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The only reason I did not give this book five stars is because I am REALLY careful about doing that with any book . . . BUT I loved this book! I loved the two women, Shelley and Mai, and wanted, especially, to know everything about Mai's former life in Vietnam and how she'd handle going back there after so many years. I also loved the way the author did Mai's dialogue in such a way that I could understand the limitations of her English and yet not not want to laugh at her. Mai simply fascinated me. Another aspect of this novel that I really respected was the way Sachs writes about children, especially 2-year Hai Auo. He is such a realistic picture of a child that age! Cute, but also capable of emitting a "scream that sounds like an electric drill." Sachs so expertly captures a toddler's personality (his fickleness, bouts of crying, clinginess, etc.) that I felt like that child was in the room with me. I wanted to adopt him myself! Finally, I loved reading about Vietnam (a country that's always fascinated me) and I have already purchased a copy of Sachs' memoir of living in that country. Can't wait to read and review that one, too!!!

If You Lived Here: A Novel
I was drawn to Dana Sachs' novel "If You Lived Here" because one of its settings is Wilmington, North Carolina, where my son lives. But the moment I picked up this wonderful book and started to read, I felt myself gently guided into a world much more complex than any locale. The two main characters, Shelley Marino, a mortician's wife who desperately longs for a child, and Mai, a Vietnamese entrepreneur who owns an Asian grocery in Wilmington and who fled Vietnam and carried a desperate secret with her, have become as real to me as my own family.
Both of these women and the other characters who people this novel walk off the pages and stand before me in flesh and blood. And the story Ms. Sachs tells exposes their hearts in a way that very few books ever have for me. And I am an avid reader who, at the age of 60, has a hard time finding anything new under the sun! Today, it takes a very rare and exceptional book to move me. Ms. Sachs is a wordsmith beyond compare. Not only did I love the path she carved for me, but I found myself savoring the way she used words to exactly tap and reveal her character's souls.
Shelley and Mai are two very strong women who, despite different cultures, forge a wonderful friendship which carries them both on a journey to Vietnam and on a journey of healing and discovery. I simply opened my own heart to them and, while reading their story, I felt suspended from my own life. That is how compelling this book is.
I also received a special bonus while immersed in this story. I am old enough to have lived through the years of our war with Vietnam, and I had a front row seat to its horrors on television newscasts. My myopic view of Vietnam hasn't changed since I was a teenager. In fact, I had put "Vietnam" aside as a memory and as a country which no longer plagues us.
Ms. Sachs, with her beautiful words and her heart's investment in her story, has changed my vision! Her story is so well told and so consuming that she has managed to draw me in another direction entirely.
I plumbed the depths of two women's lives. I struggled with Shelley's husband Martin until he finally opened up and told his story. And when Shelley and Mai and Martin and other characters forgave each other and themselves, I wept and forgave too.
But while doing so, I awoke to the story of Vietnam. The flickering black-and-white images of destruction and human pathos from my teen years have permanently been replaced. I have now discovered, through Ms. Sachs' eyes, a Vietnamese people with beautiful souls and a Vietnam of greens and reds and yellows and blues as palpable as the country right outside my own front door. What a gift! What a release!
Tonight I will settle down into my pillows and start reading Ms. Sachs' memoir of her time in Vietnam, "The House on Dream Street!" I am now hungry to hear more!

This is a must read for anyone who has adopted--or who has given a child up for adoption (trust me).

This author swept me up in her story from the beginning......twirled me around on her journey.....and put me down gently....all while keeping my heart and mind in the hearts and minds of all innvolved in the story. I loved this book!!!!! Sachs can certainly write...with knowledge, reality....and imagination! What more does a GOOD novel need!!! I need more from her!!!

Adoption is a special way of understanding feelings of other people. When you start this process you need support and help. The reactions of people around you make it clear who really cares for you who loves you
This is what happened to the two women in the novel

This book covers all the basics about Quantum Mechanics for Chemists. I highly recommend it for all Chemist Students.

Don't let anyone tell you quantum mechanics is easy because it isn't. It is the hardest subject anyone can even attempt to learn. In my experience most books are written by people who are too brilliant and use maths which is too advanced for the average non-brilliant person to understand. This book is one of the best simple introductions to quantum mechanics I have read. Yes there is a lot of hard maths but let me assure you it is one book you should have on your bookshelf when you get totally lost and need to start again.

John

This is the best ever text in quantum mechanics. Every one which intents start in this field should read this book. It contains all the elementary steps to understand this difficult field in a language and in such detail which is not found any more in the modern books.

As an alum holding both undergrad and graduate degrees in a related field, I figured I would pick this title up for some pretty heavy reading. I was right. Even thought the title says "an introduction", there are several pre-requisites to understanding Quantum Mechanics, and the style of Linus Pauling's writing in general. The book reads very much like a textbook, and I would suggest at least a pretty good understanding of physics, mathematics, and technical writing before diving in. It's a great book, and a classic text. It's just not a casual Sunday read.

I read it once and don't use it too often. It's still an excellent book, but I think there are newer texts that are based on this one that may "look better" even though they cover the same topics. I enjoyed it very much. Pauling knew how to take a complicated subject and simplify (but not too much) it for ease of teaching.

Great, great book.

This book is awesome. It helps me so much everyday as I am trying to teach Japanese to myself. I have a passion for languages, and this really is a great accent for my passion.

I found it very usefull in learning japanese. It's a very versatile tool.

I hesitated ordering this book because a previous reviewer reported that he had found the binding to be inferior. Perhaps this was true in previous bindings, but the copy I recently obtained looks fine in this regard and should stand up to heavy use for some years to come.

I'm finding this an excellent disctionary in all regards, though as a beginner I have not put it to lots of use. Basically I use the New Nelson, with this dictionary as a supplement, especially for compounds. And there are times when this alternate system of radical identification is just easier than the traditional system.

I bought this dictionary just when I was beginning my fourth semester of japanese lessons, to help me with my future translations and with the learning of new kanji (which is always a useful thing, since many tend to get disappointed when they know they have to learn about 2,000 to read the newspaper).

I have always thought that with any given dictionary, there are two main issues you have to keep in mind: how complete it is, and just how easy it is to use.

I have not as of yet searched for any kanji I have not been able to find, so I'd say it is fairly complete. This is an extremely thorough dictionary, covering not only an incredible amount of individual kanji, but a whole lot of compunds (the dictionary claims over 47,000. I'll take their word.), so there is a very good possibility of you too finding the character you are looking for.

As for the second issue, I must say I'm surprised at how easy it is to find kanji. When i first heard of the system kanji dictionaries used for listing them, I was appalled. I was pleased to find, nevertheless, a full two-page-and-a-half brief manual on how to use the dictionary that gave me all the preparation I needed: I was succesfully looking up kanji in now more than 10 minutes.

Basically, there are two ways in which you can find a given kanji in this dictionary: by their readings (either the on-yomi, or the kun-yomi), and by their stroke count. The 79-radical system can be a little confusing at first, but is fairly simple to get used and not at all as illogical as one might think.

The only complaint I have so far is the lack of internal references made in the dictionary. For instance, one of the appendices lists the 1006 "gakushuu kanji" (the kanji taught in elementary school), but their are numbered straight from 1 to 1006, without the reference to the dictionary entry for each of those kanji. The same thing happens to the kanji in "the 100 most frequent kanji", "the most frequent kanji used in family names", "the 284 extra kanji for use in given names", etc. Adding that would be a real time saver if you are planning, as I am, in using the dictionary as a learning tool.

Still, it's a great tool, and I'm really convinced that this was one of my truly great buys. Definitively 5 stars.

when I did an internet search to locate this, I found a number of negative reviews. Basically the consensus seemed to be that the character lookup system is new and therefore bad.

I disagree. The system the authors developed is the first "rational" approach in that it does not require that you know what the important radical is in order to look up a kanji. Morever, the ability to look up compounds using any character in the compound is very useful.

However, there are some negatives:
(1) the authors are not entirely consistent within their own approach.
E.g., the characters under the radical for hand are grouped under the three character radical, which is the way it is written except when it is written as a single character. However, the character for hand is written with four strokes, and you must know that in order to find it under the three stroke index.
this is the example that comes to mind most immediately, although I believe there are others.
(2) the binding is not of a very high quality. if you use this frequently (which you will), it will eventually break the spine.
i gave away my first version after it split in two. my current version is in four pieces.

on the positive side: this is so extremely useful that I am going to order a third copy.

HIGHLY RECOMENDED.

From the perspective of a member in a culture consumed in the "existential vacuum", Frankl's experiences and logotheraphy discussion offers a call to action for those prepared to live a meaningful life. This book will change you.

What can a person expect of life in a concentration camp? Is there a chance you can find meaning in living that torture? This is a truly inspirational book that reminds you that not everything is lost, that you can find light in the most terrible conditions. It's not new age, it's a story of survival and hope.
The second part of the book is about logotherapy. Victor Frankl was the creator of this discipline and it basically addresses the question of meaning in people's lives.

I read this book regularly for inspiration. Frankl found a way to confront the greatest evil of the last century, which for him was very personal, and survive. In the midst of it he discovered that we most long for meaning in our lives, and so he developed a therapy that helps people search for it.

The beginning part of the book about life in the camps simply cannot be forgotten. And then, when he tries to make sense of it, ordinary readers realize that whatever they have suffered there is a way forward. Frankl used tragedy to help others. A person can't be more noble than that.

Lawrence J. Epstein, author of "At the Edge of a Dream: The Story of Jewish Immigrants on New York's Lower East Side."

The following summarizes the true meanings the author wants us to absorb.
There are three avenues to arrive at the meaning of life. 1) Creating a work or or doing a deed 2) Experiencing or encountering something added to your life i.e. finding love 3) facing a fate one cannot change. You then rise above oneself, rising above what is expected. One grows from the experience, and experiences positive change.
Experiencing and surviving suffering is something to be proud of... not something to be ashamed of. We all learn and grow from our experiences.

well i learn psycology at the university and my professor has recommended it so i bought it through amazon.
this book will rock your world.and give you a different perspective of life and how man interacts in a hostile and unreal enviroment ...for more info of the book itself i recommend turning to a better source :) but as a reader i can say this book is worth the time and the money :)

Berg's work rallies all aspiring authors to the cause of sainthood for Max Perkins...maybe even deification. He tracks Perkins's career vis-a-vis the literary careers of important 20th century American authors. Gives a peek at the largely ignored man behind the curtain...and stands as a monument to his contributions to our literary heritage. A must read for anyone who enjoys books.

Scott Berg's biography of Max Perkins is a warm, sparkling account of America's greatest editor in the prewar period, the midwife for works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe in the twenties and thirties, when big-time publishing converged on New York. Berg's book is cunningly organized: the reader steps at once into the rough and tumble of editorial work at Scribner's, leaving Perkins' early life, marriage, and family to be described in concise digressions taken only after we get another satisfying dollop of publishing history. Unhappily, once Perkins has delivered his discoveries to the public, the rest is mostly about their boozy extravagance (Fitzgerald), bullying ego trips (Hemingway), and petulant indiscipline verging on insanity (Wolfe). So even if, for this reason, you stop two-thirds of the way through, your curiosity about this key figure in modern literary history will be very well satisfied.

This is a wonderfully written book, very informative and inspiring for authors, editors, agents and anyone else involved or interested in publishing. Berg does a terrific and subtle job of painting these larger than life characters, allowing their own letters to speak for them. He shows remarkable restraint and good taste and yet has created a book that is enriching and very difficult to put down. Highly recommended!

Scott Berg has written a wonderful biography on one of the most important men in American literature, Max Perkins. Berg's book is well-written and very entertaining. It is more than a biography of Perkins, it is also a biography of Hemingway, Scott Fiztgerald, and Thomas Wolfe, and a portrait of America during the first half of the 20th century. This is one of those books that I could go on and on about. It is a book that everyone should read.

Max Perkins was the great editor at Scribners who handled quite a few of the finest writers of the twentieth century, F. Scott Fitzgerad, Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe being especially noteworthy (and dealt with at length in this biography). One might envy such a man with such a job, but Berg makes it clear that having to deal with the likes of these authors was like walking around with a huge millstone around Max's poor neck. His job was endless and thankless (Wolfe actually betrayed him). You see from the many letters quoted that many of them are blatant pleas for money. Saying that Perkins had to coddle some of these authors like children would be putting it mildly. Berg does an admirable job relaying Perkins's life and hard times. Recommended.

My father served on board this ship but he only told me a few stories as I was growing up about his time in the Navy. He was on board both in the Atlantic and the Pacific.
Now it has been told of what these average everyday citizens did for our county sixty years ago. GOD Bless them all!
If you are looking for a book that describes the daily life on board a "Picket Ship" and one that hepled develop and deploy the UDT teams which were the fore-runners of todays SEALS in the Pacific, then you need to read this book.
Very well written.

I was very happy to see the amount of research that went into writing this book. Dr. Grenga has provided only verifiable details of the men and their life on the USS Barr. By doing so she has created a permanent memory for our soldiers who defended us during WWII. His brother was one of soldiers who served our nation. Her account of Sailor's diary is not only true but makes an interesting reading. This book uncovers another facet of the life on the ship for our brave soldiers.

My name is Leslie Irene Hubenthal Tietje.I am a daughter of John William Hubenthal. My father served on the USS Barr. He participated in the creation of this book, Movies On The Fantail. Ms Grenga was so kind as to send a copy of this book me, as well as others in my family. This is one beautiful book. I want more copies, as each and every friend I have shown it too have had a large interest in having a copy.

Certainly, the love of my father is intertwined with the love of this book. One of my favorite photographs of my father, taken on the USS Barr, appears in the first few pages of this book. This picture of my father in his youth sat me down squarely to reconsider his efforts, experiences, remembrances, as well as the lives of others that have shared his life.

Thank you, Ms Grenga, for an extremely fine and appreciated documentation of history. Your gift will not be forgotten.
John's Daughter: Leslie Irene Hubenthal Tietje

An excellent piece of history with captivating stories from those who can tell them best....the heroes of that time.

Helen Grenga has hit a homerun by taking what could be forgotten words and forgotten men and putting their heroic exploits to print. With so many WWII veterans passing everyday I wish everyone would preserve the words and lives of these brave young men who sailed in harms way for our GREAT Country. Outstanding!

This book is incredible! What detail & foreknowledge is involved in the inspired word of God. If you think the Bible is a masterpiece now you will not be disappointed after reading "Number in Scripture." It brought home to me how little we actually conceptualize about the workings of God.

Not only that, but it also helps with finding significance and greater meaning and understanding in scripture.

I had not read up on this subject before & found it truly inspiring.

E.W. Bullinger was a genius and I think every Pastor and Sunday School Teacher should have a copy of this book. It is somewhat technical reading but very interesting to see how numbers are so important in the Bible.

EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO READ/LEARN THE 'SECRET' GOSPEL
HIDDEN IN THE NUMBERS..........THIS BOOK IS THE BEST WRITTEN ON THAT SUBJECT.

IT WAS GREAT, I LEARNED A LOT. IT POINTS OUT THINGS WE NEVER THINK ABOUT.

"As for God His WAY is perfect" (PS.xviii.30). "The Law of the Lord is perfect" (Ps. xix. 7). "They are both perfect in power, perfect in holiness and righteousness, perfect in design, perfect in execution, perfect in thier object and end, and, may we not say, perfect in number."
E.W. Bullinger

It makes since does it not? If the words that God uses are perfect then why not the numbers? Thus, we have this monumental study by E.W. Bullinger. This book is broken into two sections, the first section examines the supernatural design of the Bible. The second section examines the spiritual significance of numbers. However, this book isn't just about numbers, it is an example of the beautiful accuracy and the infallability of God's perfect Word. The Bible flows in perfect harmony from the beginning to the end. After reading this book, never will you view the Bible as nothing more then just an "Old Book" written by religious zealots that collects dust on your bookshelf. Nor will you view the Bible as having no relevance in today's "modern" world. You will begin to see it as it really is, and that is, PERFECT!!!

God Bless ya!

Once Upon A Curse is a book that every book lover should read (after you've read The Frog Princess and Dragon's Breath of course)... It has time travel, fairys, dragons, harpies, and other magical creatures too. Captivating with kind and snotty ancestors that Princess Emma meets when she's trying to solve the family curse's mysteries... along with Eadric, Lil, and some magic she's bound for a journey no one's gone on before!

We bought the Frog Princess from a school bookfair. I've been reading it to my 8 year old daughter. We both enjoyed the book so much, I bought the next two in the series on Amazon. These are wonderfully funny, engaging stories. This is a children's auther I would highly recommend.

Ilove the romance in this book.Emma and Eadric
are very funny characters.I love the magic in this book.
I hope to keep reading the series!

This book is just one of the wonderful books in this series. An absolute family treasure and fun for the whole family.

This was a fun book that has been passed around in family. I read it first and then passed it to my 13 yr. old daughter who then passed it to my 10 yr. old daughter. We've all laughed with delight at some of the exploits our "heroes" manage to involve themselves in. A must read! Grab the whole series while you're at it!

This is by far the best mother's devotional I have ever read! I just can't get enough of this book. Once I'm done reading it I find myself reading it all over again a few months later. I love how I can relate to Mary in her readings. This book was just what I needed this last month! Her book is such an encouragement to me and I am so thankful that I bought this book. Thank-you Mary! I am planning on buying more books from this author.

Before you buy this book, know it is a DEVOTIONAL. I thought it was a parenting book. It's not. It's still a fantastic book, just not what I expected.The author is funny and down-to-earth. She highlights the divine in the mundane, drawing readers into a more personal awareness of God in the midst of everyday chaos of parenting. It's a drink of cool water to a parched soul.

The chapters are short, most just three pages. Each begins with a personal story then evolves into an applicable reflection of what God wants for us. It's the perfect format for busy moms.

Final Thoughts: Intellectual, witty and relevant. Definitely recommended.

This book has made a huge difference in my outlook. It gives me encouraging words to think about the entire day as I embark on the challenge to be the best mom, wife and person I can be. I highly recommend it!

When I first read this book as a young Christian, I found it convicting and encouraging in a way that truly challenged me to call upon the Lord to transform me into the mom He had called me to be. I was very touched by the honesty with which Mary DeMuth writes with. She sincerely shares her struggles as a mom and how she finds strength in the Lord to fulfill this blessed calling. I was really able to relate to her and found myself nodding my head again and again as I recalled very similar situations with my own children.
I found this book to be such an encouragement and such a challenge to be a better mom (through Christ who strengthens me) that I wanted to share it with other moms. Now, my friend and I have begun a Mom's Helping Mom's ministry, in which we get together with other young moms and we all use Mary DeMuth's book as a devotional at our meetings to discuss the issues relating to being a mom and to encourage each other as we fulfill this high calling and find strength in the Lord to raise these precious gifts that He has blessed us with in a way that glorifies His name.

I highly recommend Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God...and I recommend that once you read it - you don't hold on to it - but pass it on to another mom that you know will be touched by it!

There's nothing ordinary about this book! I truly LOVED reading it! I just bought it a couple of weeks ago and have already ordered two more copies to give as gifts. It's just too good not to share. Mary speaks from the heart with humor and passion as she shares her real-life experiences in raising her family under the guidance and grace of God. As a mother of two young children, I will undoubtedly turn to Mary's encouraging and inspirational words again and again in the years to come.

A friend loaned me this book to read when I traveled to my parents to help my father take care of my mother who suffers from Alzheimer's.

This story was tender and beautiful. Very well written. A must read for anyone who has a family member suffering from Alzheimer'. A caregiver might feel better understood and even have a chuckle or two.

I read this book as part of Greenville, SC's Amazing Read program. The book tells the story of 3 generations coming together to battle common problems: Alzheimer's, car accident, single parenting. It is told from the father/grandfather's point of view, a simple housepainter. The prose flows like an easy conversation over coffee. No long descriptions of how the rain fell through the trees, but enough details to create an image.
The story has twists and turns to keep the reader interested, but the story is a bit predictable by the end. As I finished reading, I felt the characters, understood them, loved them and learned from them.

With elegantly-crafted understatement Tommy Hays compassionately relays problems spawned by "Alzheimer's in the family." At the same time, he manages to sensitively honor the reader's comfort zone. The result is a triumph for the author, for the reader, and for characters whose real life challenges and choices point the way for the rest of us. Thank you, Tommy Hayes.

This is a beautifully, sparingly written story about an older couple dealing with the changes, sadness, and humor, too, that Alzheimers' disease brings to a relationship. There are several love (romantic and familial) stories in it; the husband and wife, the grandfather and his grandson, 2 fathers and sons, and an unmarried man and women. In spite of dealing openly with the the effects of Alzheimers' disease on family members, this is NOT a depressing book. It is sweet and hopeful, yet poignant and sad at the same time. I highly recommend it.

We all probably know a Prate Marshbanks. He's a good person who thinks he's as tough as can be, but in reality he's a softie. Family comes first, not afraid of a day's work, intelligent but his greatest asset is common sense. We all know the type, and if by chance you don't, Tommy Hays creates this exact character in his book THE PLEASURE WAS MINE.

THE PLEASURE WAS MINE tells the story of Prate, who in his senior years has to take care of his wife Irene. Irene was once the most beautiful girl in the town, a lawyer's daughter, and English teacher, someone who in Prate's estimation was too good for him. Yet the two have a wonderful marriage, raise a son together, and at least as far as Prate is concerned, the two never fall out of love. This love and dedication is being tested now that Irene has Alzheimer's. Prate spends most of his days caring for Irene, but his routine is disrupted when his son Newell calls and asks him to baby-sit for Jackson, Newell's son. Prate reluctantly agrees believing his widowed son may need some time away but he wonders how he's entertain a sullen, bookish, and somewhat quirky young boy like Jackson. The two bond, and this bonding creates a new family dynamic.

The beauty of this book is due to Tommy Hays' carefully structured writing. This book could easily go in at least five different directions, but Hays is careful to present the story through Prate's eyes and by doing so, we become immersed in this man's story and grow to feel for him and the other characters in the story. Readers may think that a husband caring for an ailing wife with Alzheimer's is similar to the story of THE NOTEBOOK, Hays avoids sentimentality. Prate always has a bit of an edge which keeps him real and anyone who either has cared for someone with Alzheimer's, or knows someone who has, will appreciate the accuracy of the story and Prate's emotions.

I know I'm not the only reader who fell in love with this book, and it's my guess that others will too. Enjoy!