New Books

I learned to sew with this book and have had great sucess. I just bought the new book "Sew On" to progress my sewing and the patterns and projects are amazing! I have learned even more techniques with the new book and I still use my Sew Fast Sew Easy book for reference. I'm really happy with these books from Amazon.

This is a great learn how to sew book for first time sewers, very easy to understand.

This is a classic beginner sewing book. I think people will learn to sew from this book generations to come. The patterns are very simple with easy to follow instructions. The illustrations are clear and helpful. I bought the new "Sew On" book to learn additional sewing skills with more advanced patterns.

I ordered the "Sew On" book and was really impressed with the written instructions and included patterns. My daughter wants to learn to sew and I ordered her this book. When she gets a little comfortable, I'll pass along the Sew On book. This Sew Fast Sew Easy book has simple, easy to use patterns and projects that will get true beginners sewing. I highly recommend this book for true beginners. If your looking for a more intermediate book, find the "Sew On" book.

The book is probably best for true novices. I was never much of a sewer and it has been 30 years since I've sewn anything more than a button or hem. I thought I'd need to review the basics, but this book was too basic for me. i was hoping that it would refresh the basics, but lead me a few steps beyond. I can see where it would be helpful for those who are just starting out, so I can't find much fault with the book itself. It was just not what I need.

"Once upon a time, in a gloomy castle on a lonely hill, where there were thirteen clocks that wouldn't go, there lived a cold, aggressive Duke, and his neice, the Princess Saralinda."

Well. that first line has just about everything you need to start off a fairy tale, doesn't it? And it only gets better from there.

The New York Review has just reissued Thurber's classic, paired with the illustrations by Marc Simont, with a new introduction by Neil Gaiman.
The 13 Clocks is as full of fairy tale as you can get, with a Princess, the evil Duke, and, of course, a Prince. But there's also a Golux, who seems wise, but who sometimes makes things up and is extremely forgetful, the 13 clocks, an old woman who cries jewels, and the Todal ("The Todal looks like a blop of glup. , , , It makes a sound like rabbits screaming, and smells of old, unopened rooms.")

The story, although it's exciting and scary and thrilling, isn't even the best part. No the best part, as far as I'm concerned is the words that make up the story itself and the poetical way Thurber weaves them together. It's not really poetry, yet, at the same time, it is. This story, like poems, uses those glittery, evocative, slippery wonderful words -- like "brambles and thorns and "bonged the gongs of a throng of frogs, all green and vivid on their lily pads." Words like "gleep" and "made of lip" and "impudence" and "savage clash of swords." -- that together imbue the tale with feeling and delight.
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This is truly a wonderful story and one that simply begs to be read aloud.

Quirky, bizarre, creative, and thoroughly loveable. This is how I describe one of the strangest little fairy tales I've ever read. This is a story that is truly creative and original even as it borrows from classic fairy tale/horror themes.

I was astonished to receive the summer list from The New York Review Children Collection and to find this extraordinary book by James Thurber. It begins:

"Once upon a time, in a gloomy castle on a lonely hill, where there were thirteen clocks that wouldn't go, there lived a cold, aggressive Duke, and his niece, the Princess Saralinda. She was warm in every wind and weather, but he was always cold. His hands were as cold as his smile, and almost as cold as his heart. He wore gloves when he was asleep, and he wore gloves when he was awake, which made it difficult for him to pick up pins or coins or the kernels of nuts, or to tear the wings from nightingales."

Neil Gaiman's Introduction was so good and so loving I had to read more, and I found this entry from November 2001 on his blog:

"So I'm reading James Thurber's "The 13 Clocks" to my daughter right now.

"I mentioned the fun I was having reading the book to American friends, expecting a chorus of "yes, it was our favourite book as children" and got nothing but blank looks and people shifting uncomfortably in their chairs. [I would have shifted just as uncomfortably three weeks ago.] ...

"To my surprise, and to my dismay, I discovered that it's more or less out of print (there's a hardback that may be in print, but Amazon have it listed as unavailable and won't let you order it), and even the rare bookfinder services don't have any Ronald Searle illustrated copies. Which leaves me perfectly gobsmacked. I mean, it's one of the great kids' books of the last century. It may be the best thing Thurber ever wrote. It's certainly the most fun that anybody can have reading anything aloud (I'm doing the Duke as Peter Sellers doing Olivier doing Richard III, and the Golux as Marty Feldman). If I ever wrote something half as good I'd be over the moon. And it's out of print."

I suppose Gaiman's love letter must have led to this wonderful new edition and to his being chosen to write the Introduction. Whatever the facts, my deepest gratitude to NYRB and to Gaiman and to Marc Simont for the wonderful illustrations. This is a treasure for kids and for adults.

Robert C. Ross 2008

PS: M. Williams suggests in the Comments that The Thirteen Clocks on CD recited by Edward Woodward is superior to the versions recited by Lauren Bacall or Peter Ustinov. Thanks for the suggestion. B.

I had not heard of James Thurber (I'm not from Northern America :)) until one of my friends on a study abroad program brought this book to our apartment and we started reading it out loud to each other. I loved it so much that I've read it three times already. Thurber's playing with the language is so amazing, cute and fascinating that it makes you speak "his way" after you read the book. :) And all his ideas are wonderful! This all makes the book one of a kind, really.

James Thurber went to Bermuda to finish a book, and wrote The Thirteen Clocks instead. He says it was escapism and self-indulgence. If so, the world needs more self-indulgence, because this book is pure fun. It's a simple fairy tale, a book to be shared with a child. The water-color illustrations by Mark Simont are a perfect enhancement to the mood of the story.

The tale opens with an evil Duke in a gloomy castle--a Duke who is always cold. "We all have flaws," he says, "and mine is being wicked." (p. 114) The castle has thirteen clocks, all frozen at ten minutes to five. The lovely Princess Saralinda, "warm in every wind and weather," is the only warm thing in the castle and the Duke (her so-called uncle, though actually her kidnapper) purposefully thwarts all her suitors with tasks impossible to perform. When they have failed, he slits them from guggle to zatch and feeds them to the geese.

The Thirteen Clocks is built of standard fairy tale elements. A wandering minstrel who is really the youngest son of a king falls in love with Princess Saralinda and accepts a seemingly impossible test to win her hand. Assisted by a magical creature called Golux, he sets off to fulfill the test. Their progress is threatened by a number of unsavory characters; the Todal, for example, an agent of the devil sent to punish evil-doers for having done less evil than they should. Needless to say, all turns out well in the end.

The story itself may be standard, but the telling of it is typical Thurber wordplay. The Thirteen Clocks is not exactly poetry, but it begs to be read aloud for the rhythm, rhyme and alliteration. A particularly hectic passage from page 73 illustrates:

"The brambles and the thorns grew thick and thicker in a ticking thicket of bickering crickets. Farther along and stronger, bonged the gongs of a throng of frogs, green and vivid on their lily pads."

The quest complete, time unfrozen and the Princess won, the ecstatic couple ride toward the harbor. "The Princess Saralinda thought she saw, as people often think they see, on clear and windless days, the distant shining shores of Ever After. Your guess is quite as good as mine (there are a lot of things that shine) but I have always thought she did, and I will always think so."

I think so too, and if it takes a charming little book to remind me, then count me in.

Linda Bulger, 2008

This is great i mean her dad gets a new job and they have to move Sarah heres a a woman calling for help and she keeps seeing things a little romance in it but this was great and very easy to read but sometimes u get a book and the review always says that you cant put this book down well this is very Very true you cant put it down

This is great i mean her dad gets a new job and they have to move Sarah heres a a woman calling for help and she keeps seeing things a little romance in it but this was great and very easy to read but sometimes u get a book and the review always says that you cant put this book down well this is very Very true you cant put it down

In my english class we had to read a mystery book and make a presentation. I saw that this book was one of the choices that we could choose to read. I had read some of Joans books before and I really liked her writing style. This book was very interesting to read and I could hardly put down the book because of it's suspenseful plot and interesting topics. Joan used very good despriptions and made you feel like you were there with the main character Sarah darnell. I highly reconmend this book as one of the first Joan Lowery nixon books that you would read if you haven't started reading her books and got hooked with her unique writing style.The story gives off a feel of many different feelings and moods that would come natural with the situations that are explained in the writing.This is one of those books that you could be wanting to read later on in the future. I could read this book over and over and not get bored. I hope you decide to read this book if you haven't already and if you have you could probably read it again.

Whispers From the dead is an excellent book. If you like mysteries I'm sure you would like it. Its about a girl named Sara who had a near death expearence. After that she has been feeling that ghosts were watching her. Then her family moves into a new house when she goes into the house she gets an earie feeling. She keeps on seeing werid visions. And hearing a spanish girls cry for help. Can she help the girl? Can she figure out the mystery? Find out for your self by reading the book.

This book is about a girl named Sarah. Her family decides to move to this huge house that was on a beautiful neighbor hood. What Sarah's family didn't know was that someone was murdered in the house before they moved. Sarah found this out first hand when she starts hearing voices and seeing things such as puddles of blood on the floor. When she lived in her old town she almost drowned when she went swimming, Ever since she has been linked to another world. She feels as if a dark shadow was following her and when she moved into the house the Spanish voices whispering to her for help. Sarah finds out that the voice she was hearing in the house was from the girl who was murdered. She from there tries to find out what really happened in the murder.

The things I liked about this book were how the detail of the book helped you see and feel and hear what Sarah did. I liked this because it really gets you into the story and you feel as if it were you, not Sarah. One thing I didn't like about the book was how it was kind of boring. Usually when the beginning is boring the person never wants to read on to find out what happens, but I advice everyone to read on because it is a really good book!

People who would like this book would be someone who likes a little mystery or somewhat scary books, even maybe suspense or thriller novels.

This book is about a 10 year old girl named Sookan and she lives with her mother, grandfather,aunt, and little brother. They live in North Korea in 1945. Her and her mother and aunt work in a sock factory for the Japanese soliders in World War II. They had a Captain Narita and he came by and it was her sister's birthday and mother went to go get a book from older sister at the convent. Mother gave it to her and Captain Narita told his men to destroy it. Sookan's mother can't even have a garden or else Captain Narita will have his men step on them. Her father is in the military and her sister is in a convent. Also, her older brothers were sent away tp labor camps. The war ends and the Japanese lose. The Russions take over North Korea and brainwash them into loving Russia, so Sookan and her brother must go to South Korea because she thinks that her dad and older brothers and sister are waiting for them. She hopes she will find freedom in South Korea. I think that is really sad to not have your father around or older brothers and to have to work in the sock factory. Also, I liked how her and her brother stood side by side. This book is a Fantasy book and the theme is Fictional.

Sookan is a 10-year old girl living in Korea in 1945. The Japanese have taken over and force communist ideas and laws onto the Koreans. Each day, Captain Narita inspects the house and backyard. Their backyard holds a shack that is used for sock-making. The sock-girls would work day and night trying to meet their quotas. Koreans are deprived of rice and money. The children, including Sookan and her brother Inchun, have to attend a very strict Japanese run school. When the Japanese leave, the Koreans rejoice, but are shortly taken over by the Russians. Things begin to get worse, and Sookan, with her mother and brother, try desperately to escape to the South where the Americans are.

This historical fiction book takes you along the incredible journey of 2 children as they take drastic forms of lifestyles to earn the freedom they deserve. The beginning of this book started out slow, but took fast pace when the Russians were introduced. The author has a wonderful writing style that truly makes you feel like you are part of the story, especially near the end. This is my favorite book and I recommend it to everybody of all ages. Do not miss out on this surprisingly realistic journey.

Sookan is ten years old, living in Korea with her mother, grandfather, aunt, cousin, and little brother. World War II is going on and things are very hard in Korea. The Japanese forces are in control of their country and they treat the Korean people like slaves in their own home, making them give up all valuables to help the Japanese army, putting them to work making clothing for the Japanese and sending the children to schools where they make weapons and learn propaganda about the Japanese army. More than anything, Sookan wishes she were with her father, her older sister or her three older brothers, who are all far away. Her father is working with the resistance forces, her brothers have been taken away to labor camps and her sister is in a convent.

Then after what seems like an eternity of being at war and under Japanese control, the war is over and the Japanese have lost. Sookan and her family think that things will be much better now, but then they find that their country has been divided into two parts. Rather than being helped by the Americans as they'd hoped, they are instead under Russian control, and the Russians seem determined to brainwash everyone into loving Russia. They make everyone go to meetings to show their support and those in authority are constantly looking for traitors. It becomes clear to Sookan's mother that they need to get to South Korea where the Americans are, and where she expects Sookan's father and brothers may be waiting for them. But will Sookan and her little brother be able to make the journey to safety?

I liked the descriptions of what life in Korea was like during the war. It's hard to imagine what was going on in other countries when we mostly hear about what was happening in our country. I also liked the interaction between Sookan and her brother. They were really nice to each other and probably wouldn't have made it without each other's help.

It was sad to read about the lives of the Koreans during the war; it sounds like such a horrible way for anyone to spend a childhood.

You MUST read this book and the two other books by Choi-Echoes of White Giraffe & Gathering of Pearls. All three books are written from Sookan's perspective, as she grows up in the midst of the Japanese occupation, the war and in America, as a foreign college student. Aside from the cultural issues, as well as historic issues, the plot flows very well. The stories are very personal & honest. I really enjoyed these books and I know that when my kids, ages 5 and 9, get a little older, they will also. These are enjoyable and educational stories.

The Year of Impossible Goodbyes is written by Sook Nyul Choi. The book is 169 pages in length. It is about a girl named Sookan who lives in Korea during World War II. At this time, Korea is under control of the Japanese. Sookan and her family are being suppressed by the Japanese. Sookan's mother is a supervisor at a sock factory. But, the workers at the sock factory were sent away to the war, forcing Sookan's mother to close down the factory. Then, Sookan is sent to a Japanese school, where she learns about Japan and nothing else. But soon after, the war ends! Freedom at last! Sookan and her family rejoice! But neither the rest of their family nor the sock girls have returned. Sookan is worried. Also, to make things worse, Russia took over North Korea, and they again are suppressed. But, after a couple of attempts, she and her family make it to liberated South Korea!
Sookan is kind, loving, compassionate, smart child. She takes care of others and has an unbroken spirit. She is resolute and determined.
Sookan faces many conflicts throughout this book. First, she hates her enemies, the Japanese, who have been occupying her country for many years. She is taught not to hate; yet she is unable to suppress these feelings. Sookan knows that if she spoke what is on her mind, her whole family could be executed. Luckily, she is mature enough to realize this and keeps her emotions to herself.
Another of Sookan's conflicts is her attempt to escape from northern Korea. She gets separated from her mother at the passport checkpoint and is left with caring for her younger brother. Sookan is ten years old and has neither currency nor provisions. She is by herself. Escaping is very risky and life hostile. Sookan and her brother stay alive on their own and make it to South Korea; where they are reunited with their family.
Finally, the Japanese occupying Korea is another conflict Sookan has to face. The Japanese suppress Sookan's family, forcing them to do Japan's bidding. The Japanese police take their belongings to help in the war effort and force Sookan's mother to supervise a sock factory. Sookan's patience helped her wait out the war.
The author uses the reoccurring theme of determination in her novel. An example of this theme is when Sookan gets divided from her mother at the identification checkpoint and is left with caring for her youthful sibling. Sookan is ten years old and has no money or food. She is on her own. Escaping is very dangerous and life threatening. Sookan and her brother manage to survive on their own and finally reach South Korea, where they are reunited with her family. This shows determination because she is only ten in an unknown world. She has no money and has to take care of her younger brother.
Another example of the determination theme occurs at the beginning of the story. The Japanese suppress Sookan's family, forcing them to do Japan's bidding. In fact, the Japanese police take their belongings to help in the war effort and force Sookan's mother to supervise a sock factory. Still, Sookan's patience helped her wait out the war. This shows determination because she does not give up her life and try to run away, but is patient.
The style of novel is very unique. Author Sook Choi writes in first person view and adds very smooth sentences. Most of her sentences are like this,"Listening to this boy was as refreshing as diving into a cool stream". In this sentence she uses many descriptive words and there was no comma to slow it down. Choi's sentences are both short and long. Many authors use only one kind of sentence. This is what makes this novel and author unique.
The plot, characters, theme, and style are all good, which makes this book really fun to read. It's filled with adventures and many other thrilling topics. This book is great for most ages. I recommend this book to whoever loves adventure!

After being frustrated with myself on the golf course during the past few months I was beginning to wonder if I might stop playing.I have a handicap of 19 and was really struggling to play to it.Once I had a bad hole I would get down on myself and the whole thing would snowball.
After reading Zen Golf and putting into practice some of the techniques I have played two lots of 9 hole stableford competitions and had 23+25 points.
I have played 2 rounds of 18 holes in competition.The first round of our club championship at 85-19-66 (par is 69).In our annual men's tournament 83-19-64.During these rounds I have only had one 7 and nothing higher.
Most importantly I have actually been enjoying myself.
I am certain this booked has really helped me and I will continue to use the techniques that I have learnt.I will probably read this book over and over when I need to as there are several more things I want to try.

I am a beginner golfer and this book is helpful for the mental part of golf! I would suggest it to anyone that plays golf. I gave to a friend that throws clubs in frustration and she played a round for the first time with no broken clubs and was relaxed, she says the book is helping her too

I loved this book! I learned more about the art of the mental game of golf in this thin volume than in a half dozen longer times (.e.: The Mental Games of Golf). I would put this up there with "See It Sink It" or "Every Shot Must Have a Purpose".

A must have for any serious golfer. I dare you to read the story about the golden statue and tell me that it didn't affect you!

Finally, a book that puts the mental game into sections that make sense. Told in a down-to-earth way, the examples and insights provided by "Zen Golf" really do pertain to the game we love. Understanding that the results of a swing are not necessarily the be-all and end-all is very powerful knowledge. Learning to breathe will apply to a myriad of endeavor, both athletic and personal. Ostensibly, it is a book about golf, but one that fills many gaps in all kinds of life situations. Dr. Parent is a born teacher.

Bottom Line . It took five strokes off my handicap.
Michael A. Epstein
Member KCC

This book is about a rich girl who goes to africa or its about this girl named misty nobody likes read and you decide.

After reading the first book in this series, I couldnt wait to read about Ambers story. I felt a lot like Amber, she doesnt know what she wants to do with her life after high school. I enjoyed the way that she grew throughout the story and know that her future held something bigger then she thought possable. This is a series that all Lurlene fans will want to read. Not only does this book talk about a world that most people never hear about, but it shows young woman that its ok to learn to spread your wings and fly. I truly enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to reading more book by this author.

Angel of Hope, talks about Heather dying. Her sister, Amber has decided to go on her journey and follow her sister`s shadow on her way to Uganda. She meets the most wonderful thing in her life, courage and love. Its an amazing book! Now, it`s been three weeks since I`ve read it, and yet I think about it everyday and keep on thinking about the special quotes Lurlene had put in this dramatic and romantic book. I`m currently reading "How I love thee" and the three stories stored inside, are the ones that you will never forget in your life. :) Lurlene McDaniel is the best author ever!

Angel of Hope by Lurlene McDaniel is a great book if you like a romantic adventure. Lurlene McDaniel has written many books but I personally think this is one of her best. This is a wonderful book. I didn't want to put it down until I was finished reading it. It is a spectacular book about a young girl, Amber, who goes to Africa because her sister Heather became very ill and couldn't go back. She meets the people that Heather talked so greatly about from her trip on the Mercy Ship. Africa isn't at all what amber thought it out to be. She stayed with Paul and Jodene as Heather did on her trip. Amber soon met Boyce Callahan he was there working on a project. They quickly became friends. But is Amber ready for what Africa has in store for her next?

Heather Barlow, the main character in Angel of Mercy, was back from Africa as a missoionary, and was trying to readjust to the big Miami lifestyle she used to be acustomed to. Although she was happy to return home to her family, she could not forget about losing her beloved Ian, or about little baby Alice, the child that she rescued that needed surgery. Heather was so sad to leave, nothing could detour her mind from returning, so she talks her mkom into returning with her, this would help because her mom is a surgeon. Her mother decides to go. A week before they leave Heather becomes ill, Amber her sister found her lying in a pool of blood on their bathroom floor. Heather's plans are then shattered because the doctor orders to stay in bed for at least two weeks. Seeing how upset her siter is about being away from Africa, Amber decides to take her place. When Amber arrives in Africa, she has no clue what to expect or what fate has in store for her.........
I loved this book, I loved the fact that it touched me so much. I cried reading the very end of it. I never expected what happened to happen because until the end it had you guessing. On a scale of 1-5 stars i would give it a 10, it was absoluetly beautiful!

This book clearly demonstrates that Christ not only provided for salvation but also for healing through His completed work while here on earth. It shows that healing and salvation are closely linked together in many ways, though often we seperate the two in modern thinking.

A great book to pass on to others. Every library should have it. Mandatory reading for everyone who calls himself a "believer".

Like so many others here, I find this an essential book for Christians. I've given it to friends for years, and many of us have received healings more than once, relying on the book for encouragement. This black-covered edition is the one I like best, as others have said. It is Bro. Bosworth's own writing, or not so edited as some other editions, and the addition by his son of details of Bosworth's death is very inspiring. Bro. Bosworth, apparently, learned from the Lord that his time on earth was over, went home and had family and friends meet with him, and 2-3 weeks later he died, not having become sick. I love knowing that he lived and died by what he preached to others and it worked well for him.

This book has awesome revelations about healing. We bought a number of them so we can share them with people who are seeking truth about healing from the Lord. I'd recommend this highly!!

Healing is still happening today. This book will explain what Jesus meant for us to have in our health.

This remains to this day possibly the BEST book I have read at all concerning my religion. For those of us out there who want to move past all the books for beginers with endless explinations about what a besom is and what color candles to use, and actually want to think about their religion in an open way, this is a wonderful book. Never preachy, often funny, thought provoking, and at times heartwarming, Sylvans writing makes us question ourselves and gives us ideas for actually living the path we chose, every day, at all times. For those of us who are simply wiccan and dont practice magic, the emphasis on maintaining your relationship with God over spells and tools is much appreciated. Do not pass this book by. Sylvan, if you're seeing this (doubtful but we can hope lol) WRITE MORE BOOKS! :)

Packed with tons of history and lore this book will give you a wider view of the pagan religious aspects. A must have for anyone who wants to get more detail on the religious side of Wicca or witchcraft. This book explains the spiritual background and lets you discover within yourself your own religion and personal prayers and rituals.

Finally, not a wicca 101 book but a beautifully written book on your personal spirituality of wicca.It fills in the gaps where other books did not!

I love this book. I literally have worn it to death. I'm sick of all the Wiccan books anymore. All they do is focus on spells, magick, candles, the tools, and on and on when their really is more to Wicca. This a nice change of pace. It talks about how to live Wiccan everyday. How to live comapssionately and with grace. It's a very informative book. And she is lighthearted about everything. She doen't try to cram it down your throat and she is knowledgeable about what she's writing. I would recommend this book especially if your sick of the mainstream Wiccan books and would like something with more heart and soul.

This book is truly a blessing from the Goddess. I was wondering why I still wasn't feeling "complete" with my practice - like something was missing. For a while, this little voice in my head was telling me to get the book, and I kept saying,"No, not yet, not yet."
Finally, I listened and am so glad that I did.

I read this book within a matter of hours, and now it has a prominent spot in my Witchie bookshelf. It helped me realize a few things that I didn't pay attention to before, and I think, helped me to reconnect to what drew me to Wicca in the first place.

Please - if you were feeling like I did, get this book. Also, make sure to pick up her other book, THE BODY SACRED. I'm looking forward to more of Ms Sylvan's titles in the future.

good book for the people who are already in to business or planning to start

Form any startup, the founding team must commit to a getting it right - for it is not easy to getting your market and product right - what you need is likely what I needed for my latest startup - Pay Parade [...] - author and entrepreneur Paul Hawken provides an insightful tale of how to farm your newly seeded company - whereas I thought of this book to help me with marketing, I ended up learning that it often takes more of a cultivated farming sensibility than any hard marketing science. Go ahead and treat yourself to a gift that keeps on giving - purchase yourself a copy of Growing Your Business.

What a spectacular little business bible for a world that has forgotten that business and people are one and the same. Read this book.

This book was my constant companion when I first started my company 12 years ago. I underlined, starred and highlighted countless passages and dog-eared the corners of numerous pages. The underlying philosophies still guide me--be in it for the long haul, create legendary service, you can never rush the rules of the field, and focus, focus, focus. This is especially true in light of the Internet where everything happens at lightning speed. But business is still about people and relationships. Nurture them. Whenever I meet someone about to start a business, I send them a copy of this book. It's the best advice I can give them: read it.

1. Tire of spending too much time looking for natural foods, Hawken starts Boston's first natural food store. In the first year, the company was grossing $300 and it was fun. "As the years rolled by, the company made money, lost it, hired hundreds of employees, bought railroad cars, opened stores and warehouses on both coasts, set up wholesale and manufacturing facilities, flirted with bankruptcy, and engendered a host of lean and hungry competitors-some of them friends and former associates."
2. The more exposure I gained to the "official" world of business, the more I began to doubt that I was in business at all. I seemed to be doing something different.
3. I believe that for a new and growing business, too much money is a greater problem than too little.
4. Being a good human being is good business.
5. There is no institute in American life that is freer to do what is wants to do than a business, and that includes creating its own jobs. The self-owned and operated business is the freest life in the world.
6. I believe most if not all, the successful business operate with values that go beyond opportunism.
7. Entrepreneurial ideas spring from a deep immersion in some occupation, hobby, or other pursuit, spurred by something missing in the world. The entrepreneur is often the first one to spot the opening, and if things work out that person will have a successful business.
8. To find the beginning, reduce your business idea to its apparent essence. Then reduce it again.
9. If a business is to grow you have to own it-the acts, habits, functions, jobs, and grunt labor.
10. A time will come when the primal fears emerge: What have I done? Isn't someone else doing it, too, and better? You will feel a strange loneliness.
11. Fear of failure may or may not be helpful but it is rationale. Every businessman, no matter how intelligent and resourceful, can and will fall prey to delusion and misjudgment.
12. As a businessperson you will encounter some of the strangest behavior you've ever seen. You will be incredulous to see people you thought you knew and trusted-good people, really become remarkable manipulators of truth and reality. Business is people. Expect the unexpected.
13. You have to gone into business to discover, change, serve, inform, transform, improve, and delight someone. You won't sell to this person otherwise. The entrepreneur asks, "Why not".
14. Business is about practice. It is not about theories or the testing of revolutionary ideas.
15. The major problem affecting business is a lack of imagination, not capital.
16. If money could solve problems, there would be no small business because the big business with plenty of money would run everything.
17. When your business encounters problems and messes stay with them. Find something valuable down in the dreck. One of the greatest errors of much business literature today is its attempt to instill certainty with checklists, must-dos, the motherhoods, ten principles, axiom galore, and other assorted truisms.
18. A good business has interesting problems, a bad business has boring ones. Good management is the art of making the problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get work and deal with them. Good problems energize.
19. From 1978 to 1986, GM grew sales from $63 billion to $102 billion but the company's share of domestic car market fell from 48 percent to 39 percent. Price increases, inflation, and acquisitions were the source of GMs growth. The point, every company dies.
20. Information is nothing more than how to make or accomplish something in the best way: more useful, longer lasting, easier to repair, lighter, stronger, and less energy consuming.
21. Global paradox, every small business has the potential advantage because big business, government, labor unions, schools, often don't deliver the goods.
22. If we are in economy that is organized increasingly around the amount of information that I in products, rather than around the amount of stuff, then the ability to create difference in manufacturing and delivery of goods and service will be the key to success.
23. Imagination and creativity are more useful than aggressiveness.
24. Big business are not more efficient, productive, or innovative than small businesses.
25. To consume means to use up, to waste, to destroy. Real income has fallen. As consumers, we can not afford to waste, so we buy products that are better and last longer. It is our demand for a better designed and operated world that is behind the tumultuous change we see in the marketplace today.
26. The American consumer is inherently dissatisfied. My business has started from my being a customer and not liking what I could buy. I suspect your business will begin that way too.
27. Good business ideas provide people with something that was right there-or not right there-all the time, but no one recognized it. When you recognize and provide it, they'll buy it.
28. Buy as directly as possible, sell directly as possible, and reduce overhead as much as possible.
29. After you have a business idea, I recommend that you subject it to the scrutiny of a business plan. A business plan broadly describes the nature of the business, the type of product being manufactured or service offered, and the advantage or benefits the product offers. A business plan is a test of the depth and thoroughness with which you have thought out your idea. The temptation is to fudge your plan toward what you believe the reader wants to read, rather than what you want to do. A well-developed business plan must be true to your own vision and purpose in order to be a useful tool.
30. Businesses lull themselves into failure, and this often reflects their inability to learn what the immediate business environment is saying.
31. Every business plan paints a rosy future, but few people going into business closely examine the possibility and the results of this hoped-for triumph.
32. When writing a business plan image that you are writing to a friend whose opinion and intelligence you admire, but who knows nothing about your current venture.
33. For a new company, a good marketing plan is simple, to the point, and easy to follow.
34. A consistent mistake companies make is not including their employees as owners.
35. Equity, whether in the form of incentive-type options, ESOPs, grants, loans, or pooled interests, should have the single purpose of creating a sense of shared conditions: we are in this together and will act accordingly.
36. If you are offered cash, loans, or advice, accept only the latter.
37. Friends are the first source of money for most small businesses.
38. SBA is the lender of last resort.
39. We keep our investors informed, not with the volume of information we produce, but with its accuracy.
40. Money goes to the least embarrassing situation.
41. Generosity, ampleness, and abundance draw money to ideas, people, and businesses.
42. A seasoned businessperson never presumes to know the truth of today. An experienced businessperson always asks questions. A green one will always have the answers.
43. Many people in business with little or no education or training nevertheless succeed-in good part because they have an intuitive sense of these numbers.
44. The more experience you have in business, the more money you can spend on a new business. Profit is the cost of doing business.
45. To grow, your business you must earn the permission of the marketplace.

Words cannot express how completely awesome and spine-tingling this book is. I saw Marshall Ball on the Oprah show several years ago and was so in awe of him that as soon as the show ended I got in the car and drove to the bookstore to buy the book. It will make you smile, cry and laugh; it really left me with the lessons of 'miracles do happen' and 'you never know what someone can do until you give them a chance'. It's a definite must read.

Marshall Ball is exquisite. With the simplicity of a child and the wisdom of the ages, he speaks with a profound understanding that could only be Divine. Marshall cannot speak, so he uses an alphabet board to point to each letter. This is a painstakingly long process. He was born with a disease that keeps him confined to a wheelchair. At age nine, he was evaluated at school with a twelfth-grade reading level. I was pleasantly inspired by Marshall and eagerly await more writings from him. My favorite quote from Marshall is: "Can we free the world to think perfectly about the listening and marvelous children?" I highly recommend this book.

Recommendation:
A great book for traveling on a journey with a special child. If you have a special child, get this book, because you may learn more about your child, and their own journey and thoughts. If you don't have an special child, then get this book and learn about the blessings that come with the pain and challenges of the journeys that parents of special children travel.

Book Review
Marshall writes, with physical assistance, of things we cannot see, or imagine in our busy and cluttered lives. Yet, these are the important, and permanent things that life is determined on, not the urgent and unimportant.

His poems are very good (fantastic considering his age and issues) and offer a mature, yet spiritually innocent viewpoint that remains objective and not caught up with our worldly challenges.

Marshall is here and suffers in order to fulfill God's purpose of helping us, and those who need spiritual assistance.

How Marshall Helped Us Learn of Our Daughter's Thoughts, and Experiences:
We have a daughter with severe cerebral palsy who cannot speak or walk an had just finished two weeks of therapy in Chicago and were catching a plane for the ride home. This was two years ago, so she was four at the time. By accident, I packed her reading books, so we stopped in the book store to find a book to read. We accidently came across Marshall's book and I explained to my daughter that Marshall was like her, and could not speak or walk, and was just a few years older. Then, I asked her if she wanted to get Marshall's book, she got very excited (happy).

On the plane we read the first few pages and came across this part of Marshall's poem...

Even though my individuality finds
sweet knowing perfection, I listen
for the answers to wishes from above.

So, I asked my daughter if God spoke to her about her wishes and prayers. She just about jumped out of her skin!!! It was like finally!!!! Someone knows my secrets!!!! Yes, I speak to God and He speaks to me!!!!

I was startled, and asked her some poorly developed questions. After a couple of months, I thought about the questions I asked and also her answers, and I realized that I really did not learn what I thought I had learned. (We have to ask her questions, with two or three answers for her to choose from, then ask additional questions to further determine her correct and precise answers).

Because I only want the truth, regardless of the issues, I spent some time to relaly think about the questions, and alternative answers that could be gleaned from my technique, then began to ask her more precise questions to nail down her responses.

What I found is that she did speak to and hear from God every night. That she did remember her personal journey (died at birth for 35 minutes), and remembered seeing God when she died. She did not remember being in the hospital, being taken off life support, or anything else.

But, when she died, she went to heaven, and was not given a choice, but was told to return to her Mommy and Daddy (which she wanted); and she was told that her purpose was to help a lot of children who were in need. (...) She came back to us - obviously - and now is a bright 6 year old who goes to full inclusion school, has many friends and lots of fun. Yet, she cannot speak, or walk, yet. (But is making great progress!)

Without reading Marshall's book, I would never have thought to ask these questions, and would have never have learned my daughter's secrets.

As heralded by such masters as Eckhart Tolle and Don Miguel Ruiz the earth at this time is graced by a number of awakened divine flowers of consciousness which grace us with their tremendous healing power and gentility. Marshall Ball is no doubt one such light in our world. His healing gift is through the power of his words. In these important documents of our time [Kiss of God & A Good Kiss] Marshall Ball uses his gentle and seemingly simple use of the English language to incite a healing effect that evokes deep emotions and directly effects the heart. Short of a miracle, both of Marshall Ball's books are a collection of communications poetically expressed and clearly echo teachings from A Course in Miracles, Eckhart Tolle's Power of Now and Stillness Speaks, and the Conversations with God books, none of which have been a source of study for this young man of 17. It seems Truth is spoken again by another source of pure love, but here, with heavenly gentleness and a poetic voice that can lift and heal the coldest of hearts. I highly recommend reading and studying both "Kiss of God" and "A Good Kiss" as material for spiritual study and personal growth. May this gentle heavenly force continue to grace us with his divine wisdom and healing voice.

This book will touch you. There is a simplicity and purity of thought, but there are deeper more profound meanings there for you to discover on your own. Marshall is a special child of God, as we all are in our own way. Love and listening are prevalent themes in Marshall's short poems and prose. I am a grown man with grown children, and I am not prone to tears, but many of Marshall's words brought tears to my eyes. I know God talks through Marshall. Share this book with your friends and family.