France Books

60th Birthday present for Da, who thought it was brillient!!!

As a fan of military history, I was happy to find a book that tries its best to give a feel for the moment of that historic day. The little extras that are to be found is well worth the price and would be a great Christmas present to a history buff.

This is a fine tribute to our veterans!

Excellent prose and documentation of this historic event.
The book's top secret memos, the diaries of the foot soldiers,
and the immense planning and undertaking of this invasion, as recorded in this book, provided me with an indelible impression
and an appreciation of my parents who were members of this worlds "Greatest Generation."

I will recommend it to any young people who are beginners in the study of WWII and want to understand the history of their country and why we now feel and live the way we do especially
from a military and human point of view.

This book is incredible. It can't be described in words. It is basically a giant scrapbook of d-day - the liberation of Paris. It has pop-out maps and documents that where written to the soldiers e.g. by Eisenhower. If you read a book on world war two you get the normal information, but this book has detail, pictures - and what I call reading easter eggs - inside of it so that it really brings d-day + to life. I know amazon is selling the book for about $30 dollars, and thats probably how much to make the book, but it's educational value and its interest value to me would be over $200. I have to say this is the best book (it's really a scrapbook) that I have ever read. The other good thing about the book is you can pick it up any time and read a section that you seem to be interested in (even though all the sections are interesting). This to me is one of those things that I can show my kids and my grandkids in the years to come. Buy this book and you won't regret it, or miss a single penny that you spent.

Put 'D-Day' into Amazon's book search and you'll come up with over two hundred titles and I expect most will be about the momentous events in June 1944. This book covers them as an 'experience' and I think it does it rather well. Don't be put off when you see it only has sixty-four pages because it includes a lot of other things as well. There are fifty plus printed items which are facsimiles of maps (one is a German map thirty by twenty-two inches) military reports, logbooks, posters, soldiers diaries, a newspaper page, letters and more, they are either stuck on the pages or in envelopes to be removed and examined. One of the nice things is that the reproduction of these extras is particularly good and they do really help to create the experience.

Each spread covers one event with a mix of text, photos (with good captions) a map and other graphics all beautifully presented in a scrapbook format. If I have a criticism it is that the maps, which have a lot of information, are rather small so I had to use John Man's Atlas of the D-Day and Normandy Landings to fully understand the flow of events. While looking at this treasure of printed material you can also hear on the included CD (seventy minutes) the voices of men who were there and made it happen.

This is almost a unique publication but while looking through the Amazon list I came across 'Our finest day: D-Day: June 1944' (ISBN 0811830500) which also presents historical documents as reproductions to be handled but I'll stick with this D-Day experience, I don't think it can be beat.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

This is the first book in a series of four, designed to be both teachers to the apprentice pastry chef and a companion to the accomplished one.
And at that it succeeds fully.
In this first tome, pastries and bases are discussed and demonstrated. In effect all of the basic preparations of French patisserie are present: Tart doughs, Meringues, Genoese sponges, Biscuit a' la cuillere, puff pastry, cakes, simple breads, brioches, croissants etc.
Every preparation and method is discussed meticulously, with the assistance of a plethora of recipes and photographs. In most cases there are more than one recipe per product and large and small quantities are given, to fascilitate both the professional and the apprentice, even the home cook.
The book includes Metric measurements as any self-respecting pastry book should.
As it is a first tome in a series, the products are rearly followed to the stage of filling and decoration. This is done in the second book, which deals with creams, fillings and mousses. One should really acquire at least the first two books of the series for a complete picture. This is not necessarily bad (as far as I am concerned it is not bad at all), since a pastry chef can have the products, recipes and procedures neatly, by family, in each book.
To sum up, this book (and the whole series in general) is, as far as I am concerned still (after so many years) the best money can buy. Much better than Bo Friberg's books and a definitive guide to French Patisserie.
It is a very good investment for every aspiring or accomplished pastry chef and since the price has been reduced recently , a good bargain.

I have done a first run through surface read of this book am I ever impressed. This is a full college class in 1 well written volume. The steps are well illustrated and I like the 3 different portion recipes. It is NOT a 'skim through it and slap something together' type of cookbook. I have been needing a challenge and been needing to expand my culinary abilities. This book is just the ticket. I sure hope SOMEBODY reads my wish list this year and gives me another volume in the series!

I am a student in a Culinary Program for breads and specialty desserts and my chefs stand behind these books 100%. The step by step instruction that includes illustration as well as the history of the preparation make these books invaluable if you are at all interested in baking.

I OWN A LOT OF PASTRY BOOKS THIS IS THE BEST.I RECOMMAND THIS BOOK TO THOSE WHO REALLY WANT TO LEARN THE GOOD PASTRY .IT CONTAINS ALL THE BASIC OF THE PASTRY.WITH STEP BY STEP PICTURES WHICH MAKE MORE EASY TO FOLLOW THE RECIPE.IN HERE WE DO NOT HAVE THE GOOD PASTRY SHOP LIKE IN EUROPE THIS IS ALLOWED ME TO PREPARE THOSE FRENCH PASTRIES : ECLAIRS,MADELEINE,LES TARTES WITHOUT FAILURE.I BOUGHT ALSO THE VOL2.SO GO AHEAD A BUY IT YOU WILL NOT REGRET I PROMIS

I went to pastry school in France and found these books absolutely indispensable.

Need to learn the classics of French pastry? This book (and the other three in the series*) is for you! There are lots of detailed pictures and explanations are clear and well written. Along with time-lines to help you gage how long a project will take. The recipes are frequently given for large restaurant quantity along with a scaled down version suitable for home cooking. My only complaint is that there's no index that spans the 4 volumes, though each book does have its own index with references in both English and French. Very useful.

Master the information in these books and you can work in any pastry kitchen anywhere in the world.

* Creams, Confections, and Finished Desserts
Petits Fours, Chocolate, Frozen Desserts, and Sugar Work
Decorations, Borders and Letters, Marzipan, and Modern Desserts

As a person interested in the origins of imagination, creativity and spirituality, I've never felt as close to the source of these ethereal human qualities than through this book.

The descriptions written about these things for centuries are always limited by the term ineffable. The one area that has come closest to describing this domain is art.

Harriette Frances' one LSD experience in the early 60's, shattered her everyday world as she had wanted, but the hoped for reintegration of her psyche didn't occur for quite awhile until she was able to use the one tool at her disposal to describe her conflicted worlds: her art.

Yet her need to fulfill a lifetime obsession to create art was the source of the conflict that was causing pain to her, her husband and her children as she couldn't resolve this need with her culturally-defined roles of good wife and mother.

What emerged finally were a number of series of powerful drawings that arose like molten lava from her subconscious that encapsulated the rage and torment of her daily life.

As one views these images and reads Frances' own analyses of them--sometimes from a point of view many years removed from their creation--it is stunning to consider how much of who we are lies under the surface of our exterior demeanor and personality.

While our own depictions of our subconscious might not possess the sheer brutality or violent and erotic nature as hers, what is obvious is there is an enormous amount yet to be learned about our minds.

It seems apparent to me that if Harriette Frances had not had her LSD experience, which was the key that eventually unlocked what was hidden away in her subconscious, she would have become just another casualty of a mental health system which would have merely labeled her "psychotic"--and if further attempted suicides wouldn't have ended her suffering, she might easily have ended up first in a mental institution, then dumped onto the street when mental institutions were closed around the country in the 70's.

But perhaps the greater tragedy is that LSD, once a major research tool in this country and elsewhere was banned even for research and psychotherapeutic purposes when the government ignorantly and abominably overreacted to the unsupervised use of the substance in the 60's by young people whom the government feared they couldn't control to their satisfaction.

So at this point, "Drawing It Out" serves as a historical footnote to a period in our society that didn't yet fear itself and where the need for man to explore didn't include just outer space, but the even more incredible domains of our own inner space.

This is a profound and evocative portrayal in both artistic and literary modes of the authors' powerful psychedelic experiences.

There are many paintings done while under the influence of psychedelics. However, there are none that I am aware of that so exquisitely portray the developmental sequence of experiences during a session, or of the subsequent maturation that the session induced.

I have used these drawings in a variety of teaching formats and students are invariably impressed or even awed by them. I also am awed and delighted with what the artist has done and recommend the book highly.

Robert Elliott, A contemplative reader

There is a freshness about this work-in-two-media. With the rendering (and rending) of the artist's soul there is also, thank goodness, the reassurance of language-like a bridge over it's troubled waters. As a word person myself, I am particularly facinated by the picture part of the work, but also by the interplay between the two.

The essential candor of the visions demands from the artist an equal openness in the text, so that the two potentiate each other, so to speak, like the gin and vermouth which become something else in a successful martini. It is powerful stuff.

And then, too, William Blake, a master in two media, comes to mind. The probing and the sharing of the inner workings of a human being are about as intimate as one can get, aren't they? And yet, the artist's own determination to give an honest portrayal allow the work to transcend the wrenching experience of it's raw, very raw materials.

I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

This is a dramatic, moving and eloquent document. No hippie hunting ecstatic experience, no mere tripster, Sherana Harriette Frances records, in word and drawing, the symbolic death and rebirth of a woman artist through medically guided use of LSD, in the early sixties.

Every first generation American child of immmigrant parents lives in some degree the shock, the alientation from family and the necessarily sometimes brutal struggle to translate oneself out of the parental culture without destroying familial bonds.

Ms. Frances, in her agony of escape and rebirth from child of immigrant Cretan parents into her life of American woman artist, offers through these drawings, as well as in her own very literate written report, the agonizing stages of this liberation.

She has created an original testament to the profound struggle required and to the everlasting power of art to convey that struggle in appropriate metaphor.

She took the ancient Minoan bull of her ancestry by the horns and rode him to the kill - to her resurrection as American woman and as artist. Brava!...

"Drawing It Out" brings to mind the closing lyrics of the
title song from "Mash":

"'Cause suicide is painless.
It brings on many changes.
And I can take or leave it if I please.
...And you can do the same thing if you choose."

Like Suicide, Self Procreation/Re-Creation "brings on many
changes," but it's hardly ever Painless, as Ms. Frances'
gripping chronicle of her odyssey makes overflowingly clear.

The text is deceptively plain-spoken. Until well after the
fact, I scarecely realized how deftly she conveys complex,
elusive notions and feelings as if in a treasured letter
from a dear friend.

As for the images, words can't describe them. Powerful,
moving, disturbing, revealing, truthful, tormenting --
toss a stack of such adjectives into a hat and cook until
you concede that words can't describe these drawings.

"Drawing It Out" is an enthralling exhibit of a
Spiritual Epiphany -- "a sudden manifestation of the
essence or meaning of something" (American Heritage Dictionary).

Don't read "Drawing It Out" unless you're prepared to risk
the challenge of searching-out the Epiphany of YOUR Self...
Pretty Scary Thought, eh?

My husband has this book in hardcover and liked it so much that he bought the soft covered version for an older gentleman he knows from the Catholic War Veterans: Father Duffy Post in Manhattan, NY. It is a well written and informative story that does great justice to the bravery and courage of this Catholic Chaplain and others from the Fighting 69th. It also tells the story of the immigrants of NYC as they fought and died together during this first World War.

If all you know of the Fighting 69th is the movie with James Cagney and Pat O'Brian you need to read this book.

The Duffy in the title of Duffy's War is Father Francis Duffy, the beloved chaplain to New York's famous National Guard Regiment the Fighting 69th. Through the stories of the men who in that Regiment, Stephen Harris tells of its participation in the First World War. Father Duffy wasn't the only famous man featured in this book. Serving in the Regiment was at the time were William "Wild Bill" Donovan who would win a Medal of Honor in combat and in the Second World War found the OSS, the forerunner to the CIA; and Joyce Kilmer, the poet who penned, "Trees." But the tale could not be told without telling the stories of the less well known citizen soldiers who answered their county's call to arms.

The 69th had a heritage as a regiment of Irish immigrant and sons of Irish immigrants with battle honors that included every major Civil War battle fought in Virginia. As part of the 42nd "Rainbow" Division, formed and eventually commanded by General Douglas MacArthur , the 69th, rechristen the 165th Infantry made history and fought in five campaigns n 1918. The author tells of these campaigns with some of the clearest descriptions of battle I have ever read.

Meticulously researched and told with a clear narrative style, Harris blends official records, first person narratives and personal papers to tell the story of ordinary men performing extra ordinary deeds.

In the interest of full disclosure I must tell you that I consulted with Stephen Harris on the history of this proud Regiment. [...]

This is a very good book and thoroughly researched about the Fighting 69th Regiment New York US Infantry. It provides a very detailed account of the Regiment's actions in the Great War of 1914-1918, although the United States did not declare war on Germany until early 1917. The Regiment was transported to France towards the end of 1917 and went into the trenches in February 1918. The book describes the various actions in which the Regiment fought and the doughboys suffered very heavy casualties in its advance to the Hindenberg Line. The book was based upon the writings from his diary of the regimental chaplain Father Francis P Duffy, who also wrote a book in 1919 about the Regiment, a copy of which has recently been received from Amazon and will be my next read.

I've read a lot about the American Expeditionary Force and the Fighting 69th, but Stephen Harris's study really expanded my knowledge about both. I'll certainly have a much better appreciation of Joyce Kilmer's "Rouge Bouquet" next time I hear it read and of the goings on at the River Ourcq next time I visit that battlefield. What I really enjoyed, however, was the author's biographical sketches and background on a whole raft of fascinating individuals. These include average Joes caught up in the adventure of lifetime, Medal of Honor recipients, plus well-known characters like Kilmer, Wild Bill Donovan and--most importantly--the namesake of the book, Father Francis Duffy. The good father turns out to be amazingly multi-dimensional: a good Samaritan to Teddy Roosevelt's returning malaria-afflicted Rough Riders, a learned modernist intellectual who works his way into his bishop's doghouse, a military politician of the first order, the proud protector of his Irish and unofficially Irish flock, and New York City's most beloved humanitarian. A strong recommendation for Duffy's War.

The 69th regiment, is one of the oldest and most famous units in the United States Army. It's history goes back to 1851 when it was known as the 69th New York Militia. ('A' company can trace its roots further back to the Revolutionary War.) The unit gained fame at numerous Civil War battlefields and Gen. Lee gave it the name 'The Fighting 69th.'

This book takes the regiment into the next war, World War I, where its actions were no less heroic. It spent 170 days in the front lines suffering hundreds killed and thousands wounded. Perhaps its most famous members were Father Francis Duffy (whose statue is in Times Square, which technically is really Duffy Square), Wild Bill Donovan who headed the OSS in World War II, and the poet Joyce Kilmer ('Trees') who was killed. The regiment was part of the 42nd Rainbow Division under Douglas MacArthur.

This is the full, previously unpublished story of the regiments actions in World War I and fills out a trilogy of stories concentrating on individual regiments by the same author.

The 69th still exists. It was one of the first military responders at 9/11 - having two men killed there, and it was federalized and sent to Iraq in 2004.

Very good book for kids who love dragons. We read this book many times, and my son still asks for more. The pictures are marvelous.

I was immediately drawn to the beautiful artwork of this book. The cover page was so very descriptive. The illustrations throughout the book are wonderful and very little text is needed to complement the art of the pictures. On the discovery of the egg in the henhouse, George takes the egg to his bedroom to keep it warm and safe until it hatches, reading to the egg all the while. George seems to believe that the egg can hear his words and continues to read to the egg. On hatching George continues to read to the dragon before bed each night after training the dragon during the day in dragonly characteristics. Reading plays an important part in the book, and is a good example to be setting for young people enjoying this book. The storyline and most especially the beautiful illustrations make this a really fantastic book for the young adventurer. All that is needed is an imagination and a sense of adventure to enjoy this book.

The Egg has some of the most beautiful drawings I have seen in a modern children's book. Even I found myself caught up in them.

The story is very pleasing as well. My son enjoyed learning about dragons and their "dragony ways." Although he was somewhat saddened at the end as he could not understand the need for the separation.

In all the books I have read, there has only been a few that have captured my attention and actually held it. But I have found what I have come to call a books soul or in simpler terms a books meaning. Yes this book was probably written for a young person, to put them to sleep or to just keep them occupied. But to a dragon lover this book is much more. It is in a way a ticket to another world. A world in which the imagination can be free to explore the deepest and darkest corners of the universe without being restrained by reality.
In this remarkable book there is a young boy, whose name is George, who discovers a large egg. After the egg hatches he and the dragon become great friends and they teach each other the importance of having a friend. While George teaches his new found friend all he could about being a dragon he couldn't give his friend one thing, another dragon to play with. If you want to find out what happens to this special young boy and his mystical flying friend than you want to read the book The Egg, by: M. P. Robertson.

Robertson, M.P. The Egg. New York: Phyllis Fogelman, 2001.

In The Egg, a little boy named George finds an enormous golden egg in his mother's chicken coop. He takes care of the egg until much to his surprise, it hatches into a dragon! George takes good care of the dragon until one day it leaves to find its own dragon kind. The little boy is sad and misses his good friend but receives a great surprise in the end that helps him deal with the fact that the dragon has to leave.
The Egg conveys a breakthrough in modern stereotypes. The big issue in this story that breaks through is the fact that a male character is doing the stereotypical "mothering." Starting at the very beginning of this story, the narrator stresses maternity and nurturing. Most of this is done through text but some through illustration. Most of the action pictures in this story take place on the right side of the page, setting up the anticipation of action on the next page. George finds an egg that a hen has laid, sits on top of, and keeps warm and protected in the hen house. In the full-page spread when George takes the egg inside, he immediately sits on top of it to keep it warm in his bed. In addition, the integral parts of the story, in which the dramatic action takes place between George and the dragon, and is very important for the flow of the story, appears as a full page of color with no white showing. When the author is trying to get a reader to focus on one thought or sentence, which is not as important or outstanding, he puts a small, colorful picture in the middle of a white page in order to draw your attention. George mimics the hen and takes care of the egg like he thinks a good mother would do with her young. The series of four pictures on the next page shows the egg hatching and George being pleasantly surprised that it is a dragon!
The first main time in the book when George obviously breaks through a modern stereotype is when the egg hatches, and the dragon says his first word to George: "mommy." This is taken to mean that the dragon wants the boy to be his mother, and George proceeds to take care of him like he thinks mothers do. George has obviously only ever been exposed to the traditional type of female mother figure; therefore these experiences shapes his behavior with the dragon. This is a prime example of how George breaks down traditional stereotypes because he is exhibiting a behavior that he has only learned, but does the job of "mother" so well that the dragon thinks that he is a mother. The narrator comments, "George had never been a mother before, but he knew that it was his motherly duty to teach the dragon dragony ways." Another series of pictures shows and describes how George teaches the dragon to fly, breath fire, help a damsel in distress, and defeat a knight. These lessons are synonymous with the integral and important things for dragons to know, and each one is taught to him by his "mommy." Again, George is "mothering" the dragon the only way he knows how; a way he learned from a woman, the central caregiver he has observed, and it makes no difference that he is male because he is only coping a behavior pattern. If George is the example, gender has nothing to do with good parenting.
The point in the story when George makes the largest noticeable break in stereotypical behavior, is a line that comes toward the end of the story. On a full color page, which makes it seem important, appears a night scene of the dragon and the little boy in a tree. It reads, "Every evening, as all good mothers should, George read the dragon a bedtime story." This is a great example of the proof that the behaviors he is exhibiting are stereotypical to female mothers. This indicates what a "good mother" does, but George, a male, does the "natural" things that mothers do, only he is a male. The great thing about this book is that a non-traditional character plays a traditional role. A male can be just as good a mother as a female simply because he has learned to reproduce mothering behavior. This book does a good job of showing that you do not need to be a female in order to be the picture of motherhood, you only need kindness, care and unconditional love associated with good mothering and learned rather than innate behaviors. All in all, this was simply a good, easy picture book for children, but it has a certain deeper context that we may not even notice until a child thinks it odd that a boy is doing the "motherly" jobs.

I love this book. The recipes are easy to cook and everything that I have tried so far has tasted superb! I really like the way the book is structured and illustrated. Many recipes come with a little story about specific ethnic restaurants in Paris where the author has found the dish.
It makes me want to go to Paris and visit every single one of them!
Some of the ingredients were not a regular staple in my kitchen, e.g. orange flower water, but it was relatively easy to get them.

I absolutely adore this cookbook/guidebook! I have given it as gifts to several of my friends who love food because the recipes are wonderful in how they taste and in the variety of offerings the authors provide. I love when a cookbook goes beyond recipes, though, and this one succeeds in every respect. The authors provide fascinating information about the food and about where and how to find the ingredients in Paris and elsewhere. I am delighted to have been introduced to harissa and arcan oil and use both now as staples in my cooking. The beet salad has now so impressed many of my dinner guests that they have refused to go home without the recipe. My husband and I have had the good fortune to try out some of the authors' restaurant recommendations and we have been delighted. I wish there were a similar book written for Seattle.

There are probably as many French cookbooks as there are ingredients, but Charlotte Puckette and Olivia Kiang-Snaije have created a category all of their own: a virtual tasting menu for Paris' restaurants that Parisians are likely use as a field guide when they tire of French cuisine.

Anybody can find their way to Notre Dame or the Louvre, but this is a must for anyone who wants to let their palate be their guide to Paris. And if you're not able to go, you can experience Paris' ethnic cuisine in your own kitchen -- assuming that you can find all of the ingredients you need to recreate the flavors that flow from the kitchens that are featured here.

This will this change the way you see, think about and taste Paris. Moreover, Puckette and Kiang-Snaije have created a new category that will force bookstores to create a new shelf in their cooking sections.

But since not all cities offer what Paris does, this is clearly the one to start with.

A fabulous cookbook and Paris guide all in one! The recipes are authentic yet not intimidating. There are some that the most novice cook could make and more complicated ones for the more adventurous cook. All are easy to read and the descriptions make you want to try every single one. Make sure and read every word because the more you read the more addictive it becomes. You begin to smell it and feel it, and can't wait to cook it and taste it. I have loved sharing this with my friends and family - a great gift for anyone who loves ethnic food. It has it all!!

I've ordered this as a gift for the food lovers I know, and of course, myself. Excellent layout, robust historical background in clear, economic writing and simple, tasty recipes I've never seen the likes of. This one stays out for use in the kitchen, and is beginning to show the signs of love with sticky rings and dog-eared pages.

I got a copy of this in a second-hand store when I was a kid and I've practically read the covers off. Absolutely magical. I have never read a better imagining of the Cinderella story.

you can not give this book enough stars. this book brings cinderella to the next level very tastefully. thank you to the author for this teenage level.

The book is very good story. The author has done a very good job of telling the story. I have readed this book since 6th grade and now I'm first year in college. I have enjoy this book every time I read it. I recommend it to every one.

I found it! Like one of the other reviewers, I read this book, and re-read it and re-read it, in Elementary school and loved it! The internet and places like Amazon.com have been a god-send for finding those treasures of childhood I thought I'd never see again. This remains to this day my very favorite version of the Cinderella story. Well worth the read no matter how old you are!

Like Robin Grunder's (New York, New York March 1999) review I just saw on this page, I had read this book (from my church library, no less!) when I was about 10-12 years old. I fell in love with it, and it left a marked impression upon me. Sort of "Cinderella at a whole 'nother level." But as a teenager I could not find the book anywhere. As a young adult, I would revert back to childhood books in times of stress (Madeleine L'Engle, Carolyne Keene) and looked for Eleanor's "Glass Slipper" many times to no avail. Then, in my late 30's, when Internet searching became all the rage, I one evening put the title in a search engine and VIOLA! There were several used (collectible) hardback copies available through Amazon.com! ... but I have my used 'library' copy and I'm ecstatic. I'll pass this on to my child's children, who will hopefully love reading as much as I do.

this story, of a true 'hero,' makes a compelling read. how amazing that fry managed to save so many important artists of the last century and was little known until isenberg's book. a good read while learning an important bit of our history. i will definitely recommend this to my book club.

Varian Fry was an American hero, risking his life to save others, unrecognized during his lifetime, but, fortunately, with Isenberg's new biography, now about to become a well-known figure. Called the artists' Schindler, Fry saved about 1,500 artists, writers, teachers, labor leaders, activists, and others from Hitler -- Max Ernst, Marc Chagall, and Hannah Arendt among the group. A Hero of Our Own tells Fry's story in a lively, compelling style. One can't wait to turn the page to find out what happens in Nazi-ridden, Vichy-controlled Marseille 1940. Who will be saved? Who will be turned over to the Gestapo? Why did Fry risk his life? This book answers all these questions in a fascinating story that is well worth reading -- as Fry is well worth remembering and honoring.

This is a must book for book clubs and reading groups! Isenberg's writing is engaging as she tells of Varian Fry's dramatic actions that saved so many people from harm. But, more thrillingly, through skillful use of private documents, she shows her readers how a man who showed little previous signs of special distinction, not content to stay a bystander, was willing to put himself at risk to help strangers whose lives were in danger. The book will spark discussions, not only of the holocaust, but of our continuing search to lead ethical lives today in the face of widespread violence, famine and continuing human rights abuses.

I read Sheila Isenberg's marvelous book, A Hero Of Our Own, in one sitting. What made it compelling was the author's logical, step-by-step approach to the stunning chaos of her hero's dilemma.
Varian Fry's defining year in Marseilles came alive line by line, stroke by inspiring stroke in clear logical matter of fact tones. The work is poignant and powerful, mythic documentary proof of a bona fide hero and his heroic friends confronting the petty viciousness of evil with clear-eyed will.

A beautiful important book. This is History as it ought to be written. Should be required reading in high schools and colleges round the globe.

For someone like myself, who enjoys a really exciting story, preferably about a real person,one need go no further than to read "A Hero of Our Own" by Sheila Isenberg. Varian Frye, a not-so-ordinary American, feels impelled to leave his comfortable life as a writer and editor and go to France as a member of the Emergency Rescue Committe (ERC) and risk his life to save as many refugees (mostly Jews) as he can from the Nazis. Frye is the only American to be honored at Yad Vashem (Israel's Holocaust Memorial) because of his work in saving thousands of Jews. If I didn't know it was a true story, I'd think it was fiction because his adventures read like a fast-paced thriller, a veritable realization of the classic "film noir" of the forties. In fact, I feelthe book cries out to be made into a movie which I would be happy to see. Of course some of the book's revealed facts about our own State Department trying to keep refugee Jews from entering the United States when they knew it mean certain death was quite shocking and disturbing. However, all in all, I'd recommend the book to anyone who enjoys reading a fast-paced book about real heros and history.

Frances Hesselbein is currently editor-in-chief of Leader to Leader quarterly. Previously, she served as CEO of the Girls Scouts of the USA and then as chairman and founding president of the Leader to Leader Institute, formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management. Her published works include this book as well as The Leader of the Future, co-edited with Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard; The Leader of the Future 2, co-edited with Goldsmith; and Be*Know*Do (an adaptation of the U.S. Army's leadership manual) to which she and General Eric K. Shinseki (USA Ret.) co-wrote the Introduction.

In his Foreword to this book, Jim Collins observes that Frances Hesselbein "grasped a central paradox of change: the organizations that best adapt to a changing world first and foremost know what should [begin italics] not [end italics] change. They have a foxed anchor of guiding principles around which they can more easily change everything else. They know the difference between what is truly sacred and what is not, between what should not change and what should always be open for change, between `what we stand for' and `how we do things'...Equally important, she exercised the discipline to say no to opportunities that did not fit the central mission." This brief excerpt from an uncommonly insightful analysis of Hesselbein's numerous and substantial contributions to knowledge leadership help to prepare the reader for the 19 essays that follow in which Hesselbein shares what she has learned about leadership that understands the importance of knowing that leaderships is much less about what one does, and much more about who one is.

The essays originally appeared over a period of three years, 1999-2002. After re-reading them, Hasselbein observes, "I found that I believe even more passionately in the whys [of leadership]: the values, the principles, the beliefs that define who we are, what we believe, what we do, and how we work with others, our fellow travelers on a shared journey to leadership in an uncertain world." In this volume, of all the challenges that CEOs face, she identifies those that have little to do with managing the enterprise's tangible assets (important though as they obviously are) and everything to do with monitoring the quality of leadership, the work force, and relationships.

More specifically, the "`how to be' leader knows that people are the organization's greatest asset and in word, behavior, and in relationships she or he demonstrates this powerful philosophy...builds dispersed and diverse leadership - distributing leadership to the outmost edges of the circle to unleash the power of shared responsibility...holds forth the vision of the organization's future in compelling ways that ignite the spark needed to build the inclusive enterprise...and [meanwhile] knows that listening to the customer and learning what he or she values - `digging in the field' - will be a critical component, even more so in the future than today."

My take on all this is that Hesselbein fully understands and appreciates the value of "know-how." Her key point (if I understand it) is that effective leadership can be provided only by what Bill George characterizes as "authentic" people: those who consistently demonstrate the values, the principles, the beliefs that define who they are, what they believe, what they do, and how they work with others. As George describes them, they demonstrate "the highest integrity, [are] committed to building enduring organizations...have a deep sense of purpose and are true to their core values...have the courage to build their companies to meet the needs of all stakeholders, and recognize the importance of their service to society."

Both Hesselbein and George are convinced, and I wholeheartedly agree, that the greatest leaders are those who develop and then sustain authentic leadership at all levels and in all areas of the given enterprise. Moreover, they are determined to be "good citizens." As Hesselbein explains, they believe "that the community is as much their business as is the business of their enterprise. They dedicate the same commitment to this job, the same forecasting, planning, marketing, and mobilization of energy and initiative, that they dedicate to building the enterprise within the walls."

Make no mistake about it: These are formidable challenges that Hesselbein poses to those who aspire to be leaders. "All the how to's in the world won't work until the `how to be's' are defined, embraced by the leaders, and embodied in every action, every communication, every leadership moment." Indeed, she continues, there must be "leaders of character at every level, leading the organization and the community of the future." Some may view that challenge as "unrealistic." It isn't. Others may view it as "idealistic." It is...and that is the most important lesson all of us can learn, not only from what she has written but from what she has been and continues to be.

Frances is a special and extraordinary role model who shares her insights and encourages others to reach for their maximum leadership potential. The creativity within her advice is engaging and inspirational. This is a great book for young leaders and those who are developing goals and a vision for their career and personal success.

Hesselbein on Leadership should be on all leaders "must read list". Frances has taken the multidementional, quantum complexity of leadership and given timely gifted guidence in language and concepts that are understood by the intellect in addtion to being rocognized by the soul.

Her thoughtful and thought provoking words are a call for the action of "being" not just "doing". Every sentence rings with truth and power. This is a book you will return to again and again.

This book was first mentioned to me at a Leadership presentation at one of the not-for profit organizations I serve, and then again a short while later at a UCI Graduate School of Management presentation by a local executive. This is a delightful small book filled with some good advice, pithy sayings and leadership insights. Hesselbein lives up to her reputation in this compendium of essays on Leadership. I rather like books of essays because often each chapter, or essay, stands on its own and can be read or re-read as the need arises.

Hesselbein writes in a clear and conversational manner that makes it easy to understand her point. But one should not be lulled into complacency while enjoying her most readable style for the insights to be shared are important and many. She points out with great understatement that "Leadership is a matter of how to be rather than how to do it." She offers as whole new way of organizing our enterprises as she explains "Managing in a World That Is Round." This book will find its best use for those managers looking for a metaphor or simple explanation to share with others in the organization such complex topics as organizational change, behavior, and interaction with the environment. It will be on my reference shelf for a long time to come.

Frances Hesslebein is one of the world's greatest leaders. In fact, Peter Drucker (no "easy grader") said that she was the most effective executive that he had ever met.
_Hesselbein on Leadership_ is a compilation of her wonderful essays (largely from the journal "Leader to Leader").
In a world where many leaders have gone for the "quick buck", it is gratifying to hear from someone who is interested in "doing what is right".
Her writing, like her leadership, is direct, honest and to the point. Unlike some leaders who specialize in slogans, she is someone who only writes about what she believes in and is willing to live.
Her work has the unique quality of being both timeless and refreshing.

1. Is this an in depth presentation?

Charles and Francis are on a mission! They want all believers in Jesus Christ to be able to heal the sick, cast out devils and to operate in the supernatural. This is their motivation for writing How to heal the sick and they make it clear in chapter 1: Double vision for a single mission.
Their main aim for writing this book was to increase the faith of the readers while introducing them to various aspects of the healing ministry. The book is a good introduction to the healing ministry, covering various ways of healing and many testimonies. I would not regard the book as an in depth representation.

2. Did I agree with the way that the author interprets scripture?

Yes! I especially appreciated the way Francis interprets the story of Elijah's "death" in chapter 7. The principle is that just as Elisha SAW Elijah being taken up to heaven and because of that received the double portion, so we too must continually look at our situations with spiritual eyes. We must apply our faith to Holy Spirit inspired visions and persevere until it comes to past.
It is also clear that Charles and Francis interprets scripture by applying a childlike faith, thereby gaining access to power of God. It is reading, interpreting and applying scripture in this way that has the power to save lives.

3. Was there any new information?

This book has been a rehash of many of the things that I have learnt so far this year. Even so, there were a few things that were new information to me:
* The discussion in Chapter 18 about the benefits and healing achieved by growing out arms and legs.
* The revelation in Chapter 7 of Elisha "seeing" his destiny was not altogether new (it was covered in the book by David Yonggi Cho called The Fourth Dimension), but I found it to be very helpful.
* The discussion in Chapter 6 about SPEAKING to the mountain. Francis emphasises that it is not "Whatsoever ye pray" but "Whatsoever ye say unto the mountain" that will bring results.
* I also found Chapter 5 - Let the sick lay hands on you - very interesting.

4. What impact did the book have on me?

Francis and Charles are spirit filled and anointed and boy, do they know it!! If they are not speaking to the mountain, they are laying hands on the sick or having the sick lay hands on them! What I took from this book is a whole dosage of faith. Faith that God wants to heal people. Faith that God wants us to be acquainted with the supernatural and want us to flow in it as if it is natural. Once again, I was impressed with God's heart towards people. God is so generous with His healing power and I just sense that God wants all his children to flow in the power so that He can heal the whole world!

Coming from a Fundamental Baptist background, I was extremely skeptical about this book and the ideas in it. I must admit though when I reasoned with my spirit and not my mind, I could truly understand the Biblical relevance of healing and miracles for today! After applying the principles taught in this book, my husband's legs have grown to be even, his spine was straightened, my arms are now the same length, my spine has straightened, and my husband has administered healing to others as well. Excellent, excellent book.

Even if you don't agree with everything in the book, as I did not, you will see the love of Jesus in the authors and the fruit of their absolutely child-like faith.

Hallelujah!

In 1996, I was invited to teach in a Spiritual Warfare Bible College in Goiania, Brazil. During that year I was given one of Charles and Frances Hunter's books entitled, "How to Heal the Sick". That little book made such an impact in my life as I began to pray for the sick everywhere and they were getting healed. I recall studying and applying the principles described in the book, and teaching and encouraging my students to do the same. Some of the students got healed during the classes after experiencing God's power, then they themselves began to pray for people outside the classroom: in their homes, in churches, in hospitals, and on the streets. People were getting healed on a daily basis! They were being healed from all kinds of sicknesses and diseases as well as delivered from Satan's bondage.

Not sure of God's plan for your life? Are you sick ? The Hunter's break open God's word to give conclusive proof that God wants you healed today. Don't give sickness one more moment than you have to. They have the experience to back up there words !!

This book kept me at the edge of my seat from start to finish. There is so much to learn from this book. This book is very thought & prayer provoking. I can not encourage you enough to read this book because it is so inspiring.