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Inspect Before You Buy, is a must read by any potential homebuyer. Charlie has covered every nook and corner of inspecting a house to uncover what buyers need to know before buying. This guide would have saved me thousands of dollars in repairs to my previous homes. His simple terms and descriptions make the reading easy to understand.
Individuals considering selling their home will also benefit from this book. You will be able to learn exactly what homebuyers and inspectors look at during the inspection process. Simple fixes like changing out the front door could mean the difference between a potential sale or getting passed over for the next house.
If you are considering buying or selling a home, get this book. From the front yard, to under the house and everything in between...this book covers it all. It gives insightful tips like checking the kitchen sink water pressure to insuring the air conditioner is properly functioning. Inspect Before You Buy will be a permanent addition to my library.

For most of us, our home is our biggest financial investment. Given this, it seems logical that we'd want to know as much as possible about our investment so we can take the best care of it. That knowledge begins before a house is purchased with the home inspection that's done as part of the buying process. But why depend on information from a second party? With Inspect Before You Buy at your side, you can do your own inspection and know a lot more about your home before you even move in.

The author takes you through every step of a home inspection, describes what you need to look for, from roof to foundation and everywhere in between, and provides detailed checklists for recording your findings. Also covered are the big concerns--asbestos, radon, lead paint, water quality--and how to identify and test for them.

Although the title positions this book as one to read before buying a house, it's an equally valuable guide to the inspections a homeowner should do on a regular basis to make sure things are as they should be. "There's always something," is a frequent homeowner lament. Inspect Before You Buy can make it one that's not often heard around your house.

This book covers every home inspection task, including the inspection of the kitchen sink! I had no idea that a home inspection covered so many items. This book made me feel well-armed to inspect a house for myself so that I really knew what I was buying. I felt that this book gave me the skills and confidence necessary to evaluate the home inspector's work. I also found this book to be an invaluable source for troubleshooting home repair issues once I became a home owner.

Thinking of buying a house? With quite a few books on the market that deal with the subject, here is an A-Z guide that provides all the details you need to know before you sign on that dotted line. This handy manual examines the finer points of the inspection, not only from the basement to the attic, but does a virtual tour of the grounds to include the health of the lawn, pool, and also deals with pest infestation issues as well. It is so easy to miss some minor defects which could become major ones (costly too!) after the deal is concluded. This practical, easy-to-read guide includes a detailed checklist, and provides a formidable list of questions for the seller you'd hardly have thought of yourself! As a matter of fact, the manual is so thorough, I'd recommend you get it even if you're thinking of selling, to gain an advantage over potential buyers, who just might have read this gem from cover to cover!

Buying a new home can be a mind-boggling task. So many things to consider, where to live, schools, financing, realtors, and the list goes on and on. One thing homeowners might overlook or brush to the side is a home inspection. However as author Charlie Rose reiterates in his book Inspect Before You Buy, a home inspection is one of the most important processes you should embark upon to safeguard your home.
This book provides specific details of what a home inspector should be checking for in your new home. And also what you should look for when it comes to a home inspector. This book not only focuses on issues of what might need repaired or is the house structurally sound, but it also focuses on issues such as does this house contain poisons or carcinogens that can harm your family.
From the windows to the basement, nothing is overlooked in this book. It provides the homeowner with valuable information so they aren't left in the dark when it comes to the home inspection process.

This book is great resource for a student leader, either for quotes, or to actually inspire you as the title suggests. Student leaders can use this book...I thought it was so great that I bought Inspiration for Greeks too. Also, I have spoken with one of the Authors...They know what they are doing. GREAT BOOK!!!

"Inspiration for Student Leaders" as with all of the books in the series, continues on giving the variety that I look for and enjoy and never stops sparking me with inspiration. The "personal stories" - the quotes - the struggles shown...and - "the short and sweet" style, help to make this book fun and a breeze to read. When you pick it up, you want to read from cover to cover without putting it down. What I mean by "short and sweet style" is that the stories and messages in this book are - in length - short...but their impact is profound. Some of us know how it is to be in college - to be bombarded by text books and novels - to have to write papers and read over notes. By the end of all that, who wants to read for enjoyment? Just like the other books in the series, "Inspiration for Student Leaders" gives us stories about real people, "famous people" as well as people we've never heard of. They common thread to them all is that they have faced similar situations as our student leaders are seeing today. These stories show how they've dealt with them - and what they've learned along the way - all in a "little package". I also like the creativity that is shown. For example, I'll use LESSONS FROM THE PLAYGROUND. I've never looked at monkey bars or hopscotch in such a light as to what leaders learn, do, and endure. WOW! It just amazes me how practical these books are. They don't use big, "million dollar words" - but put concepts and issues in terms and examples that students will enjoy reading...and can understand. Not only that, but with each story I, myself, as a Student Services Professional was inspired to go above and beyond what I'm doing with my career!

This book is phenomenal! A collection of stories, poems, quotes, and real experiences for student leaders. The book has many applications to leadership studies and personal motivation and inspiration.

As one of the co-authors, I'm extremely proud of the finished product. In addition to getting a great resourse for your library, every purchase of this book gives a $1 donation to the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) Educational Foundation - NACA provides scholarships for college students across the US.

While there are certainly MANY books on leadership and developing student leaders there are few that offer stories of inspiration and hope that allow the reader to draw his/her own conclusions. This book presents examples of all types of leadership and leaders from the celebrated to the unknown. Each story highlights the every day opportunities to achieve and learn. There is potential for trainers to use the stories as reflection for group exercises or to motivate campus organizations. There are stories to reflect on each students personal responsibility within an organization and the many rewards of participation in campus life. It's a great book for the new leader and a reminder to the seasoned veteran of the importance of each action and choice we make-and how profoundly we can positively change the campus community and each other.

Inspiration for Student Leaders is a concise, intelligent read, ideal for both students and professional staff who work with student leaders. Stories, poems, quick quotes and other works combine to make this publication live up to its goal of inspiring student leaders. Student Activities professional should give this book to incoming student leaders to help them broaden their perspectives on leadership. Established student leaders whose energy may be waning, can draw encouragement from the passages written by other students. This book should be on the resource shelf in every Student Union in America.

No one knows it more than Isabel Campion that life is not very thrilling for a young girl living in London, England in 1592. Leaving her frustrations at home, she finally decides to make her own adventure, even though she knows it's risky. However, taking that risk just might be the beginning of the change of pace she was looking for. Her dreams just might be in reach.

The author did an excellent job of incorporating just enough facts about the time period, and about their daily lifestyle, that the entire story seemed very realistic.

I loved everything about the book and I would read it again in a heartbeat!

Isabel Taking Wing is really enjoyable because it is about
a girl in the 1700's. My opinion is that it's really good if you like historical fiction. It's really good to read from beginning to the end.

Isabel: Taking Wing is a VERY good book. It tells about her life as a twelve-year-old in England in 1592. She becomes friends with Meg, a servant girl. But when she an Meg go to a theater alone, they end up staying too long, and they steal a boat that almost sinks. When Isabel returns home very late, her strict aunt tells her father what she's done, and she's sent away to her Aunt de Vere's country estate. When she finally returns home, her father forgives her after she saves her baby sister from dying. The only bad part in this book is when Meg dies from the plauge. This is a fantastic book.

This book provides for the reader a very accurate and correct description of England in the year 1592 while still providing and interesting read for a variety of age groups. Let's look at this book from the point in which you might want to read it and the different points of view of different people.

If you wanted to read this book for information on the culture of England during the year 1592 there are several specific details which may be of special interest to you. First of all, the whole book, especially in the Then and Now part, have accurate descriptions of the clothing that was worn by women and girls in this time period. You learn about the different layers of their clothing and how clothes were used as a symbol of wealth and priveleage. You also learn of the accesorie called a pomander, which was important as it was supposed to ward off dieases such as plague. You also learn a bit about the hierarchy of birds and plays in that time. There are also hints about a women's place in society at the time.

If your purpose in reading this book was to learn about plauge, you also have several important details. In the book, especially at the end, you can find the symptoms of plauge. These may not be written out and palced in a list so to speak, but if you look for them and are good at inferencing, you will easily find them. Also, in the Then and now Section, you find about the attempts made my doctors in those times to ward of plauge. You also find out about how plauge spread, when it happened, and what families did if plauge hit them.

Of course, for many people, the reason they read this book was just to find an interesting book to read, and this book had details for them too. There are good descriptions in the book. Also, there are some parts in the story that are not necesseraly important to the overall plot, but form interesting, small sub-plots of their own, that make the book interesting and fun to read all around, although people who were reading this for specific information might have found those parts annoying. Many girls can connect to Isabel and her feelings, which are ones that we most likely have all experianced during our lives. Most of us can also probably imagine how it would be in this situation and if not you'd still might feel a bit saddened at first for Isabel.

This book is also very well written. The desciptions are very colorful and entertaing but they still give us insight on life in 1592 England. The parts that are funny, entertaining, and don't completely relate to the overall plot do not take over the book as in some other novels that I can metion but would prefer not to. The grammer is also very correct and the sentence starters vary, thus keeping the book from being dull.

In conclusion, this book is very informative, while still being interesting and entertaining. We can probably relate to it and it is extremely well written. I reccommend this to anyone of any age no matter what your reason for reading is.

The year is 1592, and twelve-year-old Isabel Campion is living under the strict rule of her Aunt Elinor in an upper-class neighborhood located in London. Isabel, unlike other 12-year-olds, wants nothing more than to escape the "conformist" society she is forced to grow up in. She doesn't want to spend her days cleaning stains out of shirts, or learning how to sew perfectly; but rather longs to explore the world, and become an actor like the boys she sees perform at the playhouse. Unfortunately, that's another thing Isabel is unable to do. Perform. For girls are not actors, and even the roles of females are played by males. When Isabel is sent to her Aunt de Vere's home, she becomes lost, and joins a group of boys who accept her as one of their own, and allow her to become an actor like them. But maybe acting isn't what Isabel was after all. Maybe there's nothing in the world that is perfect for her.

As a fan of the GIRLS OF MANY LANDS series, as well as sixteenth-century London, I found that ISABEL: TAKING WING was a perfect addition to the collection. Isabel is a spirited young girl, who is brave, and kindhearted, and will easily keep readers enthralled from the first page to the very last. Filled with many informational tidbits regarding sixteenth-century life, as well as information about London-born girls of today, Annie Dalton's effort will be cherished.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Boot Means, photojournalist and man about Trenton, New Jersey was not having a very good life. Until now his assignments for the Trenton Record have been limited and said limited assignments are consigned to page 6...somewhere after the cat-up-a-tree-rescues. And now even his crumby job is in jeopardy because the economy is causing a rift between labor and management, as his co-workers fear more layoffs. To top it off, he's about to get evicted from his apartment and finds himself being railroaded into naming the wedding day when his control-freak girlfriend, Stacy decides it's time for them to get married.
But fear not, as we have all heard, Jesus Saves! Into Boot Means' puny life comes news that Jesus has been spotted in Trenton. And despite the negative attitude of expressed by one co-worker who spat, "There ain't no Jesus in Trenton." Mrs. Emily Phibbs has seen Him, clear as day, on a billboard advertising Smythe's Diner and she wants someone from the newspaper to let everyone know about it. When the editor offers the story to his quickly dwindling staff, no one wants it...no one except Boot Means. He sees it as a way to increase his visibility and perhaps even his earn a permanent position as a reporter who gets to write more than captions for his photos.
And sure enough, the billboard Jesus becomes an icon, drawing all sorts of people to Trenton who set up a Jesus Camp and begin promoting their own agendas.
There is the lovely tele van gelista, Melanie Dove with her adoring crew, and the rival OFJ, Open Faith for Jesus freaks in with their tattoos and purple buses. Then there is the mysterious mole, Travis LeBlay who seems to be trying to set everyone up against one another. But Boot Means sticks with the story, and sure enough his star begins to rise because "Quirky religious groups provided amusing copy." And books about people trying to exploit religion can be very amusing as well.
Christopher Klim has given us a slice of life complete with funny characters, amusing situations, yet with an underlying theme of melancholy that makes us want to hug this poor little orphan kid who just can't seem to grow up and get it together. The book can be enjoyed on many levels, metaphors and allegories abound and the irony revealed at the end allows the true believer a little smile and nod.

JESUS LIVES IN TRENTON is well-written and entertaining, a fast moving novel about what happens in the city of Trenton , New -Jersey, when citizens begin seeing Jesus on a billboard advertising biscuits and gravy.. The interesting characters, hilarious plot and believable but humorous dialogue keep the reader turning pages.
The main character, Boot Means, is a struggling photo-journalist working for a tabloid who uses this Jesus sighting to improve his career. He finds himself caught in the middle of two fanatical religious cults For a while it looks like he might even lose his life.
From the opening scene where Boot Means is attacked by two semi- naked women in a hotel lobby, through his discovery of the purple OPEN FAITH FOR JESUS school bus, to the final scene when he presses the doorbell of the man who claims to be his father author Klim has our complete attention. JESUS LIVES IN TRENTON is delightful.

(The Australian Coastal Book Council selects books for libraries, schools, and reading circles.) This quirky title had surfaced in discussion groups and on the Internet a number of times, and therefore we decided to give it a go at the main city branch. JESUS LIVES IN TRENTON was a pleasant surprise. I've never been to New Jersey, but the city of Trenton, although never portrayed as particularly lovely, has taken on mythical proportions in recent literature. No one seems better to deliver the goods than Christopher Klim. His portrayal of orphan-turned-photographer was particularly gratifying, and even though the storyline builds a maddening flow of consequences and happenings, the author manages to hold it all together for the stunning climax. We found the discussions that spun from this book ranged from the topics of religion and integrity to the morally bankrupt and the disposed members of the community. JESUS LIVES IN TRENTON gets our hearty approval.

The novel operates on two levels: first, it's a flat-out funny and enjoyable, and second, it's a dark comedy about self-importance and the fight for a higher state of being. This duality is difficult to grasp for some who become bogged down in the details, but even so, the book is sift-paced lending more than just a little insight into this new author's mind. Having thoroughly enjoyed his latest comic novel, The Winners Circle, it was interesting to see how Klim got his start, and as the American public is driven further and further into formulaic plots and repetitive gruel, it's refreshing to take on this read. Recommended.

I'm glad to see this title reissued. I'd first discovered this book and author in Europe during the summer 2002. I was homesick, and this satire of American culture--religion, politics, ambition, etc.--was just what the doctored order. I was caught laughing out loud on a bus in Paris, but Jesus Lives in Trenton is more than a guilty pleasure. It's the story of not-so-regular guy and photojournalist Boot Means (interesting name) and his drive to be noticed as a journalist. It all gets wrapped up in more plot and whacky but not so unrealistic characters than you can stand. It all boils down to a whole lot humanity that will make you cry as wkk as laugh.

Upon returning from European isolation, I've learned that Klim has become a cult favorite in the states, as his growing army of fans eagerly await his next novel, but if you want to see a 21st century novelist in the making, begin with Jesus Lives in Trenton or check out ChristopherKlim.com for loads of goodies and a terrific short story.

This book contains an excellent compilation of speeches that cover John Bogle's career and philosophy of investing. Investors at all levels will glean important information and motivation from his recommendations and thoughts on indexing. His thoughts give important ideas to keep financial information and markets in perspective. The only limit on the information in the book is that how much more global investing has become a part of the financial markets. However much valuable information is relevant and available which is key to effective investing.

The book has five parts - the first four are speeches, and the last is his famous thesis. Part I is Investment Strategies for the Intelligent Investor, Part II is Taking on the Mutual Fund Industry, Part III is Economics and Idealism: The Vanguard Experiment, Part IV is Personal Perspectives and Part V is John Bogle's famous Princeton Thesis: The Economic Role of the Investment Company. All speeches are well worth the read, however, the book lends itself to a good ability to pick and choose what you are interested in. A clear and interesting read from a brilliant investment strategist.

I thought I was out of luck to own the book with Bogle's thesis...I'm very happy!!

A good, practical, no-nonsense book on investing that emphasizes returning to basics and tried and true approaches that have always worked over the long term. This advice is especially timely coming as it does in the aftermath of the recent bear market. Bogle points out that it's important to implement an investment program that matches your needs and risk tolerance, perhaps the most important thing in an investing program, since if you can't sleep at night, you probably won't be able to maintain it over the long haul. He also emphasizes that investing needn't be, and perhaps shouldn't be, rocket science, and that you can do quite well in the market over the long term just by matching the performance of the market. As many people found out recently, pursuing a momentum strategy in an era of already overheated PE's and buying the latest hot story stock can be very risky. Following a value-oriented fundamental approach with at least part of your portfolio can be a useful way of reducing volatility and improving your performance even if you're a died-in-the-wool momentum investor.

The best to do this is by following a strategy of just investing in a fund that tracks the major indexes, which does two things. First, it minimizes costs, so you won't pay any management fees as you would for your typical mutual fund. Also, most investors don't realized such costs as advertising and sales expenses are minimal for an index, compared to other funds, and those are typically passed on to the investor in the load or management fee. But the most important reason is that 90% of fund managers fail to beat the averages over the long haul. Since there are now more mutual funds than there are stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (which is over 5000) and as I said, 90% of them fail to beat the indexes, it's hard to imagine a more sobering reason for making an index at least a part of your investing strategy. So overall, a good book on investing emphazing a no frills, common-sense, and back-to-basics approach.

A brief side note here. I noticed the forward is by Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve Chairman who was succeeded by the present Al Greenspan. Volcker went on to head up the World Bank after that job, and I was glad to see he's still around and working.

John Bugle, one of the brightest minds of our century raises some of the most important financial questions, of the last 50 years. Bogle on Great Ideas in Financing includes four criteria: 1. Simplicity - Buy the whole market haystack, an index capable of matching the market. 2. Focus (Seek the hard crusted but nutritious bagel of earnings, dividends, and interest yields rather than the sweet donut taste of price with its high price earning multiples) 3. Efficiency (minimize frictional costs of fees, commissions, and taxes with an Wilshire 5000 index). 4. Stewardship (keep the interest of the client first). Bogle's index was free of tax, include a small transactional fee, represented 8000 stocks in the market, and matched the market rate of return.

Mutual funds have become a vehicle for short-term speculation, a trend fostered in part by the industries focus on marketing. Today the average fund holds stock for 400 days compared to six years when Bogle graduated from Princeton. Most investors hold their mutual fund for 3 years rather than 15 years. Since 1980 - 2000 mutual fund assets have risen 70 fold from $100 billion to $6.5 trillion and assets of stock funds have risen 120 fold or $4.0 trillion. In a 15-year span there were 426 mutual fund boats and 113 sunken mutual fund boats. Survival was strong because of the generous returns of the market. However, Mutual fund efficiency was problem: 1. Sales tax, excessive fees, spending too much on marketing, failing to share economy of scale with the investors, and 90% turn over of the portfolio each year suggested one thing, "short term speculation" was becoming the norm. Mutual fund sites charge costs included a front-end sales commission of 6%; opportunity cost meaning held cash positions equal to 7% of assets with these asset earning smaller returns than available in stocks; a transactional cost of 1.7%; and operating cost equal to 1.2% per year.

Bogle's outlook of the stock market is brilliant. Bogle states: financial economist cannot predict the future. The DOW may hit 36,000 and it may not. Who can predict accurately what the market will do? The market is not a machine. The market is not an insurance actuaries spreadsheet. However, the market performed remarkable well with price gaining 17% a year and at this rate doubling every four years. To understand the market lets look first too dividend yield and earnings growth because these elements provide the steady underlying force over the long pull. For two decades dividend yield equaled 4.5% and earning growth paced at 5.9% producing a 10.9% return. In 1970, P/E fell 50% from 16 times to 7.3 and dividend yield equaled 3.4% and annual earnings equaled 9.9% producing a 10.4% investment return and Bogle preached "stay the course". By 2000, dividends equaled 1%, earning growth rate reached 8%, and P/E ratios top 30. Again, Bogle preached, "time, risk, and control" raising a cautious outlook and a cry for investors to return back to investor basics of earnings, dividends, and yields.

What were the factors associated with the 87 crash? 1. Stock prices were simply to high to the underlying earnings and dividends in comparison to higher yields available on fixed income securities. 2. Deterioration in economic outlook with no progress to reduce the federal deficit, no improvements in the trade imbalance, and inflation in the air. 3. Program trading in the futures market sparked massive computer driven sales. The impact being 35% of the equity traded out of the market. In 87, if you're a Contrarian, it is a good time to buy or hold.

Thinking about 2000, Bogle observed for growth to remain constant over the next ten years, the P/E ratio would need to move from 30 to 67 an unlikely possibility. If in 2000, the P/E ratio fell too 12 then the market level would be 580 rather than 1400 with a P/E of 30. If the P/E fell from 30 to 20 then market return would drop to 5.5% less than the percentage rate of high yield bonds and such an event would be the first in stock history. Is the market comfort zone, a P/E of 15.5 and this fact suggests the market has moved to a level of high risk and possible correction? Bogle states, "Looking back 70 years, major market highs were almost invariably signaled when the dividends yield on stocks fell below 3%, or price earnings rose much about 20 times earnings". The purpose of any stock investment is cash now with the expectation of future flows of cash. A high P/E ratio means investors are expecting a large flow of future cash. The high prices are based on speculation about the cash flow in the future. If the future cash flow expectations are not rational does this mean short-term profit taking is picking clean the amateur investor?


Bogle was left to reflect on two questions: 1. Will the bagel of investment fundamentals give us its usual sustenance? 2. And will the doughnut of speculation get even sweeter than it is today, or will it finally sour? Bogle concluded, "We are in a new era of investing".

Warren Buffet said, "The art of investing in public companies is ... simply to acquire, at a sensible price a business with excellent economies and able, honest management. Thereafter, you need only monitor whether these qualities are being preserved."

Bogle suggests two principles when dealing with risk 1. Get your asset allocation right, maintaining a long-term horizon, and stay the course. Bogle observed that the long term real return on stock is 7.5%. Assuming one has a million dollars that is $75,000 annual income. 2. Diversity some of the risk away by introducing equities with reliable different correlations with the U.S market. Maybe, we will see the creation of a worldwide index, 60/40 - 60 percent U.S stock and 40 percent other? Bogle stresses investors not too speculate, however, life is short and if one needs too speculate they should limit the amount too 5 percent in the gamble for higher profits. Bogle's is betting on the performance of the whole market index rather than one sector mutual fund. Bogle is saying the market price is too high and a risk at its current levels. Bogle thinks mutual funds should be able to buy bonds and other stable securities as a part of the mutual fund mix.

Thinking about bonds, bond yields drop as the economy moves to a recession because investor flee from stocks into bonds and since money is easy to acquire the rates drop. In this scenerio, short term traders buy bonds now with the anticipation the yields will drop more in the future and investor will pay more for these bonds with a higher yield. Again, a short-term speculation to capture a quick profit. However, if haystack of stocks continues producing 7.5% real returns then stay the course.

A good, practical, no-nonsense book on investing that emphasizes returning to basics and tried and true approaches that have always worked over the long term. He points out that investing needn't be, and perhaps shouldn't be, rocket science, and that you can do quite well in the market over the long term just by matching the performance of the market, and not trying to beat the market. As many people found out recently, pursuing a momentum strategy in an era of already overheated PE's and buying the latest hot story stock can be dangerous to your portfolio's health. Following a value-oriented fundamental approach with at least part of your portfolio can be a useful way of reducing volatility and improving your performance even if you're a died-in-the-wool momentum investor. This advice is especially timely coming as it does in the aftermath of the recent bear market. Another important point that many experts emphasize is that it's important to implement an investment program that matches your needs and risk tolerance, perhaps the most important thing in an investing program, since if you can't sleep at night, you probably won't be able to maintain it over the long haul.

As Bogle points out, since 90% of fund managers fail to beat the averages over the long haul, the best strategy is to buy a fund that tracks the major indexes, which does two things. First, it minimizes costs, so you won't pay any management fees as you would for your typical mutual fund. Also, most investors don't realize such costs as advertising and sales expenses are minimal for an index, compared to other funds, and those are typically passed on to the investor in the load or management fee. Since there are now more mutual funds than there are stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (which is over 5000) and as I said, 90% of them fail to beat the indexes, it's hard to imagine a more sobering reason for making an index at least a part of your investing strategy. So overall, a good book on investing emphazing a no frills, common-sense, and back-to-basics approach.

Although Bogle amply documents and demonstrates that most fund managers can't beat the averages over the long haul, and so the best way to invest in a mutual fund is to buy one that invests in the indexes and avoid the costs of managed funds, this doesn't mean a small investor can't beat the averages. The reason most funds don't is that most own so many stocks, as in the case of the Magellan fund, which used to own 1400 stocks, that they're forced to buy too many second and third tier stocks (or worse), which degrades their performance. The individual investor, however, can cherry-pick and do much better that way, assuming he's successful at it. But the point is that mutual funds have an inherent disadvantage in terms of owning a quality portfolio that inevitably stacks the odds against them, a limitation which small investor doesn't have.

A brief side note here. I noticed the forward is by Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve Chairman who was succeeded by the present Al Greenspan. Volcker went on to head up the World Bank after that job, and I was glad to see he's still around and working.

This book was needed quick for a college class - thanks for making it easily accessible without having to leave the house to search for it.

This was a very interesting story, I enjoyed this book better than Their Eyes Were Watching God, and that says alot. The story of John Buddy is a turnpager and you will not be disappointed. The best I've read in a long time.

I loved this story. The story is so true to life for many women who are with men, who don't seem to be able to get it together, unless there is a woman making it happen.

The husband is a great orator, but isn't the kind of man he should be. His wife is his long suffering mate. I just love Zora's use of black dialet. It is so beautiful.

When I read the following excerpt, it felt like something hit me in the head. I was moved beyond words. It goes something like this: "Ah done been in sorrows kitchen, and ah done licked out all the pots; ah done died in grief and been buried in de bitter waters. Ah done rose from the dead lak Lazarus. Nothing can touch mah soul no mo!"

I highly recomment it.

I got an excellent book from this person. thank you so much. great doing business with you.

I always thought of Toni Morrison as the leader, the queen, and the matriarch of black women's fiction, but the more I read of Zora Neale Hurston, the more I feel that everyone else must have taken their cues from her!

Her writing is enchanting and thought provoking, her use of "black" language is absolutely delightful. The story and the characters are interesting in and of themselves. What makes this work really shine is the language, and the heritage and history that it preserves. She takes care to write the way that people speak, resulting a unorthodox spelling and usage that at first I had to say out loud in order to properly understand. (My grandmother didn't have to do that, though, and for that reason alone, she loved Zora Hurston.) Ms. Hurston also uses words, idioms and phrases that are unique to black america, and that my generation would likely have lost -- the news of the "Black Dispatch," "Old Hannah" rising, "hittin' a straight lick with a crooked stick." Some of the sayings I remember my Grandmother using, and some I remember using as a child. I found all of them interesting and beautiful, and I am grateful to Ms. Hurston for finding them valuable enough to put down.

May Sarton is an author you must not miss. Not of you're a thinker (and do your own thinking).

This book was beautiful. I loved reading it. It felt delicate to me...the insights shared within the pages...but it was compelling. I picked it up and read a few pages whenever I had the chance. Loved it.

I've read most of Sarton's journals and this is by far the best. Her writing allows the reader to enter her mind. It's so honest, so raw. I've reread Journal of a Solitude a few times over the years; its one of those books to keep on your shelf, and read to get back in touch with the things that matter.

I read Journal of a Solitude shortly after giving birth to my first child. I was alone in a new neighborhood with few family and friends around me and felt completely estranged from my former life as a professional woman working in New York city. May Sarton's story - shared in such a real and heartfelt way - has always stayed with me. Where are the May Sarton's in today's world? She was an extraordinary woman who was able to connect with a broad audience of readers, through the authentic sharing of her thoughts, feelings and experiences. I miss her work but am thankful that she left behind a wonderful legacy.

If you're into reading memoirs, this is exceptional. Her clarity of thought and her ability to portray her feelings into words is unsurpassed, in my opinion. I enjoy her prose so very much. I can find myself relating to so many of her feelings and thoughts despite the difference of age and time. This is a great read.

This is one of my favorite Baldwin novels. Only someonle with Baldwin's background could so poignantly express who Arthur was and how he felt about his music. An excellent piece and a must read!

This book is the best book I have ever read in my life. Its emotionally naked grappling with what race and violence has done to our country is painfully acute and brutally honest. Every American should read this.

From the moment I read the first page, I have loved this novel. I have read it several times and each time the characters come to life and I find myself caring about them. Hall has to deal with so many issues--least of all, is Ruth the woman he truly loves or should he be with the evangelist? Arthur-the gay gospel singer who sometimes would just as well have a drink or a man than sing the gospel, but who sang it so well when he chose to. Then there are the complex lives of their friends and parents that seem so real and yet so tragic. Baldwin created a masterpiece!

Probably one of the more underappreciated novels in American literature. It is unfair to charecterize Baldwin as merely a social critic of the civil rights era. He stands alongside Dickens as one of the great writers of any era, with the ability to articualte an understanding of human nature that trancends any era and stands second to none.

This novel is a testament in a way, the testament of a man who has lived long and well, too much even and too hard, in the world. A testimony too. Every single event in this novel about a black man who became a gospel singer and then a blues singer is the crystalisation of the whole history of Afro-Americans in the USA, the whole history of each character that is living the event through, the whole past and future of a present that is both crooked and promising. That is the very dilemma of this book, a dilemma that we feel and sense everywhere, on every page. Each moment in the life of these characters is the condensation of the cosmic, historical and human past of the individual and the sublimation of all possible wishes, desires, potentialities that this individual has developed in his situation and with his heritage. The novel may appear as very pessimistic because one cannot evade their heritage. But it is tremendously optimistic because one can always choose to realize their dreams, even if the situation around limits the possibilities and the chances to succeed. The aim of life is not to succeed, but it is not to fail, hence to move forward a few steps, and that one can always do it, even if it entails a lot of suffering and a lot of pain. Baldwin is also very optimistic about the world, about human beings, about Afro-Americans because he believes and tries to demonstrate that this forward progress of the pilgrims we are is fuelled by the happiness one gets from life, and that happiness comes from one's effort to accept what may provide happiness, no matter what that is, and the first thing to accept is love, no matter what form it may take. Yet there is a limit for Afro-Americans, a limit and a contradiction : they have great difficulties thinking in other terms than racial terms. They have been the victims as a « race » of deportation, slavery, discrimination, in a word a holocaust, and they cannot differenciate between the whites who are responsible for that fate, those who have made a direct profit out of it, even if many others have been able to enjoy some improved conditions thanks to the exploitation of black slaves, and the whites who have no responsibility in this historical process. How can we put on the same level, in the same boat the slave owners, the slave traffickers on one side, and the serfs that could only survive between famines, and the workers who were exploited too in the factories, and still are ? How can we put in the same bag the pharmaceutical firms that let Africans die because they don't want generic drugs to be produced and the workers of these pharmaceutical firms who are exploited just the same, even if in another way : the research and the patents the bosses want the poor to pay at the highest price, and in this very case most of these firms are American in the world, have been produced by workers who should be considered as the owners of their work and are, too often, paid a pittance when compared with the riches their bosses get out of this work. That's James Baldwin's dilemma. He hardly can discriminate between the white corn and the white chaff, and the white chaff is the workers, those who create the riches of the white corn. Some chapters become extremely poignant when this issue is brought up here and there and when Black Arthur cannot accept to love and be loved by white Guy, just because Guy is white and considered by principle as an accomplice of what the lords of the white « race » have done in history. And one of James Baldwin's concluding thoughts is : « To undo the horror, we repeat it ». And not to repeat the horror of the killing of a black man by some whites (like Peanut for instance), Baldwin makes his Arthur die in London, in a pub where he is the only black man, and by falling in a state of amazed drunkness on the stairs leading to the restrooms in the basement, at a moment when love had been slightly roughened by life into a distance that could have been avoided if love had not gone through a storm in what appears like nothing but a glass of water, the glass of water of everyday life.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

I bought this book after using the 'New Real Book' for a while.
I quickly started building a sizable repitoire of standards at my performances. I play solo piano, but singers and bassists could follow it as well. There are E flat versions too for horn players. I especially liked the Cole Porter and George Gershwin selections.

This is exactly what I wanted. One page for each song. Chords large so the piano player can see. And the words included for the singer.

I just started playing piano for an oldies singer. 90% of the stuff we do comes out of this book. 250 songs can't possibly cover everything, but these songs were chosen VERY well. The chords are "interesting" (not just vanilla major/minor/7th that you get in some books), although a few songs have chords that are clearly wrong, so avoid sight-reading on the job if you can. My singer owns an extra copy of this book to share with his accompanists, but I liked it so much that I bought one for myself. I may even get my rock band to buy some copies so we can play dinner music before the party gets going. There's even Bb and Eb versions for the sax player. It doesn't get much better than that.

The "Just Jazz Real Book" was one of my favorites. Many of the songs include the verses, the chords (including alternates) are well thought out, the song selection is good, and I've found very few errors in notes or chords. I figured I'd love the "Just Standards Real Book" even more. There's a fair amount of overlap between the two books, but this one suits me even better, as it replaces famous Coltrane riffs, etc. with songs I can actually do justice to on the piano. I must have 20 or more fake books, but this one is quickly becoming my favorite.

Exactly as the cover of the book states. Many great standards for musicians and lovers of great tunes to perform at the keyboard. Standard chord changes have been replaced with substitute changes. Music is easy to read. Verses for some tunes that you've heard at shows are present. Lyrics are clear and easy to read. A job well done with the standards of old.

I bought this book because I am taking a medical terminology course online. I really like the way this book is laid out, how it teaches. You learn the roots and suffixes and prefixes of the words - not just the word itself. This way you can look at almost any word and figure out what it means because you know what each part of the word means. I would recommend this book, but you might want to build up your wrists first - my wrist is sore from lugging this HUGE book around - but it is worth it!

This book is very interesting and captures your attention to the point that it makes it interesting to memorize medical terms.

I highly recommend this book to anyone trying to enter the field of health or medicine!

This is an awesome book to help study for your CMT. I am finished with the study guide for work and using this book to keep me from forgetting what I need to know for this exam.

I purchased this book to help me study medical terminology. It is very useful and extremely informative. I especially like the illustrations. The book is easy to use, and I highly recommend it to anyone who needs to learn about the human body and all of its systems.