V Books

I am the wife of a Fire Captain and I could relate to so much that Susan writes about. Thank you Susan for telling such a wonderful story! I read this book over a 24 hour period, no easy task with a 7 week old baby and a 3 year old, and with my husband at the fire station. I could not put the book down and didn't want it to end, I laughed and cried and totally enjoyed every page. This is a must read for any wife, or family, of a fireman.

Loved this book. It was past around for the wives of the fire academy to read. With my brother on for a few years, I thought I knew a lot about what this journey would entail. But this book was insight, funny, heart wrenching. It was a easy, quick read. I will know give this to all the new wives entering this department. It really opens you eyes on what to expect, from the shift to your husband's second family. Worth your time.

This is one of the best books that I have read! Susan really knows how to express what all fire wives feel. This book made me laugh, cry, and say "yep, I've seen (heard, felt, done) that!" so many times. I think anyone married to a fireman would love this book. I really appreciate the awareness it has given me. I only wish I read it sooner. As a 9-year fireman's wife myself, I highly recommend it!

This book was given to me by my firefighter fiancee soon after he proposed. What a Godsend! I consider this my "bible". Susan summed up the feelings we as wives have about our firemen husbands and does it in a funny, thoughtful and wonderful way. I recommend this be required literature for every fireman to hand out when they decide to propose!! LOL. Thanks Susan for sharing our side of the story!

A funny, insightfull, and often scary look into the life of a firefighters wife.

This product showed up speedily and in very good condition. I am very happy with it.

I own this series in Japanese, and it is a wonderful read! It has all the important elements of a good shoujo manga: it is romantic, twisted, with a shoujo (in the traditional meaning of the word) involved in finding a new family and love triangles galore. It is just a very fun read, no matter the language!

reading this book makes me want more to read

for people who love fruits basket, this will probably be one of your favorites in the series. full of drama and revealation, i think it is one of the best. i like how there is drama, but not too much of it; it's just in the right spots. kyo realizes his feelings about toruh, and yuki does too, i believe. momiji has really grown up! and u finally realize things about akito. a great read for furuba fans, but i say if u haven't tried this series bfore, research a little on it before deciding to read it!!!!:) i know i can't wait for volume 14!!!!

Fruits Basket volume 11 is probably among the darkest volumes in the series. When you read this one, I can assure you that you will easily be moved to tears - and also part of what makes it dark is our finding out about the zodiacs' futures, particularly Kyo's.

It's obvious that this family holds lots of betrayal and backstabbing, and this volume makes that a big part of its aura. Parts of the book are rather surprising and catch you off-guard while you're reading it. I remember sitting on my bed while reading it, turning to the next page and going "WTF KYO KNEW KYOKO" because basically, this is the volume where we find out about that.

Akito finally confronts Tohru with her real attitude towards outsiders, and gives her a small wound in her anger (poor Tohru!). However, Momiji fans will love this volume, as we see his courageous and protective side towards loved ones.

And LAST but not least, the "love triangle" Between Tohru, Yuki and Kyo is certainly getting more complex. You'll know that in the previous volume, Yuki confessed to himself his love for Tohru. In this volume, the same happens with Kyo. I know who she ends up with in the end at this point (and also by reading spoilers! Haha), but I won't tell you for the sake of my poor head before getting hit by an iron skillet. VERY worthy of five stars, although my favorite volumes are still 1, 4, 6, and 13.

Durham evokes the wildness of the Plains and West with superb prose, sometimes nearly poetry in its details. Gabriel is a realistic depiction of an impatient, uncertain teenager. The plot line certainly keeps the reader involved, as we are curious to learn what new horror Marshall and Caleb will unleash on the people around them, as well as whether Gabriel and James will escape. But Durham's decision to present certain portions in italic with no names given to the people in them--even after we have been introduced to those people--struck me as striving too much for some mystical effect. I'm not clear on what this style is supposed to achieve and found it more annoying than effective.

The characters a full-bodied and mature. The story is heart-breaking and real to the core. One sympathizes with the protagonists and wishes the antagonists straight to hell. Now that is what I call a good novel. Durham has done a fabulous job...

Good stuff. Don't have anything deep and meaningful to add, but I liked this book and wanted to say so. It pulls you in slowly, so that you might think it's going to be one sort of book and next thing you know you're off on wild ride across the West. Literary and exciting; a western and yet subversive of the genre at the same time. And I thought the twist toward the end was great. Didn't really see it coming, but once sprung it all made sense.

Rarely do I read a book in one sitting, but I felt I had no choice in this one. I wish more books that I picked up held my interest, my imagination, and my heart as well as this one has. The main character, Gabriels, tells us a story of the American West in a unique manner far different than the "typical Western" we know. I highly recommend this book to those who are tired of cliches and formulas. I'm glad I found this little treasure.

Yes, Kansas was and is a Great Plains state, and anyone who first arrives might say, "I can't believe I'm in Kansas."

Kansas is an acquired taste, and Gabriel Lynch, a youngster frresh from the big eastern city of Baltimore, could not quite discover the tastefulness of farm life. Not many teens today could either. But they should read "Gabriel's Story" anyway.

This coming of age drama by David Anthony Durham has Gabriel run away from his mom and new step-dad to join up with a motley crew of vicious criminals. Gabriel soon learns to cherish a more simple life.

One might say he learned a lesson: Be loyal to your family. They're not as bad as you think.

Larry Rochelle, author of DEATH & DEVOTION: A Palmer Morel Mystery

Once you get past the strange layout (described in other sections), this is a great edition of Henry V. It is easy and fun to read and offers valuable insights (not just for students either). Well worth a flutter.

This play is best known for the St. Crispian's Day "Band of Brothers" speech given by King Henry just before the battle at Agincourt. It is a powerful speech that rallies people at all times and everywhere. Sir Lawrence Olivier made a film version in 1944 during WWII and Kenneth Branagh made another as recently as 1989. You can count on there being more versions. Epecially so when computers can help them make spectacular battle scenes (that aren't really in the play) with less expense.

Audiences love this play and they should. There is a lot to like and enjoy. I think upon repeated readings Henry becomes a more equivocal character than he seems at first. And readers of the King Henry IV plays will know him before he became King Henry and know something deeper about his personality.

And of course there is the whole bit about the drive to France being sponsored by the Church to avoid confiscation of property by the Crown. Moreover, there is the slaughtering of the French prisoners, and his treatment of Falstaff (who dies offstage in this play). This isn't revisionist stuff, it is right there in the play, but it is easy to miss the first time you are trying to take in the play.

In any case, this Arden edition is the one to buy and read from. Why? Because it has the most authoritative text, but that is only the beginning. It also shows variants between the early sources. The notes at the bottom of each page of the play are simply fabulous. The editor includes not only helpful notes explaining what might be obscure in the text of the play, he provides sources Shakespeare probably used such as Holinshed and makes for some very interesting study. There are also some helpful notes on how various scenes have been performed over time.

And to make this sound more like an infomercial, you get more! The introduction provides great background material on the play, its sources, and how it has been performed throughout history. After the play, there is a photo reproduction of the first Quarto from 1600 and it is fairly readable. There are also a couple of maps showing the path of the English Army from Harfleur through other towns on its way to Calais and makes clear how they had to pass through Agincourt.

There is also a helpful genealogical table so you can see the confusing claims used by Henry and the French nobility to make their claims. And there is a doubling chart so you can see how theater companies can perform all the roles with fewer actors.

This is a great edition as are all the plays published by the Arden Shakespeare. The amount of work collected in these volumes is stunning and they will enrich your experience of the plays tremendously. I can't recommend them enough.

This play more than any others in the histories glorifies Englishmen and England. His characters in this one are larger than life, but each has their own limitations and flaws. The play covers the time of the Battle of Agincourt when the French King Charles was so sure of victory that he sent a messenger to Henry to ask him to give up and to pay a ransom before the battle. On the eve of the Battle of Agincourt, the English were outnumbered five to one, Henry's troops were on foreign soil and riddled with disease. The scenes where Henry dons a disguise and goes out amongst his troops to bolster their confidence are great. The English managed to triumph in this battle where all was stacked against them mostly because of Henry's leadership. This is such a sweeping story that it is hard to condense in a few words, the plot of the play, but it is a wonderful example of Shakespeare's skills as a writer.

'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.' What more need I say? Henry V is an imortal classic of western literature. And this edition is complete and accurate. See the film if you want, but be sure to read the words at least once. They are inspiring.

"Now, if these men do not die well, it will be a black matter for the King that led them to it."

Particularly poignant poetry in these times of pompous presidential sabre rattling and wars based on questionable facts.

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

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

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

I feel obligated to correct a distortion suggested by `unraveler' below. It is popular to suggest Nietzsche was an anti-semite, but this is a rather lazy habit. Nietzsche's remark on `the youthful stock-exchange Jew' was mentioned. Here it is in its proper environment:

. . . the entire problem of the Jews exists only within national states, inasmuch as it is here that their energy and higher intelligence, their capital in will and spirit accumulated from generation to generation in a long school of suffering, must come to preponderate to a degree calculated to arouse envy and and hatred, so that in almost every nation . . . there is gaining ground the literary indecency of leading the Jews to the sacrificial slaughter as scapegoats for every possible public or private misfortune. As soon as it is no longer a question of the conserving of nations but of the production of the strongest possible European mixed race, the Jew will be just as usable and desirable as an ingredient of it as any other national residue. Every nation, every man, possesses unpleasant, indeed dangerous qualities: it is cruel to demand that the Jew should constitute an exception. In him these qualities may even be dangerous and repellent to an exceptional degree; and perhaps the youthful stock-exchange Jew is the most repulsive invention of the entire human race. Nonetheless I should like to know how much must, in a total accounting, be forgiven a people who, not without us all being to blame, have had the most grief-laden history of any people and whom we have to thank for the noblest human being (Christ), the purest sage (Spinoza), the mightiest book and the most efficacious moral code in the world. . . .

Is this anti-semitism???

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

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

I bought this book as a Christmas gift for a friend who is a hypochondriac. She got a kick out of it which is what I wanted. I'm not sure how informative it is but works good as a conversation piece on the coffee table.

This is the FUNNIEST book you'll ever read. Hands down. Fast delivery with good packaging (bubble wrap) for protection.

This book was funny. All the diseases shown are some of the worst diseases anyone could ever imagine. You won't even want to shake hands with someone after reading about Bejel. *ew*

If you have the nerve, and are into perverse entertainment, this is the book for you -- or someone who will appreciate midnight black humor with a glossy blue sheen. We're talking forty-five horrifying ways that Nature is out to get you, with plenty of gruesome details on how she will succeed, and the pitiful or nonexistent steps you can take to protect yourself.

The writing is excellent. The author has a way with words, content aside. It really takes talent to make me laugh out loud, all the way through a book, especially when what I'm reading is also giving me cold sweats and an irregular heartbeat. I couldn't put the book down, and now I'm afraid to move or breathe. Other people have to get their thrills on mountain tops -- me, I can sit right here, white knuckled, waiting for unspeakable dangers to come to me. I am now regarding my cats and coworkers with suspicion -- no, outright terror.

Three days ago, I had no trouble making the leap from tiny flickering pain in my head to malignant brain tumor. Now I look at that self-diagnosis as a sign of childlike innocence. Do you have any idea how many truly unspeakable, debilitating, and deadly diseases start out with a simple rash or swelling? Numbness, coughing, itching, of course headaches, the list of innocuous symptoms is comprehensive, and all symptoms seem to lead to blindness and loss of body parts.

I find the ailment Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, where your immune system decides to replace your sore muscles with bone, particularly insidious, although I feel better about not going to the gym now. Another favorite: Fatal Familial Insomnia, in which you never sleep again. (It's now 2 a.m. -- I'm feeling perky, and worried.) Furious Rabies, Norwegian Scabies, very bad. And let's not ignore good old pinworms, which 1 in 10 of us have at this minute and everyone has a 50/50 shot at getting at some point before they die (probably not from pinworms, which, by the way, are IN your butt and come out at night to lay their eggs ON your butt. Remember that time you scratched your itchy butt? Yuh huh. Trust me, the least of your worries. You want to be focusing on Scleroderma, in which your skin and organs slowly harden and you begin to resemble a statue, or Myasis, in which maggots crawl around beneath your skin. If you're lucky you'll get off with Chronic Idiopathic Diarrhea or Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. Both of which sound marginally better than the Mycobacteriosis I could get from changing the water in my fishbowl, or Bacillary Angiomatosis (cat scratch fever).

Giving this book to a full-blown hypochondriac is what passive aggressive behavior is all about. Or, you just think your mom will really get a kick out of it.

What better way to bond to the sweet hypochondriac in your life than by giving them this book? The diseases are real, the commentary is hilarious. Guys, believe me, you won't want to swim in the Amazon after you read this.

It is like Andy Andrews is standing there telling you the story. And it is an amazing story! If you want and need a good book, choose this one. You will never be sorry!

I loved the book. Andy Andrews does a wonderful job retelling a true story while he teaches eternal truths. Awesome!

.
....But is it?

Andy is an amazing storyteller, and this book is proof positive of his skill.

Pulled from the little known theater of World War II, the American Gulf Coast, Andy weaves fact and fiction into a story about two people on opposite sides of the war, but on the same side of the heart...

This was my first Andy Andrews book. I picked it up in a Christian bookstore off the discount book shelf and assumed it was a book with a religious message.

While it does contain a good message and I appreciate it even more because I see the "principle" as one that Christ taught, it falls somewhat flat. The fact that this "principle" is biblical doesn't excuse the fact that the characters end up being a bit too much of the "self-help" variety. True love works wonders and can teach us this "principle" because God modeled it for us, and the story is very effective in explaining why it is so helpful for all involved. This story is very much about good ethics and morals, but is also too humanist in it's approach to be considered profound or even remarkable.

The story is believeable, while the character development is bit light. The historical element was interesting and pretty accurate, I believe. This is the kind of book I'd recommend to a light reader as beach or vacation fare so that, if they don't get around to reading it, it won't seem like they've missed out on a life changing lesson.

I was surprised that the book includes instructions for obtaining a study guide and a video. That's a bit presumptuous on the part of the publisher I think. This is not ground shaking stuff and any study group based on this book might do better to wean themselves off Dr.Phil and Oprah for a more lasting benefit.

Read (and believe) your Bibles and you'll get a much deeper and meaningful explanation of this "principle".

When I picked up this book, I had no idea what it was about. I only knew it was written by one of my favorite authors, Andy Andrews. I found this to be a little different from Andrews' other books, but like the others, ISLAND OF SAINTS did not disappoint me.

This is a true account of Andrews' own personal discovery of some WWII memorabilia that just didn't seem to belong when Andy had found it. His curiosity sent him searching for clues as to how and why these items ended up buried on his little Gulf coast island property. What he uncovered was a riveting true story that promotes valuable lessons of forgiveness along the way.

The story does take a while to develop. Several times I wondered just where the story was going and it was not until about half way into the book that things really began to take shape. The subject is one I have long been fascinated with, and that is the German activity along the east and gulf coasts during WWII. The fact that we hear so little about this aspect of the war makes one wonder just how many prominent citizens were a part of the effort to supply the Nazis.

The underlying message here is learning how to forgive. In this vain, there are some very profound observations here, as one would expect from Andrews, although they do come quite late in the book. Overall, this is a wonderful true story that includes some valuable life's lessons.

I do feel obligated to point out a flaw. At the conclusion of chapter 10, Joseph and Helen are having a conversation in which Joseph describes the rise and fall of democracy, attributed to Professor Alexander Tyler of Scotland in 1787. The trouble is, even though the description of the self-destruction of any democracy is, I believe completely accurate, study has shown there is no record to indicate that this notion originated with Professor Tyler.

Un libro que será de utilidad para aquellas mamás que están a punto de tener a su bebé, ya que es una etapa muy bonita de la vida, el cual te mencionará técnicas y toda duda que tuvieras al respecto..... TE LO RECOMIENDO!

reviewr, Ms. Feralnd:
THIS IS A GREAT BOOK !
I had it all along during my pregnancy and felt comforted and happy with it.
It solved all my doubts and eased my heart!

How I wished someone would have given me this book when I faced the idea that I was pregnant YIKES..so now I recommend it as a wonderful wedding gift to that couple who plans on having a family. It is a real source of information and comfort. I had the surprise too the day I went to deliver, I had to have an emergency C-section. This is a great gift too for that bold woman who may choose to under go having a child as a single parent. From conception right down to explaining the Post Partum Depression. Awesome Book.

Y NI UN SOLO MOMENTO DE MIEDO O DUDAS...Este libro maravilloso me ha dado tranquilidad y resuelto mis interrogantes!

EXCITED...UNTIL I CONFIRMED I WAS PREGNANT !
Catastrophic !
I THOUGHT I WOULD DIE FROM FEAR...
I WENT CUCKOO!!!
This book dragged me back to sanity and peace...
So, I LOVE IT

It's about time someone came out with a book that celebrates the passion, vibrancy, and color of Latin America. I'm sick and tired of being bombarded with everything ITALIAN and FRENCH! So boring and overdone. Entertaining in the Latin style is not about being stuffy and formal. It's about warmth, hospitality, and flavorful food. I loved everything about this book--the photos, recipes, and design ideas. Although I am a Latina, one needn't be Latin to be inspired by this book. Also, something remarkable for an entertaining/cookbook: you will actually use the majority of the recipes instead of just gazing at them in a book.

I really appreciated the recipes in this cookbook. A mixture of old country with a new exciting twist. Highly recommend. Great for daily meals or entertaining.

This book not only has delightful and delicious recipes, but the layout and pictures are gorgeous! I've purchased several for friends and family for the holidays, and they all loved it!

The Orlando Sentinel says this is "a hip book with recipes for cocktails, tapas and full-course feasts. Learn how to make Cuba libres, Yucatan tacos and Caribbean crepes with Canary Islands hot sauce."
Just reading the recipe titles makes me want to try them all. You also get tips for decorating, music and attire to go with the recipes. With these, your next pool party or ladies lunch will be a sensation. The vibrant color photos spice up the book.
Some of the recipes included are lobster salad, simple sangria, brandied pineapple wheels, turkey empanadas and many more.
Another good book for theme parties is Trader Vic's Tiki Party.

Excellent cookbook!! Loaded with great recipes and presentation ideas. Also, this book has sources for hard to find ingredients, and music suggestions. A real great addition to anyone's cookbook library. It made our party a real success!!

This is an excellent book for the first time yoga user - but there is plenty to keep the seasonsed yoga person engaged as well. There are good pictures of the poses, a great introduction, and nice summary, of the yoga movements and what you need to know to do the program!

I purchased this book on the last day of Radiant Health Yoga Teacher Training. I had heard about it months previously and knew that at some point I would read it. I thought it was very "appropriate " that I came across this book on the last day of training. The reason is that Lilias Folan was the first yoga teacher I was ever exposed to back in the seventies via her PBS television program. So here I am almost 30 years later, my last day of classroom teacher training and I find her book, not in a conventional bookstore but in a gift and candy store. There she was, looking up and smiling at me from the front cover in her purple long sleeved shirt and black pants, arms out stretched lovingly with her palms open. No accident.

This book gently introduces yoga to an aging population (Lilias and I are both a part of that population now) in typical Lilias fashion.

Not only does this book discuss asana (and adaptations) but also much of the book is dedicated to meditation, pranayama, the koshas, as well as a little information regarding the Yamas and the Niyams and the stage of life that people our age (Lilias and me) are in now. It is wonderfully written to this age group.

This is a beautiful book and I will use it both as a reference and an inspiration for many years to come.

Yoga gets better with age, and age gets better with yoga a la Lilias.

Whether you grew up learning triangle pose watching Lilias on TV, or if you are brand new to yoga, "Yoga Gets Better With Age" is for yogis of any age or level of wellness.

Clear, concise and with lots of easy to follow pictures featuring people with real bodies, "Yoga Gets Better with Age" stands out from the pack.

Lilias's book is an excellent resource for understanding yoga but also to better understand your own practice. Lilias shares her knowledge of yoga in a holistic manner, covering all of the major topics necessary to gain a true understanding. She communicates the philosophy and practice through her own experiences so that it is not intimidating and easy to understand for a yogi at any level. It is a truly wonderful book and Lilias's enthusiasm for yoga is felt in every word you will read.

This book added so much to my love of yoga. Lilias has such a beautiful way of teaching and she is such a warm and understanding person. She has given me the gift of "love and light" in this wonderful book.