News Books

I found this book to be an interesting read for people considering becoming entrepreneurs. It is filled with data points that are not very well know. I would take some of conclusions with a grain of salt, as some of the data backing it is not all that solid. However, the author does mention when the data is not extensive.

It's not a guide to entrepreneurship and if you aren't sold on starting your own business, then it will probably seem rather gloomy. However, it's a good eye opener if you have a decent job and have considered starting a company just to not have to work for somebody else. Would defeinitely recommend it if you are thinking about starting your own business but are on the fence.

The conclusion set forth in the end seemed a bit rushed (it's all mentioned in the last 2 pages) but I think the previous chapters are worth it.

It also has a lot of references (almost half the book pages are filled with references), so depending on what kind of reader you are, that might be (or not) a good thing.

Why do people start businesses? Why doesn't the high failure rate dampen their enthusiasm? "The Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths That Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By" is an examination of modern entrepreneurship and what makes it all tick. Taking a good, long look at the reality of it all, "The Illusion of Entrepreneurship : The Costly Myths That Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By" takes into account the industries that are popular for start up, how they are financed, the characteristics of an entrepreneur, and strategies for new businesses to survive when they first start. Scholarly written and researched, "The Illusion of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths that Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live By" is highly recommended for any community library collection with an interest in economics and business, and should be required reading for any aspiring entrepreneur.

I was drawn to this book when Dr. Shane gave us a quiz about the FACTS of entrepreneurship. Believe it or not, although many of us might have thought we were savvy in entrepreneurship, we got almost none of the questions correct. After that, I placed a pre-order for this book and waited for months before this book was first in print and available. It was quite a worthwhile.

What we got wrong? If you read the book you will understand why many of us got them wrong. His data (much of them from public sources) basically strikes you like this:
* Can you believe the most entrepreneurial state in the US is not California, nor Massachusetts, but Vermont?
* Can you believe U.S. is not the most entrepreneurial country in the word, but instead three times less entrepreneurial than the top country? (The book uses various measures of entrepreneurial activities)
...
This long list of debuted myths are summarized in the end of each chapter.

Most important, each chapter explains WHY the myths turn out to be wrong. Without these explanations, the book would become simply a stack of striking facts that you found hard to believe. What makes this book highly insightful and convincing is that the author not only points out what is the truth based on reliable data, but also tells us why the surprising truth makes sense.

Certainly, to buy in his points, you need to first buy in how the author defines entrepreneurship--starting a new (for-profit) organization, including self-employment, etc. This is a fair definition in the research on entrepreneurship.

If you teach entrepreneurship or related courses, the book will be a perfect tool for you to draw students' interest. Students become more involved and learn more when their stereotype mental model is challenged with a sound reason.

One more thing to note: The author has a notable merit across his writings: clear, and easy to follow. This book is of no exception. You can easily grab what he wants to say in this book even when you read it when traveling on a plane or before going to bed.

This is an OUTSTANDING book that should be very useful to entrepreneurs, researchers and policy makers.

The author is one of the most respected scholars in entrepreneurship. He uses a lot of research papers and industry reports to present the facts and bust the "myths" about entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs.

The book has ten chapters with a total of 67 busted myths. Chapters 2 and 7 should be very useful to entrepreneurs. Chapter 2 tells us that industry selection matters in starting a business. Unfortunately, entrepreneurs select industries that they know better and in which it is easy to start businesses. Further, most entrepreneurs don't select the most profitable industries but instead pick industries with the highest firm failure rates. Chapter 7 tells us that success depends on more important factors than entrepreneur personality or psychological traits.

The book raises some serious questions about conventional wisdoms. Here are two examples:

Concerning the typical entrepreneur, "The characteristics that make people more likely to start businesses aren't all desirable; people are more likely to go into business for themselves if they are unemployed, work part-time, have changed jobs often, and make less money. The typical entrepreneur earns less money than he would have earned had he worked for someone else and has worse job benefits."

Concerning government policy to promote entrepreneurship, "We have no evidence that in the absence of government intervention, people were creating too few businesses or that without government action the wrong firms would get started or financed. Moreover, we have no evidence that creating additional new companies is a good thing. ... there is ample evidence that when governments intervene to encourage the creation of new businesses, they stimulate people to start new companies disproportionately in competitive industries with lower barriers to entry and high rates of failure."

I find the book interesting and entertaining. It is well-written and easy-to-follow, without unnecessary academic jargons. I would highly recommend the book to anyone who is serious about entrepreneurship.

I took two major lessons, and provide a suggestion, from Scott Shane's "Illusions of Entrepreneurship":

First, "Start your business for the right reasons," is a key issue that Shane notes, and it's an issue that can help ground potential entrepreneurs in reality. This book provides a portrait of entrepreneurs that is refreshing to read, noting that the romanticized view of being an entrepreneur is something much different than the "as is" state. People who are good "craftsmen", even in an unglamorous field, will feel good about going it alone after reading his book.

Second, I suggest that this book comes at an important time in our nation's business history. With the concerns about how innovative and entrepreneurial we are as a nation, and what that may mean to our future economic development, this book helps de-bunk stultifying myths about pursuing an entrepreneurial career. That can only help us.

Third, my suggestion: Not only will people who want to be entrepreneurs benefit from the objective analysis in this book, but policy-makers would do well to be steeped in the reality of entrepreneurism presented here. Maybe they will think about how to clear a road for new enterprise formation versus bureaucratically impede business success.

The Last Open Road
This story starts off with a young man that is called Buddy Palumbo. He has a friend that he trusts very well and no one else would listen to him the same way. Something vey bad happens to him and he got handed some of his responsibilities at the Sinclair. He never actually got hired when he started working there. They just started to pay him. His dad did not want him to grow up and be a grease monkey he told him to work with the Union. A very rich man that owns oil rigs all over the United States. He owns some of the very nicest cars that included Cadillac's and Jaguar. No one has ever seen or heard of them. Buddy got the opportunity to work on them and soon after he figured them out he was the only mechanic allowed to work on them.
I liked this book because I am interested in driving and racing cars. It was fun to read because it was so realistic and talks about real cars and real mechanical problems they have. I can relate to the people in this book because I race and I understand their family problems. You will figure out what I am talking about when you read this book.

mid-prairie teen

B.S. Levy's The Last Open Road is a great read for anyone who is interested in wrenching on cars, particularly classics. I'm college age and I can relate to Buddy Palumbo in a lot of cases. If you're familiar with older British cars, there's some unique humor there as well. Great read.

This is a good book for the British sports car enthusiast. It brings back memories of the 1950s and racing.

This is a well-written and enjoyable book that elicits images that are very familiar to folks who were teen-agers during the wonderful 1950's. It is almost as though I know the characters and can easily apply familiar names of real people in my past to them. Highly recommended reading, especially for car enthusiasts!

If you grew up in the 50's or 60's and knew a sports car from Detroit iron, and lusted after the former...than this is your book. This is a tour de force of the origins, excitement and naivete of what the attraction was for those weekend racers. Buddy Palumbo is this loveable amateur mechanic, hang-around carguy who through luck and heft manages to have the rides of his life at one of the first sport car tracks in the US. What you will enjoy is the reality of the details of the cars, the attitudes of those in and around the machines, the helter-skelter ways you drove in those days... and that BS Levy has captured this period in his own time machine for you. If you are a carguy, you cannot put this book down, and you will laugh your head off turning some of the pages as Bert reminds you of how we were. I had just reread Kerouwac's On the Road when I picked up Bert's book at the Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca...because it had a XK120 on the cover which was my first car...and because Bert, himself, was there guaranteeing me I'd love it. He was so right! I'm now onto his next novel, Montzuma'a Ferrari, which takes place on the Carrera Panamericana (translates The Mexican Road Race). Bert is a true race car fan and driver and describes emotions and thrills like you are there with him. I passed the book onto my car club members and its still being read and recirculated. This is a read to savor...enjoy!

More of us need a mirror so we can truly see ourselves and discover that there are positive changes we can make that will enable us to be better people and that can make the world a better place to be. This is perhaps the weakest book of the five, but is still a good read. Do start at the beginning, however, of the series, or nothing will make much sense (if anything DOES ever make sense in this mixed up world of today).

Mark Rodriguez 2/26/06

The Mirror of Merlin, Author: T.A. Barron, ISBN: 0-441-00846-1

The Mirror of Merlin book review

As Merlin realizes that his home, Fincayra, is in grave danger of the ever growing haunted marsh, he steps up and decides he is going to find who made that happen and why. This story takes place at the legendary island called Fincayra, just before the medieval times. The characters in this epic story are Merlin, his friend Hallia, the evil witch Nimue, and a friend he meets on his way, Ector, (otherwise known as Arthur). As Merlin and Hallia find a ballymag (a water creature who lives in the marsh) in a stream instead of a marsh, he tells them that the haunted marsh is growing rapidly. They also discover that the marsh ghouls are attacking innocent people, which they only do when someone invades their territory. But they don't know that the evil witch Nimue is behind it all. The reason why the haunted marsh is growing so rapidly is because Nimue traveled through the magical mirror. This can take people into the past or future. Since she traveled through the mirror she has the power to control the marshes because someone unexpected taught her about the magical way. So she uses her magic for evil and controls the marsh ghouls and the marsh itself so she can take over the legendary island Fincayra. This book is one of the better fantasy books I've read.
The reason this book tops my list is because I really like fantasy books and that this book seemed really good to me. This book was also a real page turner. It kept up with the story and it sometimes got really suspenseful at times which caused me to read it even more. There are also really good descriptions throughout the book. I really enjoyed this kind of genre for this book because I love fantasy and anything with swords, dragons, or wizards has always interested me. This book really hit on all of those things that I love. I would recommend people from 6th grade to 8th grade to read it and if you are the kind of person that likes fantasy I would really recommend this book for you. Also there were a couple of surprises in the story that really got me. One of them was finding out that the little boy named Ector is really King Arthur. So if you need a book to read, pick this one up and enjoy!

This novel is a fast, fun, and thoroughly entertaining read. While not on the same level as the classic fantasy novels, Barron has found a way for the reader to connect to the young boy Merlin, and always want more at the novel's close.

In the long winter in a enchanted forest a child was born Merlin enchanted life. This book was a skill fully written book by Rosemary Sutcliff. A novel that will catch the readers eye. Set in England and partly in Norway, far away from the world we know to a unreal universe beyond imagination.

This book set in a fantasy/ medieval setting. The main character in this book is the all powerful Merlin, described as a towering, wise and tattered man. Merlin created by the evil, dark, shadowed, witch, and queen of evil Mab to bring the people back to the old ways. Queen Mab's plan backfired and merlin will do anything to get the queen back for killing his aunt Antasia. At just a hand wizard merlin is ready to fight. But is Merlin ready for the challenges he is about to face? Read the book and find out.

This phenomenal book I would recommend it to any young reader looking for a good book. If i were to rate this book on a scale from 1 to 10 it would be a 10. Any young reader would love this book.

This book review was written by Philip Davis

I liked this book because it presented problems not yet thught of in the average reader's mind. This bookis also intertwined with the other books so you didn't have to meet the whole cast of characters. It took little characters from the other books and made them bigger in one way or another.In every book new information is presented, this book holds alot. Not considering learning about Fincayra itself this book is only second to the fifth book.
I think the best part of this book was when he meets himself, it was a comical meeting. Full of questions and anwsers. The meeting of young and old made me feel and think of pity, sorrow, laughter and wonder on what is to come in the future.
I think the most vivid part of this book was when older Merlin grows a tree right in his own house. In the middle of his own living room! Reading the tree grow is as if you are right in the room when it happens. As if the tree is planted in the book and you are riding it yourself. Not only do you feel that you were there but that you belng there.

This book hit home. One of my best friends gifted me with this book and it has been one of the best gifts ever. I work full time and have a 10 month old daughter. After reading just a chapter I felt relieved to know I am not the only one feeling stressed with all there is to do everyday while maintaining a home, work, relationships,etc. This book gives permission to slow down, and it says it's okay to stop and listen and not do the big birthday parties and attend all the holiday parties and events. Just being and listening and not doing anything together is time well spent.

As others have noted, this book is a series of reflections about motherhood and the importance of slowing down to savor daily life with loved ones.

This book energized me to make several changes in my own life. Part of my motivation for homeschooling this year was a desire to have a more conscious, contemplative, and purposeful life rather than a frantic-mad-dashing here and there life.

In fact, as the holidays approach, many of my friends are feeling "swamped", "overwhelmed", "stressed" - feelings I remember all too well from previous years. While I still have my moments, overall I am much less stressed than last year. The overall tenor of the holidays is much happier and calmer. I have done my best to pare the holidays down to the essentials, to keep things simple and personal, rather than grandly extravagant. Extravagance has its place, but when children are young, I think simplicity makes so much more sense.

I loved this book so much I chose it for my book club of busy suburban SAHMs. I was quite surprised to find only two (out of nine) loved it as I did! Three thought the book had "some good ideas", but they clearly didn't connect with the author.

The other four were quite negative about Mitten Strings. They felt it was too preachy and perfect and Pollyanna-ish, that "real" people couldn't live like the Kenisons without lots of money. But it's not a financial lifestyle she is talking about, it's an internal one, it is simply making a conscious effort to notice, appreciate, prioritize and streamline.

In trying to figure out the mixed response to this book in my book club, I came up with a couple of ideas. I think the crux of liking the book has to do with the following:

First, it depends on whether you are at a point in your life where you actually consider rushing madly to be a negative thing, rather than proof you are productive. Some people feel empowered and energized by rushing and being busy!

Second, it depends on how contemplative you are feeling when you read the book. The more contemplative you feel, the more likely you might enjoy the book.

Finally, it depends on whether you enjoy visual and poetic language. The author writes with a heartfelt, genuine sentimentality that, while I enjoyed it tremendously, can apparently be off-putting to people with more pragmatic sensibilities.

One reviewer said they would not give this book to a parent of an autistic child, or one with Down's Syndrome. I actually think this book has considerable merit for families with special needs children - the key is knowing WHEN to give the book. I have a child who was diagnosed with autism at 3, and when he was younger and we were rushing around madly from therapy to therapy, ransacking our home to make it an engaging learning environment, etc..., I would not have been in the frame of mind to appreciate it.

In fact, according to my three criteria above: the mad rushing was proof I was doing everything I could to help him; who has time to be contemplative when you are trying to save your child from autism; and poetic musings about the wonderful lives of families with typically developing children would have been quite upsetting.

NOW I see things differently. I think the ideas in the book have even MORE relevance for children with special needs, who often thrive in calm, centered environments. I think children with special needs deserve to have their progress, however slow or small, deeply savored and appreciated.

Well anyway. This is not a book that EVERYONE is necessarily going to love, in spite of the steady parade of 5 star reviews. Nevertheless, I join the parade and give this book 5 stars based on my own incredibly positive experience reading it.

I truly enjoyed this book. It is not a religious book (despite the title) nor a parenting guide; it is a deeply spiritual look at what it means to be a family.

Mitten Strings touched me in such a way that I felt like I was reading a letter from a good friend. There was a sense of peace reading it and imagining my family in her book. Her basic premise is to slow down, notice the details of your children's lives and be present with your family. But the book goes so much further than that. We all know to slow down...but to be reminded how magical it can be, with illustrations that are so tender is even better. I highly recommend this book and in fact purchased seven more to give to my friends as a special gift. I'd love to meet the author (Katrina) and sit over a cup of something on the front porch while our children run circles around the house!

It is rare to say but so true. It was given to me by an older woman and it truely changed the way I parent my two boys, see life and helped me create a summer that I will treasure. A must read for those who want to slow down and get off the "treadmill" of life.

I am new to large format photography. This book is extremly informative and focuses just on negative construction, manipulation and b&w processing. An excellent and timeless resource! Excellent for all formats!

If film shooting is interesting to you (and you should; I'm 26 and grew up with cameras, then I move to digital, and recentlly, I discovered the wonders of a darkroom and BW prints) then this book is a MUST Well, the whole series)!!! there aren't enough words to emphasize my feelings over the 3 books of Ansel Adams (camera, negative & print)

If you don't believe me, then please take a deep look at Ansel's master BW work... that should convince you!!!

This is an excellent book that will help experienced and newcomers in photography. Pay attention to the Zone system that Adams has devised. It will realy help you take total control over your pictures with a helpfull and very creative perspective. The last part of the book (developing negatives) might be ommited by the person who is into digital, although it helped me comprehend a lot about the various Adobe Photoshop features and relate them to classic photography.

One little remark I have to make is for the publisher. The book is printed into gloss paper (all the three books in the series) with a high reflectance index. This results in dificulty reading the book at certain angles.

A must read. The explanation of the zone system is outstanding. I had taken a number of skyline photographs of Austin which when reviewed by professional photographers got 2 thumbs up. After looking at them with a critical eye on exposure and armed with my new understanding of the zone - I retook those same pictures and WOW. What an amazing ability to move your camera off of matrixed metering and know how to really set the exposure for what you want to show. Also helps you understand the tradeoffs the camera is making in it's exposure settings so you can be more purposeful in changes you might make. A critical read if you also intend to ever move into large format photography.

Ansel Adams was a master of photography but not the most exciting storyteller , in my opinion.

This book is one that you should read as part of a complete education in photography, but there are some long sections in it. The parts of the book explaining Adams' zone system are very worthwhile and great stuff. Much of the rest of the book is only interesting if you are shooting film (not digital), as it deals specifically with darkroom processing.

Read about the zone system here or somewhere else, but learn it. If you are a film photog, read this whole book. For digital shooters, you might want to read only the sections of interest.

My husband loves to learn about how things work. The title of the book told me this was just the book for him.

*Keep It Short and Simple.

If you doubt that technical information can be short and simple, read this book. It was written for anyone old enough to read well, and especially designed for those who find technology intimidating. It not only provides comprehensive descriptions of the way hundreds of machines and devices work, but also gives explanations of the scientific principles behind each. The book makes liberal, effective use of graphic diagrams, and describes most of the machines and devices in 200 to 300 words on 1 or 2 pages.

This is a great book. It breaks down complicated concepts into simple principles that a child can understand. A good start for budding engineers.

This is a fabulous book! I like all of David Macaulay's books because they have so many details of how things are made. This is my favorite, though, because it answers questions about objects and technology for budding engineers and architects or just anyone who is curious! My son has loved his and I just bought one for my nephew.

Put these four things together--ingenuity, imagination, depictions, diagrams-- and you have a double ID toward understanding how things work. David Macaulay and Neil Ardley put together a magnificent volume for children and children at heart containing a way of understanding the laws of physics and mechanics.

The first illustration even shows God busy creating the rotation of the earth. Then they go to the earth where wooly mammoths lived and pick up one to take us through the history of mechanics, machines, and the like. Dozens of movements in five sections: waves, electricity, automation, digital domain, and machines show us just how easy these things are to understand done in drawerings.

Just as in child's play, there is no seeming order to the arrangement of items in the book. For example here are a few pages next to each other: vacuum cleaners, aqualungs or oxygen tanks, the toilet tank, the water meter, dishwasher, spray nozzle, fire extinguisher. Are you seeing an order? Yes, so am I.

Flipping over a hundred pages, I find the jet engine, rocket engines, nuclear power, nuclear weapons, fallout, nuclear reactor. OK, a definite pattern. Another hundred pages show these topics: movie camera, movie projector, printing, paper making, printing plate, printing press, bookbinding. More discernible order and logical arrangement.

One last check: scanner, bits and bytes, flash memory, magnetic storage, microchip, processor, software. We know where we are and recognize the order--a computer and its parts.

This reviewer has a suggestion for the reader. Once you have this book in hand, take it home, take it out every night and read a comfortable number of pages. If you have a child, read one page, discuss it, put this one away and take out a night-night book to read. If this is just your book, read several pages. By the time you have finished the book, you will have added dozens of operating systems to the computer banks in your own brain, making your child and/or yourself an expert in the way things work.

I purchased this book based on its recommendations, and I'm not sorry I did. It's been 25+ years since I touched a sewing machine, and this book definitely helped take the fright away. Perfect for new seamstresses of all ages.

I have the Rip It! book and love it. I just got this book for my niece for christmas. She wants to learn how to sew and I know this is the best book out there for her. It's very easy to understand and comes with patterns for her to learn with. I'm also getting her a sewing machine from www.sewfastseweasy.com
I love giving! She is going to be so thrilled!

I bought this book for my daughter and she has taken to sewing extremely fast. She's so proud of what she makes. Her enthusiasm for sewing now is almost too much for me to keep up with. This book was was easy for her to understand and the illustrations were very clear. She's been playing around with reconstructing her clothes so I'm thinking of getting her the Rip It book as well. I'm happy to see her involved in a positive hobby that she truly enjoys and gets satisfaction from.

I just bought this book because I wanted to delve into sewing a little more. I knew how to sew but I didn't know much about sewing techniques or terms or sewing notions and how to use them. This book was very easy to understand and explains everything I need to know about sewing and using notions and patterns. It's now my sewing bible! If I get stuck on something I grab my sew fast sew easy book.

The book is great it even comes with patterns. The book is easy to understand and has lots of detail. I would definatly recommend it.

Where do I begin? I admit, when i started the book, i really had a hard time and almost put it down. It took about 10 pages in and I was hooked. This book is a very moving and tender story of a woman made bitter by tragedies in her life and who is shown love later in life by a very unlikely source who transforms her spiritually and helps her find God. It is a Christian novel but not your typical soft and sugary kind. It really touched my heart. Another great thing about it is that the main character is an avid reader and references many books throughout, some i have read and others i bought after checking them out on line.

Get this book - it will strengthen your faith

"Some Wildflower in my Heart" is a wonderful book. It was recommended to me by one of my daughters, so I bought the book and began reading it. It grabbed my attention from the very first sentence, but I found it very hard to identify with the main character at first. She speaks in a very stilted, formal tone and words. But as I got into the story, I realized that this was not the author's writing style. Instead, it was the voice she had given her character, Margaret -- the voice of a woman who had educated herself via public libraries.

Margaret's painful life begins to change when she meets Birdie Freeman. This book was a revelation to me of how a committed Christian, just living her ordinary life to the glory of God, can impact those around her. It challenged me -- am I living my life in a way that impacts others for good?

Highly recommended!

Margaret Tuttle lives a life filled with secrets. She guards her secrets well, even from the man she married. And then her life changes drastically when an elfin woman appears alongside her, to ease her burdens and show her the way to a much fuller life.

Birdie Freeman is open and kind. She seems to not have a care in the world as she extends the hand of friendship to those around her. Margaret discovers that Birdie has secrets so deep, they could have torn the fabric of Birdie's life apart.

Birdie's offering is that of unconditional love. As Margaret's heart begins to trust and hope once again, suffering descends. Will Margaret be strong enough to withstand the latest attack? Will love heal even in the midst of suffering?

Armchair Interviews says: Author Jane Langston Turner's writing style is unique. Take the challenge; delve into lessons of faith and friendship.

This book is my all time favorite contemporary Christian fiction! Real life, real situation, real solutions! A convincing lesson of Christian love bringing someone to Christ and His healing graces. I've read "Wildflower" three times, and each time I vow to be just a bit like Birdie. If we all tried to be like Birdie, the world would be a much better place!

a friend recommended this book to me and i loved it from the beginning. i then recommended it to my book club. many loved it and a few really didn't, however we still talk about birdie and margaret 2 years later. so even if you don't like the book, you will never forget it! i love reading all jamie turner's books since she keeps them all generally in the same location and you get to "see" friends from other books that you have already read! if you have read this one once, read it again! it gets better every time!

Believe it or not, this book really helped my trombone playing even though I don't stutter! The Valsalva Maneuvre is quite common among brass players and this book is the most profound source I found so far.

This books is really one of a kind. It is so in depth about stuttering and tht tips are amazing

William Parry is my complete stuttering guru! Yet, I've never stuttered in my life, (with my voice, that is). I'm a trombone player who has stuttered for the last 17 years. It started in my 2nd year of college as a music major. I was a great player all through high school, winning numerous awards and playing even with famous musicians.
After I started locking up on my trombone in college, I went to many different trombone teachers from L.A. to Northern California, but none of them could help me (not even a little). Even the very best trombone players (incredible trombone players, mind you) had no clue what I was trying to describe. "Frustration" with the trombone would be putting it mildly and I even quit playing for a few years.
Just a month ago, I decided to see what else I could find. I came across William Parry's web site on stuttering and immediately purchased the book. Although the first few chapters were hard to read, I knew instinctively that I had to keep reading. Well, I'm glad I did, because as soon as I finished reading the book (especially the last chapters), I already was reducing my trombone stuttering dramatically.
3 weeks after finishing the book, I'm not stuttering at all (haven't for many days). Not that I won't stutter again, but if I do, I'll know how to deal with it. My trombone teacher is speechless and even dumbfounded with my improvement. William, if you are reading this review, I thank you from the deepest most bottom part of my heart.
Get this book everybody and read it with all your attention and watch it work miracles on your stuttering! This is the book !!!

It is one of the good book I read eventhough the writer used more technical words that may not be easy for lay man.

Good book. Gives a different perpective. Definately interesting for those who tries to see things deeply.

There are times in each of our lives when the need arises for protection, stopping a bad situation, doing what has to be done even if it's not something you'd normally choose to do - however, when pushed, who are any of us to say what the choices of another should be? This book gives a series of brilliant spells - she gives us here a form of self-defense that is palpable and sometimes (though not always) necessary. This is not a difficult book at all, but is by far the best I've read that gives solid information.
I loved above all that it did not choose to push us to follow her morals or choices - instead it allows us as readers to be adults in our own right and follow our own Path....to choose for ourselves. I've never been a fan of books that say "Don't do this, it's wrong/bad/etc." as I feel that I can choose for myself what I can/can't do or what I should or shouldn't do - and as it is, not everyone is Wiccan and follows the three-fold rule. If you are adult enough to make choices for yourself, you will be just fine reading this book and even following the spells you're drawn to when you're called to. Wicca is a beautiful path for those who are drawn to it - but it's not for everyone. Respect should absolutely also be given to those who choose to defend themselves and theirs when they feel the time is right.

Dorothy Morrison has never been afraid to put herself out there when it comes to magick, and it's way past time someone came up with a commonsense guide to protecting yourself from present and future attacks of rudeness, robbery, rape, or even road rage. I look forward to the debate in the magical community as this book continues to grow in popularity. My friends and I read it in one day, laughing (cackling?) all the way through. If you've never met Dorothy, please consult her website for her travel itinerary. She is someone you don't want to miss out on knowing.

This is a fabulous book explaining the different practices of magick. It is very informative and touches the areas where other authors have forgotten. This book is not afraid TO GO THERE. I loved this book and it was an enjoyable read with some of the most powerful and useful spells for everyday life. It covers EVERYTHING. Thank you to the author for making such a wonderful and lovely book, it is one of a kind.

This was a great book. The material was a bit dark, but after reading so many "white witch" books, it was a welcome change from reading about good magic. While I don't foresee myself ever using this book to curse or hex, the information contained in the volume is written well, in an easy and conversational tone, as well as useful for more than just what the title suggests.

I highly recommend this book, if for no other reason than the home protection, energy transitioning, and cemetery information she provides. She also added recipe for powders, incense, etc. and has several listings in the back of the book on where to obtain supplies, something that many books sorely lack.

After reading this book, I plan on buying her backlist. It as simply that good of a book.

This isn't witchcraft, it's African American Hoodoo. There's a HUGE difference. While much of it is quite good (good meaning accurate as far as formulations go), it is also lacking in some areas. If you're interested in learning true African American Hoodoo, try Catherine Yronwode. She's the tops in her field.