Day Books

This is a cute book and has personality in it for journaling.

This perpetual calendar without days of the week written on it is a great idea and in true Susan Branch fashion!

Susan Branch's wonderful artwork and stories that are throughout this perpetual calendar/journal always brings a smile. She comes from a large family, and shares creative and thoughtful ideas for entertaining, celebrations, and holidays that I find to be an inspiration. The binding allows it to lay flat, the paper used takes ink nicely, and the dated spaces are generous. Even after making good use of this same book for so long, I've never grown tired of it, and look forward to starting a new one each year. With the purchase of this one for 2007, I now have a row on my bookshelf dating to 1997!

This is the greatest, most beautiful book, calendar! I am going to be giving one of these to everyone for gifts! This book can brighten your day every time you open it, with the beautiful drawings and sayings. You will not be disapointed.

I just discovered Susan Branch's stickers/books/stencils/stamps/etc. I ordered this book for next year, and want to get one for my sister. It's so cute, and there are lots of Susan's drawings and watercolored leaves, flowers, and hearts...I can't wait to start using it. Couldn't find this in the bookstores anymore, so I ordered it from Amazon and got it within 3 days.

When I decided to buy this book it was becaus I was already thinking of a career in social work. And, I must say that the book is very inspiring and insightful.

The stories come from different types of social workers, in different fields, under different circumstances, and really gives the reader a sense of what each worker goes through on a typical day.

It's also very true to the field. Since buying the book I have had the opportunity to work in social service, and the day-to0day events adn issues the workers deal with in the book are very realistic and honest.

It's definately a must-read for anyone thinking about the social work field, no matter what service or population you are thinking about working with.

I thought it was filled with useful information, considering the different fields described in each chapter. PERSONALLY, I would have liked to see even more examples, but if you're leaning towards the medical field in social work, I think this is a great way to get an idea as to what you will be dealing with.
I would recommend the book to anyone since it's always good to understand how varied the field of social work can be.

Days in the Lives of Social Workers: 54 Professionals Tell"Real-life" Stories From Social Work Practice is an absolutely must read for unexperienced social workers as for experienced social workers.
This book provides the unexperienced social worker with the duties and responsibilities that are expected of you in your chosen field of practice,as well as in other areas. It also provides the opportunity for you to judge for yourself whether you are performing duties that are expected of you in your specific practice, and allows you to compare what you are being asked to do, with what others are doing in the same practice area . Moreover, you will feel motivated to join with other associations, and to volunteer your services as a means for professional growth as you read how other social workers manage to include these activities in their days.
For the experienced social worker that might be considering changing from one specialty practice to another, this book will provide a feel for what you may encounter in your new social work job.

If you are looking for a book that gives you information about the various specialties in the social work profession, then this is a very good start. I was looking for that and now I have a much clearer view of what areas I may want to study and eventually work.

If you are thinking of pursuing a social work career, this is a VERY helpful book. REAL stories about what the jobs are like - and what jobs there are in social work. Reads very easily. Best book on the subject I have found so far.

This book is arranged as a daily reader. I can say with complete honesty, "This is the book I have been looking for all of my life." If you are serious about your spiritual life and want to walk in the path of the Saints, this is a divine gift. The Carmalite way is not for everyone. St. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila are responsible for showing that "Way". This book is put together with an art that can not be imitated. If you are fortunate enough to be able to afford it, buy it for your soul!

As a Catholic priest, I think it was rather sinful the prices people were charging for an used copy of this book (the 1 Volume edition). Hundreds of dollars for a book that sold for $40 just a year or two ago? I guess it does atest to the great value of this book.

Well I have good news; TAN Books has decided to republish this work, in a new one volume, leather-bound edition. They hope to start shipping them on April 30, 2006. They will list for $48, but they are on sale now for $40.

It is more than a bit shameful, the price gouging that's been going on for this book while out-of-print. YAY, though. TAN is reprinting and will be available very soon.

And desire to purchase it. But with all due respect to the people charging many hundreds of dollars for a used copy, this book is being re-published by Loreto in January 2006.

http://www.loretopubs.org/

This book is the best one on Christian contemplation I've ever read. It is a perennial source of insight into God's love, without soft-pedalling the frightening consequences of sin. I hope to find it in print again, and will buy several copies right away for friends. Too bad about the price-gouging going on now: it's a wonderful part of any Catholic library but wait 'til there are enough used copies out there for the price to drop below the outrageous $250 or more for a copy requested by certain used booksellers. I bought mine for $31.50 two years ago,new. Hope that Loreto comes through in Jan 2006.

The author is well-known in the military and academic environments. With the last FM-100, it was supposed that everything was now mentioned. But, not. A tradition, inherited from the Civil war, exists in the USA, of saving grunts lives, avoiding the combats at close distances and using with profusion the heavy fire support to win always.
It does not serve to gain the hearts and the minds of the people, intermingled with the rebels in cities or open land, thanks to a degree of constraint that always exists from the rebels. Henry Poole offers a heap of counterinsurgency tactics. He also speaks about the own character of the possible rebels. And, especially, he creates the mixed units, at a very low level of action, of proffesional soldiers, self-defense forces and civil elements of construction, promotion and education. With them it is possible to interpose a "swarm", more active, effective and professional of loyal units, to the swarm of the guerrilla units. And to go isolating them slowly, reliably and progressively from the people, of their bases and of the rest of their operational and strategic goals.

John Poole knows how to combat Islamic and Chinese-backed insurgencies by blending in both measured military & police actions. In his newest & my personal favorite book, "Dragon Days" Poole weaves in various apsects of unconventional fourth generation warfare, to include how aspects of police anti-gang operations would serve the infantrymen to disrupt the IED networks that are causing most of US casulaties. Operations in Iraq must become focused on investigating the various "networks" (terrorist & criminal) to disrupt them & turn the people against the behavior that does not allow them to return to a normal life, and their children are not killed by US forces in an attempt to dislodge militants. Police operations focus on identifying & eliminating the "bad guy" from the neighborhood. Use of force is used only IF the suspect(s) do not comply & actively resist. As in gang "hoods" in the US, even if the police are right & kill a suspect, the residents blame the police. As Poole states in the latest edition of his great books on unconventional warfare, this condition also exits within Iraq or Afghanistan. We are still considered the Great Occupiers in Islamic lands & all bad things come with this title.
Poole's book also goes over how to improve multiple counter-insurgency fucntions & methods & what has not worked in the past & why. All of his book are great reading,and full of very useful information for military & law enforcement professionals involved in 4th GW. My advice is to recommend Poole's book to fellow professionals, and buy an additional copy for yourself since once your copy is "loaned" out, it'll be passed on to others, which is how all great knowledge should be treated. Pass it on!

John Poole see's the cycles of "modern" warfare well before even the military services and three letter agencies are willing to shift focus of effort; especially in pre-deployment training programs. I used his "Tactics of the Crescent Moon" as a primer for my team before we deployed into Ramadi in 2005. It was extremely accurate and my men were able to operate without delays as soon as we arrived.

"Dragon Days" brings us around full circle to meet an organized and nationalized global threat that has proclaimed "total war against the U.S." and allies itself with insurgent and terrorist organizations as its surrogates. It won't be long before the State Department has to admit the DOD will be needed for other "troop deployments" as the Chinese continue to shape the world through asymmetric warfare. This book of Poole's has it all in there. Open source intel to study and verify and the proper tactics, techniques and procedures to meet the variety of threat we should expect to encounter once our infantry and SOF operators are distributed on the ground.

Mark S. Mosher
MSgt. USMC (Ret.)
Program Manager
Combat Training Systems Division
BMI Defense Systems

I think that John Poole set a good example for us all to follow.
If we all were as productive and current in our analysis, and furthermore managed to put out tactical and technical advice to our troops in the field, the current conflicts would end sooner with much less casualties.

But wait, we don't need to do that. Because John Poole does this for us. We only need to pick up his latest book and start to apply the tactics that he describes.

I think that John Poole's later books are improving in readability but they still keep that cutting edge of current and life saving advice.

I urge you all to pick up this book and learn.

We need to submit this brilliant book to the Army Chief of Staff's and Marine Corps Commandant's reading lists! John Poole has marked himself as an authority on 4GW, but more specifically and importantly, how to prepare our leaders and units for unconventional tactics which is subset, yet important one, of 4GW. In my day job as a consultant to the U.S. Army on leader development, I get to stay in touch with "the field," leaders that are engaged in this 4th GW struggle, and the ones that have discovered John's Dragon Days (as well as the other titles) have nothing but praise for how it assisted them and their units. I wish we could find a way for the next President to have a session with John Poole on warfare.

I have just started to write plays and bought this book based on customer reviews. The reviews were right on, for this author gets his points across in a clear and concise manner. All of his suggestions are so valuable and useful not only for playwrining but fiction writing also. Mr. Catron has a passion that he realtes to the reader, giving them the incentive to start up and keep going to completion. Great book!

I only have one negative thing to say about Louis E. Catron's "The Elements of Playwriting," so I'll get it out of the way right off.

In various spots in the book, he makes critical remarks about both soap operas and the "Perry Mason" TV series that make me wonder if he's ever actually watched them. The writing cautions he connects with the remarks (respectively, always make sure your characters' emotions are motivated, and avoid a "deux ex machina" ending) are absolutely legitimate, but using these as illustrations are simply untrue.

In most other books such false reporting would seriously damage the writer's credibility in my view, and indeed it's the one thing that keeps me from awarding a full 5 stars. The one saving grace in Catron's case is that every other piece of advice is illustrated accurately, if not explicitly in the text. He shows quite well how to make your story appeal to directors, actors, and audiences, not only explaining what they look for but illustrating how to achieve it.

As with any book on writing, this is meant to be a book of ideas, suggestions, and recommendations to empower us as writers rather than restrain us. Where an accepted "rule" goes against the story we want to tell, we're expected to be true to the story rather than the rule. Every other book on this topic has taken this attitude, but Catron consistently takes the next step and cites plays that illustrate how nearly every rule has been broken by a successful play, and why that play succeeded in spite of breaking that rule.

Catron is a completist in other ways as well, taking the reader from the conception of a story all the way to a list of playwright's resources (such as directories of literary agents).

Whether your playwriting is a hobby, a sideline, or a prospective career - or even an established one - I highly recommend this book.

The Elements of Playwriting is a great book for anyone who wants to understand what it takes to write a play. Catron goes over everything a person needs to know including creating characters, building a plot, and constructing dialogue. I really liked the chapter on What Makes a Play.

Even if you are not a Playwright, but you are involved in the theatre in another capacity, such as an actor or stage manager - you would still benefit greatly by reading this book. It will give you a great understanding of what a Playwright must accomplish in order to get his play to the stage.

I completed the first draft of my play "American Brass" back in 1999. It was pretty awful. Then, I found this wonderful book by Prof. Catron. Following the guidelines and inspiration contained in his book I eventually transformed the draft into a stageworthy script.

Before reading his up front advice "Don't show anyone your first draft", I had given a reader a look at the play. The reader, an experienced theater person, tried to be helpful with constructive comments, which I came to understand after reading Catron's book meant - I had no plot, my characters were flat and I was writing narrratives rather than dialogue.

This book provides a clear understandable guide to the structure and dynamics of a successful play and how to write one. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.. and before each rewrite review Caron's book for insight and inspiration.

There's also practical advice - look to get your play on stage not necessarily on Broadway. So I had a high school do a reading and then a church group and now I have the area community theater interested in a full production.

Thank you Prof. Catron

I am a Midwestern physician by day and fledgling playwright by night. One year ago I decided to take an idea to paper and wrote my first play. The story was clear in my mind so the writing went easy. Within six weeks I had completed a rough first draft. At this point I ventured over to the local bookstore to see what books they had on playwriting. There were several, but Louis Catron's The Elements of Playwriting caught my immediate attention. Standing there, I skimmed the contents then read a few pages. The book was full of pearls gleaned obviously from a lifetime of experience in the theater. I bought the book and ordered a coffee to read more, (isn't that the way it always happens?)

Catron goads our left and right brains into action in ten chapters that range from how to get the play started, formatting the text and incorporating Aristotle's six elements of live theater into the work, to suggestions on getting your work published and performed. Various exercises to get the point across are used along the way. The book is a joy to read; a superb "nuts and bolts" treatise for the novice and veteran writer alike. I pick up something new each time I read it. I particularly enjoyed the discussion on how to be a playwright, involving as much with how one "thinks" as what ones "does."

In my opinion, Louis Catron's The Elements of Playwriting is the best book on the subject out there. It helped me complete my play and make it a more polished work. The book would be perfect as the main textbook in any college playwriting class. Louis Catron's "Elements" certainly "plays in the heartland!"

This book is inspiration to all who has the priviledge of reading it. You will realize that you, too, have the power to get through any struggle, if you believe! A must read for who more out of life!!

Henry Skaggs draws the reader into a world of fasting and prayer that few Westerners ever experience! The insights he gains and the spiritual power that he receives to complete the fast are nothing shy of miraculous. A poetic and transcendental work of the highest caliber!

This is a MUST read!! If you have ever wondered what it would be like to have a relationship with GOD, then read this book! Henry truly expessed how wonderful a relationship with the Lord can be if you step out on faith and BELIEVE. Thanks so much Henry for your obedience to be a vessel for GOD and ultimately change the lives of others..for the better.

If anyone has ever longed to be in the presence of God -- literally-- and to have his power in you, this man, Henry Skaggs is someone to study. He writes about it in this book. His life and his family's life exemplifies God's grace and power, and this book gives a glimse into why he has this. The book is packed with spiritual truths and Biblical references. I have a much greater understanding of God's tremendous love for me and his desire and ability to do great things in me and through me. I thank God for this book.

This is a MUST read!! If you have ever wondered what it would be like to have a relationship with GOD, then read this book! Henry truly expessed how wonderful a relationship with the Lord can be if you step out on faith and BELIEVE. Thanks so much Henry for your obedience to be a vessel for GOD and ultimately change the lives of others..for the better.

This is the second year I have used this as my desk calendar at work. I love it. It makes me laugh all the time and it has just enough room to keep track of dinner dates or appointments.

Good desk calendar; it's fun to relive some of the classic Get Fuzzy strips.

I received the calendar within a couple of days of my placing the order. The service is great and I love to read my daily cartoon.

My daughter loves day by day calendars & Get Fuzzy. It was a perfect match

"Get Fuzzy" is the current reigning champion of comic strips. Anyone with pets (or who loves animals) can appreciate the inter-species conflicts and hilarity in this comic strip (I particularly enjoy Bucky's attempts at world domination and related ventures.) Here, as in years past, some of the best strips have been put together in calendar form to ensure that everyone can have a bit of humor in their daily lives.

I can't imagine not having this calendar in my house; it's always a great way to start the day. Many of these strips are so good that I have cut them out and saved them or sent them to other animal lovers in my life, while the remaining pages become great for scratch paper.

This is a great calendar and I highly recommend it to anyone.

phenomenal book, it's a must to understand the ww2 conflict. in conjunction with the dvd it gives an inside out view of events that preceeded the end of the conflict.

This book does read like a novel. Although everyone knows the outcome, the writing style is wonderful. The men who supported
Emperor Hirohito's wishes actually could foresee a new Japan as it exists today. Quite amazing when viewed from the rubble and destruction of August 1945.

This is how all factual historical accounts should have been written. Written in narratives, exploring facts and minimizing analysis and interpretations. Its narratives is equal to the world's best novel, and its factual explorations indicated outstanding, continuous and honest hardworking. Analysis, which many times can barely be distinguished from the factual history itself and is therefore many times misleadingly seen as facts, has been successfully minimized without leaving the story tasteless.
The Pacific War Research Society has truly explored many never-read-before details, and amazingly, without assassinating "minor" characters. This is something very interesting in Japanese history. You will find many rebels in its history, but you will scarcely find traitors. This has for many decades avoided Japan from regime-written history, the tragedy that could not be avoided by most nations.

I truly enjoyed this book. The structure, sort of like an episode of '24', is innovative. I was surprised at how the book kept me in suspense even though I knew the ultimate ending of the story. For those interested in the Pacific War 1941-45, this is a must read.

This is the second copy for me. This has to be one of the best thing written about what REALLY went on with Tojo, Hirohito and other cabinet members regarding the "proper" response to the Potsdam Declaration after the A-bombs had been dropped.
Turns out that most of the pap spouted today about Hirohito being stubborn, intent on winning at all costs, and so on is just that - pap. His primary interest was the welfare of his people and the preservation of the polity. It was Tojo and others who wanted to fight to the death. Astonishing to learn that the broadcast of the "Voice of the Crane" (expressing his unwarlike wish to surrender so minimize destruction and death) had to be done in secrecy and so on. Astonishing insights from Japanese Historians examining their own documents first published in Japanese in 1965, 20 years after the war ended, when they were able to interview most of the many surviving principals - only one refused to be interviewed.
Should be mandatory reading for anyone seriously interested in the last 24 hours before the Surrender of Japan. Information was actually being withheld from Hirohito about the progress of the war by generals but he still got the picture and understood. The best thing he could do to discharge his sacred obligation to secure the welfare and interest of His People was to surrender -with conditions about preservation of the position of Emperor - but not because he was warlke, rather because he understood that the role of Emperor embodied the spirit of the populace and Its preservation was in the best inerest of the country. To lose the Emperor would be to lose the heart and soul of Japan.
The book actually reads like a gripping historical novel even though it is wriitten with the dry unembellished style of academicians & scholars.

Yesterday I was having one of those "I need to have an attitude adjustment sort of days". My parents are both deceased, my mother having been buried the week of Christmas in 1988. I get sort of melancholy this time of year, and without meaning to, can slide into a "funk". Anyway, it was that kind of a day. I was looking for something in the bottom, deep drawer of my desk when I came upon Tim Richardson's book, JUMP STARTS. I had actually forgotten I had it. I read the table of contents and knew IMMEDIATELY the place I was to begin reading: Part Seven: Life Teaches Us Lessons in Attitude Adjustment! Yesterday I read "The Sun". This morning I read "Music in the Morning". Thank you, Tim, for the gift of your book. Thank you for writing it for people like me. And I thank God, who always in His timing, knows who or what to put in my path. It was no coincidence that I came across your book yesterday.

Inspirational and thought provoking vignettes. There's no reason NOT to read this book.

It was fun reading Tim Richarson's book, JUMP STARTS. I'm glad Tim has such insight and glad the proceeds go to such a worthy cause. Amazon.com is wise to carry this book. I know it will be a big seller. Businesses would be helped by including this book in their training program.

Tim Richardson displays insightful and inspiring stories in his book, Jump Starts: Wit and Wisdom to Jump Start Your Day. Tim captivates the essence of what it's all about.

Yesterday I was having one of those "I need to have an attitude adjustment sort of days". My parents are both deceased, my mother having been buried the week of Christmas in 1988. I get sort of melancholy this time of year, and without meaning to, can slide into a "funk". Anyway, it was that kind of a day. I was looking for something in the bottom, deep drawer of my desk when I came upon Tim Richardson's book, JUMP STARTS. I had actually forgotten I had it. I read the table of contents and knew IMMEDIATELY the place I was to begin reading: Part Seven: Life Teaches Us Lessons in Attitude Adjustment! Yesterday I read "The Sun". This morning I read "Music in the Morning". Thank you, Tim, for the gift of your book. Thank you for writing it for people like me. And I thank God, who always in His timing, knows who or what to put in my path. It was no coincidence that I came across your book yesterday.

The book provides an excellent source of the names and conversations that shaped the final 100 days.

Excellent book, it gives you a lot of information about the Yalta Conference, the last days of Hitler, the last days of Roosevelt, the Prussian exodus, the Oder ofensive, the VE day, and, of course, the last days of the War in Europe.

I am an avid reader of WWII history and must say that this is without a doubt the best book I have read on the period. This book manages to read like a novel in the majestic way in which it is written and at the same time it makes the war feel personal; the people throughout the pages are more than names, they are lives, maybe ones that could have been your own. Of all the books I have read on war this is the only one that has forced me to stop reading because some of the material in it actually made me want to cry, is this is not literature at its best, then I don't know what is.

In the end I must say that this is not only a classic read on WWII history but on the history of War itself and the major part it plays on the human experience. Trust me, you can't go wrong with this book; this is as close as you will get to feeling like you were in the middle of WWII.

This is a gripping look at the final months of World War II in Europe. Author John Toland covers many angles as the Allied armies advanced into Germany and squeezed what remained of the Nazi Empire. The author rotates between subjects, and keeps the reader's interest with vivid descriptions and many personal accounts of events. Readers learn of Yalta and the politics of Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt (and then Truman), and note the seeds of the coming Cold War. We get a bird's eye view from inside the Fuhrer's bunker as his brutal empire collapsed. We also read about atrocities against both prisoners and civilians, hear of the plight of refugees, and learn about the views from the top Allied commanders in the west (Eisenhower, Montgomery, Patton, Bradley, etc.).

John Toland (1912-2004) was a master story teller, although not an academically trained historian. Judging by the sales figures, most readers seem to prefer his readable and well-researched approach. This is a vivid and gripping narrative.

The Last 100 Days is a monumental historical work. In it the author pieces together the story of the fall of the Third Reich at the end of the Second World War in Europe.

Although the book is generally described as a work of "popular history" it is more than that. It is in fact a work of history that has itself now become a part of the history of World War II. (Too many authors to count have relied upon this book in writing their own books on a variety of matters covering this period of the war.)

This is because in preparation for writing the book the author did much more than just review the then current literature on the subject by "real" historians (often written in a mind-numbingly boring and pedantic style, not to mention based on government records or reports by people who were not even directly involved in what they are reporting on), summarize it, and then rewrite it in a popular style. Instead, the author bases his book on (a) hundreds of personal interviews with persons actually participating in the acts described and (b) thousands of other primary sources, such as journals, monographs, and diaries.

From this vast treasure trove of information, the author brilliantly sifts through it to create a masterpiece. In so doing he discusses the end of the war in Europe on many different levels (e.g., politicians, generals, NCOs, front-line soldiers, and civilians) from many different vantage points (e.g., American, German, Russian, British, resistance).

The perspective of the last 100 days was also not chosen simply because it sounds good as a title. The significance of the last 100 days is that the beginning of this period (i.e., the first day of the last one hundred days) is roughly the time that both the American, British, etc., allies, coming from the West, and the Soviet forces, coming from the East, first breached the frontiers of the Fatherland, i.e., the pre-war boundaries of Germany. The Last 100 Days is thus an account of the counter-invasion and destruction of Germany against overwhelming forces of men and materiel that is told in an engaging, absorbing, thoughtful, and informative manner.

A must-read for anyone interested in the histories of Europe, Germany, or the Second World War.