Fighting Books

Dan Sheehy has crafted an eminently readable, thoroughly researched, and informative book that describes the serious harm massive illegal immigration is causing in America, the government's unwillingness to control it, and most significantly, the hidden agenda behind our open borders. But Mr. Sheehy also warmly portrays some of the many brave and patriotic Americans who have committed themselves, at their own expense and risk, to do the job the government refuses to do: defending our borders, supporting protective legislation, and alerting others to the dangers of the alien invasion.

If millions of Americans would read this book, they would understand the powerful forces driving this invasion but also understand that the greater power lies in the American people. They will know that we can stop this tragedy if enough of us learn the facts and commit to restoring our nation to the beacon of freedom and liberty it once was.

A government "by the people and for the people" has brought forth patriots to again defeat the Mexicans. It is only a matter of time before a permanent solution is legally enacted: guest workers must be solely for cheap contracted seasonal agricultural labor; all other labor is to be reserved for citizens, and meritorious legal immigrants. By popular demand, these millions of ILLEGAL ALIENS, are to be deported and permanently kept out. Predictably, patriophobes and racist-baiters will attack Sheehy ideologically.

Fighting Immigration Anarchy is a must read for anyone who wants to learn about the impact of the illegal invasion into America and the people who are doing something about it. The book will enlighten you as to who is behind this growing problem and why they are encouraging America's ultimate demise through the enormous onslaught of unwanted masses.

Useful review of various political actions related to illegal immigration. The author uses sketches of some politically active people as an organizing devise to tell of various campaigns, such as Proposition 200 in 2004 in Arizona. The writing is brisk. The opinions are blunt. For the scholarly, there are footnotes galore.

Someone new to the topic will find it a respectable overview of many major aspects of illegal immigration. For the more seasoned reader, there's interesting background of several major players. Joe Guzzardi, Roy Beck, Tom Tancredo -- they're all here. A well written book that pulls no punches. Five stars.

This book is both a warning and a tonic for those who have watched in helpless frustration and rage, wondering how to confront and reverse the process of Mexifornication extending from California and the other border states to the rest of the union. In IMMIGRATION ANARCHY, Dan Sheehy has presented the stories of several ordinary, decent Americans who realized the threat and -- earlier than the great bulk of their countrymen -- decided to get busy. These pioneers in the immigration reform movement had no special assets to bring to the struggle. They were not wealthy or powerful, and absent this threat most would probably have lived their lives in modest anonymity. Basically all they had were their patriotism, energy, and personal commitment. They are an inspiration to the rest of us, many of whom are just now waking up from our long slumber of habit, sloth, creature comfort, and multicultural indoctrination imbibed from the education establishment and mainstream media. Today, they and a few others like them have at last forced the issue to the top of our national consciousness, and they are making a profound impact on the national debate.

Sheehy's book also suggests answers for those of us who have been baffled, then impatient, and finally outraged and alienated by an administration in Washington that calls on Americans to shed their blood defending borders in Afghanistan and Korea, and attempting to establish national sovereignty in Iraq (whatever the justification for those efforts), while brazenly ignoring its Constitutional obligation to protect us from invasion at home. Sheehy, like other commentators such as Phyllis Schlafly and Jerome Corsi, points to the so-called Security and Prosperity Partnership (see SPP.gov) as a likely explanation for the Bush administration's foot-dragging on securing our borders.

As envisioned in the SPP, a unified North America -- essentially a practical expression of NAFTA -- would subsume the (currently) sovereign nations of Canada, Mexico, and the US into a single entity with no internal borders and a common perimeter. The union, also frequently described as the "North American Community," would nominally be economic, permitting the free movement of capital, goods, and people among the three countries. Labor would essentially be treated as just-in-time inventory throughout the three erstwhile "nations." But patriotic, commonsensical Americans like Sheehy, who treasure our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, believe economic union would soon morph into political union. If the Bush administration manages to drag its feet long enough on enforcing our immigration laws, the massive invasion of illegals will result in a de facto union. Regional, supranational government has long been the dream of elite leftists and global corporatists, for whom the nation-state is an archaic remnant of the 18th century.

Naturally none of the SPP agenda has been debated in Congress, and the mainstream media have, with one or two exceptions, ignored it. Sheehy's book will help force the nation to address it. Buy it, learn what the corporate media won't report, get inspired by the stories of what your fellow Americans have done, and join the battle. Time is running out.

After reading Fighting Immigration Anarchy, I could not sleep for three nights. I kept thinking about all that I had learned from Daniel Sheehy's book about what is truly going on in my own backyard and in the rest of America. The book tells what the our government and the mainstream media won't tell you about the seriousness of the illegal immigration crisis and how we are rapidly losing our country and quality of life. The book isn't just about what is wrong with our government's virtual open borders policy. The book mostly focuses on American citizen-activists of different races and ethnicities who have made a difference in the fight to preserve our borders and sovereignty. I have been truly inspired by these stories- and I plan to get involved myself. This book has caused me to wake up and take notice! I'm buying several more copies to give to my friends.

Mr. Sheehy's book presents current and continuing events about public patriots as well as unknown patriots - those who attend rallies, write to newspapers, call radio talk programs, join Roy Beck's fax writers to Congress, and in many other ways inform the public about the illegal alien invasion of the United States.

It's an easy read about the histories and daily activities of those featured in the chapters and their supporters. Every member of the U.S. Congress and Senate should be locked up in some hotel and not released until they finish reading this book. That goes for state legislatures as well.

Mr. Sheehy's book presents current and continuing events about public patriots as well as unknown patriots - those who attend rallies, write to newspapers, call radio talk programs, join Roy Beck's fax writers to Congress, and in many other ways inform the public about the illegal alien invasion of the United States.

Any person who believes these folks are nativist or bigots just by the title should read the book to learn about the threat to U.S. national sovereignty.

It's an easy read about the histories and daily activities of those featured in the chapters and their supporters. Every member of the U.S. Congress and Senate should be locked up in some hotel and not released until they finish reading this book. That goes for state legislatures as well.

Daniel Sheehy has done an outstanding public service by exposing
the Bush Administration's determination to keep the Mexican border open thus allowing illegal immigrants and terrorists to
enter the U. S. borders. The Bush rhetoric is old and worn as
Bush shows more loyaly to Vicente Fox than he does to the U.S. citizens. Californians Barbara Coe, Glen Spencer and other California voters began taking action in 1994 to get, what became Proposition 187, on the ballot to stop illegal immigration and the resultant burden on taxpayers, schools,
hospitals and jails. Even though approved by the voters, former Governor Gray Davis and former Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo and others prevented it from becoming a law. Nothing
could be more basic to National security than closing our borders to unidentified people. Homeland security has been a joke because of irrational priorities and inconsistencies by the
Bush administration and now open borders. I am a former airline pilot and know many pilots who believe uninspected cargo is a great threat to airline passengers and crew and the ease with which an airplane can be shot down with a shoulder
fired missile. As a Naval Aviation veteran of WWII, a USAFR
retired Major and pilot veteran of the Korean, I believe our country is in great risk because of our weakened position by using our Reservists and National Guard to fight battles in far off Iraq when our troops should be guarding the borders here. My grandson is a U. S. Marine in Iraq fighting "insurgents", while illegal aliens come across our borders at the rate of over 10,000 per day--isn't it ironical? Daniel Sheehy is a fearless patriot, who has exposed what I believe is a national disgrace and which should be the concern of everyone.
Dr. Norman E. Witt (Ed.D.) UCLA--Class of 1969.

This book really gives you important facts about the threat of millions of illegal immigrants in this county. But I think the book should also talk about legal immigration. I am an immigrant from Germany and my goal was to become an American and leave everything else behind. I promised to never rely on any welfare and in all the past decades I never have. There are rarely people who recognize that I wasn't born here.

Any time you deal with interpersonal violence, there is a high likelihood of someone attempting to apply something beyond their own hands and feet to make the other person have a bad day. Lawrence Kane addresses that problem in this exhaustive volume.

Kane cites research showing that 70% of the male population carries a knife. In seven years there were over 1.7 million attacks in the U.S. utilizing blunt, bladed, and projectile weapons. 25% of violent crime is committed by someone bearing a weapon. You have a one-in-four chance of getting shot, beaten, or cut and stabbed every time you cross paths with a violent criminal.

Even with this in mind, most martial arts programs do not adequately take weapon defense into consideration. Obviously, this book and others like it are needed.

Kane addresses awareness, avoidance, de-escalation, legal matters, and the aftermath of violence. The meat of the matter is covered in over a hundred pages dealing with improvised weapons, firearms, knives, clubs, and all manner of weapons you are unlikely to come up against on the street; but as the author shows, stranger things have happened. It is always best to be prepared.

The book is wrapped up in the end by an incident that actually happened, as Kane analyzes what each person did right, and what they did wrong.

In 32 years I haven't read anything this comprehensive. Skip the others. Read Surviving Armed Assaults.

Surviving Armed Assaults is complete from start to finish. I can't think of anything that Mr. Kane has left out of this insightful book. This book covers the variety of weapons that one can expect to encounter on the street, how to avoid physical confrontations, the importance of awareness, and how to be prepared to meet a violent predator if one finds himself in that situation.

The technical information provided on the multitude of available weapons is very helpful and enlightening, as is the numerous photographs found throughout the book which demonstrate Mr. Kane's points and helps visual learners grasp the points which he is trying to get across. This book is well written and would be a great addition to any martial arts library.

I highly recommend this book to any martial artist, law enforcement officer, or just the average man on the street who wants to keep himself or his family safe. Predators do not think like the ordinary, every day man. This book gives the reader a good idea of what to expect should you ever be unfortunate enough to cross paths with one of these criminals. I can't recommend this book enough. Buy it and be safe!

Surviving Armed Assaults is so well written that it is excellent reading for anyone who is concerned about personal safety in today's turbulent world. Frank, no-nonsense information with much emphasis on preventing assaults in the first place makes this book exceptional. Although this book assumes the reader is already practicing one of the martial arts, it also offers an incentive to anyone who might be considering this option.

WOW! That is how I would describe the well organized, well thought out, cornucopia of information that is presented in Lawrence A. Kane's, "Surviving Armed Assault: A Martial Artist's Guide to Weapons, Street Violence, & Countervailing Force." I've had this book for awhile now and have, on several different occasions, sat down and skimmed through different sections when time permitted. Just recently however, I was able to sit down and read this book from cover to cover, and boy let me tell you that I was thoroughly impressed with what I read.

Lawrence does a terrific job of organizing the information presented in this book in a very easy to read and follow format that takes you through each step in the survival process. This is not a book on techniques; rather it is a book on the more important aspect of the principles behind surviving against an armed assault. Which, in my opinion, is far more important than the techniques themselves. That's not to imply that self-defense techniques are not important or valid, it simply means that the technique that may work for one person, may not work so well for another. However, the principle behind the use of the technique will generally work for everyone.

This book is so full of useful information that it should be required reading for not only the self-defense minded individual, but also those whose profession places them in situations where they are more apt to be confronted by an armed individual. This includes, but is no means limited to, law enforcement officers, security personnel, bouncers, paramedics, military personnel, etc.

Having worked as a law enforcement officer, bouncer, and provided security for various businesses and individuals over the years, I found quite a few things in Lawrence's book that I hadn't taken into consideration and am very glad that I had the opportunity to read it first instead of experiencing it in a bad way. As with any good book on the subject of self-defense, Lawrence promotes the use of awareness and avoidance as your primary and most important forms of defense over actual physical techniques. Smart and the hallmark of someone who knows what they are talking about.

Lawrence then delves into various scenarios throughout the book and ways of safely getting out of the situation you may find yourself in without resorting to a physical confrontation with your potential attacker. Some of which is so simple that I hadn't even considered them as options. Although after being presented with them I could see how effective they would and could be in certain situations.

This is followed with sections on using countervailing force and the ramifications of using such force such as; the physical and mental effects, moral implications and considerations, the possible legal ramifications of using force, etc. One point that Lawrence makes, and it is a very good one, is to always remember that the law enforcement officer that you may have to deal with is not your friend! Let me repeat that, the law enforcement officer that you may have to deal with is not your friend! Now Lawrence and I are both not saying that they are the enemy, it's just that you have to protect yourself at all times and the three best things to do are as follows:

1. Keep your mouth shut.
2. Contact your attorney.
3. Keep your mouth shut.

I was particularly fond of Lawrence's 9 rules to live by. Now I am not going to divulge them here, and since you will undoubtedly be purchasing this book after reading this and the other reviews, it will give you one of numerous things to look forward to when it arrives on your doorstep.

One particular section of note was the section related to the types of weapons you are most likely to encounter and how they function. This section is deserving of an entire volume on its own and perhaps Lawrence is working on that as I type this review and as you read it. Let us hope anyhow.

This book and the information contained within it should be a constant companion in your home library, and in the forefront of your mind whenever you are somewhere outside the confines and safety of your own home. On second thought, the information provided in this book should probably be in the forefront of your mind even when you are at home. As Lawrence so profoundly states in this book, you never know when are going to be attacked, by whom, or what that person or persons will attack you with.

I highly recommend this book, "Surviving Armed Assaults," as well as, "The Way of Kata," and "Martial Arts Instruction" all by Lawrence A. Kane as valuable additions to your personal martial arts library.

Shawn Kovacich, martial artist/author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.

I will admit that I started reading this book a bit biased toward it being good. I have read other books by Kane that I enjoyed, I've contributed a chapter, as did Kane, to Loren Christensen's "Fighter's Fact Book 2" and Christensen wrote a Foreword for the book, and to top if off, best selling author Barry Eisler mentioned me in his praise for the book on the inside cover. So yes, I expected it to be a good book and one that I would like.

However, what I did not expect is how good it really is and how much excellent material Kane offers in this one volume. Because of the things mentioned in the first paragraph, one could easily say I am biased, and maybe I am a bit. With that said, I am writing a review and endorsing this book wholeheartedly because it is an exceptional addition to anyone's self-defense library and a book that has potential to save lives if people read it and listen to Kane's advice.

The first chapter is on awareness, a topic I also write and speak about, so I was especially interested in what Kane had to say. So what does he do? He starts the chapter off with a quote from Ani DiFranco, "Any tool is a weapon if you hold it right." This grabbed my attention because I once headed the local security for a concert of hers and had a very good talk about penjak silat with her bodyguard as we waited for her to change so we could walk her to the bus. It means nothing to anyone else, but hooked me. I continued and was fully engrossed with the statistics and examples Kane provided relating to violence. Reading those made me glad that there are those of us out here doing what we can to prevent violence and teach people to avoid or deal with it if necessary. Something Kane's "Surviving Armed Assaults" does very well. Kane did an excellent job with his chapter on awareness, and even though he teaches a modified color code a bit differently than I teach, I believe this chapter should be read by everyone in order to wake up and be more aware so they could avoid many potentially dangerous situations.

Speaking of avoidance, that was the focus of chapter two. Kane not only makes a great argument of why you should avoid violence, but provides strategies to do so. He follows this with a chapter on scenarios that extends the awareness and avoidance topics to situations such as car jackings, cash machine safety, hostage situations, sexual assault, rape, workplace violence and more. Before dealing with physical responses, Kane focuses on de-escalation strategies in chapter four. This is an often overlooked aspect of self-defense books and a welcome and needed addition here. Many self-defense books focus on striking and kicking and forget that if you can talk your way out of a situation you will be much better off than having fought your way out. Kane gives some excellent advice with his de-escalation strategies and I again wish everyone would learn these. One of the reasons a person is much better off by de-escalating a situation is because of the potential legal ramifications that may follow a physical altercation. As an attorney, I am very familiar with such things, and feel that Kane did a good job with his chapter on countervailing force that included legal considerations.

The remaining chapters focus on armed conflict, rules to live by, the aftermath of violence, and weapon features and functions. Some of the information in these chapters is biased toward Kane's karate training. Practitioners from other styles may not benefit from these chapters as much as the first ones, but I would encourage everyone to take even the karate parts and look how the principles behind what Kane teaches applies to their own art or self-defense system. (Kane's nine rules could apply to any art or system)

This is an excellent book filled with practical and realistic information related to weapons and violence. There is researched data and personal anecdotes that support Kane's perspectives on violence and his illustrations of real violence and what to do about it, or most importantly, how to be aware of it and avoid it altogether. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to martial artists and anyone interested in self-defense.

Reviewed by Alain Burrese, J.D., author, speaker
Hard-Won Wisdom From The School of Hard Knocks, Hapkido Hoshinsul, Streetfighting Essentials, Hapkido Cane, and The Lock On Joint Locking series

This is a lovely book by an elegant writer. The story Abella tells here, of country, family, loyalty and courage, is rich and rewarding. Lino and Emy are wonderfully drawn, or I guess I should say reported, as this is essentially a true story. But at its heart, with the wider political and historical backdrop, Abella gives the reader the simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming story of a family, a beautiful, loyal, courageous family, which in its way, stands for Cuba and the Cuban people. I would also say that Kay Abella has done the remarkable artistic favor to the reader of keeping this highly charged political saga well above the mundane and intellectually dissatisfying drivel of ideology. The facts are clear, and the politics are too. But the people of this story rise far above all that, emerging fully formed, flesh and blood.

I am not Cuban but I grew up with Cuban friends and always heard the stories. Then, I am blessed to have a wonderful Cuban wife. She grew up in Cuba under Castro. Her father spent 17 years in Cuban prisons as a political prisoner several times along side Lino Fernandez, including Isla de Pinos and La Cabana and confirms every detail in the book. He had never spoken much of the horrors except for brief comments here and there. While reading the book I have asked him and he knew many of the characters and situations telling me the same stories without ever seeing the book and adding details that were not in the book. Gripping human drama and a triumph of love and family under unbelivable circumstances. I have always respected and admired my father-in-law for the amazing gentleman he is but after reading this I can not feel prouder of being part of his family. This is certainly a must read if you want to understand why Cubans feel so strongly about their country and against Fidel, his acomplices and the infamous Revolution.

Great job by Kay Abella. I highly recommend this book, specially for those who still believe that such detailed horrors do not occur in communist Cuba. The family's agony, hopelessness and despair are well described in the book, just as their convictions, hopes and dreams.

On a personal note, I have had the priviledge of knowing the Fernandez family. Dr. Lino Fernandez honorably represents the lost generation of our parents, who gave it all for a better future. We would never thank them enough for their sacrifice.

Carlos Luis Eguaras

This novel fills an incomprehensible void and is a delightful and intelligent surprise. It is beautifully written by a North American author, Kay Abella, which is unusual for a book about Cuba. Not only is it a great story, but Abella gives the reader a unique and moving picture of Castro's Cuba.

And it is accurate. I know first hand the circumstances surrounding the plot that unfolds in FIGHTING CASTRO, since I spent nine years in Castro's prisons while my family dealt with the daily routine of communist Cuba.

It is intriguing that, even though there are so many exiles and Cuban ex-prisoners throughout the world, so little has been written of this story that has been the lives of thousands of my compatriots. Don't miss this exceptional book.

Byron Miguel

I had the chance to know Lino and Emilita in Belgium when they visited me back in 2001 or 2002. Their spirit impressed me deeply.

He was not keen of telling us much about his terrible nightmare in Cuban prisons, but still he found it necessary to answer some of my questions. I was quite shocked about some details, and I remember that I asked Lino how it was possible that he would not feel hatred?

The answer was so incredibly short and simple that I could never forget it: ¡Justamente por lo que viví! - "Just because of what I lived!"-.

We had organised a meeting between him, 2 journalists and some Belgian social democratic leaders of my party, which resulted in two articles in the Belgian press. In the same building we met with a Belgian director of FOS, the third world movement within my party, and she would most "didactically" "explain" to Lino the benefits of the Cuban regime. She didn't ask one single question about what Lino might know about Cuba! I felt deeply embarrassed for her in Lino's presence. But with all the terror Lino had lived, he would politely listen to her "explanation" without showing any disgust. I was quite impressed by man's serenity.

Lino and Emilita continue every day their fight for a social, democratic and reconciled Cuba, and I can only hope that some day, while strolling through the streets of some small town in Cuba, now forbidden for them, they will find the Spanish translation of this book in the bookshop.

I just transferred the money for two copies of the book: one for me, and one to lend out to my visitors. I can hardly wait to read it! Thanks Lino, Emilita, and the writer, for having understood the importance of letting us take part of their story and of their humanistic views.

Dirk
Belgium

Nutshell review - This is a really good book, well written, easy to digest and follow. Good coverage and enough depth to provide a decent grounding from which further research into specific areas of interest can be launched.

This is a good book. Ed has become a master in this filed and he put tons of good stuff in the book.

Great book explaining all the different types of malware out there. Skoudis helps to understand the technical details of each malware type without going into too much detail. The links provided, altough a few years old, are all still relevant.

I am fortunate to have an autographed copy from when Mr. Skoudis taught a SANS class I attended; and have had to take a lot of time getting it read in the meantime. This is the book that I would recommend to anyone that would learn the workings of worm, virus, trojan horse and other malware - not how to write them, but how to understand and deal with them. The information on setting up a lab to examine these critters is a good start for those wanting to understand attacks - but like other reviewers have said, this book is not for one without a grounding in computer security.

This book provides the best review of malicious software that is presently available. If you need a comprehensive reference then this is the book for you. The author is a well-known and respected security analyst and this book provides solid information at a level suitable for the system administrator. Unlike so many books of this type, it is not a camouflaged endorsement of some vendor's products or a simplistic and alarmist text.

Topics covered include:
- viruses, with a brief history and description of the various types and their mechanisms;
- worms, again with a brief history and description of the various types and their mechanisms;
- mobile code, including browser scripts, ActiveX controls, Java applets and mobile code as it occurs in email clients and distributed applications. Given the increasing amount of mobile code, this is particularly valuable;
- backdoors, particularly Netcat and VNC but covering some others as well;
- trojans inlcuding wrappers, source poisoning and browser co-option;
- rootkits for Unix andWindows;
- kernel-mode rotkits for linux and Windows;
- possible modes, including BIOS and microcode attacks.

"Encyclopediac" is the only description I can give, but be warned that it's not for the general reader, or for newbies.

As a Physician I can personally vouch for the toll "time poverty" has on health and happiness. I don't believe a day goes by where I don't see someone stressed to the max. Time is the ultimate commodity: With enough time virtually every other limitation of life can be surmounted.

It was with this in mind that I eagerly approached this book, hoping to find some wisdom to pass on to my patients (and to absorb myself). Unfortunately, instead of useful tips on priortizing, frugality and responsibility, what I found was a collection of Marxist propaganda regarding the evils of capitalism.

According to this book, a young boy is a murderer because his welfare mother was forced to work for a living for a change. Pehaps if The State (productive members of society) had been less cruel in asking that she pull her weight and provide for those she brought into this world, her son may not have committed murder, at least until he was an adult. Then we would have to find someone else to blame (just not the murderer).

Perhaps if we all lived in a communtist utopia where citizens are imprisoned for speaking out against the People (government) such as modern day communist China or the recently deceased Soviet Union, we would all be perfectly happy. That is unless you want something better for you or your family. Shame on you for working harder because you want to take care of your family.

Apparently I only struggled through years of brutal schooling and worked over hundred hours per week to learn to care for others (at far less than minimum wage and mostly at my expense) out of pure capitalist greed. I guess I went over six months without a day off simply to oppress the poor. This sort of polemic makes me sick. Please don't be poisoned by this garbage.

This book is not about helping you to spend your time on what is important or effective time or life management. It is simply a Marxist polemic angainst capitalism. It is unfortunate that one can't find a reasonable critique and review of the shortcomings our current system without a subversive agenda. I guess I'll keep searching.

I would love to give this one back to Amazon, but I think I will keep it in the "Know Your Enemy" section of my bookshelf.

This book really illustrates the problem we have in this country. Most people are busy paying on 300K + houses, paying SUV bills and are starved for time to live life the way it is to be lived. My hope is that people will use this book to fight corporate greed and gain a real life.

This book is not repetitive like others book in genres similar. This has many wonderfully written topics on time and our lack there of it in the United States. Different issues can arise due to lack of time. Some others also cross compare other countries who have more time and leisure, yet still have a great economy with more relaxed workers. Defienntly worth the time to read and may give you ideas on starting a movement to bring about more time for us.

This is something that needs to be forwarded around. We need to spread the word.

MSNBC had the nerve to do a news story saying people in the US have the lowest productivity in the first world, but as this book points out, people in the US work an average of 9 more weeks than other first world countries. People who put in 10 and 12 hour work days as we do and don't take vacations are exhausted, and have terrible health and productivity as a result of it.

European countries such as the United Kingdom where they eat more sugar and fat than we do, are thinner and in better health because they are not working themselves to death as we are.

One of my favorite quotes from this book, is "Time is a family value."

The Mother Manifesto is is a co production of Take Back Your Time and MomsRising
The Motherhood Manifesto: What America's Moms Want - and What To Do About It

With this book, John de Graaf provides an opportunity to sit down with talented writers and perceptive thinkers, and hear their views on one of society's most pressing problems - time poverty. As we race to produce more stuff - stuff that is poisoning our environment - we lose the time we need to take care of ourselves and our families, particularly those most in need of care, the very young, the very old, and even our pets. As this book shows, Americans' single-minded focus on production comes at the expense of other areas of life that desperately need our time and attention. Children growing up in institutionalized care, pets being dumped at shelters, citizens relinquishing their right to vote, obesity becoming epidemic as fast food replaces home cooking, landfills overflowing with the items we frenetically produce; the list goes on. In addition to viewing the problem from several interesting and diverse perspectives, the book includes essays on possible solutions and provides ways for readers to get involved. Everyone should find the time to read this important and engaging book.

Like the previous volume, Back Kick, this book will really improve your kicking ability. Imagine a whole book devoted to a single technique!! First of all, I like the analogy of this kick to the swing of a golf club. I had never thought of it that way, but it makes perfect sense. The basic description of the kick is filled with various check points at all of the steps of the technique so that you can check to make sure you are performing the kick properly.
As with the first book, my only complaint is that the section on applications has mistakes that the reader is supposed to find rather than showing correct form.
In spite of this one flaw, this book is a keeper!!

I read this book and at first glimpse I thought it was boring. Then one of the references early in the book started to make since. Shawn said that learning to kick is like learning to swing a golf club or something like that. Then it started to click. These books are to be used in conjunction with training. They are your coach and instructor away from class. They will help you to reconstruct your kicking style. You will kick better and perhaps stronger, with correct technique, than you ever have before.
I have only read two of the books in the series but they are both excellent and I hope to get the complete series. I recommend these books to all students and especially to new instructors that may not have all the technical knowledge to teach kicking techniques. I see why they refer to Shawn Kovacich as "the Professor of kicking".

Wheel Kick (Achieving Kicking Excellence, Vol. 2) is, like the 1st volume in the series, an incredibly scholarly work.

Though some issues arise for owners of multiple books in the series (namely, a few sections which are nearly direct cut-paste jobs in each manual), nothing is so detrimental as to make it a poor purchase. On the contrary, I believe these to be incredibly important books, as this kind of scholarly approach to a specific technique is very rare, but very useful. Every practitioner could benefit from having a catalogue of this type of work available for each of the techniques in his/her art. Perhaps someday that will be a reality.

The pictures throughout the book are clear, and the diagrams of muscle/bone relationships and how they relate to the kick are very informative and helpful.

Unlike the first volume in the series, I didn't notice nearly as many editing errors in this volume, making it far easier to read.

This series is incredible in the sheer amount of technical detail it imparts, and is truly unique amongst its peers for that reason. I highly recommend Achieving Kicking Excellence to every martial artist who seeks to enrich his/her kicking skills.

(This review based on a final copy of the book provided by the publisher)

The author in writing, "Wheel Kick, Achieving Kicking Excellence", has provided the martial arts practitioner with a good resource for improving their kicking techniques. Much of the opening chapters on Anatomy, and warm ups is repeated from the Authors Back Kick book. I believe this is a good idea, as it allows a person to only purchase the books on the kicking techniques the practitioner is interested and still get this valuable information.
The author starts out with the basic principles of the kick and moves to the basic turning wheel kick. From there, the variations of the wheel kick are described in detail. The author goes on to include training methods, troubleshooting guide and applications of the wheel kick.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their wheel kick and have found the other books in the series to be very helpful in my training as well.

The technical accuracy and detail of this book is phenomenal. In my experience, most training books that detail technique are too vague to be of practical importance, but this book is the exception. Some of the movements are broken down into forty or fifty elements so that you can go right down the line to correct problems in a logical and sequential manner. There are ample progressive photographs, diagrams and illustrations to effectively guide your training and foster great improvement. I can't think of anything that is missing here from discussions of anatomy and biomechanics, all the way through troubleshooting and Q and A. The writing style is concise and quite lucid. If I could have just one training series to help me with my kicking technique, this would be it.

Coert Voorhees' debut novel is provides a compelling and brilliant insight into one of life's greatest and most awkward transitions: the coming of age in high school. As someone with limited free time (i.e. a dad), I expected to read this book in small pieces over a few weeks -- so it was a complete surprise to find myself still turning the pages of The Brothers Torres long after midnight, and to finish the book in one evening. I simply couldn't put it down!
Highly recommended.

Frankie Towers is an awkward and self-conscious guy who's low on the social ladder, unlike his older brother Steve. That's why Frankie looks up to Steve so much; Steve seems to have it all: popularity, girls, a soccer scholarship, even respect from the dangerous cholos. Unfortunately, Steve doesn't have time for his brother Frankie anymore with his current image to uphold. But when Frankie makes an enemy of rich white boy John Dalton, Steve steps in to help his brother. Although Frankie's social status is raised with the help of his brother Steve, landing him a date with his dream girl, sometimes Frankie feels that his brother is a complete stranger to him. He finds himself wondering why he has to lie all the time for Steve and just how far Steve plans on taking the conflict with Dalton. In this beautifully written coming-of-age story, Voorhees explores the bonds of brotherhood and friendship and the importance of thinking for yourself.

I'm not kidding when I say that The Brothers Torres is an incredibly written and amazing story. Frankie's character is so well-developed that I was sucked into his story even when I felt like criticizing him for being a jerk. Even though I've never been to anyplace from Frankie's New Mexican hometown Borges, everything from the limited date spots to the potential threat of the cholos felt completely natural. There's something so honest and profound about Voorhees' writing that leaves room for other laughs and life lessons. I was a little irritated that I couldn't understand all of the Spanish phrases with my limited Spanish skills, but that's where my negative comments about his novel end. The Brothers Torres has culture, an exciting plot, believable characters, and a meaningful moral.

I came away from reading this novel thinking, "wow" in a slightly stunned way. I don't think I expected this novel to be this good. The Brothers Torres is a definite must-read. I look forward to more wonderfully-written novels from Voorhees in the hopefully near future.

I am sitting with my father. We are both reading. He asks me, "what does orale mean? " and I know he is reading The Brothers Torres.
I had the extreme pleasure of reading this book a few months ago and literally enjoyed every word of if. I tried to read it slowly and savor it, but instead ended up reading most of it in one sitting as if it were a pint of Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar crunch ice cream I'd only meant to have "a couple spoonfuls" of. The books is just that good.
So often when an adult writes as a high school kid, you can tell it's not really a kid. The words the adult uses sound stilted, like ones some anthropologist claims teens of that culture speak, and the experiences the kid character is having just don't ring true. In his debut novel, it's as if Voorhees is Frankie, the perfectly imperfect protagonist of the Brothers Torres. His language, interwoven with authentic latino-American adolescent slang, is beautiful in how it shows Frankie's raw vulnerability to the very real conflicts of high school: being sweet on a girl who may or may not like you back, being bullied by older, "cooler" kids, and wanting to be accepted and loved by one's friends and siblings.
I don't want to give anything away because I want all the many, many future readers to get to go on Frankies journey like I did having no idea what was going to happen in the end. I will just say that the conflicts and successes Frankie has with his best friend Zach, his love-interest Rebecca, his brother Steve, and his nemesis Dalton are riveting to the last word. The interactions among the characters in this book also feel very true-to-life and Voorhees not only writes in a way that is vintage teenage boy but also the feelings of angst and joy he expresses through Frankie are authentic.
I know what I'm talking about because I spent 10 years working with incarcerated and "troubled" youth most of whom were full latino or "half-breeds" (latino and Anglo mixes) just like Frankie. Voorhees really gets what it is to be in two worlds and writes about the experiences of these kids with grace and fall-out-of-your-chair-'cause-it's-so-funny humor. I finished The Brothers Torres and actually hoped Voorhees had written a sequel that I didn't know about yet but could read right away. I can't wait for the next installment!
If you are lucky enough to read this book you, like I am, will be transformed. The amazing thing is that despite Voorhees's ability to write authentically as a high school sophomore, Frankie's journey is also epic and universal. Frankie learns crucial lessons in The Brother's Torres and the reader gets to become wiser and more compassionate along with him. In his very first novel Coert Voorhees has accomplished what all great literature does: a cathartic experience that is not only transformative but transcendent. Like I said, The Brother's Torres is that good.

Frankie and Steve Towers are brothers. Frankie is a freshman and Steve is a senior. Frankie has always looked up to his older brother, who has gotten a soccer scholarship, is one of the most popular guys in school, and is very friendly with the ladies. Frankie spends most of his time with his friend Zach shooting off fireworks in his back yard while Zach's mom makes them Kool-Aid flavored popsicles. The remainder of his time is put in to trying to impress Rebecca, the girl he has had a major crush on since grade school, and working at his parent's restaurant.

Recently, Steve has been hanging out with the local "cholos" (aka bad boys) and Frankie hasn't really thought anything of it until he gets in to a fistfight with John Dalton. John has always been on Steve's bad side and is one of the richest, preppiest kids at their high school. After Frankie gets beaten to a pulp by John and two of his sidekicks, Steve stops ignoring his brother and tries to help him out.

Soon, with Steve's help, Frankie finally has the attention of Rebecca in the form of a Homecoming date, and life is going pretty well until another incident with Dalton happens. This time, Steve really wants payback and will stop at nothing to get it. And Frankie has to decide whether he wants to help Steve retaliate or stand on the sidelines and watch.

THE BROTHERS TORRES was great! I loved Frankie's character and how he acted around Rebecca. I could totally see the events in this book actually happening in real life, which indeed made the book a bit scary at times. But it also made it even more great. I love real life situations. Coert Voorhees is a really strong writer and I loved his style. This book had me laughing at times and on the verge of tears at others. Overall, it was really a great book and I can't wait to read more by this wonderful author.

Reviewed by: Breanna F.

Frankie and his brother Steve are very different. While unpopular Frankie spends his time playing with explosives with his best friend, working at his parents' restaurant, and dreaming about Rebecca Sanchez, Steve is the widely respected soccer star with a scholarship and the perfect social standing.

But then John Dalton, son of the man who practically owns their little New Mexican town, picks a fight with the brothers, and Steve is bent on retaliation, especially when John starts fights with Frankie when he's alone and outnumbered. As things escalate and Steve begins to take more and more risks all in the name of respect, Frankie will come to realize that garnering respect and doing the right thing don't always go hand in hand.

The Brothers Torres is an unassuming novel that carries a powerful message within its pages. This unlikely coming of age story is punctuated by the rich Hispanic culture and influence and its pages are scattered with Spanish words and phrases that give it a completely authentic and genuine feel. All at once serious and humorous, poignant and full of everyday occurrences, this book speaks volumes about what it is like growing up in today's society, with the urges to do what is right and the expectation of acting tough. Voorhees gives his characters a larger than life feel and wields control of his plot with great skill. His wholly unique and entirely relatable cast of characters and clock of situations make him an author to watch.

I first took this book to my 3-year-old son's preschool class to read to all the little kiddos when they were studying food groups. Now, my 3-year-old son loves this book because of the personalities of the various foods and the rhythm of the storytelling. He can recite it almost from memory. He loves it so much that lines from the book sometimes become punch lines in our day-to-day conversation. "Hey, wait for me, the ketchup cried!" he will shout and giggle as he's trying to catch up while walking. As the parent, I love the plays on words--it's so creative and captures my interest, as well. This book and "Pigeon Finds a Hotdog" are my son's all-time favorite books.

My little 2 year old heard this story for the first time at school. She kept saying the words that she had memorized and we had to go buy it for home. Since we purchased it three months ago, we read it almost every night (sometimes several times a day). The kids go wild for this story and you will too!

This book came in excellent condition, as though I bought it right from the store. I am truly impressed.

This book is full of funny puns (great for explaining what it means to tell a joke or make a pun to a serious four-year-old), a cute story, and a nice rhyme scheme. We've probably read this book hundreds of times by now and we're not totally sick of it (unlike so many other books we loathe but have to keep reading over and over).
Now our 2 year old likes it too, so it's probably going to be a favorite in our house for years more! Terrific "illustrations" which are actually clay sculptures and very cute.

I agree with many of the other reviewers, this is a clever book! The author was very clever with the words used in the book especially relating it to foods (The garlic singing and another food yells, "You stink!"). I appreciate the drawings, colors and creative of the book. My daughter, who is four, wants me to check out at least once a month. I highly recommend this book as bedtime read.

I got this book for my dad who I just found out has cancer. He was told to get some reading material to bring for when he gets chemo- but something with short stories because your attention span is shorter. He has really enjoyed it.

"A Good Day Anyway" is an inspirational journey about the importance of maintaining a possitive attitude when a person is diagnosed with and goes through treatment for cancer. While I have been fortunate not to have had cancer, I have lived through my child having cancer. Her mother and I would have loved to have had this small but mighty book to help keep our spirits up while going through the process. We too believed that a possitive attitude was paramount to her survival and still do 24 years later as she celebrates her 30th birthday next month! What a great tool this book is. It is a must read for all persons who have been affected either directly or indirectly with cancer.

This little book is so much fun, it makes it even better that I know one half of this amazing couple, but it truly does make light of a terrible disease, I have shared it with so many people since reading it. Being a health care provider I know this should be a staple bedside companion in any medical facility.

Dave Massey's inspired poetry reminds everybody that no matter how bad it gets it is better to make the best of it. His example of positive thinking is at the essence of the human spirit and what we can achieve when we've got our minds right. I would recommend this book to anyone going through cancer, but especially to everybody else, because there is no time for negative energy- it is a waste and a detriment to our society.

I bought one of the first copies of A Good Day Anyway. My review has been a long time coming. Dave Massey is my son. I have read his poems over and over for the past 10 years. Each time they bring tears to my eyes. Tears of joys, he won two battles with cancer. Tears of pride, he wrote most of them when he was barely able to hold a pen or pencil. Tears of thanks, to the Doctors and Nurses who took care of him. A Good Day Anyway is not just beneficial for those dealing with cancer but for the loved ones, family, and friends that are also involved. I have made copies of these poems to share with those who themselves or their family member are battling cancer. I highly recommend that everyone read this little book as it is encouraging to know that someone out there beat the odds and became a better person because he had cancer.