S Books

I find this a very provocative science fiction trilogy. Lewis' view of cosmology and theology is neat, and the story, though somewhat dated, is interesting.

I absolutely LOVED this series. My science fiction loving father recommended it and now I have become a sci-fi junkie because of it. A great story that shows our history and future in interesting ideas. Fantastic read.

Books such as these cannot fail to change you. There have been many books in my life which I could say that about, but short of the Bible, I think these surpass them all (Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or G.K. Chesterton's Man Who Was Thursday being the only serious competition).
I cannot speak about these books without a tone of awe, it would be absolutely useless to try and explain why. Please trust me - read these, and many times, too.

Out of the Silent Planet
C.S. Lewis
Scribner Paperback
ISBN 0684823802

This is the first book in C.S. Lewis's amazing Space Trilogy. These books are far less known than Lewis's Narnia series or even his Mere Christianity or The Screwtape Letters, yet it is just as good as any of those writings and goes to show the versatility of Lewis as an author.

This first book begins with our hero, Dr. Ransom, out for a walking tour in the countryside, dressed in that shabby way for which professors are renowned. His foes are his former schoolmates Devine and Weston. These men believe they need a human sacrifice, and by capturing Ransom they have their victim, for they have made a spaceship and are taking Ransom to Malacandra the red planet.

Once on Mars, Ransom escapes his captors, meets many species, and finds out that on Mars there has been no `Fall' and Ransom from Earth or the Silent Planet is a bit of an oddity. People from earth are considered to be `bent' in nature, from the original sin of the fall.

Follow Ransom as he treks across a strange world, and must find the courage to risk it all to save not only an alien race, but also, possibly his own soul.

This is a first book in an amazing series. Try it - you won't be disappointed.

Perelandra
C.S. Lewis
Scribner Paperback
ISBN 0684823829

This is the second book in C.S. Lewis's amazing Space Trilogy. This book was written as a sequel to the immensely popular Out of the Silent Planet but Lewis also wrote it so that the story can stand on its own. So if you haven't read the first you can start here.

This book takes place some time after the first, but we are not sure how long. Ransom has received a summons to Venus, a planet that is just beginning its inhabited life. This planet's `Adam' and `Eve' are on the planet and they must choose to obey God or to reject his law and face a `fall' as has happened on earth.

Ransom must face his old foe Weston, and try to save a planet from great evil. Can he navigate this watery planet; can he negotiate the intricacies of human weakness, temptation and corruption? Can he conquer himself and help others to learn obedience?

This is a great creation story. Try it - you won't be disappointed.

That Hideous Strength
C.S. Lewis
Scribner Paperback
ISBN 0684823853

This is the third and final book in C.S. Lewis's amazing Space Trilogy. This book was written as a sequel to the immensely popular Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra but Lewis also wrote it so that the story can stand on its own. So if you haven't read the first, you can start here.

That Hideous Strength, unlike the first 2 books in this series, where Ransom leaves earth and fights evil in space and on other planets, the battle in this book takes place on earth.

Ransom must lead a group of faithful believers against National Institute for Coordinated Experiments or N.I.C.E., an organization that believes that Science can solve all of humanity's problems. He must battle the people in this organization, super aliens trying to invade and control earth and use its population against other planets and against God.

On top of all of that, Merlin has arisen from his long sleep and has arisen in England's time of greatest need. But the question is, who will find him first - N.I.C.E. or Ransom and his team? The fate of the world, and possibly the universe, rests on this question.

Lewis called this story an adult's fairy-tale. It is a mix of sci-fi and fantasy, and a book that will keep your attention as you raptly turn the pages to find out where Lewis will lead you.

Sometimes learning is like sunbathing. You soak up wisdom like you soak up rays--changing, even though you can't pinpoint every little drop that touched you.

I say that because today I completed the second book in C. S. Lewis' Space Trilogy. True, I can't name one thing I learned (and this series is much more about exploring concepts than telling a story), but I feel very wise. Before you laugh too hard, let me say that my spirit is quiet right now. It's still. Rested. Open. In awe. Ready to receive.

Today I will continue resting, listening. Tomorrow I'll go back over the pages and remind myself what I learned. (And then I'll start the third book.)

I highly recommend these book, but read them only when you have lots of time to reflect.

Don't buy this book for your PR department. Buy it for your attorneys.

Levick bridges the gap between the need for an organization to speak publicly during a crisis and its legal department's desire to keep the corporate yap locked tight. An attorney himself, Levick understands perception trumps fact, and that at crisis time the real battle won't happen in a court of law; it's already happening in the court of public opinion.

Filled with insights and strategies for short-circuiting a media assault from newspapers still in print to online bloggers, "Stop the Presses" is a must-read for those who think they know crisis communications.

Levick also explains the critical need for advance preparation, on-going media awareness and outside legal and communications counsel in a crisis, three steps lacking in too many organizations.

A clear winner.

Dennis Dean
The Dean Group

It's rare that a book can serve as an "insurance policy," but Stop The Presses comes as close as any I have read. Nobody relishes the idea of a crisis situation befalling them or their business--but crises do strike--and by definition, they are unexpected. If a company's management has read, or even browsed those neat little gray "So Don't Forget" boxes at the end of each chapter of Stop The Presses, it will have taken the first step on the road to preparedness.

Ricard Levick and Larry Smith make this sometimes frightening topic eminently readable, and fill the pages with useful, do's, don't and "don't forgets." Their experience is evident all through the book. No book is a substitute for the right advisers and advice, but this one covers many of the crises and legal/regulatory troubles with just enough explanation to start readers on the path to the right kind of actions.

As I stated at the start: it isn't quite an insurance policy, but for $30, it might just save your reputation or your company. And that's probably the best $30 you could spend. Buy it; read it; and hope you never need it. You'll sleep better at night.

After having devoured this book, I can highly recommend reading it.

It is easy to read and offers lots of very practical advice on how to master or even prevent crisis. Richard and Larry have apparently broad experience in helping troubled companies in times of difficulties; and they share their knowledge with a good portion of humor, many real world references and examples, and very helpful appendixes.

Their emphasis on "prevention" made it clear to me how important it is for nearly every company's "survival" to anticipate the potential for crisis and to set up early the required structures. I liked in particular the reminder - or wake up call for many of us - on how important it is to become part of the blog community.

This book should be bed side lecture for everybody who manages communication on behalf of any size and type of company, in particular outside counsel, members of legal and PR departments. It is a great 1x1 on crisis management but also offers lots of depth.

I immediately thought of British Airways' management who should have read this book before opening Heathrow's new terminal and entering into disaster. They would most probably be better off today!

Stop the Presses (2nd Ed.) is a reference book, but it can only be considered a primer for anyone needing to respond to crisis and litigation. I especially like appendix. Most readers will find them helpful.

Reading this book was a great learning experience. It is full of valuable information and "tips" on how to deal with situations that can be a PR or image challenge to an organization. It is easy reading with great stories and examples to support the points that the authors are making.

I would recommend this book to anyone in a management role.

This book really helps you uncover yourself to reveal your inner beauty. People all around you will seem more peaceful. You will be able to be responsive instead of reactive. It is the most uplifting feeling in the world.

I have just finished this book for the third time and decided to buy it (I had borrowed it from my local library at first). I wanted to keep it close at hand so I could read it whenever i needed support in transforming from using my survival behaviors to living from more of my essence. The real life stories make it a personal read and the authors' descriptions of both our "cracked identies" belief systems and our compensating behaviors are both non-judging and clearly stated. Their understanding of the journey from "cracked" to whole seems to come from a universal belief that we humans can and do want to transform old traumas rather than believe in the enculturated view that we are discardable, unloveable victims, living largely unmanageable, tight,fake lives. The authors use very easy to read and remember descriptions of the common "cracked" identities that we all hold and of the compensating behaviors we have taken on to hide these "inherent defects". It is their belief, and now mine after reading their book, that these beliefs can be transformed if we are willing to plumb the depths of the unconscious to identify the identies and their voices that run us. Their "techniques" are simple and straight forward, requiring little more than a commitment to living from the essence of who we are, not from the overlay of beliefs that were thrust upon us in the formative times of childhood. This was not just another "self-help" book; it was a warm and inspiring piece of writing, that is both practical and inspirational. It distinquishes with fine discernment the difference between the vulnerable, whole-hearted way of relating from our essence and living from the tight, practiced, forced, defended facade we all have taken on to protect ourselves from feeling that we are "defective" no matter what.
I highly recommend this book to anyone... those just beginning the exploration of who they are down under all the compensating, survival behavior or those well along in their quest for living from essential self. elisabet skyhawk

My last relationship was the most beautiful gift I have ever received. It scared me to death and turned me into a little child. I got dumped, and started reading.

I just finished this book, and I must say that I have identified so much about myself that contributed to the demise of this relationship. I am taking steps to heal my cracked identities and reconnect with my essential self.

I am even starting to detach from the outcome of my relationship status. I was dumped with the possibility of reconnecting at a later time. This possibility was the initial spark to my journey inward, but it is that journey that is becoming it's own reward.

Read it and internalize it! I also recommend anything by Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks (authors of the foreword). I did a training with Katie, and she is amazing!

This book was recommended by James Flaherty, author of Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others Coaching : Evoking Excellence in Others as well as founder of New Ventures West, the Professional Coaching School I attended. And now I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to deepen their relationship to self and others. I have shared the book with coaching clients as well as friends and family. One of the comments I hear over and over is how people want to read it over and over to really incorporate what they have read into their lives.

What I appreciate about this book is that it is as much about self understanding as it is about understanding our most intimate relationships, perhaps even more so. In our many attempts to change others, it is only when we finally commit to looking deeply within ourselves that we begin to see the world in a new way. Undefended LoveUndefended Love is very clear about this distinction between the work of the self and the work of the relationship.

The other thing I appreciate about this book is the distinction between our essence and the personality we have all been building since we were little ones. This built personality is what the authors Psaris and Lyons refer to as the defended self. Instead of searching outside ourselves for the fulfilling relationships we desire, we must instead look inside and begin to uncover our true essence.

The perspective presented in this book has been invaluable not only in my coaching work, but in my own personal life. You definitely want to read this book if you want a deeply fulfilling relationship for the long haul!

First there was the wheel, Jesus, the Buddha, the printing press, the automobile, the plane - and Sigmund Freud. Then came in all of the transitional ideas, philosophies, and psychologies about human behavior and human relationships - from Jung to Wilbur, and so on.

Enter Jett and Marlena!

While acknowledging that many of the above-noted psychologies have been useful to the world in their own way, I've found that Jett and Marlena have demonstrated a phenomenally deep, hands-on ability to articulate what it means in this day and age to truly love oneself and others unconditionally. Not only that, they're able to offer an appropriate paradigm shift for our times and the appropriate tools to empower readers to create healthier and more intimate relationships.

If deep intimacy is what you long for, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

For decades I've been wandering about with a mish mash of semi-contradictory ideas about the constitution. Mr. Amar has managed to correct, justify, and reframe most of them into a (_thoroughly_ documented) coherent whole.

Where the constitution is unclear, he quotes the debates and letters of the founders explaining what they meant. Where there is modern debate, he footnotes where to look for different viewpoints. Where there was debate during the writing of the constitution, he tells you who said what and why.

That would probably be enough to earn 5 stars, but he somehow managed to turn an erudite treatise on the history of one government into a page-turner. I don't know how, but there it is...

Wow, I learned more about the consitution then I ever could have imagined. I didn't have any idea about many of the themes and debates over the constitution and it's amendments. I'm a novice at political thinking, before the presidential campaign I could've care less about politics. Some of this is a bit over my head since I don't have a background in law or political history. However, Mr. Amar explains it well enough that most should understand. I can't recommend it enough for anyone interested in the constitution.

What an absolutely fantastic reference! Much of this book's praise has been sung by previous reviewers, but I'd like to add that I especially appreciate Amar's powerful paradoxes and equally profound "what-ifs." Buy the man's book so he blesses all of our futures with even more jewels of his erudition.

This book is at once a very scholarly and entirely accesible history of the US Constitution and 27 Amendments. It can be read by pretty much anybdy, without any revious knowledge of the law or history required. Reed prevides the reader with an engaging story, as well as giving an ample number of endnotes that add extra insight and pieces of information to the reader.

Although there are some tedious places, the book has a number of very valuable and interesting insights - especially the topics of the Second Amendment, the Eleventh Amendment, and the "privileges and immunities" clause stood out for me. He does a good job interweaving historical context and the text of the document. There are some unexpected emphases and omissions:for example, it emphasizes slavery more often and more heavily than I expected for an issue that was resolved 140 years ago, and there was a little less on the Bill of Rights and on executive power than I was expecting, although those are more contemporary issues. His chapter on the path, pre-Civil War to the 13th amendment, was terrifically concise but there is very little discussion on the issue of habeas corpus during the war. These aren't complaints, just notifications; overall it was very stimulating. Like most constitutional scholars, he has some outside-the-box interpretations that are obviously developed to accomplish a particular outcome but these are fruitful to reflect on as well.

A few years back, Scott Zesch was doing family history when he ran across a grave of a long-lost ancestor named Adolf Korn. Scott eventually learned that Adolf had been a captive of the Comanche Indians for several years as a boy. After being "rescued," he was always strange, and ended up living his life as a hermit in a cave.

Zesch expanded his research, and the result was "The Captured," a fascinating book about children captured by the Comanches, their experiences, and what became of them in later years. Zesch discovered that children younger than puberty tended to assimilate almost immediately; they forgot their native language (English or German) and even lost their attachment to their mothers. Zesch examines this heartbreaking psychology through his research into the lives of the individuals, which he relates in vivid detail.

"The Captured" is a thoughtful book that both sweeps you up in human drama and leaves you with a lot of things to think about.

Reviewer: Elizabeth Clare, co-author of the historical novel "To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis and Clark"

My 7th grade Horizons English class enjoyed this novel immensely! We used it as an extension of Texas History, combined as an interdisciplinary unit.

picked up my first copy of this book in Fredericksburg, TX where I happened to be eating some BBQ and looked across the street to see an old settlers outpost fort. I wandered around to check it out and the volunteer guide there showed me the book and said it was an amazing story about a little known niche of our history - children kidnapped by the Indians to re-populate their own tribes thorugh a process of "the strongest will survive and be good warriors" they rode the kids hard and if they cried or shoed signs of weakness, they killed them on the spot, figuring they wouldnt be worth the effort to train and raise. if the kids were able to endure the introduction phase, then they began living life like kings, training to shoot arrows, ride horses, fight, and hunt all day. leaving the domestic chores to the women. nearly all of them eventually were returned or sold back to the white settlers but some refused to go and a number of them ran away and rejoined their indian families.

it reads like an adventure book and proves that real life is better than fiction. the Author does a great job o story telling and is very diligent to accurately reflect true historical data as pulled from historical interviews, military records and newspaper articles.

I have a Great-Great Grandmother who was kidnapped by Indians and taken to Canada. Her story is lost but I wanted to get the gist of what kinds of things may have happened, and why she didn't want to be "rescued". This was just the ticket. Well-researched and written, I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't dry or overly scholarly.

I agree with the other reviewers that this book was a pleasant surprise. Moreso, I believe this book should be nominated for a Pulitzer and a Nobel - and I am certain this will become a blockbuster movie!

Hey, take a gander and read my other 100-plus reviews. For me, Bill Anderson, to be uttering such rave exclamations about a historical account, this must be a treasure! It is. Mr. Scott Zesch has provided a book that really gets into the souls of the abducted children and their captors. He somehow does so with balance and sensitivity and refrains from cliches.

I listened to the audio version twice (bought through audible.com, back-to-back, on my iPOD while driving between job sites in Egypt. The first hearing was problematic due to traffic conditions here.

Hey, dodging microbuses and women drivers here is a bit similar to evading arrows and bullets in the old west! Anyhow, I wanted to listen again so I could commit to my soul my new realization of something I think so many researchers have failed to grasp.

Stockholm Syndrome is perhaps only part of the issue. Just as stem cells seem to adopt the particulars of their surroundings, and just as many wild critters can be raised by other species (and occasionally will suffer a confusion as to their own species), so, too, do human beings adopt those existences (sorry for a bad choice of words here) and become as their custodians, captors, siblings or peers. I realize this seems a bit, "duh, no kidding" but the import goes beyond the obvious. Further, it would seem, that any particular species is apt to more fundamentally accept, or accomodate, that which is least hampered or complicated by rules or regulations. In other words, transitioning toward simplicity is more pleasant than is adjusting to more and more complex organizations or societies.

Precisely such a lesson may be of fundamental importance when establishing any system or organization. Perhaps too much regulation or too complex the controlling body makes routine operation (especially at the commencement) will lead to seeming chaos, disorder and thence lead to revolt and to eventual failure or destruction.

And, too abrupt a change before communication to and fro could shortcut any hopes or dreams of adjustment or transition from the simple state towards the complex state.

Although these observations result from a book about Indian captives, the observations, I submit, apply as well to Iraq, Egypt, (or politics in general) but, more important, to formations of clubs, associations and corporations.

General Motors and Ford seem now to be suffering, partly, from the complexities they created while transitioning from the Great Depression through the New Deal and into the Great Society. all the while, upstart, less complex carmakers in Japan challenged from a simpler standpoint using a simpler vehicle.

And, now that Toyota et al have evolved, they may well be in danger from Hyundai and others.

Anyway, back to Captured. This is probably the best book ever authored about life among Native Americans as lived by children taken by force but who adopted the lifestyle out of love for those with whom they lived. I experienced tears of empathy in listening to Scott's discussion of visiting the cave of his distant uncle or when hearing of the reunion one 'white Indian describe his memory of the demise of his adopted 'brother' brutally massacred by a Texas Ranger.

That, alone, is a significant achievement by Scott Zesch - Bill Anderson.

No doubt the best financial book I have ever read. Dr. Horowitz knowledge and wit is unsurpassed. I highly recommend for beginning investors or anyone with the desire to really learn how to properly invest without getting too technical. I also listen to his weekly podcasts which offer a wide variety of investment advice.

Great Book! I was very impressed by how the author has so much knowledge about the topics he addresses and his conservative approach. He advises correctly about risk as well as having a balanced portfolio. The podcast is excellent as well. Definitely recommend this book.

I've dabbled off and on w. investing, but didn't really focus my efforts until recently. I found Andrew's podcast, and his incessant plug for his book, and finally took the plunge.

Andrew provides a clear, focused path for anyone on any income level to take investment decision making into their own hands.

Further, the candor displayed, both in the book, and with the podcast/website gives me hope that a cadre of "disciplined investors" will be created. This could encourage more people like Andrew to reach out and provide an alternative path for everyone to "see things with both eyes open" and allow them to take their financial future "to the next level".

The world needs more people like this to counter the madness that "makes" (and breaks) markets.

Keep up the great work, Andrew. And don't stop... Ever.

I've been listening to his podcast for a few months now and Andrew has been on the mark with naming the truth with stocks like COF, BSC, V, C, ... He's honest and resourceful and really wants to help the plain average investor like you and me. Highly recommended

The reviews here are overwhelmingly positive and I don't think the book was awful. I just don't think it was that great. When I heard the ads on his podcast and the way he talked about the book. I was sort of expecting some kind of compendium of investing knowledge. It's partially my fault for not observing how short the book was before I ordered it - and the book is very short. Faster readers can easily devour it a single sitting. Also, if you are an 'intermediate' level investor the book probably won't be that helpful, although it will probably cover a few things you don't know. My complaint is that the coverage of each topic is rather terse, and you will feel like you need to read another book on the topic at hand before you can apply any of it. For example, the chapter on quantitative boils down to demonstrating how to run some screens. I am quite certain that quantitative investing gurus use a wide variety of mathematical techniques other than running screens. The coverage of technical and fundamental analysis is equally weak.

At best this book provides a simple and brief coverage about most of the major topics you should probably be aware of as an investor.

At worst this book totally fails to really teach you risk mitigation which the author claims that it does. He does mention how you might use options to limit your downside, but this really does not make for a sell side strategy, or much of a strategy for protecting your gains or limiting your losses.

This book is a really good book for a novice investor just starting to learn about the stock market. This book is a lousy book for an intermediate investor who wants to better his risk mitigation acumen.

My book of the latest coin values arrived in excellent condition and expeditiously. The book has proven to be a practical and user-friendly reference source and guide to the most current US coin values.

There is no better guide for the novice or professional coin collector. Reliable information and up to date pricing.

This is the first book a person should buy when entering into coin collecting. It gives a base to prices and where one might start.2008 Guide Book of Us Coins Redbook (Guide Book of United States Coins)

This is a very comprehensive, filled with pictures, easy to understand and follow guidebook for a beginner, as well as a serious collector.

I ordered this book for my son as he is beginning coin collecting. He took up that interest after seeing the collection that my grandfather handed down to me. The book was perfect for showing him what these coins are worth today.

Pass on this one. Monticello itself takes a back seat to the Levy saga of buying the estate.

Saving Monticello by Marc Leepson is a definitive history of the fate of Thomas Jefferson's home from the time of Jefferson's death in 1826 at the age of 83, to 1923, when the home was purchased and turned into a memorial and destination for visitors.

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello is perhaps the most elegant and unique home in America. What happened to the marvelous home is a fascinating story that Leepson tells in ground-breaking depth. In his old age, Jefferson found himself about $100,000 in debt (some $1.6 million in today's dollars), mostly due to overspending over a period of many years. Tragically, Jefferson lived long enough to realize that his business mistakes were going to result in the loss of his beloved mansion, and that his daughter and grandchildren would be left destitute. Even while Jefferson still lived, Monticello began to fall into disrepair.

After the old man died, the house sat neglected for a number of years until it purchased by a most unusual man: Commodore Uriah Levy of the United States Navy. A New Yorker and proud descendant of Spanish Jews, Levy lived in the house only part-time, but did much to preserve the home from ruin. He lost possession of the home when Monticello was confiscated by the Confederate government due to Levy's active-duty service in the U.S. Navy.

It was during this time that Monticello entered its darkest period. Levy died during the war, leaving a complicated will. That and the Confederate seizure led to a clouded title and a lawsuit. For some seventeen years, the property was not only neglected, but openly abused. A trustee in Charlottesville, hostile to the Levys because they were Jewish and Yankees, hired a slovenly caretaker who stored grain in the parlor and allowed students from the University of Virginia to wreck the place in drunken parties. By the time Jefferson Levy, a nephew of Uriah, took possession of the house in 1879, Monticello looked like a haunted house.

Leepson's account of Jefferson Levy's restoration of the mansion gets a little tedious at times, but that's a forgivable sin in a book that aims to be the last word on a topic that's received very little attention. The struggle between Levy and those who wished to make Monticello a shrine lasted for decades and involved unsavory levels of anti-Semitism and gender politics. Eventually, Levy fell on hard times and sold the place to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation which continues to own and operate Monticello today.

It's interesting to realize what a close thing it really was to losing Monticello altogether. Although the Levys weren't cuddly or lovable characters, it was they who stood between Monticello and ruin for years in which other Americans could not have cared less what happened to the place. Thanks to Saving Monticello, the saga of the Levy years at Monticello can now be known and fully understood. This book will be of great interest to anyone interested in Monticello or in historic preservation in America.

This is a great book. A saga that is more than the story of how Monitcello was passed on through the years, but rather, a reflection of broader political and social history from the 1830s to the 1920s. Very detailed; interesting facts; some surprises; and as one editorial review has noted "rich with memorable, larger-than-life characters." If any serious Hollywood producer happens to be reading, the book offers a terrific story that could be made into a movie. I can't wait to read Marc Leepson's next book.

I highly recommend Marc Leepson's book 'Saving Monticello' because it gives credit to the Levy family without whose help and stewardship Monticello may have been erased forever.
His detail and insight of story serve to hold the reader's interest of not only Thomas Jefferson, but of the history of the time. Mr. Leepson very patiently educates us about the Levy family and their unwavering loyalty to Monticello. I had often wondered what had happened to Monticello during the years after Jefferson's death until the Memorial Foundation took it over and now is supplied to us a fascinating history, a thread which we must all be tempted to follow and remember as part of our own history. I cannot imagine looking at Monticello in the same way as I did before I read Mr. Leepson's, "Saving Monticello".

I have just finished reading "Saving Monticello" and want to say just how much I enjoyed it. I am a long-time fan of Jefferson and particularly his architectural endeavors (the subject of my master's thesis) so I go out of my way to find new items on the subject. It was great to learn about those "lost years" of Monticello that up until now have barely been touched on and I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in American history. The author has clearly delineated what a tenuous hold we sometimes have on important landmarks and how easily they can be lost to future generations if we are not careful.

Powerful, moving, honest. The best kind of writing is the kind that comes straight from the heart. You can feel the anger, pain and love flow over the pages. A story that takes you inside the heart of one who lost so much on that day and fought so hard to get to the truth of what happened and what culpability level of our government. Gripping, hard to put down, you know you should just read it. You won't regret it.

In "Wake Up Call", Kristin Breitweiser offers poignant, first-hand insight into the grave inadequecies, corrosive power struggles and chilling lack of democracy of our pre-9/11 government, as well as a piercing account of the blatant failures, deception, and exploitation of the Bush administration afterwards. Beautifully written with a generous, sensitive depiction of her personal life both before and after she lost her husband in the Tower 2 calamity (which she witnessed first-hand), Mrs. Breitweiser's thorough depiction of a country still frighteningly vulnerable to Al Quaida and other terrorists will make any reader sit up and take serious notice. The tenacity and determination of "The Jersey Girls" in the face of unspeakable personal tragedy and their ability to take on the enormous flaws of the Bush administration is an inspiration to all of us.

Although the author tends to be repetitive and her alternative energy source argument would bear much more weight if she were to drive something other than a huge SUV, this book is a must for every American citizen. It could easily become an important Political Science college textbook if it hasn't already.

K.V.D. San Jose, California

This lady is certainly to be commended for maintaining her stamina to accomplish what she did with so many things going wrong. Anyone who has the disgusting attribute to slam these ladies when they were working for others as well as themselves needs to sit down in front of a mirror. There are so many reasons and more all the time actually that there should be another REAL investigation into the whole terrible tragedy of 9-11. I fully agree with them and applaud all they have done and are still trying to do. They say "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and "God doesn't give you anything you can't handle" and I guess that would seem to be true in this case, however, as I know from my own life, no matter what kind of battle you are fighting it does take its toll on one's body. Good going to all you ladies who participated in this and what a wonderful book that was. Well written to the point I could hardly lay it down!

Kristen Breitweiser gives us a compelling view of our government through the eyes of an average citizen. She takes us on a journey thorough her life with her husband before 9/11, through that awful day and then through the aftermath. Kristen and other 9/11 widows have been fighting for truth and accountability for the attacks since that tragic day and have had to overcome hurdles every step of the way. Kristen's strength and determination is inspiring.

I usually don't go in for biographies and I believe all the attention on 9/11 has been a distraction ... that being said, this booked really rocked me. The author is completely "real" and human. Within a few minutes you are identifying with her life and her hopes and dreams. When the tragic death of her husband and thousands of others occurs, you feel her shock and pain.
This book points out why 9/11 is important. Not only do we need to come to grips with people in the world who want to do harm to Americans - we need to come to grips with a government that utterly failed Kristen, the other 9/11 survivors and victims, and all of us as citizens.
The book is riveting and revealing. I encourage anyone who cares about our country to read this book!

What does it say of a reader who, as an adult, reads 'Winnie the Pooh' for the first time - and - and - feels it one of the best novels he ever read.
So pristine, so perfect - would I have appreciated it as a child? Who knows (I was too busy feeding my literary hunger with comics). Anyway I have my copy of 'Winnie the Pooh' on the top shelf of my book case, next to the others I consider great (Ulysses, 1984, Great Expectations ...) for all to see.
And who can contest that for "I am a bear of very little brain, and big things bother me".

My 2 1/2 year old loves this! It is soooo much better than letting her watch tv as this uses her imagination. I'm very happy I bought this.

This book was such a sweet little something to come home to at night. This book isn't just for kids, but for adults too! relax and enjoy!

This book is such a classic. I love reading it to my kids, no matter how many times they ask. (And as a homeschool mom of 4, I get asked a lot! I require it for kindergarten though.) And it gets even better the older you get. It is so funny and clever and wise and endearing. We see almost every personality type in the characters. Definitely a must-read, and if you can at all, own a copy of this book! (A good audio version is nice to have too--British accent a must!) It's on every children's book list I've seen, and with good reason--it's stood the test of time. The children in your life will thank you for introducing them to the original and still the best version of Winnie the Pooh.

My kids really like listening to this book. My husband and I can't stand the voice of Pooh Bear though. I think they want him to sound dumb but it can get a little painful. But since the kids love it so much I suffer through.