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I happen to live in Moses Lake, the same town with Monte Holm. He has been everything the reviews say he is. He has given back to this town in later years more than most people will ever know. I highly recommend this book. I couldn't put it down until I was finished. An amazing story about an amazing man I have been privileged to know.

My husband and I had the pleasure of also meeting Monte Holm and touring his wonderful House of Poverty museum. He will soon be 90 so we valued every bit of conversation with him. His story and museum in Moses Lake, WA, were fascinating. We ended up at Moses Lake by accident, but that stop was one of the best highlights of our entire trip. I would encourage anyone to buy this wonderful book. This man is positive proof that anyone can be a success in America with hard work and a positive attitude.

This is a very enjoyable read.
I found ONCE A HOBO by Monte Holm as told to Dennis Clay to be a fascinating true story of a Horatio Alger like character. Mr. Clay puts you into the shoes of a young boy struggling through the adversities of the great depression. It is also a success story demonstrating that hard work and faith can overcome seemingly overwhelming hardships. It makes you feel good and wanting to meet Mr. Holm. It was a welcome change of pace to my usual reading. I highly recommend this book.

My husband and I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Holm recently. He is one of the most warm and inviting people we have ever met! He made us feel as if we've been friends for ever. I just ordered his book, Once A Hobo and look very forward to receiving it. While at Mr. Holm's business, we were treated to a private tour of his "House of Poverty" museum. Very impressive! Definitely worth the time. He also shared his own copy of his book with us and some of the stories of his life. We hated to have to leave. If you have the opportunity to stop and meet Mr. Holm, I highly encourage you to do so. He is in Moses Lake, WA. Not hard to find, just ask anyone.

I went seeking history and found humble generosity instead. During my family's five-week 2001 Pacific Northwest vacation trip, we made a side trip to Moses Lake, Washington to see ex-Alaska Railroad steam locomotive #557. Monte Holm, a collector extraordinaire, owns Moses Lake Iron and Metal and Moses Lake Steel. He also owned the House of Poverty Museum which showcased his collections of antique cars, whiskey bottles, sewing machines, and even old Alaska steam engine #557.

Monte greeted us warmly and immediately offered us handfuls of Werther candies. He gave the kids and my wife each a Susan B. Anthony coin telling us not to spend it but to hold on to it for luck. Even though I had just come to see #557, Monte insisted his assistant take us on a tour of his multi-million dollar museum of collections. At the end of the tour, our whole family was able to get into the cab of #557 and play engineer.

Returning to Monte's bedraggled office, I purchased his autobiography, "Once a Hobo..." and had him sign it. He even let me take a photo of him with his car with its license plate, "IOWNARR." He was proud of the fact that he had acquired this locomotive and later the Alaska Railroad asked unsuccessfully to purchase it back.

For the next week, my wife read his autobiography aloud to us in the car. I was amazed to discover this humble, unassuming man had risen from poverty to great fortune, all via hard work, positive atitude and generosity. I felt very honored to have crossed paths with this "life force."

On May 5, 2006 this world lost one of its most extraordinary individuals when Monte Holm passed away at the age of 89. He wasn't a movie star or sports hero. He was just an honest, kind-hearted person who used his life to help so many of those around him. Thanks Monte for the life changing transformation you made in my life.

Absolutely beautifully photographed book. Schatz captures the God given beauty of the models under water with perfect taste. This is his best book by far. Yes far better than his most recent book Nude Body Nude.The dancers and models in this book appear to be much more natural and have a graceful beauty that almost makes you forget their nude; as opposed to the cliche "sexy" look that is typical of other models.

A magic delight to any person with or even without sensibility.
A must see for photographers and artists. It is a source of inspiration for my paintings and sculptures.
The beauty of the human body as if we were still in Eden.
After this book I was hooked on all Schatz books.
Do not miss it.

With production values like a Hollywood movie, this book still manages to be intimate, and at the same time, otherworldly and unattainable. More technically accomplished and more luxurious compared to "Water Dance" (although the latter is also a must-have), I can pour over this book time and again, and find another detail or expression to seduce me.

I have now bought three copies of this book, one for my house in London, one for my house in the country, and one which I cut up - so I could frame and hang my favourites. It IS that good: this is a truly-wonderful collection. Howard Schatz is a great photographer and in Pool Light he sets the benchmark.

Whereas "Water Dance" took off from an experiment, "Pool Light" appears to be the result of a complete mastery of this unique form of photography which combines beautiful bodies with dazzling fluid effects. Every image in this book is a sight to behold, combining the beauty and grace of the human body with the imagination and emotion brought forth by an underwater stage.

Photographer Howard Schatz has advanced beyond "Water Dance" to perfect his art of underwater photography through a more effective use of the pool's characteristics to portray motion, suspend animation, and produce some of the most fantastic images of the human body. Every one of the 120+ photos is worth a long look. The bodies of the dancers, models and swimmers are not all there is to admire, but take a look at how Mr. Schatz uses the surface of the pool as a mirror or as a screen to either reflect or shield portions of the physique. Every aspect of each image seems to be perfectly in place, even air bubbles and ripples of the pool's surface, which add an interesting quality of depth and lighting.

As a nice complement to the images, there are several pages of commentary which describe the artists' (photographer, collaborators and models) inspiration and efforts, as well as some of what goes into making a book like this. For example, it's noted how Mr. Schatz prepares his "liquid studio" to be more tolerable to the subjects, such as using ozonated (not chlorinated) water, and matching the pool's pH balance to that of human tears so that models can keep their eyes open longer. Interesting reading indeed.

"Pool Light" is one of my favorite photography books of all time, and I would recommend it to anyone.

highly recommended. beautiful photos - clear instructions - gorgeous designs. As a vintage ribbon work lover, this book has it all.

when you want to make a gift special this book will have your flowers very creative and lets you pick those special colors with out a lot of mess. great book

Excellent. Very easy instructions and easy projects. I was immediately able to make beautiful flowers out of ribbon. Highly recommended.

This book is all you need to know - materials, techniques, inspiration for projects. If you'd like to learn ribbonwork, this is the only book you need.

This is the 3rd book I've bought on making ribbon flowers and it is certainly the one to make it easier for you. Her flower directons make your ribbon flowers look like the ones you buy.

Many of the stories and feelings were similar to mine. I especially liked the biblical verses and letters of encouragement on each page. The book is not meant to be an encylopedia of answers, but rather a book that allows you to find answers within yourself and through your faith in God. The reference to Psalm 23 is powerful and personally meaningful because we recited it at our daughter's burial. As I continue to heal, it is my reference book.

I purchased this as a gift for someone dear to me who lost her 3rd baby to miscarriage. My heart aches for her to this day, and I just hope that this book can help her. When I read it, I thought it was something that may help her. I hope she likes it.

I lost my daughter at 28 weeks. She was stillborn. Her name was Elizabeth Grace. I thought my world had ended, with the pain of trying to get pregnant for so long and then losing her was something I could bare to handle. This book was WONDERFUL!! I have given it to many people who I have discovered who have also lost a child. This book carries you from sorrow into a peace of knowing that God has a plan for everybody, that He does not do anything without a reason. There is also a memory idea section to help a mother remember her child that is lost. My favorite section was the last entry entitled "Joy Comes In The Morning", for anyone who has lost a child no matter when or how this conclusion let's you know that joy does come in the morning.

This is a wonderful book for anyone who is struggling with the pain from the loss of a baby! The author's warmth and understanding shines forth through the pages. This is a must read for anyone who loves someone who has lost their baby, as it helps those who have not been through this painful experience walk through it with the ones they love. I will buy this book for every person I know who has lost their baby.

This book is an absolute gift to women who have experienced such a loss as a miscarriage. When I first read it, I cried, and thougt of my close friends who have suffered this intimate loss. I also thought of my best friend, who is a labor and delivery nurse, and gave her my copy to read, so as to share with the patients she has to bring them comfort. As for the chapter on women who have had abortions, yes, I agree, it is a hard chapter to get through, as I myself had an abortion when I was 16. However, after much guilt and tears, I know in my heart that I have been forgiven for this sin, and that I, too, shall meet that precious soul in heaven. It is not easy to forgive ourselves where we fall short, but when we call on the name of the Lord for forgiveness, HE does forgive, and with that brings healing. I would recommend this book to anyone who has had a miscarriage.

I had the opportunity to sail Pink Cloud through Newport (CA) harbor with Pat Royce in 1978. He gave me a signed copy of his book which I will forever cherish; I started sailing International 14's a couple years later and had a chuckle when I looked to see Pat included the 14 in his book. A wonderfully illustrated and narrated book. Buy one for yourself and give as gifts to your friends who want to learn about sailing.

Great book - have the one from the 70's but just wanted an update and to give one away to a new sailor friend who is taking sailing courses.
Wooo hoooo!!

Only telepathy could have provided a faster & more pleasant experience.

I have shelf after shelf of books on sailing and boating, but only Royce's Sailing Illustrated is essentially worn out. This and the accompanying workbook are the only books of which I have two copies; one set at home and one set the boat. If you want an excellent introduction to sailing, buy, borrow, or steal this book. It's still no substitute for actually spending time at the tiller (and making your own mistakes), but Royce, through this little book, will teach you more than a boat-load of much more expensive volumes (or most sailing "schools", for that matter).

I've never sailed, but bought this to understand what was going on in the rigging as I read Two Years Before the Mast, and have since found it an invaluable companion in reading such books as In the Heart of the Sea, The Loss of the Ship Essex, the Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin books and others. Much to my surprise, the book included diagrams of the Pilgrim in which Dana sailed and some of the other ships mentioned in Dana's book, and of the Essex as well. Many of the wide variety of sailing ships mentioned in O'Brian are also shown. Fascinating reference to deepen the understanding of this literature.

Hello Reader! Thank you for checking out Secrets of My Soul. Of my 3 book collections, Secrets is the first, and readers have told me that it is their favorite book of poems. I am really proud of this book. Although it was the first, I continue to read this book everywhere I go . . . schools, community events, etc. High school students love this book for its love poems. Female readers love this book for the encouragement, hope and lessons that it shares with the lady soul. Men love this bookb because it's honest and in touch with the identity of being a descent human being.

"Dare me to pursue this, to pen the secrets of my soul in Father Time's precious ink, royal black and memory gold. I do it cry the truest tear, for a writing heart never bleeds fear." I hope that you will be intrigued by what I do with words in Secrets of My Soul. I love alliteration and rhyme, but most importantly, I live to give meaning in each poem that I write. There's something in this book for everyone: man, woman, boy, girl. There's something for us all. There's a lesson. There's a lyric. There's life. Enjoy it!

Secrets of My Soul
Reviewed by: Wanda Starkes, C&B Books

Ms. Latorial Faison's, Secrets of My Soul, collection of poetry is uplifting - And a delightful ray of work. Intelligently written, Latorial explores various issues and plights regarding self, family, and the world describing them in words filled with spirituality, empowerment, love and joy.
I especially enjoyed the positive energy that I personally felt as I read each one of her poems. I look forward to reading more poetry by Ms. Faison's in the near future.


Her poetry is a wonderful 'Fruit of Thoughts'.

Secrets of My Soul is an excellent book of Poetry. A real mind opening experience was created. Another rather interesting book is The Throne Room. They are a must. Happy reading!

Before I was an author I was a poet and Secrets of My Soul is why. I love words and the playful way that poets make words do what they say. Latorial Faison is indeed a poet. She had me from title poem and when I stumbled upon "Mirrored Soul," I knew I had found someone whose work I'd eat up...hungrily. I've also become a avid fan of haikus and #9 is my favorite with her wordplay with sun/Son. If you only buy the book for "You Never Did Own Me," trust that by the time you get to "I Dare You," you will be glad you did.

I finally read Latorial's book and all I could think was "these poems were written for ME!" Ms. Faison's words struck so many chords in me. Her poems spoke to my soul and helped me reveal secrets that had been locked in me since childhood. She is a talented writer and I can't wait for her next book!

Great resource for anyone involved, either as a participant or trainer, in high stress activities.

Siddle keeps the focus limited to the relationship between survival stress, escalating heart rates and combat performance but he does an outstanding job of explaining and demonstrating how they interact.

Highly recommended.

Very good book. I read it years ago and I recently used it as a reference/source in a college paper.

I'm not sure what book the "two-star" reviewer read or the scope and depth of those "15 years" of experience. I was a trainer for 21 of my 31 years in law enforcement and for that past 10 years since retirement as a consultant and I find this book very useful. I only wish I'd had something like this 35 years ago.

This is as succinct, understandable and straightforward an explanation as I have seen of survival stress, motor skill and response. Anyone with a background or interest in police firearms training, incident analysis or situation-response training should find this book relevant and will recognize much of this, as I like to say about myself, but "never knew what to call it before."

This is not a book for cowboys or wannabes. There are no quickie "isms" here, but I recommend it to serious police trainers.

Great book in many respects. The book seems to be an abbreviated Master's or Doctoral thesis written for the layperson. I'm okay with that; most people don't have advanced degrees and the average person reading this book isn't necessarily to be considered "well educated". So, the writing style is welcome. I was not looking for raw data with regression and correlation analyses - and I doubt such a text exists.

The second thing I like is the references at the end of the chapters such that a person can research more material if he/she is so motivated. I am and I did.

For those of us who have competed in sports at a high level some of this you'll realize that "you already knew this". To me this is a warm confirmation. For those of us who have been in life-threatening situations his material will "resonate" with you and I found myself laughing out loud at some of the material because I've experienced some of it prior to even being aware of this type of study.

I cannot wait for the next edition of the book as surely there has been a plethora of study since this book has been published.

Thanks, Bruce.

As a tactical physician on a SWAT team, I originally purchased this book to get some training ideas for the men on my team. The medical aspects of the book are fascinating, and although I am a doctor, the average reader should have no problem grasping the concepts. This book clearly outlines the physiology behind stressful situations, and why some techniques work, while others don't. We will be integrating some of the ideas into our training, such as increasing the pulse rate, and then performing various tasks. I would highly recommend this book as a learning, and potential training tool.

TOTAL INSPIRATION, I FELT A SHIFT! So, the hero gets that things are shaken up at the OK Corral..and as a father the hero wonders about his children getting a chance to hike and breathe and have children. He makes a commitment and synchronicity allows him to wander and stumble into action that reflects the resounding simplicity, respect and empowerment he is feeling....and circumstances create the great nation of people getting three days to consider and contemplate what the world needs now.

John Englishs' book THE SHIFT is a must read. This book and the information contained can change and is changing our world. Since reading this book earlier this year and begining to practice some of the information contained has enfolded my life to levels never expeienced before. This book should be read and re-read to fully understand the power we have at our fingertips if we only reach out and touch it. Anyone reading this review
can purchase this book and begin to change your life for the better and join the many who are helping to change our world to new levels and begin the healing for our childrens' children.

John English's book The Shift is a terrific tale that outlines the critical issues facing Americans today and lays out a plan to do something about it now. The narrative of the story is compelling and I found myself on a journey of self-discovery with each turn of the page. Buy this book and read it immediately. It will awaken your dreams and strengthen your resolve.

This is a delightful visionary book that explores American politics in a unique, mystical way. Providing an enlightened roadmap to how we could all change the course of our planet's future, the book takes us on a journey of possibilities. My only complaint is the terrible editing. There are numerous spelling and grammatical errors throughout the book which really detracts from the readability and credibility of this book. A good proofreader should have caught these errors. Still, an enjoyable read!

This "novel" has a novel theme - what if those of us fed up with big business as usual, aka US and Illuminati worldwide policies, had a choice? What if there existed a 3rd viable political party in the US which embraced any and all who listen to their hearts? [No offence intended to Greens, et al].

I have heard Mr. English speak at a local bookstore. His emphasis was not on "pushing" the book, but empowering us to act from our hearts and to carry out our Divine Missions. This novel is the story of one man who follows his heart and creates great positive changes in the world in so doing. John English encourages us to intend our transition from fear-based to heart-based actions, as demonstrated by the novel's main character, Scott.

Read this book, if you desire to change yourself - and this great country - for the better!

This book is so helpful that I bought an additional one for my daughter in college. We are about 90% raw and this book is really helpful with real recipes we can use.

It is a good book just not what I wanted. Not the kind of recipes I was looking for.

Sproutman Publications is a specialty publisher with an impressive roster of health books to their credit. One of the best of these is the "Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook" by Steve Meyerowitz who began his interest in the relationship of foods to health in 1975 when he sought to deal with a lifetime condition of allergies and asthma. After the traditional medical establishment had failed him for some twenty years, he was able to restore his health through diet and fasting. he at 100% live foods for five years, practices 'fruitarianism -- a diet of fruit, nuts and sprouted seeds -- and fasted on raw juices for as long as 100 days. The resulting improvement to his personal health was amazing. In "Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook", Steve has amassed superb collection of recipes for sprout breads, cookies, soups, and salads, as well as 250 additional low-fat, dairy-free, vegetarian recipes. The recipes are presented after the reader benefits from an informational presentation on the pros-and-cons of dairy, dehydrating foods, nutrition charts, sprouting, food drying, low temperature cooking, how to be a healthy vegetarian, and so much more. From Cashew Cottage Cheese; Mighty Millet Bread; Sunflower Nut Milk; and Banana Chips; to Manhattan Sprout Chowder; Braised Tofu; Spinach Marinade; and Creamed Potato Mash, "Sproutman's Kitchen Garden Cookbook" will prove to be a popular and invaluable addition to the cookbook collection for anyone having to deal with the problems of food related allergies and illnesses, as well as the recipe collections for general vegetarians. Also very highly recommended for those concerned with food related health issues are the other titles from Sproutman Publications (available through their website at www.sproutman.com) including: "The Organic Food Guide"; "Power Juices, Super Drinks"; Juice Fasting & Detoxification"; Wheatgrass: Nature's Finest Medicine; "Water: The Ultimate Cure; and "Food Combing and Digestion".

I got this book because I wanted to make sprout bread. The book is very informative. But 95% of the sprout recipes are for wheat. That is great if you want to sprout wheat, but I don't. It does repeat the same info in many parts of the book. But I would say over all I still say it is a great book. I am on a special diet so a lot of what he has in his recipes I can't use. But I did learn a few things.

I guess I'm not the typical reviewer here - I am interested in healthy eating, but without the context of a major life change for myself and my family of five... I'd like to find new ways to eat well, without undermining our entire familiar (mostly vegetarian, mostly well-balanced) diet.

Let's start with what this book IS: an excellent guide to using all types of sprouts, and to which types are good for which occasions - baking, stir-frying, salads, etc. It's also a rather overt advertisement for "Sproutman's" own website and sprouting tools (sprout bag, greenhouse, seeds, etc); fair enough.

The book is full of interesting, simple recipes and ideas for using sprouts either raw or with low temp cooking to get the most nutrition out of every green, crunchy bite. He's also thrown in a bunch of related nutrition stuff - non-sprout items like vegan ice creams and helpful alternatives to salt and other seasonings.

Still, I found that most of the recipes were impractical for family cooking. If two cups of sprouted wheat make a single small loaf or several crackers or cookies, it doesn't take long to realize I'm going to need wheat berries bursting out of every corner of my tiny kitchen in order to create one meal for the five of us.

And that's just bread! To create enough sprouts for us to eat a single salad, a single stir-fry, a single helping of sprouted nuts... well, we're probably going to need to renovate other areas of the house to accomodate all the grow-bags or baskets.

Also, many of the recipes are just variants on previous recipes. Like, he'll take a page to describe how to make a cracker, and then ANOTHER page - this is just an example from memory - on how to make seasoned crackers, and it's obvious the ingredients and steps are identical, just with seasonings added.

Finally, having tasted sprouts and fermented products, I have some idea of what kinds of flavours to expect. Suggesting that his fermented "rejuvalac" beverage will taste similar to lemonade sounds way overblown. He actually hints that it may taste more "like sauerkraut" - to me, that's a BIG difference. Sorry, but I don't curl up on a summer's day with a tall, cool glass of sauerkraut.

Similarly, I realize our dependence on added sugars is overblown, but if I call something a "cookie", my kids (10 & 11) are going to know I'm lying if it's only sweetened with natural sprout maltose and a few raisins. Yes, sprouts give a nice malty sweetness to bread - but only the most idealistic parents would believe kids would accept it as a special-occasion treat.

I guess I was looking for a book that would help me incorporate sprouts into every aspect of our regular household dishes - stir fries, yes, but also to add flavour/nutrition to standard yeast breads, cakes, cookies, veg patties, etc.

Being almost totally vegan (he practically apologizes in the one section where he asks you to put a bit of butter into your rice cereal), there is too little range of dishes for our family's tastes and the dishes offered seem too monotonous for long-term enjoyment.

This book may be ideal for a single person or a couple who want to try an "extreme" veg or raw-foods or minimal-cooking lifestyle. For our family lifestyle, the overhaul required is too enormous to even begin imagining - and trust me, I have plenty of imagination!

My grandmother and I were recently discussing how she would read to all her grandchildren the "Thingumajig" books and how we all loved them. I am now 29 years old and still remember how vivid and wonderful they were. I just purchased them for my god sons, I hope they love them as much as I have.

Great book teaching children about manners and right from wrong. I loved this book as a child myself and know my son can enjoy it!

I love this book. I read it to my second graders on the first day of school each year as we discuss classroom rules. Throughout the year if someone is using bad manners I will hear another student say, "Don't be a Thingumajig!"
I also leave this book on my whiteboard tray and it is one of the favorites during free reading time.

This book was written and illustrated by my grandparents. They were some of the kindest people I have ever known. And the books are absolutely wonderful! You won't be disappointed with this book or any of their books.

I had this book (in a bigger version) when my 27 year old son was small. I was thrilled to find it for my grand-daughter who enjoys it as much as my son did. Manners are a hard concept for children but this book simply nails the importance of manners by showing children what not to do. It is engaging and my 3 year old grand-daughter has already learnt the rythems and can quote the book.