Missouri Books

This book was informative and enjoyable to read. The pictures are a huge plus. I now have a much better understanding of how the beer industry in Kansas City contributed to the success of the city. After completing this book, I could hardly get myself to the bar quickly enough to have a pint of Boulevard unfiltered wheat. And, it was great!

This is a valuable book (resource) for budding entrepreneurs. It seems to try to cover all the bases for starting a small business, but it can't do them all well in the space available between its covers. The book is only 288 pages long. If you are in the planning stages of starting a small business, then I highly recommend you get a copy of this book. Read it, study it, and outline it. There are helpful checklists to help you grasp the subjects. You will come up with a plethora of keywords and terms that you will want to google to find Web pages giving more detailed (and maybe more current) information.

I am a SCORE counselor (Senior Corps of Retired Executives) who typically does face-to-face counseling sessions three nights a month. It would really be neat if my clients would read this book BEFORE they came to their session with me because they would pretty much be "educated customers" ready to ask educated questions. Our sessions would be so much more beneficial.

My favorite chapters were:

1. Initial business concerns
2. Your business' structure
3. Business start-up details
5. Sources of business assistance (SCORE is mentioned here)
7. Your smart business plan (and a good sample plan is included)
8. Obtaining the financing you need

The book is weak when it comes to how the Internet can be used in corresponding, hiring, and marketing. But this is just one example of how googling keywords and concepts found in the book will make the book more complete. Don't treat the book as authoritative on the law. It isn't. Nor was it ever intended to be. It is light on tax information as it relates to small business.

I was particularly impressed with the material presented in Chapter 2: Choice of Legal Entity. That subject is sorely ignored in most small business books, and it is critically important. It is a subject I regularly must spend a great deal of time discussing at my SCORE sessions. This book does a pretty good job on the topic.

Chapters 4 and 9 through 12 are easy to find fault with. The topic of each could fill a book. But having these topics covered definitely will help a budding entrepreneur know some of the issues they raise.

I would have liked the book more if Chapter 6 (marketing) had been less superficial. When I read it I got the impression that the author was more a public relations expert than a marketing expert. I generally categorize public relations as a subset of marketing. Marketing includes advertising, public relations, and a whole host of other promotion techniques. I did not get this message when I read the book. I also would have liked the book better if the Internet, email, and Web sites had been discussed more. But there are many books on those subjects. Therefore, I can't complain too much about the limited discussion of computers.

When you read this book it may feel a little like it was produced on an assembly line. Maybe it was? There are 50 versions of this book sold; the only state I haven't found a copy for is Montana. Content is king, and this book has it. 5 stars!

Buckley's work on the agonizingly long and complex courtship of a distinguished Presbyterian minister (and later Confederate officer) and the divorced daughter of a Governor of Virginia is extraordinary.

The number of letters contained in this volume, PAINSTAKINGLY transcribed from handwriting that is (at least 50%) illegible, is astounding. The story told is compelling for even a cynical 21st century observer of love and life . . . and a rare chronicle of the political and personal impact of 19th-century Presbyterian varying "insights" into the mind, will, and intent of an sometimes angry and always fearsome God.

The notes and bibliography are priceless. They alone make the book a must-have resource for anyone interested in the 19th century history of southern Presbyterian protestantism, women's rights, religious bigotry, Rockbridge County, Lexington and most of the rest of Virginia. . . . . not to mention the geneaologies of perhaps half the population of the entire valley of Virginia.

Detailed, execellent, and pound for pound . . . no better value.

A credit to an editor's labor of love . . . and to the University of Nebraska Press for publishing it.

Compiled, organized, edited, and with captioning by photographer Lucian Niemeyer. "Images Of A Vanished Era, 1898-1924: The Photographs of Walter C. Schneider" showcase the photography Walter Schneider who produced some twelve hundred glass-plate negatives which were stored in a basement for decades and only recently discovered by Niemeyer. This compendium is comprised of the best 186 images from this newly find and captures scenes from Schneider's hometown of Kankakee, Illinois, his schooling at the University of Wisconsin, his travels across America and around the world. here are historic images of domestic scenes, festive crowds, rural tranquility, and burgeoning industry during almost historic three decades. The photographic images range from steam-powered paddleboasts on the river in summer, to men and women ice-skating in a midwestern winter, to city scenes of New York and Chicago, to bicycle trip sights while riding through rural Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee before the advent of paved roads. Of special note are the views of Europe prior to the outbreak of World War I. These are impressive photographic images that on occasion rise to the level of gallery quality art. An important addition for professional, academic, and community library Photography and Cultural History reference collections, "Images Of A Vanished Era, 1898-1924" is very highly recommended reading, especially for anyone with an interest in historic photography.

More than a coffee table book, Images of Missouri takes the reader through the big cities and back roads of the "show me state." Each photo is a jewel unto itself, yet also contributes to the whole of the book. Readers are treated to bold, colorful images, soft subtle mood pieces, nature scapes and more. Whether you are a native Missourian or just interested in outstanding local-themed photography, this book is a worthwhile addition to your library.

The Ozarks are known for their natural beauty and grace. No book can more fully capture both the complexity and simplicity of the area as well as Images of the Ozarks. Travel the area with some of the region's best photographers as they capture the Ozarks in their full splendor. With each turn of the page, the reader will find themselves more and more eager to visit each scene in person.

This is an exceptionally good discussion of the topics indicated in the title and a fine book for readers who want to think about qualities that make so much of Lewis's writing appealing. Schakel's case for reading the Narnian books in their original publication order (i.e. starting with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) would convince CSL himself that the current marketing of the series as beginning with The Magician's Nephew is a mistake). His book will get many readers to look beyond Lewis to music and pictorial art that Lewis cared about. I would rank this with George Sayer's biography JACK as one of my two favorite texts on Lewis.

Excellent treatment of famous Supreme Court justice's once very famous father. Places many of Holmes, Sr's issues and strengths into current context of the decline of the "public intellectual." Offers a convincing and wide-ranging reading bringing Holmes into larger search for an "American vision" of the best society and the problems of pluralistic culture. Fine example of recent American Studies (and political philosophy) still emphasizing the connections between daily social life and the foundation of long-lasting community in a heterogeneous world. Should lead to re-readings of Holmes' major works. Readable by non-specialists.

If you want to know the history of Branson and the surrounding Ozarks, this book is for you. Lots of colorful stories and interesting photos.

I came across this book while writing a paper about the 1904 World's Fair in college and did not expect to become so engrossed in it. Clevenger makes the reader feel like they are sitting at the Fair right next to the four Fair visitors she examines. This book is more than an easy-reading novel, though. Clevenger sets the Fair into a larger social and political context and shows the reader how the 1904 World's Fair had concrete repercussions on the worldviews of its visitors. The novel-like format and use of diaries from the Fair are merely more effective ways to hold our attention.