Maxim Books

I realize that 'common sense' is a risky term, but for myself and most people I know, that's what a lot of this is. Most of the 'Toxic Ideas' that the authors debunk are not (in my experience) commonly held ideas. They do an expert job of explaining how and why the ideas are indeed toxic, and what ideas would be healthier and more accurate. But when you don't hold any of the ideas to begin with, it's a pretty silly read (some examples of the 'toxic ideas': 'Ultimatums Settle Disputes', and 'Problems Go Away If You Ignore Them'). I give it two stars because the authors do what they claim to do in the book, and I'm sure there are people out there who will find it immensely helpful. But as far as usefulness to a person of average intelligence, experience, self-awareness, and, yes, common sense... well, it's just unnecessary. Not worth the money; I'll be donating it to my local library.

I own everything written by either Arnold Lazarus, Phd or Allen Fay, MD. Their best ...are the books they did together. This book is a gem. No shrink, patient or psychology student should be without it!

The authors have distilled from thousands of therapy sessions some truly effective healthy philosophies. It's a quick read which delegitimizes some common irrationalities and gets to the heart of the self-help matter. A good extension of REBT and CBT ideas...addresses disturbance-causing beliefs head-on. You won't regret buying it. A welcome change from all the crappy psych books out there!

This book is terrific! It helped me realize that I was poisoning my happiness with my own thinking. More importantly, it gave me the remedies I needed for achieving a more balanced outlook and better mental health.

i miss you, sue. love. stinky

I read the book after getting to know the doctor - and I must say that the book is as crazy as the author himself; but somehow really great; I loved it!

I HAVE READ PORTIONS OF THIS BOOK AND I REALLY LIKE IT AND WOULD RECOMMEND ANYONE TO READ IT. IT HAS A LOT OF DEEP THOUGHTS THAT IF YOU REALLY SIT AND THINK ABOUT SOME OF THE QUOTES THEY ARE SO VERY TRUE.

This book has something for everyone......read it and set your soul FREE!

The clock will magically go round, you'll wonder where time went and your only regret might be that some of the tales are not longer and more detailed. Many read like GOOD MYSTERIES. The ending only becomes apparent in the very last words. Not a BEDTIME STORIES piece. You won't want to sleep once you open this piece! Sit back and enjoy!

I haven't waded all the way through this book yet, because when reading erotica I seem to have to stop and... take breaks fairly often. But what I've read so far has been excellent. Like any major erotica anthology, there will always be some stories that work for you and some that don't, but this is an overwhelmingly good collection. Especially the first story in the book (by new writer Gannon), which frankly is worth the cost of the book on its own.

If you want variety in your erotica reading...then this is the
book for you...including getting a tattoo...celebrating American holidays..in most unusual ways..and more.
I especially enjoyed Mike Kimera's American Holidays....my favorite being Memorial Day...and WHAT a celebration.
I have read his work before...on ERWA and Clean Sheets...and do enjoy his stories.There is sex...of course...
but also ...substance....a good story line is always there. Read....and enjoy !!!!!

While I'm a big fan of erotica, and have enjoyed several of the Mammoth books over the years, I found myself thinking "same old, same old" while perusing this volume. Sure there are gems from many of my favorite authors (Rachel Kramer Bussel, Simon Sheppard, Cheyenne Blue, Cecilia Tan), but there also were a few that didn't float my boat. Real standouts included the amazing "Swimmer's Body" by respected author, Patrick Califia, and the funny "The End of Daphne Greenwood's Travel Career" by Tara Alton.

Overall, a good, solid read that won't disappoint.

The cover of the book caught my eye and I wasn't expecting much as I picked it up to flip through. To my surprise, I was deeply drawn into the stories (yes the sex was great too!) as I started reading. I found that they were very well written and totally not what I had expected of such fiction. The great writing that vividly describes interesting characters in various "acts of love" makes you want to read story after story. Try it and see for yourself...I can't wait to finish the 5-hour-old book. What a gem I picked as my first book on erotica!

Like many other collections of erotica, some of the stories were lukewarm at best. However, one in particular (The Dress) was hot. If there is one story in this collective that will stir something up, this is it. Ranging from voyerism and exhibitionism, to humiliation and lesbian sex, it covers a wide range of sensual and strong images with a well-written turn of words.

That story alone gives this book 5 stars.

I bought this book because of the cover. That's why you should believe that saying, "Never judge a book by it's cover." There are some very erotic stories in here, I think Emerald is the best one. But some stories are not even erotic and do not go into much detail as I would of preferred.

With this being my first foray into the world of erotica (besides the occasional Penthouse Forum article) I must say I was very pleased. All of these stories touch us deep down inside, some more prevalent than others. The characterization of some of the main players in the longer stories is excellent. Not only do these sotries deal with sex and the physical please, but also emotional repercussions-good and bad. I have read this book numeerous times and look forward to purchasing other "Mammoth erotica" collections.

One of my favorite anecdotes from this book, "How to know whether or not you are ready to have kids," starts off with the Grocery Store Test which advises you to take two small animals (they recommend goats) with you as you shop and to "Always keep them in sight and pay for anything they eat or damage."

This is a really enjoyable read for parents. It was especially enjoyable for me because my kids are all in college or otherwise grown and out of the house so I read this, laughed, and pictured my oldest son, recently married, perhaps going through this himself in a couple of years.

If your kids are still young and you read this book, remember that poetic justice will prevail and their kids will be at least as picky about their food as yours are.

Parent Laugs is a hilarious book all about the joys, and challenges of being a parent. If you are a new parent, or an experienced one, I'm sure you'll relate to this wonderful little book all about parental expeience you receive once you have your first child. The author has truly picked the best of quotes, jokes and wit to leave you laughing on every page!

ParentLaughs is a little book that warms your heart in a big way.

These pages contain an amazing range of quotes - Parents-to-Be to Young Adulthood.

Jolllyologist Allen Klein has assembled a delightful array of wisdom, as only the kids can tell it. The humor in ParentLaughs is just the ticket for re-gaining perspective when things get out of whack and off track.

There is so much to learn from these pages - and what amazing teachers these young people are!

It takes a sense of humor to be a parent these days and this wonderful collection of quips and quotes pokes fun at the whole experience while still telling the truth. A great gift for parents with kids of ALL ages! Be sure to check out the other books in the series, they are gems, too!

What's not to like about this book? It's a great gift for any horse enthusiast, reasonably-priced and will be referred to often.

Where can you find horse-related quotes from Mr. Ed, Napoleon Bonaparte, Plato and Mark Twain? In "The Quotable Horse Lover" by Steven D. Price. You'll be amazed by the number of people who had something to say about horses.

This book is perfect for anyone who loves horses. It's small and fat and a perfect coffee table book. I recommend taking the beautiful advice of the authors and trainers that tell you tiny bits of their priceless wisdom in just a sentence or two. lovely quotes for any horse or horseless occasion.

Editor Stephen D. Price must have done a phenomenal amount of work compiling this wonderful collection of more than 300 pages of horse-related quotes. The selected quotations cover all imaginable aspects of the horse world, and are divided into eight categories: Horses in Literature, Riding and Training, Out of the West, A Shakespearean Interlude, Racing - The Sport of Kings, A Pack of Hunting Quotations, Horse Laughs, and Horse Truths. Length varies from simple one-liners to several paragraphs or entire poems.

Included among those people quoted are such notables as Rudyard Kipling, Leon Trotsky, Benjamin Franklin, Dante, Virgil, Walt Whitman, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, J.D. Salinger, Francois Rabelais, Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Blake, John Milton, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Marco Polo, Homer, George Eliot, Walter Farley, Plato, Robert Louis Stevenson, John Steinbeck, Herman Melville, Sir Winston Churchill, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sigmund Freud, Roy Rogers, Meriwether Lewis, William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Degas, Oscar Wilde, Marguerite Henry, John Adams, Xenophon, Martin Luther, Mao Tse-Tung, Nikita Kruschev, Napoleon Bonaparte, and many others; some are also taken from texts such as Aesop's Fables, The Bible, The Koran, and the Psalms. Also included are renowned horsemen and horsewomen William Steinkraus, John Lyons, Linda Tellington-Jones, Mary Wanless, Reiner Klimke, Sally Swift, Anne Kursinski, and Monty Roberts. The editor even stuck one of his own in with "One man's wrong lead is another man's counter-canter" (pg. 269).

This would be a terrific coffee-table book, quick-reference for finding all manner of horse quotes, or gift idea for a horse-crazed friend. An index in the back makes looking up quotes by a particular author very easy, and biographical notes provide helpful information on the authors. My only criticism is that I'd like to see short explanations for some of the more obscure quotes that use antiquated terms or expressions that aren't always familiar to people of today. Other than that, this is a wonderful compilation that I would highly recommend.

"Quotable Saints" is a book containing a collections of sayings from many Saints, Blesseds, and Venerables, both famous and obscure. Organized into 30 topics, they provide the reader with entertaining reading, leavened by quotes which are insightful, edifying, and, in some cases, humorous. Some quotes will help you see life differently, others will spice your speech and writing, and some will just make you laugh. I enjoyed reading "Quotable Saints" and am confident that you will also.

"Quotable Saints" is a book containing a collections of sayings from many Saints, Blesseds, and Venerables, both famous and obscure. Organized into 30 topics, they provide the reader with entertaining reading, leavened by quotes which are insightful, edifying, and, in some cases, humorous. Some quotes will help you see life differently, others will spice your speech and writing, and some will just make you laugh. I enjoyed reading "Quotable Saints" and am confident that you will also.

This book is full of inspiring quotes from Catholic saints throughout the ages. I found it useful for church bulletins and other publications.

This is a wonderful collection of the wisdom of the saints, venerables and blesseds arranged topically. In each chapter we are shown how the saints were able to wrestle a particular vice to the spiritual ground. Their wisdom and insights will help the reader advance from the natural, fallen state of a man to a glorified, sanctified state. For instance, we shall be moved from a state of disorder to order, from disobedience to obedience, from sadness to joyfulness, from timidity to courage, from greed to simplicity, and from resentment to forgiveness. It is easier to find the way through the spiritual forests of our life if someone has gone before us hacking away the weeds and thorns of confusion, doubt and discouragement. The saints (following Christ Himself) have done this for us and this book will show you the path they forged and trod so that we too can reach heaven.

Being a regular reader of Mr. Reger's newspaper column, I was excited to get my hands on his new book to see what he would select from Coach Wooden's vast collection of quotes and insights on life and basketball. As a UCLA graduate who unfortunately missed seeing Wooden coach, Mr. Reger has made it easy to imagine being at Pauley Pavilion during the Wooden era, cheering for the Bruins and taking in life lessons that have changed my personal outlook in many areas. I wholeheartedly suggest this book as an easy, casual read that will leave you feeling good and thinking positively.

I did not know much about John Wooden, but a friend gave me a copy, since I read alot, and I absolutely loved this book. It was well formatted, starting with his early years through his wife's passing, and the quotes used reveal so much about his work and personal ethics. You really begin to admire him for much more than his basketball legacy. I felt like I had a sort of personal brush with John Wooden when I was done, it stayed with me for quite a while. I highly recommend this book for anyone who admires or aspires to simple, yet strong ethics.

John Reger has done a masterful job in collecting a wonderful variety of John Wooden quotes and organizing them in a way that gives the reader doses of Wooden's wisdom on a variety of subjects. The book is a quick, easy read and the only negative thing about it is that it comes to an end so soon. After reading Reger's book, it makes it easy to understand part of what made Wooden such a great coach. He was also a teacher, a motivator and a man who believed and stood behind his principals. He taught about life as much as about basketball.

I highly recommend this great, little book to anyone. Whether you are already familiar with the extraordinary life and career of Coach Wooden, or you are looking for a quick biography-like synopsis of Coach Wooden's incredible story, or even if you have never heard about Coach Wooden, this book can inform, inspire, and entertain you.

This book contains over 200 quotes by and about John Wooden, the greatest college basketball coach of all time (10 national championships in 12 years, including 7 in-a-row and an 88-game winning streak), and, more importantly, one of the greatest teachers of morals, character, and life values. As a long-time fan of Coach Wooden, I was impressed with how the selected quotes accurately captured the essence of Wooden the Coach, and Wooden the Man. The chapter titles provided a great working outline of Wooden's life and the teaching environments from which he has taught, and continues to teach, so many life lessons to so many people over the last 60+ years: Indiana Years, Early Westwood Days, Practices, Games, Dynasty, Teacher, Pupils, Philosophy, Retirement, Tributes, The Game Today, and Family.

Although best known for his accomplishments on the basketball court, by far Wooden's greatest contributions have been made off the court. Reger's skillful selection of personal snapshots and anecdotes from and for Coach Wooden truly show how positively influential one person can be in the lives of others. Reger accurately assessed Coach Wooden's character and influence and paid the ultimate compliment to Wooden the Man when he wrote, "This world would be a better place if there were more human beings like John Wooden."

I tend to have more conservative values. In fact, I don't support government intervention of any kind. But I always was dismayed by how the President could say the most contradictory statements to the press and get away with it. As one author said, Reagan's public image had a "godlike" status.

Now I believe it should be made clear that some of the quotes cited in the book do not incriminate Reagan's policies. Tax cuts and trickle-down economics did stimulate the economy into economic prosperity; dismantling of the Soviet Union did remove "an evil empire"; social programs are only possible when the taxpayer is forced, not asked, to give up a percentage of their income, etc. But that shouldn't deter from the fact that the President was intentionally misleading people. Some loyalists might say that Reagan was simply "misspeaking" again, but with some 300 examples cited, it becomes difficult to see them as anything but lies. At times the President blames Carter for things he didn't do, or takes credit for things Carter accomplished. I use to just assume Reagan accomplished all the goods. He even contradicts some of his own conservative policies and statements with socialist policies that he instigated. In the end, using deception to make a wrong policy right, still creates a wrong.

Reagan may go down as one of the greatest ever for his economic boom of the '80s and the dethroning of the Soviet Union, but it was his unchallenged press statements, and the man, as an individual, that leaves his legacy in the dark. It would appear the actor was acting afterall. ("You'd be suprised how much [being] a good actor pays off." -Wash. Post, 5/7/84)


Gaffe Curve-

Reagan: "If you'll remember, there were two million who lost their jobs in the last six months of 1980, during the election..." (1/8/82)

Reply: The number of people employed increased in the last six months of 1980, ending the year with 283,000 more people working than in July.


Reagan: "I've had a lengthy communication from the Pope. He approves what we've done so far." (1/19/82)

Reply: Reagan's communication from the Pope may have been lengthy, but as the Vatican hastened to point out, it did not involve approving Washington's sanctions against Moscow after the crackdown in Poland.


What A Difference A Day Makes-
1/7/80:
"I just don't believe the farmer should be made to pay a special price for our diplomacy, and I'm opposed to [the Soviet grain embargo]." (Wash. Post, 1/8/80)

1/8/80:
"If we are going to do such a thing to the Soviet Union as a full grain embargo, which I support, first we have to be sure our own allies would join us on this." (Claremont [NH] Eagle Times, 1/9/80)


"We're in greater danger today than we were the day after Pearl Harbor. Our military is absolutely incapable of defending this country." (New York Times, 4/12/80)


Reagan: "[The Department of Education] is planning all manner of things to limit and restrict limitations of this kind [St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia] because their faith is totally in public relations." (The New Yorker, 9/29/80)

Reply: No one in the press or Reagan entourage was able to come up with any idea of what the candidate might have been talking about.


Redwoods-
"A trees a tree. How many more do you need to look at." (Sacramento Bee, 3/12/66)
"...115,000 acres of trees in the state park system is a lot to look at. How long can you look?" (Sacramento Bee, 4/28/66)
"I'm a fellow who bleeds every time a tree is cut down." (Fresno Bee, 4/28/66)
"I don't believe a tree is a tree and if you've seen one you've seen them all." (Sacramento Bee, 9/14/66)
"I just didn't say it." (Associated Press, 10/5/66)


Reagan: "And we have fewer [warheads] than we had in 1969." (11/4/85)

Reply: No, we have more. According to the Center for Defense Information, the number of US strategic warheads rose from about 4,000 in 1970 to 11,492 by November 1985.


Reagan: "Now the biggest increases in defense spending are behind us. And that's why last summer I agreed to freeze defense funding for one year, and after that to resume a modest 3% annual growth [rate]." (2/26/86)

Reply: Don't be so modest! Reagan's 1987 defense budget called for a hike of at least 12% over the 1986 amount, from $278.4 billion to $311.6 billion.


Reagan: "We did not condone and do not condone the shipment of arms from other countries." (11/19/86)

Reply: Minutes after the end of the President's November 19 press conference, his first on the subject of the Iran arms scandal, the White House issued a statement which said, in part, "There was a third country involved in our secret project with Iran."


"Don't talk TOWS, don't talk specifics." (President Reagan to top aides at a private White House meeting about how to stem the breaking Iran-Contra stories, 11/10/86)


Reagan: "[It was an] effort to establish a relationship with responsible moderates in Iran." (12/6/86)

Reply: That's not what Vice-President George Bush heard on July 29, 1986. Bush was told by Amiram Nir, an Israeli intermediary, that "we are dealing with the most radical elements. ...They can deliver...that's for sure."


"If you've got everybody building defense, then nobody's going to start a war." (10/19/83)


Reagan: "I know all the bad things that happened in that war. I was in uniform four years myself." (Interview with foreign journalists, 4/29/85)

Reply: "In costume" is more like it. Reagan spent World War II making Army training films at the Hal Roach Studios in Hollywood.

Contrary to what our Canadian reviewer below says, this book is not "made up" information about Reagan. These are actual remarks Reagan made; Mark Green explains in fantastic-yet-brief detail just what makes a remark yet another Reagan whopper.

As for greatest President of the 20th century, sorry, but Reagan was one of the worst--he stood by while AIDS became a plague that would take 25,000 American lives during his tenure alone; illegally funded the Contras by selling arms to Iran (and lied about it until the facts wouldn't let him); supported death squads in Central America that committed such noble acts as raping nuns (to which Reagan claimed the rapists were acting in self-defense); poisoning America's political discourse by making it okay to slime and smear opponents at will; making it cool to be a racist again with his "welfare queens" mantra; raping the environment so the rich could get richer; shifting the tax burden mostly to the middle class, who, like idiots, all but thanked him for it; expanding the government into a bigger entity than it had ever been; running up record deficits; removing the Fairness Doctrine from our airwaves and thereby opening them for rabidly partisan hate speech; and--oh yeah--selling biological and chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein.

If you want to know what went wrong with political discourse in America, look no further than Reagan's reign of error.

All of this and more is in Mr. Green's fine collection of quotes-over 160 largish pages of them! I highly recommend this one.

This booklet is a classic. It's essentially a long, well-organized list of contradictory Reagan quotes - some from the same day. For example, "I love trees and think they are unique" versus "I think that if you've seen one tree, you've seen them all." If you have had a sneaking suspicion that there is/was something flaky about old Ronnie, confirm that suspicion with this booklet.

This is a well-documented book on the lies and contridictions of Ronald Reagan. People who love Reagan beware, the truth hurts. Like Reagan says, facts are funny things. This would be a great gift to those people who believe that Reagan could be considered anything more than a terrible President.

This is a wonderful quick read from a woman who found the things that truly matter and really work in life.

Knowing the difference between needing and wanting she had the good sense to turn down paid shopping trip because she already had the groceries that she needed. That was just one of the ways that showed Oseola McCartny had learned that more was not always better.

This book shows how to live a life with value and joy by seeing the true nature of the work we do and that in saving money and living life it's not how much you are given, its what you do with what you got.

The reason that this book is such a quick and easy read is that it just makes so much sense; it is just so agreeable. Planning for the future and using compound interest to work for you and not against you, for example.

As a crowning touch, Dr. Oseola shares with others the gift of formal education that was denied her. That her whole life has brought her to the point of being able to make such an astounding large sacrifice for scholarships is proof beyond doubt that she has learned much about the true values of life and can teach us much that we should take to our hearts.

This book is yet another generous gift from her to us and I thank her sincerely for that.

In this age of conspicuous and overpriced consumption, Simple Wisdom for Rich Living offers a refreshing reminder that there may be more to life than what advertisers or the Joneses would have us believe. It's worth noting that Miss McCarty never had to pay rent and she never had children to pay for, but still, we could all learn from her experiences and observations. This quick read came recommended by Houston Financial Consultant Laury Adams, and I'm glad I followed up on her advice to read it.

Simple Wisdom for Rich Living is an outstanding tribute to Miss Oseola McCarty. I am from Hattiesburg, Mississippi and remember this fantastic lady. I always knew that there was more to her life than washing and ironing. This book is a wonderful guide to rich living. I recommend it to everyone. Her book offers instructions to all of us to work hard, persist, persevere, and not faint in the days of adversity.

This small book provides a glimpse of a close-knit family, and deeply spiritual, simple living woman who made a big impact by saving her money as a private laundry/ironing worker in the deep south. Through saving, she was able to donate $150,000 to the University of Mississippi for scholarships. Aged black and white family snapshots enhance the text. As a spiritual inspiration, this first-person, real-life, no-nonsense account of living a Godly life is much more inspiring than all the esoteric reads flooding the market today.