U Books

I picked this book up for me because of the beautiful artwork. The detail, color and composition make you wish you could take a seat in the woods and experience the forest first hand. But then, I realized this book also caught the attention of my son. At 12 months old, he began to bring books to my husband and I to read, and this was one of his selections often. To my delight, a few months later, he started imitating the actions of stretching, yawning, sneezing and scratching as I read. At 18-months old, he still gets excited to read this book, and I still love studying the artwork (to find the well-hidden McCue (the artist) signatures)...I've only found a few when there's a bouncing boy on your lap.

I love reading this book to my boys! We love the beautiful illustrations but I have no idea how to find the hidden McCues. At first I thought, is it that mouse? But he only makes a couple of appearances...it can't be the ladybugs and grasshoppers because those are obvious, so I guess they are actual words...but I have yet to find one!

The book and pictures are nice, but it is the puzzle of finding the 13 hidden "McCue" words painted into the pictures that is great. It usually takes me about 30 minutes to read this book to my kid because I spend so long straining my eyes to find the hidden words. Perhaps I need to upgrade from the board book version I have that has such small illustrations!

This is just the most precious book. The illustrations are beautiful and the story invites interaction with the child by having them make the sounds in the story, such as a bee buzzing or a sneeze. I can't imagine anyone not loving this book. But don't get all sentimental about bunnies and run out and get one for your young child- they require a lot of space and adult attention to be happy, so stick to the pictures in the book, unless you do your research on caring for bunnies and have lots of extra time on your hands (and who does, with young children?)

My 23 month old daughter LOVES this book - the first time I read it, she wanted to hear it again. I act out all the noises and actions in the book, and she thinks it's a charm. Highly recommended - I love Lisa McCue's illustrations.

I thought this book was great. If your a fan of Forester, or just like naval stories, read it!

This is a fine novel by CS Forester, the author of the magnificent Hornblower series of novels. It tells the story of a fictional American naval sea captain during the War of 1812, one Captain Josiah Peabody--an American charged with the mission of breaking the British blocade of the fledgling United States and wreaking havoc with the British sea lanes. This, he understands, will give America leverage against Britain and perhaps help motivate it to make peace.

As Forester explains, America had failed to prepare adequately for the possibility of war, had not built up much of a Navy, and paid a thousandfold for this folly. Although Peabody is a fictional character, real life American captains like him did exist, and in fact the American Navy won glory against England in the War of 1812 in numerous ship actions that pitted a plucky but weak United States against the world's most powerful sea power.

The story is very well-told, and Forester's insightful portrayal of Captain Peabody is a fine examination of the American character as it is often perceived by Britons. As always, Forester spins a great sea yarn, with all of the technical details perfect (I'm taking other people's word for this, but I know it is true!) and you can practically smell the salt water and hear the waves.

An enjoyable yarn that ranks with the very best stories of naval adventure.

Cecil Scott Forester is, of course, best known as the creator of the Horatio Hornblower adventures in the era of fighting sail. The majority of the heroes of C.S. Forester's books, not just Hornblower, were British fighting men.

However, he also wrote several stories, of which this was the first, with Americans as the central figure. So "The Captain from Connecticut," Josiah Peabody of the U.S. Frigate Delaware, is by no means alone in being an American: however, he is the only hero of a Forester book who actually has to fight the Royal Navy.

The book is set during the war of 1812: the first challenge which faces Peabody and the Delaware is to escape the Royal Navy's blockade of Long Island in terrible weather. Then Peabody has to deal with pirates, a traitor very close to home, and a British squadron which outnumbers him three to one and is commanded by a very dangerous opponent.

Peabody also encounters, and nearly accidentally attacks, a Royalist French governor appointed by Louis XVIII after Napoleon's first downfall. The governor has a ticklish sense of French honour and neutrality, and is accompanied by his attractive sister and beautiful daughter.

Although this isn't quite up to the standard of the best of Forester's Hornblower books, it is an entertaining and exciting story of war at sea in the era of sail, which holds your attention right up to the surprise ending and the twist on the last page.

This is a good piece of writing. Too bad Forester only wrote this and the Hornblower series for he was great in this genre. A good book to read in the dreary days of winter. I'd recommend it to anyone.

I respectfully disagree with the other reviewers who say this is just as good or even better than Forester's Hornblower novels. It's pretty clear Forester was having an off year in his writing. First, the research is atypically flawed: The American captain Peabody knows Long Island Sound well because he served in the "Coastguard Service," something that did not exist at the time (there was a Revenue service, but a "Coast Guard"--two words, not one in British style--didn't exist until 1915). Second, the writing is just clunkier than in the Hornblower novels; at one point Forester uses "fathoms" as a unit of distance rather than depth. Third, Peabody is mildly interesting as a character but is a long way from being as fascinating as Hornblower was even in his first appearance. Whereas Hornblower is constantly in turmoil over his shortcomings, Peabody is a rather predictable fatalist (and the many and annoying references to Providence underscore Forester's own personal disdain for religion).

Still, I found the novel entertaining and worth a read. Just don't expect 'an American Hornblower.'

I really enjoyed this book! My friend sells corporate health benefit packages for a major insurance company and gives this book to his clients, so he gave me a copy.

What's so refreshing about this book is that it is NOT a diet book and is NOT about weight loss. Weight loss is just a happy side effect of a healthy lifestyle. The focus of the book is improving your health by making what really are pretty simple lifestyle changes. When you learn about what healthy and unhealthy foods do to your body, it really motivates you to improve the way you are eating. The same is true for the discussion of exercise and what it does for the cardiovascular and other systems.

Yes, we all know fruits and veggies are good for us, but I look at them in a whole new way now and you will too if you read this book!

This book is extreemly jam packed with information. I enjoyed the authors' sense of humor. Be warned this is deffinately not meant for a quick read. Slow and steady will win the race here. I found the book very motivating because the evidence was taken from actual studies performed.

This book was referred to me by my dietician after I tried to find that 'perfect motivational type book'. Let's just say I couldn't put it down the second I opened the cover. This book is amazing. I can't tell you how much it has changed my life, my perception of food and most importantly, the motivation it gave me to make the change forever. It's educational, realistic and not filled with gimmicks. I highly recommend this book to anybody looking for the motivation to get off the couch and moving! I'll never live the life I had before this book. I am up off the couch and getting healthy because now I understand the benefits of eating right and having an active lifestyle. This one is a must have in anyone's library!!!

Evidence based and up-to-date information paint an unarguable portrait of what health is and what encourages it and what destroys it. Not a guilt trip and very inspiring. Worth having in your library and THE first book to read if you are interested in losing weight/becoming healthier.

The Culprit and the Cure is an all inclusive guide to healthy living. The premise of this book is that poor health is the primary cause of disease and early death. The author states that poor health is generally caused by improper diet, inadequate exercise, and the use of tobacco products. Thus, in order to become healthier, individuals must address these deficiencies and make permanent lifestyle changes.

To this end, this book examines various aspects of healthy living as studied in various nutrition, physical fitness, and psychological case studies as well as through real life examples. The author then translates this information into simple, inexpensive, realistic solutions for real people wanting to undertake permanent healthy lifestyle changes. This book also features many easy to understand charts and various interactive exercises to help the reader tailor his or her current lifestyle to become healthier.

The Culprit and the Cure is a unique guide to health as it examines the need for healthy lifestyle changes in nutrition and exercise. This book does not promote fast weight loss by undertaking fad diets. Instead, this book looks at the greater benefits of healthy living and more realistic aspects of making lifestyle changes to achieve a healthier way of life.

This book was good. I couldn't wait to read the second on. Lisa and Chino knew they were wrong but hey that's how the story goes.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW BETRAYAL OF A HUSTLER IS FIRST READ THEN COMES THE SEQUEL. I LIKED THE SEQUEL WAY BETTER NOT TO SAY THAT THE 1ST ONE WASN'T GOOD. IT ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS I ASKED IN MY REVIEW WITH BETRAYAL OF A HUSTLER. I SWEAR THAT LISA IS DUMB AND I CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW SHE GETS ALL THE GOOD MEN WITH HER WAYZ. THERE IS GOING TO BE A 3RD PART TO THIS TRILOGY AND I CANNOT WAIT BECAUSE SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED IN THIS ONE WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE. YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK IF U THOUGHT NOT TOO IT IS A MUST. GO COP THIS ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

very very good i'm a truck driver and the book was so good i was pulling over on the side of the road just to get in some reading it had me not wanting to put the book down excellent read

Chino Wells makes a grand re-entrance in A Dead Man's Vengeance to renew the love triangle that transcends into a full blown circle.

At the end of Betrayal of a Hustler, Chino is shot and left for dead. But his right hand man, Knees, wasn't haven' it, and Chino was nursed back to health and sent to recuperate in Virginia with his fam. Chino is back to reclaim his true love, Lisa, and his territory.

Since Chino's death, Lisa has tried to move on with her life with husband/doctor Chris and son Jordan. Lisa and Chris' lives are turned upside down when Chino returns and wreaks havoc on both their lives.

In the meantime, Jamaican drug lord Shark has joined forces with assassin Abu and his crew of killers. Shark and daughter Shantel have tried to get on with their lives after Shantel's mother, Shelly, was gunned down by Chino.

A Dead Man's Vengeance is a very suspenseful work of fiction that had me even more intrigued than it's predecessor. I look forward to the release of The Vendetta.

I really enjoyed this book and the sequel too. I hope to read more from this author

This is a very good hard-cover Chinese-English dictionary for those who are interested in a dictionary that features traditional characters and uses Zhuyin (bo po mo fo) for pronunciation, such as anyone interested in visiting Taiwan. The characters are organized by radical number and stroke count, and a Zhuyin phonetic index is in the back of the dictionary, as well as phonetic indices for two other phonetic systems (Gwoyeu Romatzyh and the U. N. Mandarin Phonetic Symbols). Since the dictionary is a Chinese-English dictionary, it is very useful for looking up Chinese characters you read and words you hear. For each character entry, there are often multiple (up to several dozen in some cases) common phrases of two or more characters in length all starting with that character. As I am a native English speaker, I have found that the dictionary is well complimented by an English-Chinese dictionary so that I can also look up words and phrases I know in English and would like to say or write in Chinese.

I recommend this dictionary to native English speaking students of Mandarin Chinese with traditional characters.

Fantastic! I was expecting a big and good dictionary. And had the surprise in receiveing a wonderful, very well printed, fine paper dictionary - not tzu tian ( words
dictionary) but ci tian ( phrases dictionary )! Hardcover and with a nice box, besides, with a special plastic cover! And for each of its more than 7 thousands entries, more than 6 or 8 examples, with pronounciation, what makes more than 56 thousands expressions! Zhuyin Fuhao and Pyin Yin ! Fantastic is not enough for this treasure!

Above all, this is designed more for advanced learners, native speakers, and particularly users who are familiar with the Taiwanese Zhuyin symbols as all the entries are organized by Zhuyin instead of Pinyin. As Pinyin becomes a more commonly used romanization system for Mandarin, users who don't know Zhuyin or are more familiar with Pinyin may find it inconvenient to use. The main entry (the listed character) does provide the Pinyin of the character in addition to Zhuyin and Wade-Giles symbols, but the sub-entries (the compound nouns and phrases) are only listed with Zhuyin and with no Pinyin reference. I do like the fact that it offers traditional characters. (I believe that a simplified character version is also available out there.) Despite my personal preference on the romanization system, it is a relatively better Chinese-English dictionary compared with those in the market. It has a fairly comprehensive collection of sub-entries under each character with good definition and translation. Last but not the least, the reference pages at the beginning with the traditional radical system and at the end with all three romanization systems listed are pretty useful for learners who are really into learning traditional characters and/or need references on different phonetic romanization systems. So if you don't mind looking up words with Zhuyin symbols, it is a pretty good Chinese-English dictionary.

I have used this dictionary for nearly 10 years, and I believe that in that time, working regularly with classical documents, I have encountered no more than 5 characters not included in this dictionary. Certainly for students of modern Chinese, this is as complete a dictionary as you will likely ever need. Characters are listed by several different indexes in both the front and the back, including one index for characters with ambiguous radicals! My only objection is that alternative character forms are inconsistently listed in the indexes, meaning that characters that at first appear not to be included may be included under different forms. Others will not like the absence of the most contemporary usages and colloquialisms; in return, however, they will get a wide range of definitions used in both classical and modern Chinese, a remarkable number of phrases, both classical and modern, and a constantly useful range of biographical and historical names, which can otherwise be very difficult to locate. All in all, my dictionary of first choice on a shelf that includes at least 10 of them.

This may be of use to Chinese speakers from Taiwan who are translating into English. However, for native speakers of English who translate Chinese into English, or for students who need to look-up using pinyin, this dictionary will be of limited value. There is a pinyin index but it is not as convenient as a fully pinyin dictionary. Furthermore, although head character entries have pinyin readings, character compounds listed as sub-entries under each head character lack pinyin readings. It is more comprehensive than Oxford's Chinese-English English-Chinese (ISBN 0195911512) but I only use it rarely for characters I can't find in Oxford.

For me this was an amazing discovery. I read a review of it in a literary magazine in the waiting room of my optician and when I got home I immediately ordered it from Amazon.
What caught my eye in the review were the names of the inhabitants of the February House - Auden, Britten,McCullers... in that amazing year. I knew of their work individually but to read of them living under the same roof was a revelation.What a cauldron of creativity! All against the background of the war in Europe and the period leading up to Pearl Harbour.As I read the book I felt as though I were there. I hope that someone will make a documentary about it or better still a dramatised reconstruction. The two Truman Capote films have blazed the trail.

A friend just recommended this book to me and it's fabulous!!! I live in an artist bldg and it's nothing compared to the energy of Middagh Street. The book is a great read and the research is most impressive. I cannot wait to read the one she's writing about the Chelsea Hotel!

Thomas Wolf once famously said "only the dead know Brooklyn." There might be some truth in that, but some of us know Brooklyn, N.Y.,U.S.A., pretty well,and are still very much alive. Quite a few people are aware of Brooklyn's brownstone belt, that swath of historic houses stretching from the East River to Prospect Park and beyond. Many of these people would declare Brooklyn Heights the ultimate Brooklyn brownstone neighborhood. It's beautiful, and gets scenic views of Manhattan. It's got history galore--an important Revolutionary War battle was fought here;and it's been, and still is,home to a lot of well-known important people.

One little-known fact is that a number of celebrated people shared a house on Middagh Street, in 1940-41, right in the middle of the Second World War. That house, which came to be known as February House-- a number of its residents had February birthdays-- has long since been torn down to make room for the Promenade that provides storied views of Manhattan. But among occupants of February House were poet W.H.Auden, writer Carson McCullers, writers Jane and Paul Bowles,composer Benjamin Britten, and stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.

Writer Sherill Tippens has produced an interesting, pleasantly gossipy book about the house's residents and their accomplishments. Jane Bowles began "Two Serious Ladies," her only completed novel here. The young lesbian Carson McCullers had just tasted, at the age of 23, great success with her novel "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter." She began two other great successes, "The Member of the Wedding," and "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," between drinking bouts, right here on Middagh Street.

Auden and Britten, both homosexual, but not involved with each other, were being raked over the coals at the time by the British press for choosing to sit out World War II in the U.S. But they were working: they collaborated on the opera "Paul Bunyan,"not critically well-received. Auden who continued to live in the Heights, on his own, to pursue his lifelong, unrequited love for the young American Chester Kallman, was working hard in the interstices of his personal soap opera: He produced "The Double Man" in February House. Britten produced "Peter Grimes;"considered one of the great masterpieces of 20th century opera. Meanwhile, he pursued his own personal soap opera: many critics believe this opera echoes developments with his partner, tenor Peter Pears, at the time.

The most unexpected resident of February House would have to be Gypsy Rose Lee, burlesque artiste. She was talked into joining the fun by George Davis, homosexual himself, fiction editor of "Harpers Bazaar" magazine, whose idea February House was, and who worked hard to keep it alive. Davis had published some of his own writing, but he was best known for the talented writers he kept on discovering.

In Gypsy Lee's case, she brought some money, a lot of common sense,and a cook to Middagh Street. The house's residents needed all the above. Her reward for her support: George Davis, great editor, midwifed her book, "The G-String Murders," a publishing sensation for many years.

George Davis continued to live at 7 Middaagh Street after its time as an artistic commune had passed. After Kurt Weill's death, Davis married his widow, Lotte Lenya, and devoted his life to introducing America to Weill's great works,such as "Three Penny Opera,"from which we get "Mack the Knife."

There are some informative photographs, extensive notes and acknowledgements in February House. Tippins evidently did a lot of primary research, but she managed to organize the voluminous results in a very readable style. February House well rewards the reader.

Sherill Tippins has done an amazing job of finding the significant narrative threads in the chaotic convergence of creative lives that occurred in the months before Pearl Harbor when Harper's Bazaar editor George Davis and British expatriate poet W.H. Auden rented a brownstone on 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn Heights and actively recruited other creative artists to live with them. Among the co-renters were Carson McCullers who had recently published her highly acclaimed first novel, "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter," soon-to-be famous British composer Benjamin Britten and his parnter, singer Peter Pears, unpublished novelists Paul and Jane Bowles, Broadway set designer Oliver Smith, writer Richard Wright and his wife, and burlesque sensation Gypsy Rose Lee, who it turns out was the most reliable in the rent-paying department and joined the little "creative commune" on the condition that she could bring her own cook and maid. Her fiscal reliability and drive along with Auden's willingness to take on the unpleasant role of house disciplinarian (collecting rent and other "dues" and establishing and enforcing many house rules) are probably sufficient explanation for why this menage managed to last the two or three years it did.

Tippins wisely focuses her attention on the leading figures (without neglecting to name the many others who partied but did not reside at 7 Middagh--Salvador and Gala Dali, Lincoln Kirstein, George Balanchine, Erika Mann and her brothers Klaus and Golo, to name a few). One passer-through, Anais Nin, christened the dwelling "February House" because so many of the residents had February birthdays. Tippins has a good knowledge of the works of these creative people and is able to see how one of the artists intentionally or inadvertantly influenced a subsequent work of one of his or her co-residents. For example, McCullers was struggling with the novel that would later become "The Member of the Wedding" when she was able to appropriate an experience from Chester Kallman's childhood to explain her heroine's profound sense of alienation and abandonment (Kallman was Auden's lover).

Tippins other great achievement here was her ability to slice through history and palpably recreate the political atmosphere in pre-war New York and to do so in a way that reflects on both British and US perspectives. She takes a good hard look at the criticism expatriates like Auden, Christopher Isherwood, Britten, and Pears faced from the British press and fellow artists who chose to remain in Great Britian during the war. She is similarly insightful in her analysis of the role the Mann family had in trying to get an apathetic America to respond to the European crisis. A lesser writer might not have bothered with these issues and chosen to report only the salacious and saleable anecdotes about the goings-on of the February House residents.

I highly recommend this book to anyone even passingly interested in one of the artists who lived at 7 Middagh Street (you're sure to learn something new), to anyone who ever wondered how great works of art come about, or to anyone interested in knowing how history and art intersect. I'm sure I'm going to use Tippins's Selecte Bibliography as a basis for future Amazon.com purchases.

Sherill Tippins' volume fills a tantalizing gap that fans of Auden, McCullers, Britten, and Gypsy Rose Lee have long wished could be filled. Most overdue is Tippins' portrait of George Davis: failed literary wunderkind; editor extraordinaire (who "discovered" McCullers and got much-needed writing jobs for her and W. H. Auden in the lean months before Pearl Harbor); husband to Lotte Lenya and the catalyst that re-invented her for American audiences in Marc Blitzstein's staging of Weill's "Threepenny Opera"--the list goes on and on. Davis and Auden are central to Tippins' account and to the amazing colony of artists who called 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn Heights their home in 1940-41. But Tippins gives everyone in that circle his/her due. Her depictions of Auden's rocky romance with Chester Kallman, of Benjamin Britten's coming to terms with his artistic destiny in England, not America, and Gypsy Rose Lee's ability to charm and disarm everyone she met are more than engaging--they are extremely moving.

Tippins' research is exhaustive and impeccable, and she lets her characters speak naturally and eloquently. I could not put this book down and practically read it at one sitting. I was hungry for the kind of information Tippins delivered, and I finished the book with the deepest satisfaction. Gracefully written, carefully organized and researched, and extremely relevant: this book wins on all counts.

Daniel Rose grew up in Connecticut, in a lobster fishing town. He always felt different because of his Jewishness even though his family was assimilated. Later, after a fractured marriage, he wanted his young sons, aged 7 and 12 to really understand their heritage, especially in terms of the Holocaust, and so he took them to Europe to discover their roots. They looked up relatives who had survived the horror and still lived in Belgium, and from there they set out on a journey to retrace the actual events of the life one of their relatives, an ancient eccentric old man who gave them his diary as a roadmap.

In addition, in alternating chapters, we learn of Mr. Rose's Connecticut boyhood. Not only does he describe the events, but he's able to recapture every nuance of feeling that must have been difficult to dredge up from memory. He makes fun of his orthodox relatives, he battles the school bully, but most of all, he keeps coming back to the recurrent theme of the book --his hiding places.

Foremost though, is his relationship with his own sons, and the unique loving relationship between the three of them. Some of the things that they were exposed to on the trip were not pleasant, but they all came through it enriched by the experience. This was a difficult subject to write about, but somehow Mr. Rose managed to do it with humor. While I didn't laugh out loud, I found myself smiling throughout.

There's a lot of detail in the book, each one adding further insight into each of the characters. It's more than just description; the reader really feels the emotion. There's mystery here too as well as unsolved questions. And there sure is a lot to think about. Afterwards, I couldn't get the book out of my mind and I don't know if I ever will. I must thank Mr. Rose for writing it. Highly recommended.

I was first drawn to this book by a haunting picture of two little girls on the book cover. I was impatient to learn their significance. I had to wait. In the opening of this story, the author relates his fear of the Not-sees (Nazi) as told to him throughout his youth by his mother who escaped Europe.

However, in an effort to come to grips with being Jewish and to learn the truth about what his family endured during World War II, an American divorced father and his two sons begin a quest to retrace the steps of an uncle who endured the Holocaust. Using a tattered journal's clues they searched for his hiding places and learned more than they expected about the war and its victims. Only after finding where and how the twins died did the author understand his great-uncles, other family members, and his mother. During the trip he also realizes what it means to be a father.

I could not appreciate the cover of this book until I learned the fate of the Jewish twin sisters and others who suffered.

This book touches the reader on many levels, and you may be drawn in to the writer's childhood experience as an outsider striving to find ways to fit in, while marveling at his opportunity to retrace an ancestor's flight from terror, and transfixed by the relationships that are recalled (and are still forming) in this book.

For many of us, the holocaust is more fully appreciated in personal terms than in the abstract. This book doesn't just fetch the truth from the past, it carries memory forward. For a generation twice removed, and more fully assimiliated, Hiding Places is both an intriguing real life story and an inspiring lesson in how the past still echoes.

An inspiring, thoughtful and funny book. A father is retracing his family's escape route fifty years later. While teaching his two sons history, family lore, geography and much about human courage and frailty, the author learns much about family bonds, love and loyalty from his sons. The boys add common sense to a voyage with a lot of bagage and helps the author resolve some difficult family issues. The book is serious and entertaining at the same time. You laugh and cry with the author and wish the book would not end. An obvious Father's Day gift -or for any sensitive person you may want to give some reading pleasure!

Hiding Places by Daniel Asa Rose is many stories in one. It's the story of a young boy growing up and how he perceives his differences and ways he tries to blend in or hide. It's the story of a father and two sons trying to forge a relationship with each other after divorce, and it's about one family's experience of hiding to survive the horrors of the Holocaust.

The book is honest and forthright. Daniel Asa Rose has opened up a window into his feelings about growing up Jewish in a predominantly WASP Connecticut town. This reader was able to relate, not so much to the hiding borne out of cultural and religious differences, but to the hiding that kids do because they feel that no one else has the same thoughts. Daniel Asa Rose gives a voice to those childhood thoughts that most of us have kept silent.

The author reveals himself to be a caring father, one who misses his sons greatly after his divorce and seeks to find a way to create a whole family out of the three of them. He doesn't spend much time talking about how painful the divorce itself was to him, but this shows through in the writing. This is not something seen from a male perspective too often. There are sure to be other fathers out there who will resonate with this aspect of the book.

Lastly, Daniel Asa Rose creates a portrait of his relative, J.P. Morgan (not THE J.P. Morgan) and his particular experience of survival during the Holocaust. At times, it is painful to read, but because it is the story of a singular person, it takes on greater significance than observing the Holocaust as a whole. J.P.'s survival and the tracking of his hiding places by Rose and his sons is nothing short of miraculous. But wouldn't most of those who survived the Holocaust describe their experience as such?

It's tempting to condemn this father for exposing his sons to the horrors of the Holocaust at the tender ages of seven and twelve. Without debating the issue too much, the final verdict is really up to his sons, Alex and Marshall--after all, it's a family thing.

This book presents some interesting concepts on Process Design and Performance.

Don't let the date this book was published influence your decision to buy - it is timeless. I am on my second copy of this book and would characterize it as the best book on business process management that has ever been published. This is "The Book". Everyone I know in the Business Process Management field has this book. I recommend it to every client and every business improvement team member that I work with.

The information contained in this "gem" can help anyone involved in process improvement. Consultants, executives, managers, process team leaders, process team members - it doesn't matter whether you are working in manufacturing, finance, logistics, sales or human resources. It also doesn't matter whether you are new to BPM or have been in the field for 20 years. This book will change the way you think about organizational structure and approaching business process.

Trying to characterize what parts of the book were best, would be like trying to dissect what parts of the blue sky you like best. It is all great stuff - each chapter is better than the next, and will help you understand what needs to be done to make business improvement initiatives work. It is well written, easy to understand the concepts, with hundreds of useful illustrations and models to learn from.

I would give this book 6 stars if I could ...

This book will survive the trends, since most of the trends are based on the principles in this book. The names will change (Quality Circles, Just In Time, TQM, Re-engineering, Six Sigma, ...), but these principles and how well they are implemented will determine a companies' efficiency and quality.

As a business process and systems analyst, I have used the techniques in this book extensively to document existing and proposed processes and systems.

The diagramming techniques ensure thorough identification of all relevant interfaces and will assist in identifying those frustrating and toxic business processes that defy verbal description, but once diagrammed, seem to become clearly understood. I cannot count how many "Ah-ha" moments I have seen when confused managers, too deep in the trees to be able to see the whole forest, finally see the problems with their business laid out in clear pictures drawn with the techniques taught in this book.

This is by far the first book that dealt with process improvement and change from all angles. This book provides examples that will help the novice in preparing and implementing change. Packed with examples and worksheets to guide the reader thru the whole process. However, since it was written in 1995, this book does not cover prevailing technologies but is still useful in understanding the foundations for change. If you are looking to implement business process change/improvement, read this book in conjunction with a more recent book by Paul Harmon "Business Process Change" who happens to be a student of Mr. Rummler. Paul Harmon's book cover such topics as CMM and Six Sigma when implementing process change.

This book comprises the many aspects of ethics, and explains them all. Mr. Hubbard starts by explaining the difference between "ethics" and "justice", thing misunderstood by many.
Follows an explanation of the various conditions and how one moves through them. The conditions are, in my viewpoint, the single most important tool one can use in all areas of his life. One is always in a certain condition, and his goal is usually to go up, to do well in all areas of his life: in his relationships, in his work, and privately, on his own. Reading this book one can learn how to achieve success though the correct application of conditions, which will help decide what specific actions to take to handle tough situations or keep up very good statistics.

There are other very useful tools in this book, and all will help deal with life better and be a better person, and a happier person!

I have been able to apply these tools in my life and it has been very helpful. I have to thank Mr. Hubbard for making them available to us, as thanks to their use I have a happy, fulfulling life, a great marriage, and I feel like I can handle things much better.

This book clarifies the difference between morals and ethics -- what we do because we think doing them makes us "good" and those things we do because they lead to a better existence for ourselves and our fellows.

We don't live in a vacuum, despite what the materialists might think. This book is how to live well ourselves - without hurting those around us.

This is a revolutionary approach to the subject. I wish more business leaders would become familiar with these concepts! It would make a better world for all...

This book has been a useful tool for me in my business. It shows how to track statistics, and how to evaluate those statistics.

Once the statistics have been examined, then specific tools are given to increase them over time.

My business has increased by 8 times since implementing these tools! I am no longer in a mystery about how to increase business, when to promote, when to cut back... the formulas given are clear, and easy to implement, AND THEY WORK!

I am a VERY satisfied customer!

L Ron Hubbard is possibly the most controversial man of the 21st century.
I read this book while researching into supernatual phenonema like near-death-experiences, psychics, out of body experiences, as Hubbard made several claims in this area.
While the book doesn't talk about that, or Scientology techniques, it is an interesting read. You won't find philosophical arguments here - the emphasis is on workability. Hubbard's philosophy (which is a version of utilitarianism based on survival) is intuitively a better ethical philopsophy than anything I studied at Oxford.
I also gained an understanding of why Scientology charges money for its services, and found Hubbard's arguments about why people attack Scientology interesting (though I'm not in a position to judge them).
The book is also a good management book - on par at least with the One Minute Manager.
Hubbard was an intelligent and interesting character. If he was a charlatan then was certainly a complete genius who continues to deceive today.
On the other hand his principles seem sound and aimed at improving the human condition.

I Have read through this book countless times and have found it to be an essential tool for living in this society. The book is absolutely invaluble, and anyone who thinks otherwise is not nuts, they simply haven't looked at the bigger picture. Most people that slam Scientology aren't wrong from thier point of view, but they fail to look at everything there is to look at, which consequently makes them look rather silly and disappoints me in that our society commonly slams what they do not understand. Stop fearing Scientology, it will not bite you !! It may even help you, you decide...

This is a fast read, Ive read all the HRH books and this was intresting. I think the author did a fine job. After reading this book I felt that indeed Hughes would have loved the drama that swept the nation, Even in death he is larger then life. The book is a great read and will be surprising....

Magnesen is probably a great detective and FBI agent, but he gets a C grade for organization and writing. The book was difficult to follow; as were the characters. One thing that would have helped immensely would have been to put a list of key players and their job/title descriptions at the end so we could refer to the list when the people would be mentioned in later chapters. However, his purpose in writing was not intended as great literature, but to convince readers that Dummar is not a kook. And, he did succeed in doing that because I did put the book down feeling like the "Mormon Will" could be real. Magnesen discovers some very convincing evidence that did not come out in the trial or was not pursued.
If you are intrigued by Howard Hughes, add this book to your list.

It took a the span of 24 hours to read this book. Every second I was not working or taking care of a 10 month-old baby I was hiding in a corner with my nose stuck in this book. The author starts as a skeptic, but through brillant research and persistence he uncovers the truth of this long-awaited fiasco. His years of FBI experience really shines through his journey to the untold story. Highly Recomended!

I came away from this story convinced that justice was not served in the case of the Howard Hughes will. Mr. Magnesen's investigation of this mystery clearly demonstrates why he enjoyed a long and successful career as an FBI agent.

The Investigation by Gary Magnesen represents the trifecta of historical research. Magnesen has the rare combination of an FBI career, Nevada residency and a degree in psychology as implements to harvest the truth in regards to the "Mormon Will."

Fragmented by time and lore, the tale of the unlikely Samaritan, Melvin Dummar is cast in the bright white light of a logical and linear review by a skeptic armed with nothing more than his background and compelling logic as arrows in an intellectual quiver.

I followed the suspicion and misgivings associated with the tale of Melvin Dummar associated with the holographic Will penned by the late Aviator, Industrialist and enigma, Howard Hughes. Shadowing Magnesen's process and logic was eased by his descriptive narration of personal doubts and the path required to find a logical end. He was not on a quest, nor does he seem influenced by the story which ultimately led to his involvement. If anything, he was drawn by the mounting inconsistencies and unfinished stories by those directly effected by Mr. Dummar's tale.

I was fascinated by the process which he undertook in this unlikely task to add clarity to a foggy footnote from the past (1976). The mind numbing research of court and county records, with the juxtaposition of interviews including citizens from towns whose glory days have long since passed into modern history added an element of humor, without diminishing the value of those who still reside there.

Each chapter was a building block which reinforced the tale told by Melvin Dummar as more than plausible. In fact, I was totally convinced he was telling the truth.

The teaser associated with this story is the revelations of a pilot employed by Hughes in the sixties. Although his contribution to the book is barely represented by two dozen pages; his story contained the most unanswered questions or inconsistencies of the 263 pages representing Dummar's tale. The following observations are not a condemnation of the man, simply a set of examples which Magnesen held me rapt throughout the story!

1. When Deiro flew into the unpaved, unlighted airport at night, the previous pages referenced a truck illuminating the approach end of the runway. Yet on the night in question the truck was at the far end (in the pilot's eyes) of the runway. Any landing upon a gravel surfaced, unlighted airport at night would be a large risk at best and possibly illegal, at worst.
2. It is written on page 102, "The fact that Daniels (geologist) was having a beer or two in the morning tells us something about him." Yet the pilot (Deiro) having too many Johnny Walker's and needing to take a nap is not questioned in regard to his credibility. Drinking within eight hours prior to a commercial flight is illegal!
3. Upon the pilots return to Las Vegas, since nobody asked; he didn't bother reporting his loss of the passenger he departed with seven hours earlier.


The preceding examples are a reflection of my intrigue and justification for a media (website) to communicate with this author.

This book is at a minimum, a `can't put it down read' combined with intrigue, injustice and surviving principals!