio.

I borrowed The Complete Beatles Chronicle from the library hoping to get more info on the making of the White Album (my favorite). But, because of how well the book is written, I wound up starting from page one.

This book is interesting because it doesn't miss the big picture. At the beginning of each year is a concise chronicle of what happen that year and its significance. One needn't get bogged down in the details. Just read the first few pages of each chapter for a good overview.

But, if you read the whole account, you'll discover the true genius of the four lads from Liverpool and how they somehow managed to create high-quality songs in between appearances on TV shows, sitting in on radio broadcasts, making movies, going on far-flung concert tours and dealing with mobs of desperate Beatlemaniacs.

Some of this data must be conjecture (even though it's not presented as such). For example, unless it was revealed in an interview, how would the author know that Billy Preston was brought into the Get Back sessions in order to break the tension within the group.

Still, it's an easy read filled with facts. I must now buy this book. So should you.

[DW]

Since publishers and editions change from time to time, I am not certain that I am reviewing the exact book. This book will be interesting mainly to those who were teenagers during the 1960s. These persons will recall the first time they heard each of the Beatles' albums, or they will recall the event of buying these albums. For example, I first heard Sgt.Pepper at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. The album was played before the performers went on stage -- that was Cream on their first American tour, along with Gary Burton Quartet and the Flaming Groovies (a last minute replacement for the Electric Flag). Anyway, the book takes the form of a diary detailing when and under what circumstances many of the songs were composed, recorded, and performed. The book contains 360 pages of small print, and almost every page has a 1/4 page photograph, though some are 1/8 page or 1/2 page, in size. The latter part of the book contains color photos. The reproductions of the photos are better than one might expect -- nice contrast and sharp focus. We learn that the original name of the Beatles was the Quarry Men, where this name came from Quarry Bank High School for Boys (page 12). We learn that the Quarry Men (John, Paul, George, and John Lowe (drums)) made their first recording in 1958 (page 13). We learn that Ringo was the drummer for a band called "Al Caldwell's Texans" even before he (Ringo) jointed "Rory Storm and the Hurricanes." (page 16) We learn that the first appearance of the lineup of John, Paul, George, and Ringo took place on August 18, 1962, and this was at Hulme Hall, where the occasion was the Horticultural Society's annual dance (page 75). We learn that the Beatles' first U.S. performances were in February 1964. An interesting fact is that Charles Finley, then owner of the Kansas City Athletics baseball team, paid $150,000 out of his own pocket to persuade the Beatles to play in Kansas City, and that the manager of the hotel in Kansas City cut up the Beatles' bed linen into 3-inch squares, and sold them for $10 each (page 139). We learn that the trumpet players on Strawberry Fields Forever were Tony Fisher, Greg Bowen, Derek Watkins, and Stanley Roderick (page 234) and that Dave Mason played the B-flat piccolo trumpet on Penny Lane (page 240). We learn that Maxwell's Silver Hammer took 27 takes, that She Came In Through the Bathroom Window took 39 takes, and that Here Comes the Sun had 13 takes (pages 324-327). Again, the reading is fairly dry and fun facts are encountered only on occasion. There is essentially no information on the Beatles' social lives. But for those who were teenagers during the 60s, the book is likely to be a page turner.

The Beatles weren't always big,and their was a time actually before Beatle mania.In these times we also didn't always have Ringo star to play drums.We had Pete Best.

The compiled information is outstanding.For a person to gain so much information and archives and list them all in this well priced book is a genious.Very affordable as amatter of fact i picked this up new for $5.99 just awhile ago.

With a well written list of all of The Beatles shows from Livirpool to the USA you can expect the same amoutn of quality info in each segment.The back of the book features a list/guide to all the Beatles albums and a well summed up list of al their songs.(OR so we believe)All the information found in this book is accurate never having to worry of fasle news paper clippings or romours that spread amongst those days.Cool little tid bits of info float all over the book and some well done photos.

This is truley for the Beatle fan in all of us craving that little bit of nerdiness wondering about everything they ever did.Or to some one who wants a well written chronological ordered book of the Beatles in general.Big fan or newcomer this is just right for you.

I borrowed The Complete Beatles Chronicle from the library hoping to get more info on the making of the White Album (my favorite). But, because of how well the book is written, I wound up starting from the beginning.

This book is interesting because it doesn't miss the big picture. At the beginning of each year is a concise chronicle of what happen that year and its significance. One needn't get bogged down in the details. Just read the first few pages of each chapter for a good overview.

But, if you read the whole account, you'll discover the true genius of the four lads from Liverpool and how they somehow managed to create high-quality songs in between appearances on TV shows, sitting in on radio broadcasts, making movies, going on far-flung concert tours and dealing with mobs of desperate Beatlemaniacs.

Some of this data must be conjecture (even though it's not presented as such). For example, unless it was revealed in an interview, how would the author know that Billy Preston was brought into the Get Back sessions in order to break the tension within the group.

Still, it's an easy read filled with facts. I must now buy this book. So should you.

[DW]

Human All Too Human and Daybreak can be considered as volumes one and two of the same work. As Nietzsche said in Ecce Homo, a careful reading predicates a full understanding of his later polemics. Here, the bombast is not yet as evident but the seismic rumblings of the will to power, the eternal return, the death of god, the over and last-men all are all foreshadowed in Nietzsche's grand, classical deftness and precision of thought. Nietzsche's largest printed work, HAtH has perhaps the broadest and best sustained discussions of nearly every topic of importance to thoughtful and reflective thinkers. This, together with Dawn is a great place to begin reading Nietzsche.

If you like aphorisms and philosophy, this book will become one of your bibles. If nothing else, it's just plain fun to read for his incredible wit. Of course you have to put his ideas in the context of the period in which he wrote and understand that he has his own odd prejudices, but the brilliance of his understanding of the human condition really shines through. The biggest mistake any reader could make is to think Nietzsche was an anti-semite---far from it. He was anti-neanderthal. In this book especially the reader sees his low tolerance for received wisdom. This book is nothing less than part of the origin of Western psychology as practiced today. It also represents the demolition of science and philosophy polluted by the received Western theological framework. Some of the best parts are when he skewers religion. You have to love his style even if you do not agree with his pessimistic disgust for piety. This is the kind of philosophy book you need not fret over, unless you harbor wishful thinking about a supremely benevolent deity. Instead of making an elaborate argument about the number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin, as preceeding systematic philosophers did literally and figuratively, Nietzsche bends the pin and throws it in the trash. I wish I had read this before his Genealogy of Morals, as knowing his thoughts here would have made that book far more interetsing and understandable. I highly recommend philosophy students first approaching Nietzsche pick up Human, All Too Human to start their study. And if you are religious and want to bolster your faith, well, you should stay far away from this book.

O.k. So I have a minor in philosophy and Nietzsche was one of my inspirations to pursue this as a degree in college. Nietzsche deals with androgony. In more modern terms, men and women are crossing over the line of androgeny with their jock image. They are getting more and more androgynous you can't distunguish between even basic differences between the sexes anymore. While my philosophy professor and classmates dismissed Nietzsche as "not being a first rate philosopher," he does have his points about god and androgeny. This is part of our changing world and in philosophy class I did make my points.

In response to some of the prattlings below-only those who do not know the first thing about Nietzsche think that he was at all anti-Semitic. He wrote clearly, very clearly, against that and against nationalism. In one of his books he stated that Germany should not admit any more Jews inside of her borders. Why? Because he felt that the German people lacked an identity, and knew that Jewish people had a very strong identity. He did not think that Germany, weak and unrealized as it was, could stand an influx of a people that he repeatedly characterized as remarkable.

I am somewhat obsessed with Nietzsche, and this book started it all. Do not dive into his later, more well known masterpieces (Beyond Good and Evil, the Genealogy of Morals, The Gay Science) without acquainting yourself with this book. It is an introduction to his style, and there is no better example of his mastery of psychological observations. In this book he comments on all elements of social reality ("no one thinks to thank the clever man for restraining his wit when in the company of those who cannot practice wit" for example), going into love, friendship, the tenor of social gatherings, absolutely everything that is psychologically investigatable. He brings this method to his later books, in which he tackles larger issues, like the history of religion, philosophy, morality, and other things. But it all starts here-his later critiques of Christianity and everything else are far more understandable after a thorough acquaintance with his psychological method, first and best presented here. If you are at all sensitive and introspective, this book will move you to tears more than a few times.

if you want to have your moral foundations knocked out from under you, read this book - and then build upon the ruins - Nietzsche's, in my opinion, most accessible work, as his aphoristic style floats over many different topics - don't stop here however, i recommend Kauffman's "Nietzsche, Philosopher, Psychologist, AntiChrist" as a starter if you find the complexity and diversity of Nietzsche's thought to be overwhelming or incomprehensible - he's frequently ambiguous and contradictory but it's more a positive trademark of his works and shouldn't dissuade one from further readings.

This book is just great. It combines every metaphysical, positive thinking principle that has been written in hundreds of books- into one small, READABLE, AFFORDABLE (!) treasure.The author "gets it" and - after reading this book- we get it too. A great gift! No preaching here, just a wonderful communication of positive ideas laid out beautifully.

This is a wonderful little handbook for life, written in a conversational style. Don't be deceived by its straightforward, down-to-earth tone. Throughout the book are centuries of wisdom, presented as quotations from philosophers, scholars, poets and other wise thinkers. These are interspersed with real-life experiences of people who have lived by these wise aphorisms.

In addition to presenting experiences of specific people, the author gives examples from her own life: not only how she created luck for herself, but also how she had inadvertently blocked it. Such a personal approach gives you the feeling that you and she are having a heart-to-heart conversation at the kitchen table.

This is a book to be read more than once. Each time you read it, you are apt to be at a different place in your life, which will draw your attention to new insights.

Pauline Wallin, Ph.D.
Author, "Taming Your Inner Brat: A Guide for Transforming Self-defeating Behavior"

Do you believe that good luck is something that "just happens?" Do you ever wonder why good things happen again and again to some people, while others seem to have black clouds over their heads? In this book, Azriela Jaffe identifies eight strategies for attracting good luck. Each strategy comes with Luck Builders, Luck Busters, and Luck Blockers--specific behaviors that can bring luck to you or chase it away. With these strategies, you can start making lucky breaks come your way.

Although we can't control everything in our lives, we can open the door to new opportunities and give luck easy entry into our lives. Simply changing your mindset and being open to new possibilities can make luck happen in amazing ways for you. That's the point of a story involving me that is included in "Create Your Own Luck." I won't give all the details here, but on page 106 you can read about how I was able to salvage a problem situation and turn it into an exciting opportunity.

Being included in this book is in itself an example of one of the ways I've created luck in my life. When my problem occurred, and I made lemonade from the lemons, I posted the story to an email discussion group. Azriela saved that post and asked for my permission to include it in her book. If I hadn't taken the time to share my story, I wouldn't have been "lucky" enough to have my story shared with the world through this book. Just making yourself available can make you lucky!

I've always been a big believer in creating your own luck, and I had employed some of the strategies here intuitively. The good advice in this book showed me how to consciously and consistently use luck-creating strategies to create success after success. If you read this book and put its ideas to work for you, you will begin attracting good fortune in all areas of your life.

This is an excellent book filled with practical advice on increasing your good luck. My only complaint (a very small one) is that the book is probably more targeted to a female audience with several references to finding a husband or handling children. As a man, I found most of the exercises too introspective for my taste. Primitive that I am, I don't like to recollect big mistakes that I have made or probe deeply into my own psyche. I guess I'm just not wired that way. These small issues aside. I thought the book was fun to read and worthwhile. I probably enjoyed Dr. Wiseman's "The Luck Factor," a little more.

a short review: I recieved this book by complete chance and coincidence... I've only had it for ten days now. At first I was merely skeptical. I said to myself "oh great, another somebody trying to explain the principles pf the universe."

But that wasn't the case... This book is about gentelness. It does not preach you to do anything or that you're doing anything wrong..... It merely reminds you, in the most gentle of ways, that you either ALLOW good-Luck to flow into your life, or you don't... I was a little bit STUNNED because this book is SO FULL OF TRUTHS that it made me see how many LUCK-BUSTERS and LUCK BLOCKERS I have had in my life... and guess who has created them?--Moi!!...... This is not an easy thing to recognize. It makes you upset and angry with yourself for a while (because deep down in your heart you know this is TRUTH!), but once you LET GO of this anger, you begin to ALLOW good things to be entering your life...... and INDEED, in the past WEEK (since I started reading this book) I've experienced more love and happiness than I have for a LONG LONG TIME :-)

This is not because of the book. This is not some MAGICAL BOOK. This book, however, does what only the BEST BOOKS CAN DO... It reminds you of Universal truths that YOU ALREADY KNOW... It does so in a FUN and GENTLE way.... This book was clearly written in the SPIRIT OF LOVE.... It gets my HIGHEST RECCOMENDATION. Anyone, like me, who is on a spiritual path, anyone who is with an OPEN MIND(Principle # 1 of LUCK-CREATION according to the book)... Anyone who likes to be reminded of gentle yet POWERFUL universal truths should read this book!

This book is the journal of Rosemary Langheldt who left her job and home in San Francisco to serve with the Red Cross in London and then Germany. The story is told through letters home and journal entries, and both are highly informative and well written missives. Mrs. Norwalk recreates what it was like to live in England during the last year of the war. She is an empathetic observer of the many tens of thousands of men (boys) who stop briefly at her Clubmobile for a donut and a cup of coffee after disembarking in England and re-embarking for the fight on the Continent. Once Rosemary is transferred to Germany, she sees firsthand the near destruction of many German cities. Her writings are true to the time: these people were our enemies a short time ago and they tried to kill the boys who I helped serve. It also offers an honest appraisal of the Occupation where the black market made many Americans rich. This book will be of interest to anyone who wants to know about life in England after the Allied landings in June 1944 and the early days of the occupation in Germany.

Rosemary Norwalk left ardent swains and professional position to become a "doughnut dolly" with the American Red Cross. This University of California graduate and San Francisco native brings a disciplined eye to the social climate and
the broad spectrum of Americans thrown together by World War II. Following training in Washington, D.C. where she had to be restrained from sitting in the back of the bus, to commentary on the bravery of the ordinary Londoner under the buzz bombs, to experiences managing the large operation at a major port, she is insightful and forthright. Her many letters home are tied together with good historical notes on military operations and progress of the war. Mistitled a love story, it is instead a story of women who dared to step up and take on great responsibility for providing troop support both departing and returning through Britain. An example: A new"girl" arrives and one of the current Red Cross "girls" rushes to Rosemary with misgivings over her attitude and different looks. " The new girl announces: I'm Lil...I'm a Jew and I'm from Brooklyn and I don't like to take orders.' It was a challenge, not a greeting. I took a deep breath in the silence, then stuck out my hand and smiled. I hoped cordially. 'Welcome, Lil. I'm a gentile, I'm from San Francisco, and,' I groped for the right words, 'I don't like to give orders, so we ought to get along fine.' "

This is a wonderful book that I enjoyed the entire time I was reading it. It is one of those treasures of American history that should be read by anyone interested in WWII history. It is valuable look at the war from the perspective of an American Red Cross volunteer stationed in England. Not a nurse, as the author points out as the usual assumption, but one of those moral boosting "doughnut dollies" that sometimes were the last friendly female face a soldier would see before embarking for the battlefields of Europe.
Mrs. Norwalk was a wonderfully skilled writer at the time she wrote the letters and journal entries that make up the book. And the book is equally well crafted and edited, giving a detailed look at the work of the Red Cross workers on the docks of Southampton, England, their everyday lives and yes romances as the subtitle implies. It also includes personal photographs taken at the time.
An interesting item on page 99 is a list that explains the code used by the Red Cross to communicate the number of ships arriving or leaving, their sailing dates, and the number of soldiers to expect so they would be prepared and have enough volunteers, coffee, and doughnuts for them.
My sincerest thanks to Mrs. Norwalk (now deceased)for sharing this personal history with us, it reminds me very much of the letters my father wrote my mother during WWII that I have published into a book entitled: All My Love, Forever: Letters Home From A WWII Citizen Soldier. - Dale Lane

I picked up "Dearest Ones" in a discount store and didn't expect much. There's a certain sameness to the World War II diaries of young women: young woman from small town bucks convention, kisses parents good-bye, and runs off to get liberated. She has some very mild adventures, makes a lot of friends, says "gee golly whiz" a lot, and swans on home at the end of the book. A postscript informs us that she settled down with a man named Bob or Hank or Earl, of whom we heard absolutely nothing in the course of the book except for a few mentions of "letters from So-and-So in the South Pacific," and is living somewhere in the midwest near her three grown children.

Boy, was I surprised, and pleasantly so. Perhaps it helps that Rosemary Langheldt was older, in her mid-twenties, and already a career woman when she applied to join the Red Cross overseas. It also helps that she seems to have been a very curious and thoughtful person. As other reviews have mentioned, she takes notice not only of the glitz and fun of work abroad, but of Britain's sometimes stifling class distinctions, American racial prejudice, and the difficult moral compromises involved in the occupation of Germany. There is also plenty of romance, fun, and gee-golly-whiz adventure, but one never gets the sense that Rosemary lost track of her primary reasons for being in the Red Cross or saw her job as a mere means of adventure. Rather, she was there to work and the adventure happened along the way.

She was keenly interested in other people, making this book a pleasure to read-- it can be incredibly frustrating to read a diary when the only "character" the diarist is able to make three-dimensional is the diarist herself. She had a skill for interacting with people (I get the sense that I would never in a million years have been able to handle her job) and trying to understand them, and that curiosity and interest in humanity permeates the whole book. (I also feel compelled to mention, as a reader, that I really appreciated the narrative cohesiveness of this book. If someone is introduced, then they will be around until a reason for their departure is given. A lot of diaries suffer from people and events appearing, disappearing, reappearing, necessitating either a lot of head-scratching or awkward footnotes. This book doesn't have that problem. Rosemary was a really excellent correspondent.) This is really a stellar example of the genre, probably one of the best I've read.

I came across this book at a local bookstore and thought it was a very touching and well-written account of love during wartime. As the author lived in my area, I was able to meet her and have her sign my copy. I'm so glad I did as she passed away August 22, 2002. What a great keepsake for her family and a wonderful book for the rest of us. So if you've been meaning to write your memoirs, don't put it off! It may not ever be listed on Amazon but it would probably mean a lot to your loved ones.

Tricia Molloy has taken spiritual principles and presented them in a real-world context. It will inspire even the most pragmatic leaders to see their power and their possibilities for producing extraordinary results.

The book is easy to read and its lessons are easy to absorb, all of which makes it an excellent resource for those seeking to apply spiritual principles in a business setting. Even if you sense that you have "heard some of this before" the question you must ask is "but have I applied it in my life?" If the answer is no, then Tricia's book will certainly help you.

She has a gift for writing in an accessible style (what one reviewer termed "gentle" - an excellent description) and for taking principles that others have made into lofty, intellectually complex ideas and reducing them to practices that are easy to implement, even for over-worked corporate types.

One additional note is that individuals or leaders who work in larger corporations should not be concerned about the reference to "entrepreneurs" in her sub-title. This book is for anyone in the business world that is looking for ways to bring more spirit, more life, and even more sanctity and peace to their working world.

Buy this book, read a chapter a week, and resolve to take action on the inspired ideas it will generate. I have no doubt that it will change your life.


Jim Huling, author of Choose Your Life!: A Powerful, Proven Method for Creating the Life You Want

First off, this book is for everyone. I was amazed to see so many financial, emotional, and time management techniques packed into such an easy-to-read book. Tricia gives you exercises and ideas for increasing your productivity as well as the savings in your bank account. I was stunned at how quickly I read this book.

Tricia has done a vast amount of research to bring you the 10 principles of an abundant and successful life. Her chapters are chock full of quotes from different books and people that she has read and interviewed so you not only get her take on each topic, but you're in the discussion with at least five to eight other individuals on the same principle.

My favorite chapters were: Principle 4, Clean Out the Clutter: The Universe will Fill the Vacuum, and Principle 10: Give Thanks Often: Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude. I focus on these two chapters because they are so pivotal to having a financially secure life. Most folks forget how all these topics effect your view and choices on money, and what Tricia does is demonstrate how changing your environment from clutter to clean brings you more energy and time (at least 2 hours a day says the research) to be productive with what is really important to you.

Giving thanks often is something that has brought me many new clients, opportunities and joys in life. So all the advice Tricia gives in Chapter 10 I heartily recommend to others because I've seen the positive results first hand with my own experiences. By expressing my happiness to others in thanking them for their assistance, the Universe turns around and continues to shower me with the very things for which I am grateful! It's crazy! It's abundance! And it is how Life works. Tricia does a great job of explaining this.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to break out of their negative rut in a simple yet positive way. Sure, the titel says the principles are for entrepreneurs, but I have found that the truths talked about are just as viable for the stay-at-home-mom, teacher, construction worker, or medical professional. It really doesn't matter what you do for income. If you are working, this book is for you!

Janine Bolon, author, Money...It's Not Just for Rich People!

One of my closest friends heard Tricia Molloy speak last year and was so enchanted that she bought her book for me as a gift. What a delightful surprise this book has been!

I read about 2 books a week, many in the "how to make your life better" genre, and am often disappointed to hear the exact same information over and over, slightly rehashed. This book is a refreshing change. It is organized around 10 key principles, with a chapter devoted to fleshing out each one.

Several of the chapters are pretty unique and exceptionally helpful. My favorite was the chapter on "cleaning out the clutter" to rid yourself of many of life's annoyances and to make space for more good things to come in. This chapter has had a huge impact on me and I have been on a "clean it up and get it out" mentality thanks to Molloy's influence.

There is another excellent chapter on tapping into your own inner guidance with some very specific information on meditation and prayer to guide you as you learn to seek this inner guidance. There is an excellent section on forgiveness and opening up mental space in your life.

There are excellent chapters on using the law of attraction, visualizing, affirming your success, and expressing gratitude. The entire book is delightful to read and chock full of points that had me saying to myself, "I never thought of it that way, what a good point!"

Overall an enjoyable read and a book I intend to reread regularly.

Jan Dahlin Geiger, author of "Get Your Assets in Gear! Smart Money Strategies" Get Your Assets in Gear! Smart Money Strategies

I read this book in order to interview Tricia for my podcast Writers in the Sky (iTunes). Tricia's thinking is right on track with mine. I enjoyed being reminded of the Universal Laws and how to apply them on the job. Whether you are self-employed or working in corporate, you can use these spiritual truths to create the life you desire.

Yvonne Perry,
Author of RIGHT TO RECOVER: Winning the Political and Religious Wars Over Stem Cell Research in America

There are plenty of books out there on how to work "smart" . . . how to succeed as an entrepreneur using intelligent business tactics and savvy selling strategies. But this book encourages you to take advantage of something much more valuable and reliable than that---the divine wisdom that speaks to you through your own intuition. From trusting your own intuitive guidance, to adopting an attitude of gratitude, this wonderful book shares 10 spiritual principles that can help you create, manage, and grow your business with divine ease. But you don't have to take this author's word for it, because also included here are dozens of stories and examples about how these ancient truths have worked for some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs and corporate executives. If you are in the process of building your own business, you would be smart to read this book. Correction . . . you would be wise to read this book!

Steven Lane Taylor, author of Row, Row, Row Your Boat: A Guide For Living Life In The Divine Flow