People Books

This book is powerful because of its simplicity. I can not give this book enough praise! Since our family discovered this gem a few years ago, P.K. Hallinan (who does his own illustrations) has become one of our favorites. The subtitle on earlier editions was "A Book to Celebrate Diversity". Hallinan subtly covers many aspects of diversity through his rhyming words and colorful illustrations. This book is not preachy nor is it cheesy. I like that the book does not just focus on ethnicity, disability and differences. A Rainbow of Friends touches on views, interests, dress, strengths and weaknesses; it emphasizes acceptance, understanding, friendship and working together! A great book for all ages! Our family has donated copies of this book to the school library, given copies to each student in my son's class at school and distributed the book at community events. Heartprints (board book edition)Heartprints is Hallinan's best known book; I think A Rainbow of Friends is one of his best. I would also recommend How Do I Love You.

I am a preschool teacher and wanted books to help the children feel better about being at school that first week. It worked!! It was child friendly and the childen enjoyed the story.

I love this book, but the first time I saw it the book was hardcovered. As a child I always liked my hardcovered books. I was disappointed to find that this book is no longer available in hardcover. I think kids and adults handle a hardcover with more care. The message of this book is excellent. I wonder if the publisher would consider making a hardcover version again.

This is a wonderful book about how we can be friends with all types of people--no matter what! :) It is a book I use every year in my kindergarten class!

This book by PK Hallinan is a wonderful teaching tool for all children. Although it is not a literary masterpiece, that doesn't matter. The adorable pictures and text portray the true meaning of acceptance and friendship. This is a great book for a child to own!

This book is written in a mediocre style that is neither appealing nor exceptional in any way. It seems to me that a hard-core southerner moves to Alaska and is trying to impress the relatives back home with our winters.Not a bad book, but definitely nothing stands out in it as being special.

I first saw this book in the UAF bookstore and couldn't put it down! I had a great time showing my daughters what life was like for me when I was a little girl growing up in Central Alaska (Nenana). The photos are wonderful, especially the frosty eyelashes, hair and pink cheeks! Its a wonderful way to share Alaska life from a child's point of view. Though I dont remember our school cancelling recess if it was MORE than 20 below!

I found this book to be delightful, showing so many things Alaskans take for granted that people in more temperate climates would never imagine. Just going out to play when it is that cold seems unthinkable in most of the lower 48. They face problems that most of us never encounter like frozen eyelashes. When the snow piles up till there is no room for legs under the swings they solve the problem in a very clever way.

The photographs are wonderful and the story is told in a fashion that holds the reader's attention. I love the photo of all the coats, hats, boots, gloves and other cold weather gear in the classroom after recess.

I tutor some 5th graders in Cincinnati and read it to them on one of the coldest days when they had "Recess at 12 Above - Indoors". They were fascinated by it. One child was so full of questions so we got a map to locate Alaska and she was still talking about it a week later.

I highly recommend this charming book.

I have had the pleasure of growing up in Delta Junction. This book made me think of the many days while in school having that story be so true!!! Great Book!! Im glad Mrs Aillaud did this she is a great teacher, writer and photographer!!!!!

I shared this book with my grandson's second grade class and left it for the students to read during recreational reading. They all wanted a closer look! The colorful photos and snappy text bring this recess experience to life for kids, parents, and grandparents. As a former teacher, I could relate to all the preparation required for sending children outside on a nippy day. It is obvious this author has authentic background as a teacher in Alaska.

Mr. Kessler has shown us that there are miraculous wonders in the everyday occurences of our lives. A walk in the sun, A day at the shore, the breeze in the trees are all moments to savor and enrich our lives. Mr. Kessler's book is one to reach for and read when some uplifting inspiration is needed.

Mr. Kessler has given us a guideline to a richer life by showing us how to appreciate each day . His reflections lead us to the understanding that we are indeed special individuals. This book is written by an Extra-Ordinary Person and I treasure it.

We are often so busy and immersed in what we consider to be our humdrum, "ordinary" lives that we fail to reflect upon the rich tapestry of meaning and feeling that we are offered with each new day. Mr. Kessler clearly recognizes, and invites us to appreciate with him, the gifts he has received.

Tough times come and go and this book will help when the tough times hang on too long. I am happy to say I met the author and had a chance to chat with him at a book signing in my home town. His sincerity and compassion comes through in person and in Reflections Of An Ordinary Person. A book you will read over and over and will want to give to your friends and relatives to help them in this journey of life.

The insight that Mr.Kessler has is inspiration in itself. This is a literary work that you can and will keep returning to. We hope to see more of his work in the future.

This is an absolutely superb book, comprised of recollections of the Jim Crow years in the form of oral histories. It can be read through, or picked up at any part. There is an appropriate amount of historical introduction to each chapter.
This material needs to be read, and remembered. There was a long time in our history when, although there was no more slavery, African Americans were treated as a separate serf class, under constant pressures and reminders of their lower status. Whites used pervasive legal and social downward pressures to keep African Americans out of an equal education, and equal access to public facilities, much less the right to equal jobs and the right to vote -- and then claimed that African Americans' lack of achievement was a racial fault. If an African American violated one of the many social taboos, the sanctions ranged from a beating, to loss of job, and even being lynched.
While whites benefited from Jim Crow, the whites, also, were trapped in the system. They were also forced to abide by legal segregation, and were subject to social pressure if they were too liberal (being called "n* lover," "white n*," etc.).
What led to the mindset that the end of slavery should lead to continued legal and social oppression of African Americans? It was part of white American culture. Lincoln himself said that he was not "in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry.... [T]here must be the position of superior and inferior. I am as much as any other man in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race." In 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes traded the end of southern post-war Reconstruction for the electoral votes he needed to win the presidency. Southern states then were free to institute the Jim Crow system.
I believe we are more subject to peer pressure than we would like to believe. Although reviewer McInerney asserts that "no civilized person" would benefit from Jim Crow, I feel many otherwise-good people were trapped and/or blinded by their own interests and surroundings. When allowed, and even encouraged, their evil side showed itself. On this topic, see John Griffin's _Black Like Me_, on the different faces that whites showed to other whites, and to African Americans.
While we are certain that we wouldn't go back to that system, we shouldn't be so sure that we, also, wouldn't be trapped by it if we were born into it. Consider that Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy (to a large extent) didn't take effective action to end segregation.
This book is excellent. Those dreadful and shameful times -- and the vestiges which still continue -- must not be forgotten.

Any illusions about the freedom and equality that were alleged to have been given to African Americans in this country following the Civil War were just that, illusions. The reality of America's version of Apartheid was legitimized in 1896 in the United States Supreme Court with the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson. When the de-facto segregation that Plessy allowed was added to the de jure laws that followed, whatever emancipation had been promised was firmly repudiated. It is even legitimate to go back to 1877 when Rutherford B. Hayes and his party sold out, and swapped the presidency for the removal of federal troops from the south.

"Remembering Jim Crow", is a brilliant collection of first hand accounts of life under Jim Crow by those who were victimized by its laws. A large cast collected these verbal accounts over several years, and they accomplished no less than the preservation of a sinister part of this country's history. A time that W.E.B. Dubois characterized as, "living behind the veil". Combined with the book, "At The Hands Of Person's Unknown", which I commented extensively on, these two books, and if you choose the accompanying CD of the interviews, provides a wide, if horrific view of these eight decades.

These testimonies are also notable for the speakers who identify by name the people and families that victimized them. This is not ancient history that many would like to forget. These people who survived and speak of Jim Crow are alive, and so a presumption that their tormentors are alive is reasonable. The end of the book includes portions of a documentary that was made as part of this project with National Public Radio. Happily some of the whites that were interviewed in Iberia Perish in Louisiana remember and look with regret on what they did and did not do. Their willingness to speak on the record is admirable. But lest anyone think that all is solved there are also people who went on the record bemoaning their never having enjoyed the privileges that Jim Crow gave whites. A man named Barrow expressed himself thusly, "That was awful nice, you know, you'd go hunting, "Boy clean those ducks", you know, "Skin that dear", uh, "Shine my shoes". I believe I could have gone for that. Yeah I think you could have too".

No Mr. Barrow, no civilized individual from any state could, "have gone for that". However I am sure that many appreciate your confirmation that even now, ignorance, arrogance, and racism are alive and well.

This is an interesting angle to present a sad era in America's history. This book does not give a history book type of fact presentation, it presents the facts from the people who actually experienced it.

This is a vital book if for only one reason, so that the children born after this era know what it was like so it is never repeated.

I enjoyed the oral history that is presentated and I would recommend this book if you want a greater understanding of this time.

REMEMBERING JIM CROW is a colletion of first hand accounts of life in the Jim Crow south. The stories are compelling and at the same time sad.

The stories create the atmosphere that one is sitting in one of the elderly story tellers living room listening to them.

This book is especially worthwhile for non-African-Amercians readers, because virtually all African-Americans that have roots in the south, know these stories all too well.

This slipcased book and 2-cd set supplements the written word with oral history, gathering the voices of men and women who were firsthand witnesses to segregation in the south. Stories by men and women from all walks of life reveal how blacks fought against the system, built communities, and ran businesses in a society which denied them basic rights. Remembering Jim Crow offers the reader a comprehensive, involving, highly recommended presentation.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! The Brodys are very insightful and use many personal anecdotes from their own marriage. This is the best book on the marital relationship that I've read yet. I highly recommend it!

Cathy and Steve Brody have put on paper a near encyclopedic reference for all the skills one needs and pitfalls one should avoid during the midlife marriage. Most vulnerable to disaster, the midlife marriage sustains the blows of empty nest, mid-life crisis, and general wear and tear of the physical aging process. A must have handbook for anyone wanting to stay vital in a long term relationship. For people who already know their problems and need deeper work, a different text or personal therapy will be helpful. For those who need to spot problem areas or who just need reinforcement, this is the book for you.

Thanks to Steve & Cathy Brody for your insightful sharing & strategies to help cope with my midlife's issues, and there are many! What a great support "group" feeling in listening (reading) about their lives and how my own challenging life has been better understood. The kids are gone now & my husband and I are ready for that "renewed marriage". We highly recommend this to anyone who wants to live happily ever after.

After watching the Brodys on Oprah, and seeing her plug their book, I figured I'd give it a try. It is terrific! As a woman in midlife, I'm finding it very helpful with my marriage. Our communication has improved, and even our sex life is now more satisfying. Well done Brodys!! Thank You!!

Renew Your Marriage at Midlife is an easy read and an excellent idea now that baby boomers are reaching their middle years. Steve and Cathy Brody describe their individual experiences and provide excellent professional advice on topics that are certain to confound couples when they realize that their relationship is changing in ways that they had never imagined. What happens to couples when their kids leave home? When original expectations of marriage begin to slip away? When sexual relationships wane? Steve and Cathy Brody have written an exciting midlife primer that responds to these and other difficult questions. I recommend it highly.

Raghubir Singh's River of Colour is a book that beautiful in many ways. Not only was he a very talented photographer, he also brings out a tremendous sense of patriotism with his book. His photographs capture the essence of Indian culture.

I was given this book (softcover edition) by a friend some years ago, and it has resonated with me as one of the finest compilations of documentary photography on India. Raghubir Singh's photograph captures moments in the lives of ordinary Indians, in a way that is without a doubt timeless. This book is a collection of his best works from his many years of photography in India and it's simply a marvel, especially for anyone who has a special interest in India or comes from India, who can really appreciate the imagery.

I hands down recommend this book to anyone and everyone and always show it off to friends. Try and get some of his other works as well - Bombay, The Grand Trunk Road, Kerala, Banares, Kashmir, if you can find them. You will be equally impressed.

Raghubir Singh was born in India and began his photography career in 1965 - but until this collection, very few of his works reached audiences outside the country. RIVER OF COLOUR: THE INDIA OF RAGHUBIR SINGH uses a wide-angle panoramic layout which will prove a shelving challenge to most art library collections - but a delight to any who seek fine display materials. It's the only retrospective of Singh's works and by choosing an elongated, oversized display format, the color photos of Indian topics come to life and nearly spring off the page. RIVER OF COLOUR is recommended not just for art photography libraries, but for any collection strong on India history or culture.

I first bought this book in its paperback edition... I was so taken by the photographs that on learning that Phaidon was re-releasing the book, I gave my pbk copy to an Indian friend of mine (who loves it, as it reminds him of home). Looking forward to the re-release of this book, I was eagerly looking for it to become available.

The re-release arrived just the other day. I can say that the photos are just as moving, heart-melting, and colorful as the original copy. HOWEVER, Amazon's "shrink-wraping process" ruined the cover of the book, and many of the pages of the book.

So, I paid full Amazon price for the book, but were I to try to re-sell it, it would be "damaged."

To say that I'm a little piss#d is an understatement.

It _is_ a beautiful book, with a wonderful overview of Singh's work - my favorites are the boys diving from the tops of submerged temples on a flooded Ganges, and a pic of a muscician from Tamil Nadu...

I just wish the condition of the book were better.

India is a difficult country to understand and even more difficult to explain, in words or pictures! Rughubir Singh has captured the chaos of India which take you right into the bylanes of Varanasi/Banaras. This is my favourite(infact the only picture book) gift to a lot of my western friends, most of whom have visited India before. The pictures are simply too powerful. If you have any facination for that land, you cant afford not to have a look at Mr. Singh's pictures.

The pictures are vivid and the story is an accurate slice of human nature--with a nice turn.

William Steig, now 93, made his foray into children's literature late, in 1968. By then, he had already been drawing cartoons and illustrations for the New Yorker for 38 years. And it was by no means certain that his launch into children's books, where large numbers of titles die each year, would succeed.

The late great New Yorker illustrator Arthur Getz, who in 50 years produced 213 of the magazine's covers, for example, created only four children's books, all of them now sadly out of print. But Steig became as prolific at children's books as he had been with adult humor.

This book exemplifies the praise that critic James E. Higgins lavished on Steig in Children's Literature and Education. He compared Steig to Isaac Bashevis Singer, E. B. White and select others whose work "reaches beyond the specific confines of a child audience." Steig, he wrote, shows an unusual childlike capacity to present incidents of wonder as if they happened every day--and an "essence of childhood which no adult can afford to give up or to deny."

The color and imagination in this 1969 volume places it at the pinnacle of Steig's children's collection. It reappeared in 1984 and again more recently. Unlike most of his children's books, the story offers no characters. Set in a boiling sea, the vile landscape that dominates it spouts fire, smoke, poison arrows, double-headed toads and hot lava. Even the plant life here sprouts horrible thorns and twisted spines. It thrives in an environment of hourly earthquakes, black tornadoes, lightening sprees, cyclones and dust storms, which freezes at night.

The creatures inhabiting this place appear equally grotesque. The serpents, sharp-clawed crabs, stingrays, high-voltage electric eels and other scaly, wart-covered denizens sport talons, tentacles, fangs, extra arms and eyes, armor, rusty nails and wheels for legs. The insects appear bug-eyed and hairy, covered in grit and petrified sauerkraut. No two are alike--except for their equal vanity, jealousy and delight in greeting one another with spit or shooting flames. Others' pain induces them to shake with laughter. Cruelty tickles them. They live in hatred--hissing, screaming, caterwauling and otherwise venting their hideous feelings.

Aside from showing children the hyperbolic worst likely to come of ill will and a venomous temper, what makes this book wonderful is the way in which this Paradise of hatred disintegrates and transforms into something beautiful. Alyssa A. Lappen

When I was six, I love this book like crazy, so I am happy to see it back; however, I'm disappointed to find that at least half the text has been cut out, and what is left has been rewritten, apparently to make it easier to read or less intense.
Since Steig's fierce, colorful prose contributed as much to the impact of "The Bad Island" as his fierce, colorful pictures (which, by the way, look a little faded in the new Godine version), I'm still hoping for a definitive edition!
Compare the wreckage in the first edition: "It went on and on and on and one day it was finally over. Everyone had succeeded in killing everyone else off. The last ugly ogre had given his last gasp and the last serpent breathed its last flame, and the island was a gigantic heap of dead, scaly, thorny, fanged, horned, bug-eyed, barbed, bristling, saw-toothed carcasses, lying in ashes and embers, burning and giving off a dark, horrible smoke. And then there was nothing but hot ashes."
This is replaced in the Godine version by: "It went on and on and on, and one day it was all over. There was nothing left but smoke and smouldering ashes."
Big difference, eh? William Steig is one of our greatest writer/illustrators and this is his masterpiece. Five stars for the first edition; three stars for this new one.

Here's how this book begins:

"There once was a very unbeautiful, very rocky, rotten island. It had acres of sharp gravel and volcanoes that belched fire and smoke, spewed hot lava, and spat poison arrows and double headed toads".

Think about double headed toads flying through the air. Let your imagination run wild. Trust me, nothing you can conjure up will prepare you for what you will encounter in reading this masterpiece by William Steig.

For instance, "The insects there could get as big as barracudas - goggle-eyed with chopping mandibles, bug-eyed and hairy, with stinging tails and clacking shells covered with grit and petrified sauerkraut". And there they are; illustrated in grotesque and intricate detail, in psychedelic colors (the book was originally published in 1969). And yes, there is one perched precariously on a prickly cactus, whose body is indeed encrusted with what appears to be petrified sauerkraut.

Or, "The denizens of this sizzling-hot, freezing-cold, rocky rotten island were monsters - huge or miserably stunted, fat or scraggly, dry or slimy, with scales , warts, pimples, tentacles, talons, fangs, extra arms, eyes, legs, tails, and even heads, all in ridiculous arrangements". And there it is - a bristling menagerie all decked out and endlessly interesting to examine close up.

And then again, "This rotten, horrible island was set in a boiling sea seething with serpents, sharp-clawed crabs, stingrays, electric eels of high voltage, and eerie fish with pointed teeth, barbed fins and scales, and fluorescent lights that glimmered in the bubbling deep".

By now you're beginning to get the idea...

All these assorted nasties dine on one another and engage in unending acts of vainglorious cruelty, interrupted only by the onset of night when everything freezes and the combatants are entombed in ice till morning comes again. Given their nature, and knowing nothing else they are happy: "They loved their rotten life. They loved hating and hissing at one another, taking revenge, tearing and breaking things, screaming, roaring, caterwauling, venting their hideous feelings. It tickled them to be cruel and to give each other bad dreams. Rotten Island was their paradise".

Then one day everything changes. A beautiful and mysterious flower is discovered. Something like this has never been seen before and the inhabitants of Rotten Island find it scary and repulsive. More flowers appear in spite of the frustrated efforts of a hairy grapling to discover their origin.

Ultimately the beauty that has invaded the island via the flowers drives the indigenous creatures mad and they destroy one another in a furious final battle.

Rain begins to fall, washing the island and making all things new.

In the morning everything is covered with beautiful flowers, the sea is calm and a rainbow fills the sky. Exotic shrubbery bursts from the peaks of the volcanoes that once spewed double headed toads. A flock of birds swoops in to populate what has now truly become a paradise.

This book is indeed a zany masterpiece - the product of an exuberant and unfettered imagination.

This is a great book, and there is nothing else like it -- certainly not by anyone else, but it is also unique in the Steig canon. The comparison to Sendak's *Where the Wild Things Are* below is apt; both books deal with economies of human destructiveness, but Steig's wonderfully imagined, very funny, full-blooded account of unbridled cruelty burning itself out makes Sendak's book (fine as it is) seem timid and stagey in comparison. I first bought this book over ten years ago as a single, childless adult; I have never tired of it, and now my two boys -- age 5 & 7 -- haven't either. Buy it.

I recommend reading this book if you are interested in the rituals and culture of the Lakota. It provides clear and interesting discussions of major rituals that form important components of their way of life. The material is drawn largely from interviews with Black Elk, and the writing really explains significance of important details in the various practices. The book also provides a good basis for understanding how the cultural practices fit into Lakota history. This book is also a fine one to read in relation to "Black Elk Speaks," "The 6th Grandfather," and "When the Tree Flowered."

Black Elk is and was sacred Elder. Through his life we are given this knowledge. He has helped many to understand the way of the Lakota; following the natural law. While not all Lakota follow the traditional ways as closely as they did before the arrival of the white man, they are still connected to these rites and inhierently understand these teachings. It's only to outside world that these things become suprising moments of clarity. Joseph Epes Brown took time before it was too late, to record these teachings, which is a blessing and a gift of knowledge to all who would read, understand and heed these words. If you wish to learn what dwells is in the hearts of Native American people, you would do well to open this book and your minds.

I haven't actually finished this book yet but I'm looking forward to doing so. This spirituality is deeply sophisticated and elevated. I think the whole world is greatly indebted to the American Indian Nation. Furthermore, thank you for wonderful service.

Joseph Epes Brown was fortunate in meeting men who possessed great human and spiritual qualities, especially Black Elk who had a unique quality of power, kindliness and sense of mission. Born in 1862, Black Elk grew up when his people had the freedom of the plains, hunted bison; he fought at Little Bighorn and at Wounded Knee Creek and knew Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, and American Horse. He traveled with Buffalo Bill to Italy, France and England. During his youth Black Elk was instructed in the sacred love of his people by Whirlwind Chaser, Black Road and Elk Head from whom he learned the history and deep meanings of his people's spiritual heritage. Through prayer, fasting and deep understanding of his heritage, Black Elk became a wise man, receiving visions and acquiring special powers to be used for the good of his nation. Because of his sense of mission Black Elk wanted this book to be written so that the reader could gain a better understanding of the truths of the Indian traditions.

In his foreword Black Elk tells us: "There is much talk of peace among the Christians, yet this is just talk. Perhaps it may be, and this is my prayer, through our sacred pipe, and through this book in which I shall explain what our pipe really is, peace may come to those people who can understand, an understanding which must be of the heart and not of the head alone. Then they will realize that we Indians know the One true God, and that we pray to Him continually. I have wished to make this book through no other desire than to help my people in understanding the greatness and truth of our own tradition, and also to help in bringing peace upon the earth, not only among men, but within men and between the whole of creation."

The wisdom of the Indians is based on such concepts as "The Earth is your Grandmother and Mother, and She is sacred. Every step that is taken upon her should be as a prayer" and "Every dawn as it comes is a holy event, every day is holy." The Indians developed their own religion based on the gift of the sacred pipe given by a very beautiful woman who approached two Lakota Indians out hunting. One of them had bad intentions and he and the mysterious woman were wrapped in a cloud. When the cloud lifted the sacred woman was standing there and at her feet was the man who was nothing but bones and terrible snakes were eating him. Black Elk interpreted this as an eternal truth: "Any man who is attached to the senses and to the things of this world, is one who lives in ignorance and is being consumed by snakes which represent his own passions." The mysterious woman presented the tribe with a pipe and stone, explaining the significance of the gift. On her departure she said to the Standing Hollow Horn: "Behold this pipe! Always remember how sacred it is, and treat it as such, for it will take you to the end. Remember, in me there are four ages. I am leaving now, but I shall look back upon your people in every age, and at the end I shall return." These four ages find a parallel in the Hindu tradition during which true spirituality becomes increasingly obscured until the cycle closes with catastrophe, after which the primordial spirituality is restored and the cycle begins once again.

Through the rite of the keeping of the soul, the Indians purified the souls of the dead and increased love for one another. This rite is followed by the rite of purification, known to us as the sacred lodge. The ritual of "Crying for a Vision" was used long before the coming of the sacred pipe. Crazy Horse received most of his power through "lamenting" or crying for a vision for some great event or ordeal such as going on the war path. "But perhaps the most important reason for 'lamenting' is that it helps us to realize our oneness with all things, to know that all things are our relatives; and then in behalf of all things we pray to Wakan-Tanka that He may give to us knowledge of Him who is the source of all things, yet greater than all things." Chapters are devoted to the Sun dance - one of the greatest rites; to "The making of Relatives" reflecting the relationship between man and Wakan-Tanka; preparing a girl for womanhood; and the rite of "The Throwing of the ball." Through these ceremonies we learn how the Sioux have come to terms with God, nature and their fellow man.

If you question the superiority and validity of the goals of western society; if you are conducting a self-examination; if you are re-evaluating the premises and orientations of our society; if you are concerned about our environmental crisis; if you are concerned about the problems created by highly developed technology; if you are questioning our basic values concerning life, nature and the destiny of man; if you are open to look at the models represented by the American Indians; if you want talk about peace to become action about peace you will find something of value in this book.

A beautiful book. You can learn about Siuox religious practie and beliefs. The reader will come away with a sense of how similar religios faiths can be. The Sioux it turns out are not so different from Christians, Hindus or any other group that uses faith to guide people through what is both difficult and beautiful in life.

This book series is perfect for children with a strong interest in baseball. You get a good idea of the hero's personality as well as their sometimes quirky and inspirational methods to become great players.

I've particularly enjoyed the Satchel Paige book with him, because I'm originally from Kansas City and have been to the Negro League Baseball Museum there. Now he's asked to visit, so he'll continue his education about sports heroes and racism.

Dan Gutman has definately written another awesome adventure book. I thought this book had a different twist than the other books, though.

Summary:
Joe Stoshack goes back in time with his friend Flip to see if Satchel Paige was really the fastest pitcher ever. While back in time, they see that life was still hard for Negroes. They befriend Satchel Paige. However, for an adventure novel....Flip finds some romance while back in time....

In the five star story Satch and Me there is a young 12 year old boy named Joe Stoshack. He plays on a little league baseball team coached by an old man named Flip Valentine. While playing one of the games there is a player nicknamed "Mutant Man" who sparked an idea for Joe and Flip to travel back in time to try to find the fastest pitcher in baseball. Flip had already borrowed a time clock from the high school coach so they used Joe's baseball card powers to travel back in time.

On their way they meet a waitress that becomes there very good friend. Also the boys almost get sent to jail for counterfeit money because they have money from the future. But the waitress gives the boys enough money for bus tickets to travel up to were Satch's team is playing. Finally they find out at the end if he is or isn't the fastest pitcher in baseball. They then no the secret of the fastest pitcher in baseball.

Satch and Me is a great sciencefiction book out of Gutman's series of "and me" books. If your child is a sports maniac you should get him or her the series. It was one of the best series I ever read.

My 12 year old son refuses to read much of anything these days. He is very into sports and I discovered this book is one that he WANTED to read. The book is apparently quite exciting and engaging because he actually asked me for the others in the series!
I only wish there were more!

This book has changed my whole business perspective and my business in ways I can't even describe here. I just want to say one thing, we all need to be aware that we are all in the business of selling whether we like it or not. Even if you don't have a job, you will need to sell the feeling at some point in your life. Don't dare to look at this book and say. "This is not for me, I'm not a sells person", if so you are already out of business no matter which one is it.

Business Owner-D.Cruz

I generally have difficulty getting into self-help or any sort of instructional books. However, Sell the Feeling, was a fast and actually fun read. The narrative structure of the book makes it not only engaging, but also naturally creates a high level of retention for the reader. I would reccomend this book for anyone in the business world--not just to someone who works in 'sales.'

As I read this useful and fascinating book, I was struck by several things: 1) the authors - Larry Pinci and Phil Glosserman - truly understand the art and science of selling from the inside out; 2) they cleverly and very effectively impart their knowledge through an extended conversation between two fictional characters, a literary device I wasn't expecting to find in this type of book but one that makes the read entertaining and easy; and 3) they deliver important insights and practical solutions with stunning simplicity and clarity. Any business professional who has anything to do with selling anything - and that includes just about everyone - should read this book and celebrate its cogent advice. Scott Busby, Founder | CEO, The Busby Group

I expected a technical outline of ideas that I would study, underline, and work at. Instead, it turned out to be a story -- a novel that is so light and delightful that I didn't want to put it down. It did a great job teaching me powerful business growing techniques while keeping me thoroughly entertained. If you are serious about expanding your business, don't miss this one!

This book's approach to teaching is to walk you through the experiences, shortcomings, progress, mistakes and successes of a sympathetic character with whom it's easy to identify. It's easiest to learn by doing, and this book allows you to walk through the process with the main character. This book is a great, fast read, and has a lot of lessons to teach in an easy, comfortable manner. Highly recommended!