Works Books

The first time I read this book, I sat on the floor of Barns and Nobles and giggled through the whole thing. It's funny, touching, and a must read for dog lovers - especially if you've had a rough day and need a little help appreciating the simple things. Plus, it makes a great gift, and all of the author's proceeds go to benefit Canine Companions for Independence.

This book is one of the sweetest animal stories I have ever read. I recommend it to all animal lovers, grade school teachers, moms & dads. It shows the tender side of Dean Koontz and brings out the same in all of us. I couldn't stop laughing!

I read this book so often it's not even funny, and I am an adult. It captures the personality of a Golden Retriever so well! And if you don't love Goldens then you need to re-evaluate your priorities... :) This book would be good for children, I plan on reading it to my children in the future. It just captures how the little things matter, and all it takes is simple pleasures to make your life complete. You can take good advice out of some parts of it, others are just there for pure amusement.

This book is delightful; it is light hearted, and reminds us(people) to not be so weighed down by pressures and responsibilities we forget to take joy is the simple things.

These are beautiful thoughts and beautiful photographs of a very astute canine author! Well worth the time and money invested!

A must to complete the set. For some reason, I bought volume 2 first. As an aficiando of Mary Oliver, I am very happy to have both volumes now.

I love Mary Oliver's poetry - it always puts me into a better frame of mind, and makes me slow down and breathe. Her poetry is so lyrical and evocative, I am transported straight to the wonderful natural world, and am able to view my struggles and petty difficulties through a calming and peaceful lens. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys poetry, and to anyone who hasn't yet fallen in love with poetry - Mary Oliver is one of the best poets ever, in my opinion!

This is a collection of her poems, old and new. She is an outstanding poet, and one cannot do better than have her book of poems by your bedside, to read before going to sleep or when you awake in the night, or first thing in the morning.

The Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Mary Oliver, finishes her poem,"What Have I Learned So Far" with the line, 'Be ignited, or be gone.'To me, this conveys the passion she brings to life and poetry. What comes through clearly in her poems is her reverence for nature.
New and Selected Poems, Volume Two, is a moving collection of her past works combined with many new poems. There is a Zen isness that permeates her work.Haiku like parsimony with no embellishment. Nature does not need anything extra. For example, writing about what she saw after a storm -
And this detail: the body of a duck, a golden-eye; and beside
it one black-backed gull. In the body of the duck, among the breast
feathers, a hole perhaps an inch across; the color within the hole
a shouting red. And bend it as you might, nothing was to blame:
storms must toss, and the great black-backed gawker must eat, and
so on. It was merely a moment.
I recently saw Mary Oliver at the 92nd Street 'Y' in New York City where she was reading from this collection. See her if you can. She reads as she writes, with dignity and with passion and wisdom. This is an extraordinary collection of poems.

I have about 5 of her poetry books. I feel that her poetry has gotten more and more beautiful over time, and believe that this collection is better than Volume 1. Mary Oliver is definitely my favorite poet - much of her writing is about a thirst for growth and spirituality, and finding peace in nature and love (friendships and relationships). I have given this book to a number of friends, who are also touched by her gift of expressing the unexpressable. Some of my favorite poems in this book: the Percy series (her dog), Why I Wake Early, and The Whistler.

My other favorite book of Mary Oliver poems is her most recent one: "Thirst". It deals with grief at the lost of her long-time partner and is quite beautiful. For those looking for a really good book of poems in general, I *definitely* recommend "Good Poems," compiled by Garrison Keillor; and "Risking Everything: 110 Poems of Love and Redemption" compiled by Roger Housden. Enjoy!

I use this book more than any other for my weekly care plans. Very simple, yet effective.

This is a must for care plan books! For a fast, easy to use tool to get your nursing diagnosis and get on with your care plans! It doesn't take a class to figure out how to use it. Students in my nursing class that did not purchase this originally have already bought it or will be buying it this weekend.

I found this book to be so helpful. Although, it's a slightly older edition then the current one avaliable, it still got the job done.

I am a nursing student (will graduate in July) and this book has been an invaluable aid with all of the care plans I have had to do. As a matter of fact, most of my fellow classmates use this book or an earlier edition.

Nursing Diagnosis are not easy but this book has really helped. It gives you possible outcomes/goals.

This is an amazing book! I read it through twice and now I'm using it as a study and meditation tool. I've read, seen and heard a lot about positive thinking and all has been helpful, however this book has been the one thing that has gotten me to another level with the entire concept. The information provided is easy to understand and apply. The principles are much like that of other books that teach about positive thinking, but this one comes from a highly spiritual place. It got me to a new level of understanding. Previously, I was having trouble with some of the concepts of attracting great things into my life based on my beliefs of self worth. When I realized I am not only worthy, but that it is my divine birthright, amazing events and feelings came about. Our purpose is to express God on earth so how could love, joy, health and prosperity be anything but the natural flow. I highly recommend this book and challenge you to reach a new level of truth within yourself.

This book is a tremendous avenue to reawaken the senses and uplift your belief system in realizing that we control our destiny. Through constructive and positive thinking we ca have it all- health, healing, happiness, and a liberated spirit. Power Through Constructive Thinking

"To be afraid is to have more faith in
evil than in God."
--Emmet Fox

This quote from Emmet Fox, taken out of Power through Constructive Thinking is just one small example of powerful moments of insight to be found throughout this book. Much of what Fox says back in the 1930s and 40s is echoed by today's new age teachers. Abraham-Hicks comes to mind specifically.

To me - Emmet's "Power Through Constructive Thinking" is the foundation stone of all his powerful, inspiring & motivational books.

This one outlines in detail & comprehensively the technique for turning your thought processes into power to achieve peace, prosperity, health & happiness.

The process is easy & logical as soon as you see it. He uses Bible tracts to expand his ideas & show that this is nothing new. Mental science & the power of the mind has been around & recognised for thousands of years. Some successful people take the idea for granted & may not even realise they're using this system.

Despite the books age & the period from which it came, Emmet writes clearly & with fluidity that makes you want to carry on & finish the next chapter.

If you can just hold his ideas in place, remember them (write them down if need be) & daily put them into practice, you'll see your success's grow from day to day, followed health, happiness, prosperity & peace. All of which is nothing more than we're all clambering for - isn't it?

To me - Emmet's "Power Through Constructive Thinking" is the foundation stone of all his powerful, inspiring & motivational books.

This one outlines in detail & comprehensively the technique for turning your thought processes into power to achieve peace, prosperity, health & happiness.

The process is easy & logical as soon as you see it. He uses Bible tracts to expand his ideas & show that this is nothing new. Mental science & the power of the mind has been around & recognised for thousands of years. Some successful people take the idea for granted & may not even realise they're using this system.

Despite the books age & the period from which it came, Emmet writes clearly & with fluidity that makes you want to carry on & finish the next chapter.

If you can just hold his ideas in place, remember them (write them down if need be) & daily put them into practice, you'll see your success's grow from day to day, followed health, happiness, prosperity & peace. All of which is nothing more than we're all clambering for - isn't it?

This is not your so called war stories. It is about a man and the men he served with without any liberal gibberish (see his references to more modern times)and the fact that wars happen and will happen, just or unjust depending on one's views. But, they won't go away like some Utopian dreamers think just because other "Utopians" weren't up to it. There were so many pages that hit me in the gut because one could so readily identify with things on the page. I never expected such a great book from a journalist / media person which proves that there is good in every crowd. I salute Fraser and I wish I could tell him so in person.

GMF has outdone himself with this book about his part in the Horrific war in Burma during War II. He tells of his time as a junior enlist then junior NCO with the Border Regiment. He spins his tale extremely well about the story of the last great War fought by the Old Anglo-Indian Army of the Raj. So if you want to get a feel for a bygone Army, its various & exotic troops, weapons and some great characters like the Iron Duke and the Impressive FM Slim then this is the place for you.

I read this entire book with a smile on my face, punctuated by frequent outbursts of laughter. George MacDonald Fraser's memories of his WWII service with the British Commonwealth Army in the Burma campaign was the first of his non-Flashman works I've read. Although it's impossible to really compare two completely different literary genres, I'll just say that "Quartered Safe Out Here" was-in its own unique way- as hilarious, if not more so, than the best of the Flashman novels. The difference is that in the Flashman novels, Fraser's obvious respect for the sacrifices and achievements of the British soldier had to be viewed as a backdrop to the foreground humor while the opposite is true in this work, where the humor plays a supporting role to his tribute, which is explicit.

Unlike his Flashman creation, Fraser was an honest-to-goodness war hero- courageous, honorable, and immensely proud of his country, regiment and platoon section. Like old Flashie though, Fraser cuts through the B.S. and shows no tolerance for armchair generals, civilian second guessing, and the nattering classes' politically correct sympathizing for Britain's enemies, so long as they were black, brown or yellow. It was amusing how Fraser's account of his argument with a bleeding-heart over the atomic bombing of Japan exactly echoes Flashman's dustup with a supercilious academic at the beginning of "Flashman and the Redskins". The alert reader will notice other such episodes in this memoir that seem to have found life in that series, but as Fraser noted, sometimes real life in Burma was so bizarre that he would have been laughed out of town if he had tried to slip some of those stories or dialogue into his fictional novels or screenplays. That's why I'm glad he finally got around to writing this book. It would have been a real shame if this story had not been told.

Fraser details his time as a 19 year old soldier in Burma during the last months of the war. His writing is brilliant, as usual, his stories engrossing, his attention to detail is fascinating, and the characters we meet, from the lovably obscene Cumbrians to the unbelievable Captain Grief, are unforgettable, the more so for being real. Apart from the entertainment value, which is considerable, Fraser's insights into the nature of war and the warrior are poignant and valuable as a historical record of, and paean to, a lost Britain. He bemoans the fact that that Britain (not to mention America) has been replaced by a therapeutic society of hypersensitive p.c. twits who have been severed from the warrior tradition and stoic ethos which made their existence possible in the first place. As with most of Fraser's books, it's not for someone who thinks that the world has improved much in the last 50 years. What else is there to say? This is simply a great book. Read it and love it.

This book had been brought to my attention by the author John McKinna ("The Sen-Toku Raid" and others) when it was learned we both had been combat infantry. And a great recommendation it was. The name of the book was taken from a Rudyard Kipling phrase in "Gunga Din", and outlines the infantryman's life during the final days of WWII as the Black Cat Division pushed down the Burma road towards Rangoon.

His book is unique in that it recounts the perspective of the war-fighter on the ground, who's entire knowledge of a world conflict is about 300 yards. At one point, he described every piece of equipment on his person, a bit of historical information I found of great interest.

Interspersed with this narrative however, was Fraser's meticulous research of after action reports of the units involved to weave a mosaic for the reader that helped round out the full picture of the campaign itself.

Overall, a great read.

George MacDonald Fraser, best known for his Flashman novels, and, in my opinion, one of our best writers, gives us here his nearly fifty-year-old memories of his service in Burma in 1945.

There is so much to like about this book that it's difficult to know where to begin. There is Fraser's absolute honesty about his fears, his mistakes, his attitude toward the Japanese, and the virtues and vices of his comrades. There is his ability to place his unit's activities within the context of larger campaigns and yet give a vivid impression of what fighting with his unit must have been like. There is his brief but compelling portrait of General William Slim, for whom he has an unabashed admiration. There are moments of low humor, of heroism, and of tragic loss of life, and there is an unapologetic pride in what he, his comrades, and the rest of the British and Allied forces accomplished.

This is one of the best books that I have ever read, and I recommend that you make it one of yours.

Nice price, lot of nice pictures, species from North America and rare birds. It's one of my favorites guides to birds, i really recommend it.

Over the past few years an avant-garde style of bird identification has arisen. The classic "Peterson Identification Method" (much revered by bird lovers, instrumental in the formation of birding itself, and still highly useful), which stresses the importance of unique "field marks" is slowly ceding to a new holistic approach (also known as GISS: General Impression of Shape and Size).

This guide is at the forefront of that movement, along with Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion, and should be on the shelf of any birder who wishes to improve his or her identification skills. Novice birders often wonder at the mastery of experts who can identify birds far away immediately without raising their binoculars; such ability can only come with experience, but this book offers valuable insight into that esoteric ability.

This is the Bird ID book that can stay on the coffee table. Pages and pages of wonderful pictures of shorebirds make up the front section of the book. Let me be quick to point out if you are looking for gulls or terns they will not be in this book. This is a book about the small brownish birds ( sometimes called Peeps) that can be seen on our shores. Sanderlings, sandpipers, Godwitts, Dunlin, and our rapidly declining Red Knots are the subjects of this book. If you want to know shore birds this is the book.

This book was extremely helpful for identifying shorebirds. It shows them on the ground close up, in flight and in flocks. Detailed descriptions of status, taxonomy, behavior, migration, molt and vocalizations. Photography is excellent. If you live on or near water and need a guide, this is the one!

What a wonderful and useful work. Traditionally, shorebirds are some of the more difficult birds to identify. I know I have been struggling with them for over fifty years now and the situation does not get better with age; I assure you. The wonderful optics we have available now certainly help, but only to a point. These critters are still difficult, even for the very experienced.

This book is a wonderful addition to my collection. It is a bit large to haul around like a normal field guide, but like another reviewer, I keep mine stashed in my care for quick use before the image of the bird leaves me. I use it in conjunction with the four field guides I do carry in my swag bag and have found this is pretty effective. The natural setting photographs in this work, which make up the first half of the book are top quality and show a variety as to juvenile, adult and sex. Markings are quite clear and if they are used with other books, it makes life so much simpler. I have a disadvantage at this time, not living near a large body of water, i.e. salt water or marsh, so I do not get to practice the way I use to. I need all the help I can get.

As has been so well pointed out by another reviewer here, you will not find terns and gulls and their ilk in this work. These are not shore birds. For this I was grateful as it excluded a lot of unneeded clutter. There are other fine books, i.e. most competent field guides, to help in the gull/tern area.

Of the several works I have addressing shore birds; this is right at the top as to usefulness and as a source of valuable information. Highly recommend this one.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

Wonderful introduction to theology written by the greatest Catholic apologist in recent times. He lays out all the basic theological beliefs that Catholics hold dear in a simple, easy to understand way.

..is how much FUN it is to read. This man wrote with such clarity and wit, I wish I had known about him much sooner, like in high school!

This is the ultimate apologetics guide. Or the ultimate personal spiritual guide. Read it even if you think you understand Catholicism. Among other things you will realize why God cannot be anything but a Trinity.

You may think you know your faith but you will still learn from Frank Sheed. He teaches: why we study theology, the Trinity,the nature of man, the sin of our origin,redemption,grace,virtue,gifts, Eucharist and Mass and so much more. He goes deeper than any teacher I ever had even at classses at seminary adult education classes. Give this book your full attention, take your time; take notes too. Make this book your New Year's resolution to learn more about your faith. You will not regret it.

I would strongly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn more about the Catholic faith. It had answers to everything you would have a question about!

This is the best of class in Roman Catholic theology introductions. It provides a systematic overview providing the big-picture view one might miss short of reading the entire catechism. A good, solid, sound introduction that will be ideal for RCIA students and long-time Catholics alike. Included is a solid introduction providing the reasons to study theology and the rewards that come with it. Beginning with the seemingly simple assertion that God is spirit, Mr. Sheed carries us through the implications of that assertion through to the doctrines of the last things giving us all we need to form a coherent and solid foundation on which to build further. Indispensible and still the best of its kind.

My 11-year-old daughter spent a happy afternoon making flowers by herself. Several wrong turns and mistakes, but they turned out lovely. She was proud of them, put them in a small glass vase, and they're admired daily. Another ingenious Klutz book.

I decided to save some money for my wedding by making paper flowers instead of using real flowers. I started to research paper flowers and came acruss the Klutz book of Tissue Paper Flowers. I bought it and when I got it, I was so amazed at how easy the flowers are to make. I started out by making one of each flower and was so impressed at how real some of them looked. I can't wait to get white tissue paper to make my wedding flowers! This book has such easy step by step instructions. The only down side is that it shows so many other flowers on the front that aren't actually in the book. However, once you tackle all the flower projects in the book, it is very simple to look at a real flower and figure out how to make it out of tissue paper. These flowers are fun, hard to screw up, and are so pretty! I think doing projects like this with kids would be a lot of fun, too.

I just received this book. I bought it as a birthday gift for an 8 year-old niece. She will love it and so will her 5 year-old sister. In fact, their mother will love making the flowers too. I can see this being a great book for all ages because you can customize the flowers according to your skill level ie. more detail for older kids and simpler designs for younger kids.

It looks fun. I see projects in the book showing how to use them on wreaths, hats, headbands, etc. The book is colorful and the directions look clear. The book looks like it will last too. The back cover is thick chipboard and all of the book pages are thick paper. I am impressed!

Like many of the other reviewers, I am a grown-up who bought this book to share with children and ended up enjoying it tremendously as a craft project for myself. This book is so beautifully designed with clear easy-to-follow directions and plenty of supplies to get you started. I think it would make a great gift for children as young as age five all the way up to the most crafty adult crafter.

a very fun craft project. my kids have spent hours with this one. the patterns are fairly easy for kids, and a few need adult help. i recommend this craft.

I love all Pema books. This one is as well written, and full of supportive spirit as the others.

This book serves as a constant inspiration to me in my own meditation practice; I have read it countless times. As a psychotherapist whose modality involves working with my clients in a state of mindfulness (www.wisemenopause.com), I also recommend this book as a clear, concise introduction to meditation.

I have an edition of this book that I picked up about 15 years ago. I keep returning to this book year after year and have never tired of it. It has survived many purges of my spiritual library over the years. This book is sweet, easy to understand, and helpful. It defines a meditation practice that is easy to apply to one's daily activities. It is helping me relate more gently to the world and my life and is helpful in learning to awaken to the spaciousness and freedom that are ever present.

This is one of my favorite books by Pema Chodron. It not only does a very good job of describing the essence of Buddhism, but it goes beyond that in making Tibetan Buddhism more understandable and relevant to a Western audience without deveating from the tradition. In short, it contains the heart of the teachings of the Vajrayana. A nice complimentary book if you are interested in going deeper into Tibetan Buddhism is Fundamentals of Tibetan Buddhism. These books compliment each other and the latter puts all of the Buddhist traditions in historical context. Huston Smith's essay in The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions or Buddhism: A Concise Introduction. You get more bang for your buck with the former Huston Smith book, however.

The fundamental teaching of the Buddha involves the following realizations: 1) Life is suffering; 2) The cause of suffering is selfish desire; 3) To get rid of selfish desire, follow the eightfold path. The essence of the eightfold path is a moral life grounded in a strong loving-kindness practice (A Mahayana emphasis, but true of all schools). This book provides precisely that -- a path of loving-kindness that any person could follow and apply to their life. When asked what religion the Dalai was, he once said... "my religion is loving-kindess." While the Dalai Lama didn't officially endorse the book that I know of, certainly it is written in keeping with this spirit.

This book covers a LOT of ground in short volume of about 108 pages. It looks at the existential situation of not being able to escape our life and the human condition which is characterized by suffering. The Buddha said as his last words, "be a lamp unto yourselves." I believe the intent here was that no super mommy or daddy in the sky is going to come down and save you from the human condition. You must look deeply to see the truth and this will liberate you from samsara or the cycle of suffering. In this book, Pema Chodron describes the Buddha's teachings and more importantly practices to help you to arrive at a place of loving-kindness and equanimity.

What I most like about this book is that she keeps things simple. She also describes Tonglen practice and other forms of meditation and habits of thought that cultivate a mind that is not locked in conditioned thinking. Krishnamurti once said, "seeing the truth deeply is what liberates, not your efforts to be free." A corallary to this might be... yes... but what limits how deeply you can see is your depth of compassion for others, but primarily for yourself. This book is a manual about how to cultivate a loving-kindness that allows you to penetrate the insufficiency of living for things like money, sex, power and status. It is a good read for anyone.

If you are interested in a somewhat different Western perspective or something to contrast these writings with then try A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life. This book by Jack Kornfield emphasizes an earlier Buddhist tradition namely the Theravada (Way of the Elders). Mahayana Buddhism was an outgrowth of these teachings and Tibetan Buddism (Vajrayana) a further extension and elaboration. Jack Kornfield is a Western psychologist who spent a number of years in Thailand as a Buddhist monk and his perspective is accessible, entertaining, practical and complimentary to this book. If you are looking for a more integrative read that relates to Western Psychology directly try Toward a Psychology of Awakening: Buddhism, Psychotherapy, and the Path of Personal and Spiritual Transformation. This is a more difficult read, but extremely worthwhile. There are other recommendations on my listmania lists of this is your area of interest.

Don't get me wrong, this is a good book, but there are just a couple of things about it that make it not quite as good as I was hoping. First, her interpretation of the Four Noble Truths is problematic in my eyes. Basically she take Tibetan teachings on egolessness (which are great teachings in their own right) and superimposes them on the Four Noble Truths. Her interpretation does not ring true for me - she states that the 2nd Noble Truth is "resisting life causes suffering" and that the 3rd Noble Truth is learning to let go of our "selves"/ego. These are valuable teachings but do not represent the more usual (and probably academically correct, as well as more powerful, in my opinion) translations that I have read: that (very summarily put) the 2nd Noble Truth is that that craving/desire/grasping causes suffering and the 3rd Noble Truth is that ceasing to crave/desire/grasp results in the cessation of suffering. Her interpretation is not wrong, but it is a bit of a Chinese whispered version of the Four Noble Truths and I would have liked her book better had she not re-interpreted them like this. Secondly, she writes "from above" a little. I feel that she comes across like a lovely, cosy, caring and wise Aunty. For me this made her teachings have less impact. I preferred Tara Brach's "Radical Acceptance" (which deals with a similar subject - accepting life as it is) to "The Wisdom of No Escape": Brach's writing is a bit more raw and personal and she writes like one sister to another sister (or brother)).

I love this book. My mother first read it to me when I was about ten, and I enjoyed it so much that I made little clay figures of all the characters, then took pictures of them and sent them to the author. He wrote me back a lovely letter (including a drawing he did of Davy Duck) which is still nestled between the pages of my battered paperback edition.

Over 15 years later, I've picked it up for the second time, and I am every bit as charmed by the story as I ever was, but reading as an adult, I am seeing the story differently. I rather wish that, as a child, someone would have pointed out to me that all the trouble in this book happens because the characters don't communicate important information to one another.

The characters all have distinctive personalities, and are in no way cliche. Can you name any other children's book which contains a character made out of long underwear who is obsessed with numerology? I didn't think so. This book still has the ability to make me laugh out loud, and can just as easily bring a tear to my eye.

If you ever believed your toys could become real with enough love, if you ever wanted to go on a pirate adventure for gold treasure, if you love nursery rhymes and boats and the sea, find yourself a copy of this book!

I just finished reading this book. It broke my heart. I won't spoil anything, don't worry. I just don't think this is a good book for young children. It's all fun and adventure till someone gets hurt. That's all I'll tell about the plot. It broke my heart and i don't recomend it for children. I just don't think they're ready for such things unless they have a tendancy to be overly optimistic. If they can find the light in anything then they'll find the light in this book.

This book is one of the most beautifully imaginative stories ever written. I read it over 20 years ago and still remember it with great fondness. It's a wonderful book for girls and boys alike, best for ages 8+.

My 4 year old son is big into ships, particularly pirate ships. This book captivated him (and his 2 year old brother) every night for over a month. Many of the Mother Goose references were familiar to him and he enjoyed hearing the poems over and over. Pirates became the biggest intrigue and the action had to be edited toward the end. Still, it will be a book I am sure we will read again and again. The song "Greensleeves" has taken on a new meaning in our home and the boys are learning the lyrics, it is now the most requested night lullabye.

On a whim, I googled this book today to see if I could buy a copy online somewhere. I LOVED this book as a child and feel a strong desire to reread it. Call it 'comfort food'. I was so enamered with the story, the writing, Amy and the Capt, that I was upset when I turned the last page of this book. It is an amazing fantasy- Kennedy pulls your imagination out alongside his. Highly recommened for any age, this story will inspire your child (or yourself) to become an avid reader of fantasy, such as "A Wrinkle in Time", the Narnia Chronicles, etc. Can't wait to get my new copy.