People Books

I have been a preacher for 42 years and have purchased more than 1000 books, When the Call Seems Small is without a doubt the best of all. I have purchased and given 24 copies away already. Recently, one was given to a bi-vocational pastor who had to sell his farm: I knew that this book would greatly encourage him!

When the Call Seems Small will help us all to realize that when we are in God's will our place of assignment is the most important thing in our life. If we take joy in being in God's will we will know that when He leads us, no place, nor position, is unimportant in His plan. You do not need a title, or a degree to be valuable to the Kingdom of God.

When the Call Seems Small will protect you from allowing Satan to make you discontent with your calling.

Read it, and pass it on to others.

Genuine, insightful, and practical, When the Call Seems Small delivers hope for our confused and frustrated souls who search for God's will. With every page we feel accompanied by W. Clayton Scott's upbeat genuine presence and we get the distinct sense that he has been where we are. Most importantly, Jesus' love and concern breaks through in abundance. What a relief and joy to know we can see God's side of our struggling dreams!

As I read Clayton's book I was reminded of each individuals' urgent importance in God's plan. I was inspired to hope hard in Jesus again in every seemingly small way.

As a professional working in a major corporation I am always thrilled when I find a book about living for Christ that is PRACTICAL and APPLICABLE to me. Working in a "cube farm" I really appreciate the message of "When the Call Seems Small." The Illustrations, biblical examples and words of encouragement found in this book have encouraged and strengthened me in my walk with Him.

Captivating, , honest, searing, this is a beautifully rendered story of a painfully difficult childhood. Carolyn Slaughter made me fall in love with the Africa of her childhood while wanting to whisk her away from that very childhood.

The saga by Ms. Slaughter is a touching tale of courage, and determination ... a tragedy using the failed British Empire rape of India and Africa as a backdrop to to the personal rape and subsequent journey of this brave Lady. She emerged triumphant... the Empire failed.

Ms. Slaughter. Well Done.

This gorgeously, generously written memoir by the novelist, Carolyn Slaughter, is certain to be on my list of Best Books at year's end. These are Slaughter's young years from birth in India to age 14. She moved with her parents from India to England to Africa where she spent most of her childhood, or what should have been her childhood. A brilliant, affecting, important book. Slaughter has been one of my favorite writers since I read her Africa novels (highly recommended!) years ago: Dreams of the Kalahari and The Innocents.

So I confess to having not done so (finishing the book.) I am a mere 25 pages from the ending, and I am left feeling not more than a little perplexed. There is the niggling sense that the author is not playing fair. She describes a childhood rife with neglect and pain, but increasingly she is starring in her memories in a sort of grandiose, romantic way. I find myself not trusting the narrator's voice. It has become besot with victimization, so that her memories begin to all sound the same: poor, poor me. Horrid parents. Boarding schools and hand-me-downs, cruel nuns, lost love, nothing going right! Which is sad, don't get me wrong. But other authors can write about such heartache without seeming to "star" themselves in such a superlative way.
I read on, because the author is a gifted writer, and she can describe the African bush with much eloquence. She refuses to tell the American reader the difference between "African", "Afrikan" and "Afrikaan," along with what the various native foods and phrases might translate for us in the United States. For some reason, this lack of explanation begins to feel like condenscension, and coupled with the author's ascending view of herself and her suffering, so does the whole book. Interesting read. I would like to finish it, if for no other reason than to see if the author revisits the bomb she dropped in the introduction. Will she? Won't she? I don't think she's been entirely fair by dragging it out this long.

This is a fabulous book, and one can't help but compare it to Alexandra Fuller's "Don't Let's Go to The Dogs Tonight".

The difference is that although Fuller's parents were hard-drinking and unconventional, they loved their children enormously. Carolyn Slaughter had such toxic parents that it is amazing she has become an accomplished, funtioning person. Horribly abused by her father, physically as well as the sexual abuse, she was totally abandoned emotionally by her mother. I almost hated her mother more than the father, as she seemed to have no maternal feelings whatsoever.

My only complaint is that she ended the book when she left Africa as a teenager. She tells us in the epilogue that her parents and one of her sisters have all died, but doesen't say anything about their years back in England and whether she continued to have any relationship with her parents and what finally resulted in her having any self-esteem at all. I hope she is busy writing a follow-up. I highly recommend this book as well as Fuller's book.

If I were any happier I'd die from the happiness and the happy feelings you get from the happy feelings of feeling happy. I would be even happier if everything on Amazon were free. HAPPY HAPPY

I am enjoying this book thus far. Obviously, it's not a book on how to become immortal in the supernatural sense. It's a book about people who have become immortal by doing things that they will be remembered for. At least, that's what I've gotten out of it so far, but I'm only a couple of chapters in.

Amazing books, mind bending Pickover does a great job of placing many interesting facts, and sciences in short easy to read pages of abosolute goodness. Matrix, fractal realities, virutal worlds and universes, Truman Copote, insanity vs Genius are just a few of the vast mind goodies that await the reader of A Begginers Guide to Immortality.

In "Sex, Drugs, Einstein & Elves" Cliff Pickover revealed a side of his personality that was well-camouflaged in his first thirty some-odd books on mathematics, time travel, fractals, aliens, patterns, puzzles, God, etc. Indeed, writing so many books in such a short time may be the root cause of his now irrepressible eclecticism. This latest effort, "A Beginner's Guide to Immortality: Extraordinary People, Aliens Brains, and Quantum Resurrection," has many similarities to SDE&E. Not only is it written with an exuberance that complements the author's multi-dimensional perspective, the prose remains clear and accessible even as Pickover explores the complex reaches of transcendental reality.

One of the highlights of "A Beginner's Guide to Immortality" is Chapter 3, "Gilgamesh, God, and the Language of Angels." Pickover confesses that the "Epic of Gilgamesh" is one of his deepest obsessions. And we get a feel for his zeal as he recounts the ancient Mesopotamian king's search for immortality. But there is also a lot of extraneous material in this chapter. It's a virtual Mind Salad of eclecticism. Pickover's brain is fizzing with ideas and impressions, perhaps as a result of his relentless work ethic and voracious reading habits, and they seem to inundate his consciousness as he writes. I find this stimulating. Others may differ, wishing instead for a simpler, more direct narrative line.

At his best, Pickover's mind is encyclopedic -- correction: it's Wikipedic! It's Google-alien! Who else would focus on "The Brain from Planet Arous" in a chapter about Truman Capote? But Pickover does, and it can be fascinating because you get a completely different mental picture once you exit Truman Capote's peculiar oeuvre and enter the zany universe of Fifties science-fiction flicks, of which Pickover is a connoisseur. He loves the movies themselves, but also their filmmakers and the whole idea that some P.T. Barnum showman could make some outrageous, low-budget, horror-show hokum with B-list actors and still turn a tidy profit.

But Pickover can also be deadly serious, and I find this quote from "The Call of Cthulhu" by H.P. Lovecraft, (which also appears in Chapter 3) to be quite haunting:

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We lie on the placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of disassociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age."


After reading "A Beginner's Guide to Immortality" you may suspect that Cliff Pickover actually wants "the human mind to correlate all its contents." Which could be precisely what happens to the most intelligent human beings in the 21st Century anyway. If so, what he has to offer in this book should be of interest to the armchair existentialists. We all want to live forever. But then again, maybe not.

Pickover knows just what to say to kickstart the parts of your brain you haven't even used yet. Reading this book is like taking a walking tour through the magical zone where your life and reality and history and b-movies intersect. Educational, hilarious, mind-blowing, engaging and full of zest and zing, Pickover punctuates his prose with trenchant quotes aplenty. The thing you learn quick when traveling in the Pickover realm is that your brain is always growing and learning, and there is no limit to how far we can go. This guy's also got a generous heart and spirit, you can feel it in the words he writes, and that sort of hawk-eyed optimism for a transcendental, trans-dimensional future is damned contagious. I read this book and I feel like whatever happens, the collective mass of DNA we call the world/self is gonna be not only fine but blazin'! Plus it's light (nice soft pages) and has cool purple cover, with a skull!

I bought this book for the illustrations, but I found the story was just as beautiful. My grandson who has just started playing the trumpet loved it, too. In fact, he even made the effort to give me a call after he had read it to share his enthusiasm. I will definately purchase more of this remarkable woman's work,

As an international music teacher we need to give all theencouragement we can give to keep the music programs alive in ourschools. Not just in the states but in the world. This short story relates to the young hopeful musican who hopes to be a contributor to the music world - Keep the dream.

Ben's Trumpet (authored and illustrated by Rachel Isadora) was named a Caldecott Honor book for best illustrations in 1980. Honor! These black and white pics are striking! I'll have to read the book that actually won that year. I can't imagine anything better than "Ben". But that's beside the point.


Summary

Ben has an imaginary trumpet and frequents the outside of the Zig Zag Jazz Club. He plays his "trumpet" for his mother, father, grandmother, and baby sister. But when neighborhood children see him playing, they laugh and call him crazy. Ben decides to quit playing his imaginary trumpet, until he meets with the trumpeter from the club.

Ben's Trumpet is a masterful with a simple text and "art-deco" that is remeniscent of The Jazz Era. Isadora is successful in conveying a cool, jazzy feel. A must-read with a satisfying conclusion. Play on!

R

In the age of computer games and 3-D animation, the simple imagination of a child to envision himself learning to be a jazz musician is refreshing. Unlike previous reviews, I feel the dramatic black and white drawings set off some of the cultural issues the illustrations portray. Obviously, young Ben does not live an idealized childhood at home. Yet, he finds that his passion for music can only be fulfilled outside of jazz clubs (which usually perform late in the evening and he is too young to enter). The point of the book is how he acts out THIS reality. He is looking "outside of the box" (hence the illustrations of his home life) and finds the attention from the father-figure (the trumpeter) who Ben wants to imitate. The book vividly illustrates the importance of role models in a child's life.

There are large and small crimes in the world. Small crimes includes little white lies and petty theft. Large crimes represent something much larger in the grand scheme of things. For example, it is a very large crime that it took the New York Public Library's 2003 100 Children's Books Everyone Should Know for me to discover "Ben's Trumpet". Have you seen this book? This is a gorgeous piece of work, particularly striking in its publication date (1979) but not dated. Not even a little. Following Ben, a young man living in a Harlem-esque neighborhood, the story depicts the boy's obsession with playing the trumpet. The plot is touching and has a happy ending that doesn't feel forced or tacked on. It flows just as smoothly as the book itself. Nice storylines aren't what push this book into greatness, however. Look at the illustrations a minute. Notice Isadora's use of line. Her clever placement of black and white. Look at the different drawing styles that emanate from the jazz musicians and their music. Now compare this to Ben's home, a simplistic realistic series of pictures. My favorite section comes after the trumpeter at the Zig Zag Jazz Club compliments Ben on his trumpet playing. The next two pages show the trumpeter walking away, his body curved, swaying to some internal music. On the opposite page there is a kaleidoscope of forms and images, possibly representing Ben's elation at the compliment. Possibly just serving as gorgeous filler. Please read this to your children. Teach this to your children. And give this book to everyone you know. Do I gush? I know I do. But trust me, this book is worth it.

I needed to add a filler or two to a recent order with Amazon so I picked out two Biscuit stories for my 20 month old son who loves books. He took to "Biscuit Finds a Friend" right away and is now a Biscuit fan. The story is very simple and easy for my son to follow along. Be prepared to say "woof, woof" over and over, but it's worth it!

kids love listening to this. They learn new words on their own by listening to the tape. If they are having trouble reading, this helps them look and listen to the book. They can follow along.

In this book Biscuit meets a new friend when he finds a small yellow duckling near the house. Friendly puppy that he is, Biscuit soon makes friends but a duckling should be with its parents.

Biscuit helps the little duckling find its family but not without making an impression as the duckling looks like it follows him home at the end.

Another simple and happy story with some of the best illustrations in children's books. My daughter likes to read the "Woof, woof!" parts.

My five year old daughter is just beginning to read and I have to tell you that my husband and I have been through a lot of books that claim they are `primers' but which aren't.

Either they use a huge vocabulary, or else they have too many words per page. In one case the entire book was written in the past tense. And while they might be great for a more experienced new reader, they are not good for true beginning/emergent readers; children with just a few weeks under their belts.

In any case, "Biscuit Finds a Friend" does not have any of these problems. You will find text that is simple and uncluttered, with not too many words per page. An example follows for you to judge for yourself:

The little duck is lost.
Woof! Woof!
We will bring the little duck back to the pond.
Woof! Woof!

Here, little duck.
Here is the pond.
Here is your mother and your father.
Quack!

Five Stars. A real book for beginning/emergent readers. The text is simple and just repetitive enough that children are encouraged. The artwork and story line appeal to children whether they are reading or not. Certainly my 3 year old son enjoys this book as well.

My mother, a teacher, gave us some Bisquit books for our 4 year old son. He loved them so much, he has learned to read them in just a couple weeks.

The illustrations are as cute as can be.

The text ranges from simple to moderate for a first reader. I have found the balance between easy to read / appropriately repetitive text and few few places where the rules for sounds change a little to be just right. You can see where your child will try to apply a known rule (e.g., here vs. her) but will fail. You can explain the difference between the words and how to know proper pronunciation. After doing it a few times, he gets not just the words, but the rule. This, of course, requires the parent to be active while the child is reading.

The construction of the book provide plenty of reinforcement for the child and our son always wants to read more.

However, like all things, it is good to get other first readers as well. After a point, children will have memorized the text and will no longer be really 'reading' or stretching themselves.

We have some Bob the Builder, Toy Story, etc. books. However, Bisquit was unknown to us and is preferred by our son.

This book is a very positive, informative way to approach living your life after divorce. This is recommended reading for getting through difficulties of the aftermath of divorce.

Dr. Leporowski has written a slim but so useful book here that is bound to be of help to anyone dealing with the loss of a relationship. Her advice and suggestions are practical, thought provoking, and geared toward moving someone into the self-examination so necessary in order to move on into a new life following divorce. She takes special care to guide the reader through and past the traps of self-pity, blame, resentment and self-denigration without becoming critical or judgmental of those experiencing these all-too-common feelings when a marriage ends. I found her writing style to be refreshingly candid and almost conversational. Reading the book feels like sitting down with an old friend who is going to give you the "straight scoop" and not a lot of jargon or intellectual theorizing. She quite literally cuts to the "heart" of the matter! I've already started recommending this book to my psychotherapy patients facing divorce or its aftermath, encouraging them toward a more proactive self-examination and self-definition of who they are going to be NOW!

Dr.Leporowski has taken the personal pain of divorce combined with professional experience and created a helpful tool for anyone facing the plethora of emotions surrounding divorce. This book names the demons of divorce while supplying practical guidelines for moving on in life. The book illustrates how divorce is not the end of the world, but can actually provide an opportunity for self-disocvery and growth. Kudos to Dr. Leporowski for presenting the information in a practical,yet compassionate manner.

After divorce, what then? "Bitter or Better" helps to ease the pain of not knowing what's next. It's thought provoking and inspiring. It moves you from the challenges to the cure. The uncharted territory of singlehood becomes increasingly clear with the turning of each page. I highly recommend it.

I have been a marriage and famil counselor for 22 years. After reading Dr. Leporowski's book, "Bitter or Better", I was so grateful that there was another counselor who understood the impact that bitterness has on people's lives.
She is right on in so many ways.
Throughout her book, she continues to position the reader to stop looking back at the offences that have occured, stop blaming the people of the past and start taking ownership of of their own lives and choices.
It is a must read for anyone who has traveled the rocky road of divorce.
Reading this book will open a whole new opportunity of living a life filled with contentment and peace.

Dr. Gary Lawrence
New Life Dynamics Counseling Center
4000 N. Central Ave., Suite 1710
Phoenix, Az. 85012
602-241-9725

somebody told it like it is...The judicial system is not balanced and it never will be. Thanks judge for telling the truth!

As a New Yorker, I remember Judge Bruce Wright well. He was dubbed: "Cut 'em loose Bruce", because he often released arrested citizens without their having to post bail money. Mr. Wright upheld the law that bail is not to be used as a punishment, but only as a guarantee that the accused party return to court to face the charges against he/she. This infuriated the "powers-that-be". The fact that Judge Wright is a Black man, and many of those who came before him were also Black people, swayed the media to portray his actions as racially motivated, as opposed to his acknowledgement of the law. His book superbly reflects the blatant inequitableness of the criminal justice system and how it is purposely designed to work against Blacks and other people of color. His personal experiences, as a sitting judge, lend great credence to his analogy and conclusions concerning the legal system. Wright fearlessly gives names and elaborates on instances wherein he witnessed and experienced bias in the system. This book is not written in "textbook" fashion, provides some humorous irony and is very informative. Add it to your library.

I'm still reading this book. First time reading a book like this.This is one of the greatest. I recommend this book to be added to your library. It's gives truthful information of the legal system concerning the racism of blacks in the court system.

This book is an eye opener. It give you the truth behind the justice system from the perpective of a Sumpreme Court Judge who exposed the racism in the court system in New York. I never heard of Bruce Wright and happen I purchased this book. I have a lot of respect for the author.

somebody told it like it is...The judicial system is not balanced and it never will be. Thanks judge for telling the truth!

As like many others, I read this book for a class. I was given the choice between this book, and two other books, so I read the reviews for the three books, and this one sounded the best. All the positive reviews for this book were correct. The author puts his sense of humor into his tale of the history of cosmology. He tries to avoid all technical aspects of this field, and puts it in an appendix for those more curious than I. This book also went very smoothly. The first section goes by like a breeze! Only the last section on the current views of cosmology boggs down, and just by a little. I liked the book so much, that I gave it to my parents to read, and they're both in the art field, and they enjoyed it!

An excellent read!

I don't remember the last time I read a book that was as packed with fascinating facts about astronomy as this one. Better still, Mr. Kolb's dry wit makes the book a very quick read.

If you're interested in the history of astronomy and want a book that takes you past the basics, read this book. I can't recommend it highly enough.

If you have ever wonder how new stars were found, and how scientist came up with the alignment of the planets. Then read Blind Watchers of the Sky:The People that Shaped our Views of The Universe. Discover how the scientist came up with their theories, and the basic history of cosmology. The book flows very well and is interesting. Learn more about the thought of the scientist that have spent most of their lives studying the sky.

Unlike the other reviewers here, I *had* to read this book. Why is that? Because I took Natural Sciences 101 at the University of Chicago, and it happened to be taught by the very same Rocky Kolb. I must say, I was a little leery about reading a book written by the prof, I mean, how self serving is that? But let me tell you, this book captivated me more than any other that quarter. It's clear and concise, but most importantly, its humor keeps you wanting to read more. He writes just like he teaches. That's his voice speaking from the pages, and he's speaking something he knows a lot about. If you want to get the basics of the history of cosmology and get in on the ground floor of a few of the more complicated cosmologiacl principals, all in an entertaining read, this book is for you.

After reading Blind Watchers of the Sky all I have to is, "wow!" I never thought I would learn more about (or care about, for that matter) astronomy. The basis of my celestial knowledge before reading this book was elementary to say the least. My comprehension of astronomy now is not that of a rocket scientist or anything but it is a secure foundation on which further studying will be easier understood because of the basic concept learned from this book. These concepts are not exactly abecedarian, they are not easy to grasp in a classroom or textbook. For some reason Kolb's intricate stories explain these concepts in a flowing manner that doesn't stress the mind. All of a sudden you are reading and you pause to say aloud to yourself, "Oh, I get it." I would recommend this book to anyone. You need no past knowledge to enjoy the book or any great passion to learn about astronomy because it is entertaining aside from the fun facts you learn. I am not an astronomy scholar so I am unaware what there take on this book would be. But this is also an excellent source for high school astronomy students having a difficult time grasping our celestial ideas. -JoAnna Newburn

I read "The Bond" over two nights. What an incredible story! It tells the story of triumph over adversity. I recommend every parent; single or married; every teacher,teen-ager, male or female read this book!

This is a wonderful book, particularly for men and teen-age boys who have difficult relationships with their fathers. In their sequel to "The Pact," the three doctors -- Jenkins, Davis and Hunt -- give an open and honest account of how they learned to forgive and reconnect with their dads. In a unique twist, the fathers' stories also are told, revealing how a generational curse such as fatherlessness is hard to break. The women's guild of my church read "The Bond" for a recent book discussion. We had a great conversation with author Margaret Bernstein.

"The Bond" is a story about three African-American doctors who lived in Newark, New Jersy. Drs. Hunt, Davis and Jenkins all show what srtuggles of inner-city life can bring.

The three doctors have taken their time to discuss what has become a big problem in the U.S. and the world -- absentee fathers. Their fathers didn't "measure up" to their idea of what a father should be. Whether it was as a result of the fathers not being at home, unmarried, alcoholism, drugs, jail or simply not knowing how to communicate, one thing is for sure, it's not okay to bring a child into this world solely to fend for themselves.

The Bond by the Three Doctors, as they are more affectionately called, is an extension of their first book, The Pact. In The Pact, Sampson Davis, George Jenkins and Rameck Hunt tell how they became friends in high school and ultimately, how they promised to stick together and graduate from college to become doctors. The Bond goes even further into the friendship of these three young men.

Davis, Jenkins and Hunt were able to become friends because of what is considered a growing epidemic in the African American community - children growing up in single family homes. Each doctor tells the reason why his father was not present in his home. They also give their fathers an opportunity to share their stories. They learn that their fathers either grew up in the same circumstances or they did not know themselves, the impact they were passing on through each generation. The doctors discuss how they struggled to learn about developing relationships with women, building confidence, and peer pressure and to learn a simple task such as how to fix a tie or picking out a suit without the guidance of male presence in their lives. They also discuss their devotions to their mothers, who sacrificed to keep their families together. Despite not having a male role model, the doctors basically learned from each other. The Bond tells of their need and desire to understand the reasons why their fathers were absent and what they have done to begin to build relationships with their fathers. Dr. Hunt stated "even though they missed out on a portion of their lives, parenthood last a lifetime".

The story was very compelling and thought provoking. The Doctors also describe the ways that they have set out to mentor other children who are growing up in similar homes. This is a recommended book that can be read by both males and females who are living in single family homes and are struggling to come to terms with an absent parent.

Reviewed by: Priscilla C. Johnson
APOOO BookClub

In Newark, Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt met as fatherless children struggling to survive ghetto living without a male mentor or role model; they formed THE PACT in high school to help one another make it and they succeeded as each became a doctor.

In THE BOND, the physicians look into the most prevalent disease destroying America's family: no father. The trio does this by seeking their dads, who never had a role in their lives. The threesome separately describe growing up fatherless and how difficult that is to overcome, but do not add any new insight than they already described in the PACT. However, their recommendations to youths suffering from this pandemic illness are solid especially to go out and find a role model to mentor you. However, the most poignant segments are the sections written by the absentee dads, who offer no rationalization as to why, but explain their failures in depth. Especially discerning is that each of them also grew up fatherless. THE BOND is a moving autobiography and though anecdotal should be must reading for everyone who wonders what has gone wrong with the American family unit as generational repetition is difficult to turn around.

Harriet Klausner

It's cool and it gives a lot of information about it

It was a wonderful book to read I could not even put it down.I think that you should go out and buy it.

I LOVED the book,Brandy:Sittin'On Top Of The World. It was really informative, and since I AM Brandy's #1 fan, it was fun to read. It was great reading about all what Brandy had to do and her determination to reach were she is right now, which IS on top of the world!

I loved this book! It is great!I wont really say i am her #1 fan because i know there are alot of other people who really like her like me so i guess we are all her #1 FANS.Brandy is a really cool person and i hope to follow in her footsteps. Well thats all for now. I LOVE YOU! Love, Yomary

5 stars brandy I enjoy your musi