New York Books

Shirley Bassey is a singer of the first order and belongs to the group of entertainers whose charisma turns every stage of the world in to a starstudded place, and whose powerful voice brings the walls to tremble. Just the announcement of a Bassey appearance on stage is a sell-out everywhere. There are few singers today that can stand a comparison to the manifold impressions a Shirley Bassey represents, and whose status quo can be entitled "STAR" ! That is why I always long for a release of this album.

Shirley Bassey is a singer of the first order and belongs to the group of entertainers whose charisma turns every stage of the world in to a starstudded place, and whose powerful voice brings the walls to tremble. Just the announcement of a Bassey appearance on stage is a sell-out everywhere. There are few singers today that can stand a comparison to the manifold impressions a Shirley Bassey represents, and whose status quo can be entitled "STAR" ! That is why I always long for a release of this album.

Shirley Bassey is a singer of the first order and belongs to the group of entertainers whose charisma turns every stage of the world in to a starstudded place, and whose powerful voice brings the walls to tremble. Just the announcement of a Bassey appearance on stage is a sell-out everywhere. There are few singers today that can stand a comparison to the manifold impressions a Shirley Bassey represents, and whose status quo can be entitled "STAR" ! That is why I always long for a release of this album.

This cd was digitally recorded in 1982 and is one of her best recordings to date. Produced and arranged by Johnny Harris who also produced her best recordings of the 70's. Best tracks include All By Myself, Don't Cry Outloud, This Masquerade, Can You Read My Mind and her version of Michael Jackson's He's Out Of my Life. Released in the UK as "Love Songs" in reached no. 48 in the pop charts.

I enjoyed all the songs on this album. But in particular, I loved the way Shirley, stylist that she is, sang "If and When"; this is my favorite song on the album. I've listened to it repeatedly and will still continue to do so. Her voice range is incredible (as always). She really puts her heart and soul into every song that she sings. I've always admired this incredible entertainer and wished that she'd do a concert in the U.S. again.

Someone gave me New York: Architects 01-02 as a gift. What a great gift! I really enjoyed this book even though I am far from artistic and know nothing about architecture and design.

The book has a stylish cover that features a pattern of geometric, almost-three-dimensional boxes that are in different shades of blue. The internal layout is easy to follow and provides a way to compare architects and their styles virtually side-by-side.

At least one reason I personally liked the book so much is that I've lived in NY for many years, and a decent number of the pictures in this book were of buildings and interior spaces I've walked by or through, admired or have always meant to see. It was interesting to focus on the art, design and structure of these buildings and spaces that are a part of my daily life and nice to realize how much New York architects have contributed to the character of New York.

Architect buffs, people getting ready to build or design a home or office or urbanites planning to design or restructure an apartment anywhere in the world will all love this book, will appreciate the easy access to information about a large number of architects and will find it incredibly useful as a source of design ideas.

What a great idea! Organized as a directory of modern architectural firms based in the New York area, this book allowed me to really get an in-depth perspective on each firm. I particularly enjoyed the section in each architectural profile where the architects themselves talk about their personal design philosophy. And of course, all those wonderful photographs of spaces and buildings! This would be a great gift book both for the serious lover of modern architecture or for someone who just likes to dream about beautiful spaces.

You don't have to be an architect to really enjoy this book.

The concept of the book, to present a number of incredibly diverse NY architects in once space, is fantastic and one I haven't seen before. And the book itself, while functional, is also great to look through and easy to read and follow. The pictures of the architectural works beautifully illustrate the diversity, style and capabilities of each architect, while the written information accesses the entire world of the particular architect by showing the scope of that architect's experience and the works for which each is responsible.

What a great book to have on your shelf or coffee table, both for the architectural of mind and the architectural lay person.

I found this book quite helpful to get to know some of the top architects in New York. You can see what the various offices are doing, what projects they've completed and which awards they got. The wealth of beautiful pictures is very inspiring.

I found this book quite helpful to get to know some of the top architects in New York. You can see what the various offices are doing, what projects they've completed and which awards they got. The wealth of beautiful pictures is very inspiring.

For all the crowds who were compelled to come to Ground Zero in those first traumatic months to see for themselves, pay their respects or simply offer moral support, most did not get close enough to see what these men and women who worked "The Pile" saw. Their lives will never be the same. Dedicated first and foremost to bringing home the victims, cutting a giant tangle of twisted steel and pushing compressed concrete--1.8 million tons of "debris"--the ironworkers, heavy equipment operators and other tradesmen who worked the site were heroic in their selfless determination to work fast and see the job through to the end. Reporters were not allowed inside and workers who talked to them could be fired. Unprepared for the horror they would see but pushing through, day after day to get the job done, these men and women came together in an unspoken bond which could not be breached, even by members of their own family. This is a story everyone should know. God bless them all.

The "outside world" owes a debt of gratitude to the men and women who worked hard to respectfully recover those who were killed on 9/11.
This book goes a long way to bring those of use who observed from afar closer to what happened in the aftermath.
The courage to step up and the morality to do what is right is imbedded in these individuals.
Thank you.

This book is a terrific account of the story of the recovery from the Pile to the Pit at the WTC Site. In contrast with the twisted and bitter 'American Ground' written by William Langewiesche some years ago, 'Nine Months's firsthand hand accounts from the rank and file men and women from the FDNY, NYPD and Constuction Trade show the human efforts and bursting hearts that forged those involved in the recovery into a band of brothers. Their desperate efforts and hopes again inspire us through this account.

It was worth waiting for until now to hear their stories in their own words and much applause to Glenn Stout, Charlie Vitchers and Robert Gray for putting this together for the rest of us. No one should miss it.

Thank you Bobby, for imortalizing the experience, and heartache, of us all.

Wonderful book that captures what really went on to clear out Ground Zero and how recoveries were handled.. Charlie Vitchers is an amazing man and is so modest for all that he accomplished. He brought compassion to recovery. Without his direction and authority recovery and clear up would have been chaotic. I highly recommend this book if you want to know what really happened at Ground Zero on Sept 11, 2001

Why Hartov's name isn't right up there in popularity and acclaim with Daniel Silva and other better-known authors of spy thrillers is beyond me. In this fine novel, as in The Heat of Ramadan, his characters are complex and wonderfully drawn and developed - he has a knack for realizing secondary and 'throwaway' characters that is just amazing. Hartov's plotting is smooth, tricky, tight, and plausible. There is both technical expertise and a subtle, pleasurable literary touch to his writing (my half-star off on NHoG would be that the military/paratroop technicalese got just a smidge too thick for me at times). His books sizzle along - that's my one criticism (tongue firmly in cheek): I finish his books too fast because I don't put them down - and then what?! Wait another 4 or 5 years? Tell the man to get back to work.

i don't understand why this author isn't being published more. he's a talented writer, with an obvious first hand knowledge of what he writes about. i think he's a potential clancy,ludlum or forsyth.

While being an insider isn't a prerequisite for being a great writer of intriuge, it doesn't hurt Hartov's novel any. Thankfully he has the skills to flesh out three-dimensional characters. Benni Baum's attempts to reconcile with his daughter, Martina Klump's obsessions and Ruth's feelings for her father and for a NYPD dectective are positive additions to the conflict.

There is just one word which can describe The Nylon Hand of God - excellent. Steven Hartov writes with the expertise of an insider. The language itself is rich, as well as beautifully descriptive. This book is a definite must for anybody who is interrested in good fiction.

As usual with one of Hartov's books this book is action packed
and exciting.The book begins with a suicide bombing at the Israeli embassy in New York. Benni Baum is sent to investigate the bombing. While there he attempts to reconcile with his daughter.After looking at the bombing he and his partner believe
that the situation is being manipulated by Iranian agents.They
also discover that one of Baum's arch enemies Maria Klump from East Germany may also be involved in this plot.There are gun battles all over the place and intense action.This book gives you the feeling of having a front row seat.I wish that we could get more books out of Hartov because he has proven himself to be
an excellent author.

The book really placed you back in that era. The information was like spying on the "old guards" of Wall Street. This book was really a well written and it is hard to believe it was written in 1969. I could not believe how much George Whitney bailed out his brother Richard and how others at the Morgan firm went along with it...I guess old money is generally foolish! Great Book!

This book brings the Depression to life. The writing is erudite and the author's decision to tell the story through the life of one individual makes it personal, more than a "dry" history. A time that should not be forgotten, a story that should not be forgotten.

If ego is a drug, Richard Whitney was Wall Street's Tony "Scarface" Montana. More than $27 million in debt and trying to conceal bald-faced embezzlement, the broke stockbroker and former New York Stock Exchange president still managed to carry himself with a smug hauteur as he drew up new IOUs.

Approaching one broker with whom he was on a bad footing, Whitney "made no lame effort to ingratiate himself. Rather he announced brusquely that he 'wanted to get this over with quickly'...Then he said he wanted to borrow $250,000 'on my face.'"

He was denied that time, at least, but Whitney's arrogance was rewarded in other instances. When you were one of Wall Street's aristocrats of the 1920s and 1930s, life was like that.

Whitney is the central character in John Brooks' "Once In Golconda," an absorbing, picaresque account of the New York Stock Exchange's painful coming of age during the Jazz Age and Great Depression. Though there are some patterns watchers of today's stock markets may recognize in this account of the Great Crash of 1929 and its aftermath, some things are probably never to be repeated, probably for the best.

Wall Street in 1929 was a plutocratic fiefdom where might meant right and no one was righter than J.P. Morgan & Co., known by many as "23" for its Wall Street address. But the crash brought anger as it took the rest of the national economy down with it, and in time, calls for reform that the stockbroking elite ignored at their peril. Leading the resistance to change was NYSE President Whitney, who showed great bravery on Black Thursday by placing some stabilizing bids but remained inflexible despite growing demands for needful change.

"Once In Golconda" is a financial history anyone can pick up and enjoy. The terminology is not too technical, and Brooks writes with a real zest for the human equation. At the same time, you get a deeper appreciation for the market forces that dictated what happened on the Street; how the market was democratized, first by the influx of middle-class investors before the bubble burst, and then after, by the formation of the Securities And Exchange Commission; and how J.P. Morgan lost its supremacy to new-money upstarts like Merrill Lynch.

Brooks, writing in the late 1960s, clearly favored a closely regulated market, but he avoids coming off shrill by presenting both sides of the argument at all times. Not completely in the New Deal camp, he describes the theory of an early FDR economic adviser as amounting to populist voodoo economics. "To reverse the roles by trying to make gold prices affect commodity prices was like a man in a building lobby trying to move an elevator from floor to floor by pushing the indicator dial from place to place: it wouldn't work, and it could easily end up ruining the whole mechanism."

This is an excellent companion volume to Brooks' other classic, "The Go-Go Years," a contemporary account about the market's rise in the 1960s. It has the same elegant prose, the same attention to nuance and detail, perhaps an even larger-than-life cast of characters, and a wry wit that pierces through even the driest sensibility. Of one fabled stockbroker, he writes: "He published a book explaining his stock-market techniques - a tip-off that they were no longer working for him."

Once in Golconda is a well-written financial history book. The setting is 1920s and 30s Wall Street. The drama centers around Richard Whitney, who falls from grace like the hero in a Greek tragedy. During the '29 crash, Whitney himself (he was president of the NYSE at the time) strode onto the floor of the exchange and bought U.S. Steel (and other blue chips) to temporarily halt the slide. In the aftermath, Whitney literally stole from widows and orphans and was sent to prison. An excellent example of a financial history book that is not dry and unreadable.

This is a very good book.

The book follows the 1920s and 30s stock market from the corner in Stutz stock (on which only people who were long originally gained) to the demise of the aristocratic Richard Whitney.

It could be fiction except that you see the similarities all around.

The description of 1929 is the best I have read. I wish I was there to see Whitney make the most famous bid in all stock exchange history (10 thousand US Steel at 205). I too would have fallen under his spell. And I too would have been shocked and scandalised by his eventual downfall.

Read this and make your judgement. Are you too taken in by the image of today's high flier? Or are you above that? Some people are. I am not sure I am

This book was great. It felt like I was reading about 3 dimensional characters, not stereotypical cops. An excellent plot that unfolds a little at a time. I would have to say that author CAUNITZ owes a great deal to the late, great ED McBAIN. For a first novel, CAUNITZ delivers a polished product and succeeds on many different levels. I have never been a police detective so I would not really know the authenticity of their dialogue but these detectives talk like real people. All in all a great book and I am glad I picked it up at the library and am looking forward to reading more from this author.

Strong character development, plausible plot, realistic dialogue with a splash of sexuality. Opening pages can be a bit disturbing; not for the faint of heart. Well worth reading; a good book to read when you don't sleep alone. And hope no one you care about ends up in the scenes he describes!

I had nightmares after the first night of reading due to Caunitz's vivid depiction of a murder scene. The book had a marvelous pace and had nice character and plot development. If you like whodunits you'll love "One Police Plaza"

When the body of Sara Eisinger, travel agent is found, it is just another homicide for Detective Lieutenant Dan Malone and his detectives. Then a few of her possessions are checked and things don't add up. A key that gives access to an exclusive sex club. Two phone numbers that are unlisted CIA. Definitely not your typical travel agent.

These cause Malone and his team to become embroiled in a mystery involving the NYPD, CIA and Mossad. His bosses try to stop the investigation from proceeding but it's already too late and the action carries on until the inevitable violent conclusion in Brooklyn.

Overall this book is a good read. As the author is a retired Detective Lieutenant of the NYPD, you can't help wonder how much of Dan Malone is based around William J. Caunitz. As would be expected, the routine police work is detailed and is interspersed well with some of the action sequences.

This is the authors first book, which is maybe why everything is oriented around the main character, whom just happens to be something that the author once was. Not that this is a negative point, the story line works well and although the main story-line itself is not too plausible, IMO, the way that it is constructed has given the book a feeling of authenticity that someone without the authors background would maybe not have been able to do.

David Lucas (davidlu@sco.com).

The drab, dangerous and often funny details of police work give One Police Plaza a hard-boiled realism. Caunitz shows how government hacks, Mafiosi, reporters, spies and even New York's Catholic Diocese are linked to the cops and each other by a system of favors Malone's manipulation of his superiors and his relentless dedication give this novel the page-turning pull we expect from a good thriller. Its special strength is its carefully exacting depiction of what the working life of a big city police department really is like. With the same bold clarity that served him as a New York City police detective, first-novelist Caunitz delivers a powerful tale of murder and espionage. . . Caunitz expertly depicts the stark reality of the police officer's life and work, and his hard-edged prose drives the story to a stunning conclusion.

From the security of a comfortable life in Oak Grove, Virginia to the razor cold streets of New York City, Jack Stewart is bound and determined to pursue a career as a jazz musician - against all odds. When he returns home from a tour of duty in Nam, all that life asks of him is that he settle down and carry on the successful family business. Why would anyone who could have it so easy cast their fate to the brutal winds of such an uncertain livilihood as a jazz musician in New York City? There is more to this story by Carlos Rubio than Young man from hometown America sets out to become a jazz musician. In the way that Dizzy Gillespie "like a majestic bird in flight" blows his magic horn and he is suddenly the indisputed center of the universe; from the bottom of his heart to the mouthpiece of his tenor sax, Jack has no doubt that music will deliver him. With Hans (a gothic cathedral of a man in the woof and warp world of jazz), the owner of the Jazz club Empty Hand as his mentor, beautiful woman at the snap of his fingers, some of the greatest jazz musicians of the day on a first name basis with Jack as his inspiration, and the jazz epicenter of Greenwich Village as his stage, you would think that Jack Stewart had arrived. Deliverance, however, comes with a price tag. If you have a tall mountain to climb, or a vast valley to cross, or a tenor sax you desire to master, then this book is a must to read. This is a users guide for those of us who prefer center stage to going through life sitting in the cheap seats in the back row. And for those of you whose only request from life is a good book to read, then this is your lucky day.

Alan Hodgkinson
Author of After Incoming

From the security of a comfortable life in Oak Grove, Virginia to the razor cold streets of New York City, Jack Stewart is bound and determined to pursue a career as a jazz musician - against all odds. When he returns home from a tour of duty in Nam, all that life asks of him is that he settle down and carry on the successful family business. Why would anyone who could have it so easy cast their fate to the brutal winds of such an uncertain livilihood as a jazz musician in New York City? There is more to this story by Carlos Rubio than Young man from hometown America sets out to become a jazz musician. In the way that Dizzy Gillespie "like a majestic bird in flight" blows his magic horn and he is suddenly the indisputed center of the universe; from the bottom of his heart to the mouthpiece of his tenor sax, Jack has no doubt that music will deliver him. With Hans (a gothic cathedral of a man in the woof and warp world of jazz), the owner of the Jazz club Empty Hand as his mentor, beautiful woman at the snap of his fingers, some of the greatest jazz musicians of the day on a first name basis with Jack as his inspiration, and the jazz epicenter of Greenwich Village as his stage, you would think that Jack Stewart had arrived. Deliverance, however, comes with a price tag. If you have a tall mountain to climb, or a vast valley to cross, or a tenor sax you desire to master, than this book is a must to read. This is a users guide for those of us who prefer center stage to going through life sitting in the cheap seats in the back row. And for those of you whose only request from life is a good book to read, then this is your lucky day.

Alan Hodgkinson
Author of After Incoming

Meet Jack Stewart, struggling jazz musician who could have coasted comfortably through life by carrying on the family business after returning home from his stint in the Army. His mother who he is so near and dear to him would like nothing more than this. And his desire as a good son is to please her. But he is torn. The problem is, this is not Mr. Two-story-house-with- white-picket-fence-in-the-suburbs. This is a man ultimately in search of himself. Something deep inside told Jack early on that he could only express himself through the mouthpiece of a saxaphone. Now, meet yourself. Knowing thyself is key to everything. This is what Carlos Rubio's novel is really about. The theme here is universal. People who have a profound effect on Jack, like Hans, owner of The Empty Hand coffee house who possesses the old world solidity of a gothic cathedral gives Jack his first clue concerning his unbeknowst quest for a voice when he tells Jack about Orpheus, the musician in Greek mythology who only finds his voice after coming to grips with his own insignificance; or Jack's idol Dizzy Gillespie, a man who blows his bent horn like his life depends on it. Jack meets him one day. During that meeting, Dizzy tells Hans that Jack just needs to "lossen up." Lorraine comes along and teaches Jack just that - how to lossen up. In doing so, she teaches him something important about life, this in a way a man could never learn from his parents. So, all these characters who become part of Jack's daily life in Greenwich Village converge to facilitate Jack's necessary transformation. But of course the real transformation has to come from within. The sudden death of his mother and uniting with his father for the first time as a result of her death is the nudge that completes his transformation. At last, Jack plays his sax like he has never played it before. You see, he is not playing his saxaphone, but he's living fully for the first in his life - he's living through the medium of a musical instrument, a medium that he loves. Jack finds his voice as we all must, least we perish, ironically in the realm of our own significance.

Carlos Rubio captures the struggle of a young artist and the feel of New York City's jazz world. His vivid descriptions brings the sights and sounds of a village night club to the reader to the point of hearing the soulful music and smelling the smokey Empty Hand Cafe. Jack Stewart, the main character, struggles with fullfilling his dreams against all odds. Along the way the importance of mentors, friends, sacrifices, and believing in oneself are interwoven in the theme. This story will be enjoyed by all.

Step into the little known world of struggling artists, musicians and writers. This novel of a man's self discovery takes us through close relationships and a troubled past. The author vividly immerses us in the culture and lifestyle found in the Empty Hand, a nightclub whose after hours camaraderie fostered by Hans, their benefactor and philosopher, who holds them, and the novel, together. This is a very well written and descriptive novel that lets you feel the comfort and joy, the frustration and hope of a section of our society few know about. For anyone who has the artist within them, this is one you don't want to miss.

I met a recently retired paramedic who recommended this book as a good book about the reality of what it means to be a paramedic in New York City. He said it was pretty accurate and a good read. He was right. I really enjoyed the story and learning more about this vital service.

I literally could not put the book down. It made me laugh and cry.

Paul Shapiro's account of his experiences as a paramedic in Manhattan is exciting, illuminating, and amusing. I was a volunteer EMT for 12 years, but NYC is an entirely different world. Shapiro shows us what motivates those people who work to save lives in the busiest city in the nation. While I never had to deal with the extremes described by Shapiro, this book still reflects my experiences in its humor and spirit. This is definitely recommended reading for anyone who wants to explore the live and motivations of the dedicated men and woman of our Emergency Medical Services.

I have read many books written by paramedics and EMTs and this is, by far, the best one I have read. Paul Shapiro (no relation to me!) writes with intelligence, thoughtfulness, and humor. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book.

Paul D. Shapiro candidly takes you through the everyday calls and situations that Paramedics are put through. He shows you how the EMS system works and explains how to handle certain calls from drunks to extracting unconsious people from cars. This novel is exciting and worth while.

I'm a coach. In another life, I think that I'd do that as a profession. In this life however, I've been coaching my 2 girls in a variety of sports and learning so many lessons. As they have gotten older, more and more issues have come up that have pushed me past those easy tee-ball days. Suddenly, drafts and organizational politics have come into play - neither of which I could care about all that much. I'm still more concerned with my singular goal for each season:

How many of these kids will have so much fun that they will come back and play another season?


There was a study done recently that showed that 75% of all kids who play sports stop completely by age 13. Athletics was such an important part of shaping who I am today and for my girls, I feel that it is extremely important for them to keep playing (something, anything) and having fun.

I picked up a copy of "Parenting Young Athletes The Ripken Way" from the library this weekend and blew through it's pages in one sitting. What I read reconfirmed:

* Cal Ripken is a class act
* Youth Sports today is very different than it was when I was a kid (not so long ago)
* Youth Sports are GAMES... and games are meant to be fun
* Parents and coaches may be hurting their kids inadvertently by pushing and not praising at all times

I jotted down a few notes as I read this book (I read with one eye on the Patriots playoff and their 17th victory this season - all those guys played youth sports I bet).

Cal talks a lot about praise and how to use praise to really build up a kids confidence. I do an OK job of this, but am realizing how important it is to not be critical - especially in the car on the way home from a game. My instinct is to keep coaching on the way home, giving my girls tips and pointers on what to work on. What I should be doing is going gaga over their performance and asking them about what they thought.

If my goal is to get my kids to keep playing a sport from season to season, I think a little less criticism and a ton more praise might just do the trick.

A lot of parents have asked me if I think travel teams and specialization is something they should be considering for their athletes - I get these questions more and more now that my older kid is approaching middle school. While I'm not an expert quite yet, Cal's book made some great points that are worth considering.

* By playing as many different sports as possible, your athlete develops cross-compatible skills that will help them in every sport they play. The quickness they get from playing aggressive defense in basketball will certainly help their footwork on a soccer field or on a baseball diamond.
* Cal also mentions that the college coaches he knows actually tend to favor well-rounded athletes - their thought being that a player who specialized at a young age is at risk for an injury (overuse of particular muscles) and burn out.
* The book also talks about travel teams and how for most kids, lack of playing time on a team focused only on winning can actually end up making no difference athletically for that child - and even worse can create other issues. The demands that travel teams make on families creates issues with school work, missing family time and meals and at it's worst, can create animosity or dislike for the game. At 7 or 8 years old, is this really necessary?

In the end, Cal makes a startingly simple and powerful statement that I 100% agree with:

It's not about your dreams, it's about your child's dreams.

I'd agree. Sports may not be your kid's dream - but giving them an opportunity to stay fit, learn a new game and make friends is worthy enough a goal!

I thought this book was excellent. It made a lot of references to baseball but it can be applied to any sport. He does mention other sports and uses examples with them. This book is great for any parent that has a child in sports. It covers, the basics of sportsmanship and how an overemphasis on technique or winning can harm your child. It also covers how to develop a good relationship with your child's coach and why most kids burn out on team sports by middle school and how to avoid it. My 2 daughters swim on a swim team and one of them also plays soccer. I found myself thinking of myself in many of the examples and also of the other parents that I know on our team. I think it is a good down to earth book and it gives a lot of helpful advice on how to deal with various things that come up when your children play sports. I think it should be required for any parent that has a child in youth sports.

What can one say, advice by Ripken is as good as it gets. If you want to keep athletics a positive experience for you and your kids, the Ripken Way is the way to do it. Great guide for parents, school athletic departments, and all those coaches who sometimes need to be reminded about what sports is all about...good experiences for kids! Extremely readable.

I have been honored to have coached youth sports for sixteen seasons. I've often struggled with what is best for the kids in the long run against a parent's internal drive for competition, and to win. This book should nearly be a mandate for every parent in this country who has kids playing sports. Cal, along with Rick Wolff, who is Chairman of the Center for Sports Parenting, have created an outstanding book that covers all the bases about child development, skill development, and long-term success. In a society where news is filled with overzealous, and even violent parents in kids sports, this book offers the cure. It even provides the secret to creating long-term athletic success (and it is not what most parents think it is).

The book is full of practical advice about how to broaden athletic skills and deal with the developmental and emotional challenges kids face when playing organized youth sports (how we wish for the sandlots of yesteryear). In fact, when my seven-year-old son got out at a play at second, and couldn't control his emotions, I found myself driving home frantically just to reread the chapter on "dealing with disappointment", so I could help him through it.

When I was a kid, I didn't have fun, wasn't given a chance, and I was one of the millions of kids in this country that stopped playing sports. Cal and Rick are right on target about what to do to keep kids playing. The messages in this can create happier kids, happier fields, less-stressed parents, and in the long run, more kids that choose to play sports for a lifetime (and do them well).

Great book for parents with kids involved with sports. Very sensible advice. Ripken shares experiences he had with his own children.

I have really enjoyed this book, so much so that I bought it for a friend's wedding as well. It is my go-to book for pies & tarts.

This book has more than 40 recipes and a very informative "Basics" section. There are beautful color photos of each recipe. As with all WS books, the instructions are easy to follow. There are sidebars, where necessary, to provide addtional information. The pies range from simple to elegant -- a recpe for every occasion. I'm partial to the coconut custard.

Hi, I'm the editor of this book, and was sorry to see that Flame had had mixed experiences. I checked with the author, and her diagnosis is that the tart dough may not have been thoroughly chilled according to the recipe directions. If tart dough is not properly chilled before baking, the butter can melt and leak as described. We were careful to put instructions in every recipe to refrigerate or freeze the tart shell until firm. I myself have used Caroyln Weil's tart dough recipe for several years and have always had great success with it. If you have had trouble with a particular recipe, please feel free to contact us through Williams-Sonoma customer service and let us know; we are eager to make sure these recipes work well for everyone who tries them.

I've had both great and not-so-great experiences with this book. The apple pie was absolutely incredible as were the tarts but the tart dough caught my oven on fire the first time (the recipe called for far too much butter which leaked out everywhere). Overall a good book. For beginners I would also recommend "The Farmhand's Favorite Pies" by Mr. David Butler since its recipes have never turned out bad.

I found this book to be informative in baking techniques and the recipes are wonderful. I prepared the tart dough, for the lemon cream pie, and found it delicious and had no trouble with the baking. Truly lovely pies, well written instructions, and beautiful results without highly complicated instructions.