Groups Books

this Book was on right on time. Sylvester was something else back in the day as a artist and very Open about his sexuality. He didn't back down from anything. His voice was the truth and very soulful. this Book explores his whole career and thensome and the many other artists he encountered and how important they were,etc... this book takes you back to a time period when so much was happening. a must read and it is very well written and is a real page turner.

I am still reading the book and have been quite pleased with all the details of Mr Sylvester James Jr. Life, I am sure when a read the final pages it will be as smashing as the life he lived!! I also found a DVD, Filmed in San Francisco, in 1985 or 1987 when he celebrated his birthday, the video is grainy and not what I expected which was Him and the Famous (Two Tons of Fun,) what I have is Sylvester in his what I call break out years his voice was not as vibrant during this period but to have anything of him suits me just fine. He came into his own he perfected his voice and character, I still miss his presence on earth just as I do all the Great Ones.

Sincerely,
LEE

At last, a beautifully-written book about a beautiful artist - Sylvester. I have been waiting for this book to arrive for years and, finally, here it is!

I was hooked by the opening chapter which tells the story of a young boy named Tiki Lofton who sneaks out of his bedroom window at night and over to a friend's apartment where, in 1960's South Central, with the help of a young Sylvester, he transforms himself into a "Disquotay." The Disquotays were a group of boys who liked to dress up as sophisticated ladies. And Sylvester, or Dooni as he was known then, was in charge of the wigs.

"The first Disquotay bash that Tiki went to was over on 120th and Athens, at Etta James's house, sometime around 1965. Etta, who would later be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (largely on the strength of her 1961 hit "At Last") and the Betty Ford Center (largely on the strength of her smack addiction), was already a recording star and a friend to many local Los Angeles drag queens . . . The house, with its swimming pool and fireplace, had stunned her. Women, drag queens, and guys, all sending joyful noises in Tiki's direction; the music had been jumping; Walter Jackson's version of "Lee Cross," Jr. Walker & the All Stars' "Shotgun," "Nowhere to Run" by Martha and the Vandellas, Fontella Bass singing "Rescue Me." Gay kids all perched on gigantic speakers, singing and carrying on . . . Tiki had said to herself. "This -- honey, where is this world?" Within months, she would be a full-fledged Disquotay, made-up, bewigged, bejeweled."

Joshua Gamsom recreates this world vividly in that first chapter. Simultaneously, he introduces us to the members of Sylvester's family. His beautiful and beloved mother and grandmother. His twin sisters, Dette and Dean. The quotes are full of heart and expertly placed and the story unfolds like a fine silk fan. I can't help but think that Sylvester would be very pleased to read this biography.

I had the honor of meeting with Sylvester to discuss a project a few years before his death. It was mid-afternoon and he was sewing sequins on something, which was his favorite pasttime. He was always sewing, a talent he picked up from the women who raised him. He walked over to the turntable and put on Patti LaBelle's "If Only You Knew" and said he was dedicating the song at his One-Night-Only concert the following night to his fans and supporters in San Francisco, the city in which he always felt most at home. That night, with Martha Wash at his side, they performed that song together, bouncing their voices off each other inside the Castro Theater. Those two powerful voices, the acoustics of the Castro Theater, and the magical spell he wove with Patti LaBelle's song was something to behold.

That Sylvester could hold his own with the amazing Martha Wash is a testament to the power of his falsetto. He didn't have a thin, reedy falsetto. His was full-bodied, gravelly even, and very much in evidence on one of his biggest hits, "Do You Wanna Funk."

"So when I tell you, that you're really something, baby, will you stay, or will you go away."

Joshua Gamson captures the essence of Sylvester's personality, the diva fits as well as the immense kindness and sensitivity, and wraps it all together into an highly readable book that I wholeheartedly suggest you pick up. Although some have faulted him for not having an encyclopedic knowledge of music, Gamson lets experts like Joel Selvin provide insightful commentary.

It is my hope that someone has optioned the book for a movie and we can expect to see this wild individual portrayed in all his glory.

John Waters wraps up "The Fabulous Sylvester" pretty well in his cover blurb: "A well-written, touching, dignified biography of a gay black diva who never really fit into any minority but managed to achieve his dreams of stardom. Now that's what I call a man."

Five Stars. Great Read.

The Fabulous Sylvester is a fascinating recounting of the life of Sylvester, the dance scene and Sylvester's career. This book explores the life of Sylvester from his early childhood days to his development into an international dance icon. This book does not sugarcoat any part of Sylvester's life. It is detailed and honest and shows us all aspects of his life and career. This book is as interesting and fabulous as Sylvester was.

Joshua Gamson took the reader on a magical journey of Sylvester's glitter world of music, sex, and drugs with the abandonment that was the time of the 70's. Sadly, there was no gold at the end of the rainbow and we, like Sylvester, saw the decline with terrible retribution.

I highly recommend this book; it's a quick read and you won't be able to put it down.

Normally Bill Lear Jr. is described in books about his famous father THE Bill Lear (Learjet) as somewhat a playboy who crashed a lot of planes. Perhaps this is the curse of having a famous father? Bill Lear Jr. has his own say here and comes across a bit of an a@#hole but he did fly a lot of high-performance aircraft, starting from an early age. His experiences doing the early air shows and air races are worth reading about. It was a different time when business deals were a bit loose and so I will give Bill Jr. the benefit of the doubt. Even his military experience is notable. Later in his career he seems to have become a successful aircraft and avionics salesman. Like his father, he had problems/opportunities with women and I lost count after wife #3. I find it a bit strange that he writes very little of his relationships with his children. All in all, a good read about a pilot with opportunity and balls.

A friend loaned me the book. Having been in the aviation field all my life I found the book to be very entertaining. If you are merely an aviation Buff or involved, like I am, you will relate to much of the story. It's a fast read with hilarious anecdotes.

Owning and flying a WW II P-38 Lightning at age 17 is just one of the many episodes of his life that Bill Lear vividly brings back to life in this autobiography of his life. His knowledge of all aspects of aviation, his insight into life and relationships, combined with his great sense of humor, make this a book that is hard to put down once you start reading it. The only thing better than reading about his experiences is to hear him tell about some of them in person and I feel fortunate to have been able to experience that.

Non aviation enthusiasts will enjoy this book as well as aviation enthusiasts. It is a great gift idea and everyone of our friends who have read it have enjoyed it.

A book that once you pick up you can't put down. A wonderful insight into Aviation and the adventures of a truly remarkable man.

A great book from one of the coolest guys I know!!
It is a "must" for anybody, who has something to do with aviation.
I would appreciate it, when this book will be continues published.

This book should be read by every parent who has pre-teen/teen kids and should be made a mandatory book in every high school. It is a true eye opener and very insperational.

I bought this book for myself and my 18 year old son to read before he left for college this fall. I read it first and then let him read it. The Volkmann family did a great job of communicating to the reader the dangers of teenage drinking. My son went to numerous parties during high school where alcohol was present. Our son told us about the drinking going on at these parties and I began to realize what a serious problem exists concerning teenage drinking. I hope that many parents will read this book and realize that teenage drinking is not something to be taken lightly. Many parents do not realize what can happen to their teens who take part in this dangerous activity. I encourage any parents of a teen to read this book and then make their teen read it as well and then discuss the book with your child.

I found this to be extremly informative , seeing both sides of bing drinking and the perceptions of the family as well as the Alcoholic. I read this while my son (who also asked for help) was in rehab for his 21st birthday. He is now reading my copy. I found I could identfy with alot of the thoughts/situations as well as the codependent/alcoholic behaviors. As I work on my codependence and my son works on his sobriety I strongly encourage anyone with a teen/young adult afflicted with this disease to read this book.

As a high school counselor and child of an alcoholic I found this to be a great resource both personally and professionally. Your candid account of your journey for information and for recovery has already given me insights to help my students and their parents.
Thank you both,

This book was very educational and informative. A MUST READ for anybody struggling with alcoholism or who has a loved one struggling with the disease. Very realistic and honest.

I think the book is very interesting. I heard about it because I saw Amye Leong at an Arthritis Conference she spoke at and came home and ordered her book. She went through very tough times and is a very motivational speaker and I really enjoyed listening to her. I have family members with arthritis( not rheumatoid ) but I felt they could read the book also and be inspired by Amye. I am a registered nurse and I now know the daily struggles rheumatoid arthritic patients persevere. Thank you Amye for a great book!!

This book is full of inspiration for those with or without chronic illness. Amye shares a heartfelt, yet witty story of hope and perseverance. She weaves in helpful resources and advocacy strategies as she describes her journey with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Get a Grip is empowering and life changing. As a person with chronic pain - once I read Amye's book - I knew I wasn't alone.

As a person with RA and as a professional health educator, I LOVED Get a Grip! Not only did I like the advice and inspiration that Amye Leong provides in it, but her personal story was amazing! I did not want to put this book down and when I did finish reading it, I wanted to read more about what happens to her next as she reaches for her dreams all while dealing simulataneously with a ravaging chronic disease. If you want to know exactly what it is like to have RA as a young adult or you just want to read how another person understands exactly how YOU feel while trying to live a full life and cope with RA at the same time, you have to GET THIS BOOK! Amye really is a wonderful arthritis educator and advocate but even more so, she is such a terrific role model. If she could come through her horrible flares of this disease as well as she did, it makes me feel like I can still move towards my dreams as well, RA and all. Amye is a great motivator and author, and now I can hardly wait for her next book to come out: to hear how her story continues!

'Get A Grip' is not simply a story about how to deal with the pain and torment of arthritis, this is a story about how to deal with LIFE! This is a story about a woman who at the age 18 was stricken by a disease normally attributed to those much older. Amye Leong tells her story of pain, of despair and hope, of setbacks and victories. This is a story that can teach us all lessons on how to deal with whatever challenges we may be faced with in our own lives. This is a story that can teach us all that in the final analysis it is the person we all see looking back at us in the mirror that has the real power to affect our lives. But most of all, this is a story of COURAGE!!

One does not have to suffer with rheumatoid arthritis in order to be inspired by this book. Its lessons are universal!Amye's descriptions of her pain, feelings of isolation, helplessness are almost palpable.It is hard to imagine the spirit and strong desire to lead a full life that propel her to go through countless surgeries. Her description of the role of family and loving friends brought home what we always knew that our relationships can make the difference between life and death. I also particularly appreciated her emphasis on taking control of your own health, and in dealing with doctors to work as a partnership. The phenomenal work she has accomplished is more than most people could do without health problems, but her contributions to others are a tribute to her courage, determination and tenacity. I advise everyone to read this book, lend it to others and rejoice that an Amye Leong exists!!!

The product was great and Woody's book store communicated great through email about the purchase and ordering information. The only thing is the number of days that it took to ship was confusing; I thought it would get to me sooner, but what the number of days meant was when it would be shipped as opposed to it arriving to me.

This is a great book. Inspiring, entertaining, hilarious, and real. Mark doesn't pull any punches in this. It is not a self-pity book nor does it try to lecture the reader. It is a real account of someone who is very inspiring, yet doesn't pretend to be what he isn't.

Once I started reading this I couldn't put it down. Awesome!!!

Mark Zupan makes you think about what you have, not what you do not have.

He may be in a chair, but he is not handicap. Mark Zupan speak frankly and openly about his life before and after. He does not blame anyone for his injury.

Make you think you life is O.K. and despite what happens you can survive and go on.

Life is not so bad.

Sometimes, people who have been "handicapped" in some manner end up withdrawing into themselves. A few of them are downright miserable. Mad at the world for being stuck in the situation they're in... the best they can hope for (because they're depressing to be around) is to have people feel sorry for them.

Mark Zupan (who, hopefully, you know from the astoundingly-good, and deserved-to-win-the-Oscar documentary, MURDERBALL), is NOT one of those people. He doesn't WANT anyone to feel sorry for him. (In fact, he doesn't even want to be seen as a "role model," or an "inspiration," though [sorry Mark!], to a lot of people, he is.)

Mark was an athletic, fun-loving 18-year-old, having a blast in South Florida when everything he knew changed in an instant. Sleeping off a night of heavy partying in the back of his buddy Chris Igoe's parked pickup, he had no clue when his friend got in and (also drunk) drove off. Not too long thereafter, Igoe swerved off the road and Mark ended up flying out of the truck-bed, over a fence, and into some dense foliage overhanging a small lake. (Igoe had no idea Mark was in the truck bed, so when the police came, they never looked for him.)

Mark regained consciousness, only to find himself unable to move (he didn't know it yet, but he was paralyzed from the neck down), hanging upside-down from a branch with his nose just inches from the water... and getting closer by the moment. He hung there for 14 hours, before a workman heard him yelling for help.

And that's just the START of the story!

In the years that followed, he has not only become one of the star players of the sport known as Quad Rugby (a.k.a. Murderball), his attitude about his "situation" (whether he likes it or not!) has helped untold numbers of others* to better cope with their own situations.


* I know of what I speak. My young and lovely wife has been in a wheelchair for several years due to Multiple Sclerosis. After seeing the movie MURDERBALL --and *especially* after meeting Zupan at a tournament, her attitude went from "good" to fantastic. She's no longer "the girl in the wheelchair." She's simply my wife, who's fun to be around, and who's interested in doing the things she CAN do, rather than fretting about the things she can't.

-Jonathan Sabin

A fast paced, gritty look into an Athlete's brush with death and the long road to recovery. If you are looking for the next inspiration for a cheesy After School Special on overcoming adversity...don't read this book. If you are looking for a well written, insightful look into how one guy copes with tragedy and disability, then this is an excellent read. To say Gimp has texture is an understatement thanks to its subject, Mark Zupan, a quadriplegic athlete who was made famous by the documentary Murder Ball. Gimp details how this proud, perhaps arrogant athlete dealt with a tragic accident that cost him the full use of his limbs thanks to drunken night that resulted in a brush with death and a debilitating spinal cord injury.

Gimp does not spare us the details that are often left out of such stories including the uglier side of human emotion. The books subject faces Zupan's denial, doubt, guilt, fear, despair and loss as a result of his tragedy. While he ultimately comes to terms with his injury and recovery, it is not without some serious setbacks, some self inflicted. It is this part of writer Timothy Swanson's writing that really sets Gimp apart. He does not spare Zupan some hard looks into his darker nature to include arrogance, self indulgence and outright self destructiveness at times. If there is a villain in the book, it is Zupan himself and his own feelings of despair and anger. It is Swanson's description of Zupan's struggle with his own dark feelings and fears that give the story its power.

The book is not without its own sense of humor and offers a dark amusement that Zupan has for the hand life has dealt him. Gimp deftly shows Zupan's outlook on life which is headstrong and confident but not without his fair share of hidden frailty in the face of a near death experience. In fact, the description of the actual accident that describes Zupan clinging to life, literally perhaps, is the book's strongest section. I have many friends who suffer from war wounds, especially brain injuries from IED's or "danger close" air strikes and I can say from personal experience that Gimp does an excellent job at looking at how proud warriors (in Gimp's case a world class athlete), deal with injury and recovery. I recommend this book without reservation to certainly anyone who knows someone who suffers from a disability or who has seen the documentary Murder Ball. The book has broader appeal to fans of sports writing as well since the book leaves no doubt that Zupan is an athlete. The fact that it is an easy read and has a brisk pace is no small feat given that other works of this genre tend to drag on, lack direction and are often burdened with sappy and clichéd, touchy-feely housewife book club nonsense. Zupan's force of will as described by Swanson carries the book along as does the suspense of how he will cope with each stage of his recovery and his entrance into the world of quad rugby aka Murder Ball. I thought it was a great read and recommend it without reservation.

When you're working with Group Policies or Profiles, it's simple: you must read this book. Jeremy Moskowitz learns you the tough parts of Windows in his own matchless style.

This book isn't for beginners but if you're a network or systems administrator it is an excellent source of group policy information for Windows servers and workstations (2000, XP, and 2003).

Great read and very informative. I've been using it as a reference ver since. Keep up the great work Jeremy!

Jeremy Moskowitz books are easy to read. He gives you great examples.

For managing GPOs for locking down servers, this is not a complete book. This is an excellent book for managing desktops or workstations, laptops and terminal servers. There are many user rights assignments and security settings that are left completely out of this book.

Updates:

Since the author commented, I feel it's only fair to elaborate on some of the items, either as a thought for a "Group Policy - locking down your servers" book or possibly a future update to this one.

Most of the User Rights Assignments are the most sensitive rights you can grant. Several of them provide the ability to impersonate other users, including the obvious ones (Impersonate client after authentication). Other rights don't actually provide the functionality that users likely think (Create permanent shared objects - you wouldn't believe how many application teams thought this would let them share folders and printers). At the very least, a detailed list of rights that should be granted per setting for complete OS functionality(changing Impersonate Client... without granting the right to the Service builtin object will break a server running Windows Server 2003 with SP1, but have no effect on other versions of the OS) would be very helpful - the defaults for Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server are completely different.

Personally I think that another book about securing your servers via GPO would be nice. Not everyone should be securing their servers via GPO and it may add a certain level of complexity to an application environment that is not desired, but for larger environments that require an automatic mechanism to correct any security deficiencies or changes, GPOs are an excellent solution. A book that would cover Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 (or whatever Longhorn ends up being called) and the differences between the OS versions, would be fabulous for a security/AD/GPO admin in any environment that is much more complex. Particularly in a complex environment, all 3 versions of Windows Server that GPOs apply to should be covered. Many larger companies are slow to adopt new versions of software or upgrade that which they already have (if it ain't broke, don't fix it!), so finding OUs that have Windows 2000 Servers and Windows Server 2003 machines in the same structure of your organization is definitely far from abnormal and providing the reference to effectively secure all of the GPO functional server operating systems (or at least the MS ones).

I understand that the intention of this book is to talk about basically the user environment portions of the GPO, but the name doesn't define that, so won't update my rating. Maybe if it had a companion for the machine-side security related settings...

This book is seriously AMAZING. Any problem you can possibly imagine with grammar is included! Really glad I bought this, probably the best book on the subject I own. Highly recommended for any German student (I'm in my 3rd year).

As other reviewers have already emphasized, this is an excellent English language resource for German grammar. An incredible amount of detail is given, and attention is paid both to general rules and specific exceptions, even down to the most obscure and archaic. Both difficult and simple grammatical terms are explained through examples in English, which makes this book an excellent tool for coming to a deep understanding of the German language.

As mentioned by others, this is no book for beginners. Only high-intermediate and advanced students should look into using this grammar, as it assumes a rather high level of proficiency on the student's part. However, for more advanced students, the explanations and detailed examples are priceless, shedding light on even the most complicated German passages.

A word of caution to teachers: please do not merely have your students read and memorize sections of this textbook. Hammer's Grammar is very complex and includes a large amount of exceptions, a number of which are no longer in common use. Classmates I've had have expressed frustration over having to memorize exception after exception to a rule that seems rare in itself. This book is best used as a reference for advanced learners, and ought not to be the setting in which general grammatical rules are taught. Rather than reading and memorizing, it would be better for students to study this book topic by topic, complete with class discussion, re-mastering the principles before moving on to the many exceptions.

There are also a number of slightly odd English sentences in this book that might confuse the reader. Beware, and proceed at a slow, steady pace.

I commenced learning German in college and concluded with enough credits to earn a minor. Two summers were spent in Germany taking intensive German language classes (Munich and Mannheim), while two additional summers were spent working as an intern with Deutsche Telekom in Frankfurt. Upon concluding my Masters in EE, I married a German and subsequently lived in Germany for 10 years. For 5 of those years I was general manager of my own consulting company. All of our business was in German.

Inspite of this background, on any given page of this manual, there are tips and tricks to assist me in refining my language skills. This book has it. If it is not there, you in all likelyhood don't need to know it. The themes are logically laid out. Any and every topic is easy to find. This book is highly recommended. Beginners should not resist having this gold mine in his library.

This is an excellent book for those working on learning German. * HOWEVER * If you are like me and were never able to gain a firm grasp of the English language while in high school you should get this book and a book called "English Grammar for Students of German" to use along side of this one to help you understand the basics in basic terms. You generally need to have a decent grasp of the mechanics of the English language before learning a foreign language. This book goes into great detail and is absolutely packed with information on the mechanics of the German language. Getting the workbook that goes with the book IS A MUST, as just reading about German is worthless. Get the workbook and work the exercises on a separate piece of paper. This makes it so you can rework the exercises again later if needed. Be diligent and work in the workbook everyday. As you go through out your day and have thoughts pop into your head try to think of how you would write a sentence in German that would equal that thought.

I am glad I bought this book as I will have to stretch myself to get through it. It's a great learning tool.

This is the best and most comprehensive english language German grammar reference you can buy. It is definately not for Beginners. If you are an Intermediate to Advanced German student, it is perfect. You should also seriously consider the companion workbook Practicing German Grammar. For beginners to intermediate level learners, I highly recommend Schaum's Outline of German Grammar. Its easier to follow and doesn't cover all the minor nuances of German grammar that you won't need to know at the beginner to intermediate levels.

Nancy Cobb has writen a tender and genrous book about death, a perfect condolence in the saddest times.I keep several on hand. Tori Warner Shepard, Santa Fe

I came upon this book in a used bookstore in Madison, WI and really liked it! I did a book review at my monthly meeting for work--I work in a 12 bed hospice facility in Fond du Lac, WI Upon finishing it I loaned it to one coworker who loaned it to another coworker and on and on..until almost 5 months later I got my book back. I had bought it in very good condition and it was returned to me in the same very good condition. I have recommended it to patients as well as families. About two years ago I found the hardcover edition and I bought that for my own library--I have found the same used bookstore has another hardback copy and when I go to Madison the end of September I plan to pick it up--if it's still there. I think the paperback has an awesome cover. :) I would give this more than 5 stars if I could. Thank you Nancy for an excellent book. I only wish she would come out with a book to develop more of the essays she wrote about.

Knowing Dad would soon pass from Melanoma Cancer, I purchased this book. It truly couldn't have come at a better time as one week after the funeral service of my father our family was having another funeral service after the sudden death of my dear, close cousin. This book offers such good advice about grief. It offered great suggestions and got me thinking that we do need to be more comfortable with death, just as we are with birth. Afterall, my belief has always been that death is a journey and new adventure where we join loved ones who passed before us and will soon be with other loved ones again. It was a great book to read during this hard time and reminded me of what's really important once again.

Shortly after my son died, a friend gave me In Lieu of Flowers. "It might be too soon," she said. "It's spiritual." But the introduction caught my interest, and far from being too soon, the book taught me about grieving. Lesson number one: do not tell the mourner it will get better. Forget closure. As Cobb says, "When a person dies, a relationship does not end--it changes and continues, just as the living do." But how will I continue that relationship, I wondered? She goes on. "If we take the time to stop and talk about it, to bring the dead to life, even momentarily... the shared memories will remain. Like the dead, we will carry them with us for the rest of our lives."

Nancy Cobb dwells on the universals of death, the last conversations, the unfinished lives, the final moments. She explains how she, too, has suffered from grief, not from the death of a child, but from both parents and dear friends. As an only child, she felt each parent's death intensely, independently, with no siblings to share decisions or stories. She was afraid of being orphaned, of being the final repository of her family history. She relates the moment of discovering that her mother, dying of Alzheimer's, wants to let go: her mother refuses to eat. She is unable to read, converse, or comprehend. She is reduced to "a fleeting chiaroscuro glimpse of the woman I had known." She is moved to the Connecticut Hospice for the last nine days of her life. Her final words reveal the relief of being allowed to die: "I am...so...happy." Nancy's acknowledgement, capping a five-year journey toward acceptance: "I love you, Mom. Dad's waiting. Give him my love...Tell him we're fine. Tell him...to take you dancing." They breathe together, cheek to cheek. They connect until the end.

Cobb's major point is to "open the conversation," before and after death. Lesson number two: before death, don't neglect the stage of acceptance. Most of us are in denial and would prefer to stay there, but if the final conversations on love, meaning, and letting go are avoided, there is no second chance. Regrets and guilt will haunt the mourners even more than usual. The term unfinished will take on heightened meaning. It will expand the complexity of grief and dwarf other sorrows. Do not wait or be afraid to enter a realm which cannot be avoided.

She's not saying it's easy, but you'll be sorry if you don't. Her father committed suicide while she was having lunch with a friend two thousand miles away. She knows what she's talking about. She made me realize that was one of the hard parts of my son's death. It was sudden, it was farther away, I did not say good-bye, and I will never recover from all the things I should have said. I didn't get to have the final conversation. My son left this earth without knowing how much I loved him or would miss him. Maybe because of this futile need to tell him and not being able to, I leapt with support for lesson number three: keep the conversation going. People die, but their place in our lives does not. Start a new "tribe," a spiritual club of those who are in pain and need to share it. For only by sharing do we find meaning, do we honor the dead, and do we keep them in our lives. I read somewhere in my library of grief books that joy is shared and grief isolates. Let's share grief, too, Cobb is saying. Let's learn from the Hospice professionals, especially the one who took care of her mother and "can't imagine doing anything else." People need to be comfortable before they die. Let's treat them as we would want to be treated ourselves. It's hard to be dignified about death, but in the end dignity is all we have. And when we're gone, let's be discussed, let's be shared, and let's be revived In Lieu of Flowers.

Nancy Cobb's book is a most beautifully written manuscript that I have given, again and again, to family and friends who are experiencing a loss in their lives. I keep several on my bookshelf always, which is what prompts this review today -- I need to reorder. It should also be noted that the cover of In Lieu of Flowers is absolutely exquisite. I often put a care package together for someone, placing this book on top in a basket, because of the emotion/sentiment it provides from me to the person in mourning.

Journey of the Heart has been all I hoped it would be. The message in the book gives hope, not through wishful thinking, but through confronting destructive patterns. What is hopeful is that the message gives one hope in reclaiming a relationship or at least making you better at how to relate. The book is not lightweight, but it is personal and reaches to where we humans struggle and sheds light and gives guidance. If you are serious about being better at relating, this book is serious about helping.

This is one of the most profound books I have ever read. I first read the book some ten years ago and at the time I recall thinking "Why didn't I know this information?". Within this book you will learn how to establishing a healthy connection with another. This is a must have book. How I wish I had such insights when I was young.

Item was received with other purchased item, thus I received it in a reasonable amount of time. Book was like new!

This is an excellent book that challenges you to risk being intimate with yourself and your part. Welwood's observations are keen insightful, but delivered in a manner that is respectful to his readers. What I got most from this book was reading and reflecting on all of my relationships and the intimacy I allowed for myself as well as how open I am to others. I definitely recommend this as a book to read to help you appreciate the deeper layers of passion that a relationship can provide.

I have read this book several times and never cease to come away with a new understanding. It has depth, compassion and useful information for moving through some of the modern relationship dilemmas that cause so many of us suffering.

John Welwood is a Ph.D. psychotherapist with a deep knowledge of world religions, especially Buddhism. He also has a lot of life experience and has written many books on a variety of topics including other relationship books.

One of the things I most like about this book is the author's ability to apply both modern psychological thought and Eastern philosophical wisdom to modern day problems. He does this in an easy to read fashion with a compassionate tone. He does not come across as omniscient, but rather as a fellow traveler on the relationship path of spiritual growth.

I believe relationships are probably the best or at least one of the best self-growth paths anyone could ever follow. John Welwood shows us how to hold them as such in this marvelously insightful book.

I also recommend his book called "Toward a Psychology of Awakening." This book is subtitled "Buddhism, Psychotherapy, and the Path of Personal and Spiritual Transformation." This would make a nice accompaniment to the book above, but the content is heavier and so is the style. However, it is packed with great information and it represents some of John Welwood's best writing.

I particularly like Welwood's insights on "spiritual bypassing" or escaping our psychological and emotional work by overly emphasizing the transcendent and dismissing the wisdom of embodied experience. I'm sure glad a guy who is writing relationship books holds this point of view because as anyone knows who has been in a committed relationship, there are lots of important ingredients to a good relationship beyond the spiritual considerations. The phenomenon of spiritual bypassing is explored very directly in "Toward a Psychology of Awakening."

Very dissapointed. The goatskin eddition for less money is sooooo much nicer. No comparison! Now I must return this item.

I have had this KJV Concord Wide Margin Reference Edition for 4 years. It has held up beautifully--indeed it still looks virtually brand new (and I have used and written extensive notes in this Bible). Here's what I like about this Bible:
1. The Calfskin leather covering. This leather has held up unbelievably--as if it is still brand new.
2. The clarity of the font. Even though the font is somewhat small, it's bold font is crystal clear (and my eyes are not very good).
3. I love the fact that there is so much space in the margins for writing notes. And not just on each side, but the top and bottom of each page has plenty of room as well.
4. I also love the fact that bleed-through is not a problem. I use bold pens and multi-colored high-lighters, and yet none of them bleed through. Awesome.

The main plus is the fact that I've had this Bible for 4 years. And it still is in prime condition (and I have used this Bible very heavily).

If you are looking for a quality King James Bible, one that has plenty of room for your own notes, one that holds up even after heavy useage...well, this is the Bible for you. I love it and feel confident that this Bible will be in great shape 20 years down the road.

This was just the bible I Have been searching for. FJV, wide margin, marginal references, and extra pages for my own notes. This was the only KJV that offered everything I needed, along with superior quality.

This is a beautiful, very high quality Bible. I have nothing to add to the other reviews that praise this Bible beyond saying that while I very much prefer the King James Version, I do wish that those who claim it is the only valid English translation would get a copy of this Bible and read the Translators' Letter to the Reader -- it is a very fine, nearly 400-year-old refutation of the KJV-only crowd's arguments. Also, I am over 40 and wish that Cambridge would make a text or a Concord version with a font somewhere between the 10 pt they call "large print" and the 22/24 pt "giant print" -- somewhere between 12.5 and 18 pt would be nice. Still, this is a very readable Bible, and the center column references are very good. Spend the money -- it's worth it.

Excellent, beautiful, quality bible and workmanship. A treasure. Sturdy and well made, type is easy to read. The paper is sturdy and you can write notes in the wide margins without worrying about the ink passing through or indentations being made in the pages. The binding is also sturdy. This bible has a wonderful leather smell. With care it will last many years. Amazon has it at an excellent price.

I have to agree with the previous poster who said the Letter from the Translators to the Readers is good to have. It is definitely a solid refutation to the KJV only crowd. I myself prefer the KJV and NKJV because they are taken from the accurate manuscripts. However, I am saddened by KJV only defenders who either deny or just don't know the history of their own English Bible. While the KJV is the only pure preserved English bible today (Hebrew and Greek meanings and pure manuscripts), we would probably not have it were it not for the Geneva and Tyndale bibles that preceded it, as well as several other English bibles. Men literally gave (lost) their lives for daring to translate God's word into the English common man's language, as Tyndale put it: so that the plowman would have his own bible in his very own language. The Geneva was the preferred bible for 100 years before the KJV was commissioned by King James to be chained to Anglican pulpits and become the only version used. The Geneva was one of over four bibles used by the 50 KJV translators (Textually the KJV is 95% Geneva bible text). The KJV-only stance that began under the King caused a stir among the Puritans who loved their protestant Geneva bible (they knew the KJV was not considered a protestant bible), and this prompted them to sail to America in search of religious freedom. They brought with them their Geneva bibles and that was the first main bible used in early America, until early Congress declared the KJV to be widely utilized in government and by our founding fathers. The KJV at the time it was translated and published was another update of the previous English bibles as English had changed and adapted between the time of the Anglo-Saxons to Wycliff to Tyndale to King James. Updating English words as English changes, such as in the New King James, is not a sin as long as meaning has not been changed or taken from. Most don't know that the original KJV 1611 had 80 books in it (the 14 extra were the Apocrypha) until 1881 when the 14 extra books of the Apocrypha were removed. KJV-only often say that the bible they hold in their hands today is the 1611 Authorzed version, but what they don't know is that the KJV underwent at least 7 revisions between 1611 and 1881. And they don't realize that if they did really have a 1611 AV their bibles would have the original English spellings of 1611, such as "f" used in place of "s" in certain words, "l" instead of "j" in certain words, as well as totally different spellings of certain words that changed between Tyndale's time and the 1800s. The original 1611 AV spelled Jesus as "Iefus." Pretty hard to read that way, eh? That's why the KJV was updated spelling-wise over the next 2 centuries after 1611, because such spelling of words changed and began to resemble closer to how we spell today. The NKJV is the same KJV bible with certain archaic words replaced with words of the same meaning that we use today. Such as the word "commodius" in the KJV in Acts has been updated to "suitable" in the NKJV. If one looks up the word commodius in most dictionaries and reads the archaic usage of the word they will find that the definition given is the same meaning that the NKJV has updated the text with. God transcends language with his holy word and God did not speak King James English any more than He spoke Chinese, but His spirit is able to adapt His word and meaning into many languages as long as the translators are being faithful to the true, exact meaning. To change His meaning is to add to or take away from His word. The updated NKJV has not changed meaning, but instead has updated certain English words just as the KJV translators updated certain out of date words and spellings from the previous English bibles. So, when a KJV-only person yells at you for reading your NKJV direct him to some English bible history and welcome him to make himself more well-rounded on information.

For those who love the poetic beauty of the KJV and want it in a bible that will last and that has great quality, this Cambridge bible will not disappoint you. Plenty of room to write notes on the outter and bottom margins.

It helps to learn the history behind something you believe in.