California Books

Cooper is a splendid and delightful character. Uncommon sense is a fairytale meets reality kind of novel that draws you in page by page. I am very enthusiastic about this author and her ability to write in a real life, easy to relate to manor. I just could not stop reading it. Each scene was well laid out, hinting at more to come, with romance, suspense, and true to life friendship/work/family situations that we all know and understand. Job well done...and I recommend it to anyone who loves a book they just don't want to put down.

The best feature of this book are the three dimensional characters that run around inside it. The author really seems to breathe life into her characters, and thus makes them totally believable and likable.

The storyline is also intriguing, and the story moves along at a good pace. Intend on losing some sleep when reading this one, because there isn't anyplace in the story where you want to put the book down.

I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

This book grabs your interest right from the start and keeps it all throughout. The thing I loved most about it is the humor - it made me laugh out loud! I'd rank this book right up there with the best-sellers. Buy it, read it, thank me for the recommendation..!

I was an enthusiastic reader of the rough draft of this novel. I do not tend to be charitable about reading the unpublished efforts of others...but this time I was won over on page one! I am so lucky to be an early fan. The hallmark of this author's writing has to be her zinger opening scenes - wild but somehow utterly plausible.

As for the rest of the story - the pace never flags. You immediately like Alec for his well-meaning ineptitude and Cooper for her realistic response to her new condition. Their relationship holds your attention, as do the other relationships in the story. Thrills! Chills! Spills! Plus it's fun to see spot-on evocations of life in San Diego. One other thing I love about this novel: the author's goodness and delightful sense of humor just shine through.

The best thing you can say of any novel is that it ends too soon. That is true of this whimsical, fun "read." So that's reason #1 for my recommendation. Reason #2: Her enthusiastic fans are already reading her second and third still-unpublished novels, which share many of the best qualities of this first, though wildly different in theme and setting. What you are witnessing here, in other words, is a new star on the literary horizon! Enjoy this first book, and you will be able to say, "I was reading her Way Back When." I am already saving my autographed copy for eBay. :)

This book was recommended by a friend. [the following is from the overview printed on the book itself] ..."Cooper Moody is a beautiful woman living a normal life in San Diego, Califrnia, until the day that a bullet intended for police officer Alec Arnold hits her and changes everything. She finds it hard to believe that her injury has given her the extra-sensory ability of empathy. Now lives may depend on her auncommon sense, and she needs to win the trust of gorgeous Alec. But how to convince him she's for real?"

This book was great fun to read! I enjoyed Cooper's transformation from every-day woman to investigative empath; and of course the relationship building between Cooper and Alec!

Walking though California is great! What a way to spend the Civil War!
This book is loaded with virginal observations of the state and some of the effects that the gold rush had on the environment.

This book came in great shape. It is a very good book of very early california history. It's well put together for the fourth edition. I have thoroughly enjoyed the bookd

nice to read the words of a man long dead who lived in a young America.
great read, lots of details on california's transformation period

I loved this book, and have started giving copies as gifts. The synopsis explains well what it is, so I won't go into that. But the style is both easy and intelligent, an easy yet rewarding read. Brewer's writing sounds like you're sitting down to a cup of coffee with this guy as he tells you these great stories (not 'tall tales' though.)

I also loved the format, since it is a collection of letters. It allowed me to pick up the book and read 1 page or 20 pages depending on how much time I had, where I was etc. It's Ok to put it down for a week or more, but then you can jump right back in.

It is a 'long' book, but there's no compulsion to read it straight through, you can meander through this book over days, weeks or months, or 'real-time' in years even, that's how his family and friends experienced it.

If you live anywhere in California where Brewer went, or if you've visited there, it is fascinating to hear his descriptions of the places from 150 years before.

I can't rave enough about this book!

I bought this book last summer in Lee Vining CA while on a trip through the Eastern Sierra and after reading it found myself looking at California with new eyes.
One reviewer said that even those who are not Californians will enjoy this book. True enough, but I think that the reader who has a detailed knowledge of the geography of the state will come away from Up And Down California In 1860-1864 with a much greater appreciation for Brewer's accomplishments. I know California very well, and as I read along, I could picture nearly every place Brewer described in my mind's eye because I had been at those places myself.
This book is a riveting and thoroughly absorbing glimpse of the California that was. Brewer's style is informative, entertaining, and not bogged down by political correctness. He calls things as he sees them and gives the reader not only a physical description of his journeys with all their pleasures and hardships, but also a good look at the way people lived and rubbed along with one another in what was then a brave new world. His journeys covered most of the state save the Mojave/Colorado deserts, the San Diego area, the extreme Northeast, and the area between what is now Healdsburg and Eureka. Some of the places he does go are remote still today, such as the area of the New Idria mines in present San Benito County and the still wild Southern Sierra along the upper reaches of the Kern River.
I recommend Brewer's journal to all who have an abiding love for the diverse state that is California. After reading it, you will see the state with new eyes every time you take a road trip along its byways.

What is most interesting about this book -- which centers on the poetry of the Bedouin tribe of Awlad Ali -- is not the poetry per se, but that it gives an insider's view of the craft of Ethnography. It shows, through the eyes of a skilled ethnographer, and almost by indirection and in reverse order, how meaning is attached to cultures by the people who live in them.

By peeling back the skin of the Awlad Ali culture - one of the nomadic tribes that once hovered around the edge of the Western Egyptian Desert -- we learn, not just "the ways" of this and similar Nomadic tribes, but more generally, the steps needed to attach meaning to the onion called culture. This analysis reveals, layer-by-layer, the structure and texture of the Awlad Ali worldview. It also reveals the various ideologies that supported its construction.

The Awlad Ali tribe is a society based on blood kinship, on honor, and on a kind of fierce tribal autonomy and independence. And however abstract these categories may seem, and however much they may seem settled at birth, they are in fact constantly being re-negotiated in the tribe's everyday efforts to survive: "lived deeds" in the Awlad Ali culture always trump ascribed status and words. The culture has especially derogatory names and references to those who talk, but fail to act.

Moreover, cultural meaning and societal rules remain close to the ground: that is, closely attached to survival needs. Ascribed status - that is patrilineal genealogy, maleness, etc. definitely have a pride of place in the culture, but these do not settle the matter of status once and for all: What one does with these is the final arbiter of ones position and status within the tribe.

As an American peeping into another culture, what I learned in a somewhat painfully indirect way is that most of rest of the world - even primitive tribes -- still speak and relate to each other in the language of humanity: poetry, songs, prayer, proverbs, folklore, tales, myths, etc. To them, these are not mere cultural trinkets, ornamentations and affectations, to be tossed about during holidays, or to be commercialized and then tossed aside, or just the colorful tools used to promote a particular kind of politics or political organization, but they are the real meat of human discourse. They serve as the actual conduits through which deep human feelings are conveyed and transmitted.

As a backdrop to our own culture, there are at least two lessons to be learned (indirectly and in relief) from this book:

(1) That it is possible to construct a cultural worldview (a complete cosmology of meaning) entirely without the need for a category called "race" or without reference to the idea of a "religion." The author, who was Christian and a partly-white female, lived in the home of the tribe she was studying for two years, which was nominally Muslim, but with all of the many intersecting categories of meaning: race and religion, were never mentioned to her or ever played a role in tribal discourse.

(2) That we Americans live in a social world that is bereft of normal meaningful human attachments and discourse. In comparison to the Awlad Ali tribe, we live in a world of greatly diminished humanity in which racism, acquisition of things, commodification and consumerization of those things, rationalizations and political spin, false piety, rationing of intangibles qualities, knee-jerk bipartisanism, sublimated hatred, and artistic shallowness, are substitutes for real meaning.

Is this all just an inevitable part of modernity? It is difficult to know, but we must be grateful to this author for showing us with great skill that there are other images of, and paths to meaningfulness.

Ten Stars

the book is written by an american woman with mideastern roots -- she provides great insight into the traditionals of the bedouin and arab worlds. I read this before I went to Egypt and it provided great foundation for understanding the culture of the town and village. I like her writing style -- she makes anthopological analysis interesting by explaining in the context of her interactions with the bedouins.

I agree with the other reviewers. It was the best ethnography I can remember reading. What struck a chord with me was her description and explanation of the women's submission to the men, that the submissiveness was valuable only when it was voluntarily given. The idea of women being submissive to men is not only Islamic, but exists also in Christianity.

Lila Abu Lughod, an Arab American woman, lived among the Awlad Ali tribes of the North West of Egypt for two years. Veiled Sentiments is the book she wrote on the lives and poetry of Awlad Ali. Abu Lughod field work was clearly not carried out from a "superior" stance; she sympathized with her subjects and dealt with them as equal human beings rather than inferior specimen or cultures. Abu Lughod attitude, intelligence, training and tremendous analystical ability helped her in developing great insight and understanding of this fascinating culture.

Abu Lughod analysis of concepts such as "hishma" was truly incisive and shed a great deal of light on the nature of modesty between women and men and amongst men and women. The analysis seems to explain behaviors and norms witnessed elsewhere in Egypt and indeed other parts of the Middle East.

An important thesis of Abu Lughod is that the Awlad Ali people often communicated in very conservative and modest way directly through words; they only said what was proper and fitted the norms. Yet a second mode of communication far more true and expressive was found in their little songs or poems.

Abu Lughod discussed gender relation amongst Awlad Ali at length and the relationship between women and the families of their husbands and the society at large. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it. For an excellent work on veiling and gender issues, I would recommend Leila Ahmed's Women & Gender in Islam.

"Veiled Sentiments" is academic. It is the outcome of the author's living in a Bedouin community in northern Egypt (the Western Desert) for two years, a feat of no mean proportions.

Lila Abu-Lughod came to a deep understanding of such aspects of the culture as blood ties, veiling and poetry not only because of her talent and training but also because she has ties to that culture. She calls academics like herself "halfies" because they belong both "inside and outside the communities they write about." She realizes that such a situation benefits them in terms of gathering knowledge within close cultures.

The veiling of women (or rather women's veiling of themselves) is an important topic because of recent events including world politics and of the ongoing research in feminism. It is also important because it is so often misunderstood and so difficult to understand even when it is explained.

After reading Abu-Lughod's renowned (in the world of academics) book, "Veiled Sentiments," I think I have a better handle on veiling than I ever would have had otherwise. It was not easy to absorb the concepts that surround it. That it took ¼ of a 315 page book to do it (a conservative estimate) is a testament to the intricacies of and the psychological motivations behind this cultural /religious practice.

Learning more about veiling alone made this study one well worth reading. But the surprise for both the reader, and-as explained by Ms. Abu-Lughod-the author herself is the discovery of this culture's use of poetry. To take it one step further, the insight into how societies in general (at least ours and that of the Bedouins) similarly use their poetry and relate to it.

Abu-Lughod finds that poetry is used somewhat differently among women in the Awlad ` Ali tribes than it is used by men. Because I am writing my own book of poetry called "Skyscapes: A Woman's View," I was especially interested in this aspect of "Sentiments;" it also was, by the author's own admission, an amazing and important cultural discovery. A group of women in China have their own secret language apart from the men; now this anthropologist brings to our attention how the poetry and veiling customs of these women reveal their emotions and are rooted in the traditions of a society in which they live quite separately from men.

Though this book is not meant for mainstream readers, I hope that many who have no ties to anthropology will make an effort to read it. I believe that women will find it especially interesting but men will also find pertinent information for today's political climate within its pages. No amount of travel could impart the depth of understanding of this culture, and-by extension-similar cultures that this book does.

(Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the author of "This is the Place..." )

Just a few days ago I watched German TV, ZDF, praising Joschka Fischer as the foreign minister who stood against Colin Powell and George W. Bush when it came to the Iraq invasion, but the reality is that around Christmas 2002 Mr Fischer suddenly had vowed to support the U.S. in their Iraq adventure. He seems to have strong transatlantic ties. Only Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder managed to hold him back (not because he was a pacifist but because it was not in the interest of German industries) otherwise Joschka Fischer would have thrown bombs again like he did in the Yugoslavian war. It is good that this book keeps record of his actions which should be investigated by the International War Crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Now, 7 years after German Chancellor Schröder and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer launched the first German war of aggression after WWII we see what their policy was aimed at: to occupy Kosovo and let it become part of the EU. Ralph T. Niemeyer very openly addressed the interest of the German government and industries in occupying this part of Yugoslavia.

Although fiction should not be taken too serious this book has opened my eyes as it makes clear who had an interest in occupying Kosovo: The Germans for the third time in 100 years forcefully brought the 8th corridor under their control. In order to do so they had to invent a building of lies around President Milosevic and by this win public support for their brutal intervention. This book describes very vividly how the war against Yugoslavia was prepared from the Schröder - Fischer government. The facts presented (although the book is overall fictional) seem to be accurate as far as I could find out. Schröder and his gang, like in this book, would probably be found guilty especially since a war of aggression is not only by the German constitution but also the UN charta illegal and in the German criminal code bears lifelong imprisonment. One would think that this would deter men like Schröder and Fischer. That it diod not only shows that the international law is still too weak to go after the real war crime suspects. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading a detailed analysis without the boring style of a mere non-fictional book. The mix of fiction and facts is excellently carried out and it is always clear when facts are presented where these have been obtained from. I like the way, the references have been made. Read it and then think again whether Kosovo should be a member of the EU at the price of another war.

Now, almost eight years after he and German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder ordered the first war of Germany after WWII against a sovereign country former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer decries the war he had launched employing lies like "Auschwitz is happening again in Yugoslavia" as a mistake. In this book I found the hard facts which prove in a fictional trial based on real evidence how cynical Fischer and Schroeder were leading the unwilling German people into a war of aggression, fashionably marketing it as a war over "human rights". Also Adolf Hitler has always maintained that he had "freed" the people he tortured and had only shot back.

what can we "ordinary" citizens do about our leaders misleading us when it comes to a colonial - kind of expension? Not listen? Hardly, but we should question the news being presented to us. This is what this fictional account of the war crimes committed by our leaders in the NATO war against Yugoslavia teaches us. Haven't Schroeder, Blair, Fischer spoken all along about "Auschwitz" which they wanted to prevent from happening again and used it as a reason to justify the invasion and bombing campaign against Yugoslavia? In this book, although fictional, some hard facts are introduced which if we ever had the guts to ask our leaders about would have made it impossible for them to gain public support for the war against Serbia. We should ask questions now when it comes to another "humanitarian" war, let's say in Sudan....

There are many great resources directed at families and now, more than ever, there are many choices for those on the spectrum. In this book, we have a bit of both-- this resource is appropriate for many different audiences and allows the reader to learn from many who are connected to life with autism. This is an excellent choice for "introducing" someone to autism but also for those who are well versed but want to expand their understanding.

We have climbed that mountain and seen the valley...from up high, you get a wonderful panoramic view. I want everybody to join us on this mountain and lift up your voices and shout about autism!

Shout about the challenges of having autism; living with someone who has it or about the reaction that those uninformed about autism express. Shout out a celebration of having autism as well because people with autism make life much more interesting. Shout about the injustices towards those with autism and stupid prejudices about autism such as that tired "R*** M***" (which is a slur in the autism world) cliche. Shout out about what autism means to you personally. Do an autism dance if you need to. Add your voice and be heard!

This is an excellent book. Relatives of people with autism as well as professionals get to add their voices to the chorus about autism and its affect on people at large. Readers get treated to the personal insights of those who contributed to this wonderful book.

This is a book that I feel everybody will benefit from and come away with a larger store of tolerance and acceptance of autism. I like the wide range of voices and experiences that are heard and shared in this book. That makes for a richer chorus. As for adults with Asperger's, make this book a new friend and join in the Mountain Top Chorus!

Reading Voices from the Spectrum was like talking with friends who knew and loved my son. The Autism spectrum is so varied, but the majority of entries had something I could relate to. While reading I started taking notes, I found new ways to explain my sons' needs, in IEP meetings as well as to friends and relatives. I highlighted supports to implement and ideas for his future. From sibling entries I gained an added appreciation for how my other children might be feeling.

There are many books on the Autism Spectrum with valuable facts and research information, but this is the only one I've found written by people who actually live the facts and research.

In this book I was so pleased to read about other people being married to a person with autism. They talk about how the spouse with autism did many things that they didn't understand but they still stayed in the marriage and I feel that is because being married to a person with autism is being married to a very unique and caring person.I have survived 49 years of life with autism.In this book I read so much that was similar to my own life. I highly praise the people who have helped and got so deeply involved with the children with autism. I unfortunately never had that kind of help when I was a child. All the stories in this book should be read by anyone who wants to understand the beauty of autism.

In my work as the Editor of a large, international newsletter for parents of individuals on the autism spectrum, I read about 6 books each month on individuals with ASD, their families, new therapies and research. This book is absolutely superb. Dr. Naseef's essay as a parent is one of the most porfound, realistic and positive I've read in my 24 years of service to the autism community and in my 34 years as the parent of a woman with autism. The variety of essays and perspectives sets this book apart from all others.
Susan J. Moreno, M.A.
President, MAAP Services for Autism and Asperger Syndrome
Editor, The MAAP newsletter

WE CARRY EACH OTHER: GETTING THROUGH LIFE'S TOUGHEST TIMES comes from the care-giving experiences of the CarePages community, presenting their stories on how to make a difference when a loved one or friend is facing a serious illness or loss. From diagnosis to loss, chapters survey how to organize helpful responses to friends and family alike, creating game plans for expressions of hope and help that truly make a difference.

A very well written book relating real life experiences that many of its' readers will face during their lifetime. This book gives us a taste of what others go through when a loved one or friend is in need of comfort, love, and strength. It seems to come natural to some, but most of us feel awkward and don't know what to do or say. These narratives open a window into their grief and allows us to see what a person really needs during these difficult times.

This book should be read by anyone who works or volunteers with the sick or the elderly. There are so many caring examples of how we can express ourselves through words or kind deeds. I would recommend this book to anyone who cares for others

I couldn't put this book down from the moment I began reading it! So many of the personal stories I came across felt like someone saw my inner thoughts and put them into this book. It was so comforting to know that I am not alone in this journey.

Great quick read. Extemely helpful to let people know what they can do to help friends, family and acquaintances when there is illness, injury, or death. Shows you what sometimes is not obvious. Great stories.

Kalpanik blends art, craft and wit into a narrative which teaches us lessons we did not know we know.

This book combines elements from good humor, a memoir, a scenic travelogue, a touching love story, science fiction and philosophy.

Whether you ever wondered about meaning of it all, or you want to read something light amusing, or want to see places like Seattle, San Diego, and Nashville from the eyes of the writer, or vicariously live the life of a
student at University of California, this book is for you!

The author, purportedly an Artificial Imagination computer program simulating a life/career journey through the Hi Tech and yet very scenic world of California and Washington (Settle) is witty still though down to earth and funny! The book is written in a very conversational style, as if you are reading a letter from a close friend!!

Great book, love it! It's hilarious! I could not stop giggling, I cracked up page after page. Really Nice!

And so many nice photographs. I felt I was traveling with the author, no, I was him, feeling his ambitions, his surprise, excitement and pain. And what a brave soul! He (yes, despite its claims to have been written by an AI program, this book is written by a loving, feeling, breathing human for sure!)--He is able to maintain his sense of humor even as he moves from one place to another, faces one set back after another! He always comes back!

Wow! What a story!!

This book transcends genres -- it's a good collection of memoirs, entertaining style, nice splash of humor, an extremely detailed travelogue with beautiful photographs, a good description of technology, a touch of Science Fiction (since it is purportedly written by a Artificial Imagination program) and suffused with philosophical musing and last but not the least, a moving love story.

Even though it's obviously written by a Technologist, the book is very human. It is primarily about the immigrant experience, but Kalpanik is extremely observant and has an eye to look for the unusual, notice what stands out and build humorous side of people, places and his own life.

Wonderful! I am specially moved by his bitter-sweet love story at the beginning.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R167JUBPRPS0DJ Entertaining and interesting!

Where the Money Is, is a collection of true stories featuring some of the most unusual and thought provoking crimes in what is described by the author as The Bank Robbery Capital of the World - Los Angelinos, the City of Angels.

Charting the rise of street gangs, hardcore villains, down and out debutantes, sheer opportunists, muscle-bound psychopaths, and brilliantly sophisticated tunnelers, Where The Money Is, is a breathtaking rocket trip of the world of bank robbery as seen through the eyes of the former head of the FBI Bank Robbery division, William Rehder.

A hugely entertaining, dynamite whirlwind speed ride, Where The Money is, is a fascinating insight into a world that, for the majority of us, is simply the subject of movies and TV. Written in a wonderfully accessible style with the vigour, sensitivity, and passion of a man whose life's mission has been to make the world a better place, Where the Money Is is totally and utterly enthralling right down to the mind blowing final chapter.

Non judgemental in his assessment of the motives for bank robbery, Rehder's masterpiece is a comprehensive and refreshingly objective take on a world of crime and for the first time I was disappointed that the author didn't go into more detail about himself (most of these types of books seem to be screaming "ME ME MEEEE, look how great I am and how I had to struggle!!! Not the case with Where The Money Is) but of course that's because he has the humility to recognise that the these stories are about a bigger picture than just one person. I would love to meet this man. Praise too, to Gordon Dillow.

It's clear that there's respect there for some of these people - perhaps the ones who ended up in the criminal world through unfortunate circumstances beyond their own control, but there's also a sense of duty that is from the heart of a true hero.

My one and only criticism was that once I'd read it I wanted more. If this book was 50 times as big, it still wouldn't be enough. William Rehder's Where The Money Is is amazing. I can't praise it enough, because I was blown away by it.

Outstanding. Truly one of the best true crime books I have ever read. I felt like I was sitting having a beer with the authors and they were talking to me as a friend and sharing an inside view on bank robbery in LA. Funny, with "cop talk" and a tremendous amount of insight into the characters involved - cops and criminals. Definitely tells you about the who,how, and why, and it is FASCINATING. I was riveted after just the first few pages and looked forward to every minute I could grab to read it. And just to make sure I didn't miss a thing, I'm going to open it back to the first page and start all over again. I really can't convey what a good book this is.... I highly recommend it.

A very entertaining read on several different bank robberies in the L.A. metro area. Rehder and Dillow have a very humorous and witty tone to their writing and it makes for a fast read.

A fascinating look into the minds of the robbers as well as the F.B.I. Agents and LAPD Officers who pursue and catch them. It is trite to say, but neither I nor my wife could put this down. Having lived in LA at the time of some of these cases, I found that this book was a great look behind the scenes and headlines of some of the most riveting true crime tales in that ever seedy and sorted town. Buy this book !

in our media-saturated audio-visual age when most shows are crime dramas or reality shows (there should be a law prohibiting some of those shows), it comes as a welcome relief to read this live-action real-life tale about one very good guy (natch, the FBI co-author), and many bad guys who rob banks. You can learn more from this anecdotal-laced memoir than a years's worth of law & order episodes. I felt that I got good education about how banks operate and foil thiefs. I got an equally good education on how the FBI tracks down their sticky finger prey. All the action takes place in L.A. which is the bank robbery capital of the world. You can take that to the bank...

Teri's book, Wisdom Chronicles may seem like it is everywoman's awakening, but it is for any spirit on a journey homeward! The words of the spiritual teacher, Michael you can feel in your heart resonate with the truth. They are words that if we could remember just once a day, would guide us more swiftly to our highest selves. It is a fun and uplifting read!

I have been researching metaphysics, philosophy and religion for the last eight years and have not read a more concise, accurate and all encompassing book regarding Conscious Creation. EVER! I have read over 40 books and while each has been great with wonderful explanations, Teri's book puts it all together in an incredibly concise and workable format. Her teachings offer an easily understandable format in which change and Conscious Creation not only is possible but it actually occurs. You do not have to reinvent the wheel and come up with your own theories. You do not have to read massive amounts of information like I have done in order to come up with an interpretation of Conscious Creation that works. From this book, you will be able to create your life just as YOU want it to be. You must, however, have faith and want to change your thinking. The process requires effort but it is possible and I am seeing the benefits in my own life because of it. BUY THIS BOOK you won't regret it.

The Wisdom Chronical came into my life at a time that I was doing alot of healing. It was amazing how the exercises in the book helped me to push through the blocks and emotions that needed to go, so my healing could be complete. I thank Terri Harris Saa for her dedication and time that she spent to bring this wonderful information to the world. I hope you will enjoy this book and the exercises as much as I did.

This is definately a book the I will read again and again. I'm sure that each time through will be a new and amazing journey.

I am also EveryWoman. However after reading these reviews, I have to say up front that I am not your typical commenter. I am not overworked; I have a wonderful life, am childless by choice, am not harried in the least, am married to my dream partner; have an amazingly challenging, highly visible and satisfying job; have the perfect balance of all that I want in my life: Elegance, along with simplicity; financial abundance, along with unflagging generosity; excitement, tempered with a quiet knowing, calmness and trust; high expectations and big dreams, yet a gentle comfort and faith that it will all happen when it's supposed to. The reason I am EveryWoman is because Teri Harris Saa helped me to achieve this life design, over the course of the past 7 years -- and her wisdom is not just for the typical mom who needs to take better care of herself. I want readers to know that regardless of their success or lack thereof in creating the life they want, this teacher can take you beyond any limits you could imagine. If you want to glow and truly manifest all the wonderment you are capable of, I urge you to start with this book. Bring Teri into your life and your heart. Regardless of where you are on your path, Teri's gentle reminders will empower you to become more than you ever dreamed possible.

This is a modern fable that reflects most of our lives: chaotic, always behind schedule, always having 50 things that need to be done TODAY. I know about it, I've lived this life. The sense of being overwhelmed, stress-out and unfulfilled permeates most of my days. What could I possibly do about? How can the quality of my life improve in a profound and meaningful manner? Written in a truly accessible format, a novel, this book is a gift, a meaningful way to get the lives we all know we want. Teri Saa answers these and many other existential questions that many of us ponder and don't have the time or energy to search for an answer. When I was ready to reclaim my passion for living and needed a guide as to what steps to take, this book miraculously appeared and became the guiding path. Highly recommended for anyone who is ready to get the vitality of truly being alive.

So, I asked a sort of pen pal of mine who lives in Scotland what people there think of my country and she recommended I check out Xenophobe's. There happened to be one more specific based on geography though so I bought this one instead. Now my friend told me that, more or less, the US is far below her and her cohorts favorite country ... big surprise. That should have set the mood for what to expect when I got to finally read this book, however, I was expecting something a bit detailed and factual, perhaps even a few hundred pages thicker. My expectations set the stage for the disappointment I got after I read Xenophobe's.

Yes, it is written by a native californian who has traveled more extensively within this state than I have. No, he does not speak very highly of my/our homeland. Yes, it is what I should have expected to read after getting the recommendation from a girl who thinks along the same lines as the author of Xenophobe's - that is to say that Californians are, in fact, the stereotype that everybody thinks we are. In that respect the book succeeds.

Perhaps it is just me but throughout this book the author seemed to be either focusing entirely on Los Angeles or succumbing to the average stereo-typical perception of what Californians are like. Almost during the entire course of reading it felt like he was writing about a land completely foreign to the one I know. To make it worst, there were constant contradictions and even worse he used words like all, most, and entirely far to frequently, and, without giving near enough reasons for the readers to want to believe him.

A good book if you want to read what outsiders think of California.

A moderately okay book if you would like to read about the dramatized and overly publicized California.

A terrible book if you would like to read about what California is like for those Californians who aren't drug induced idiots, gang bangers, movie moguls and their disciples, or who just don't live in Los Angeles.

If this is what all of the Xenophobe books are like then I don't see much benefit in reading them. Good day sir!

This 60+ page guide to the Californians is a delight! A unique combination of witty, tongue-in-cheek comments and factual information about California culture, history and geography makes for a very enjoyable read. I highly recommend it to natives and foreigners alike!

I began reading this book on my lunch break at work -- laughing out loud from the start! After work, I read it while walking to my car and while stopped at traffic lights on the drive home. Now, if that isn't a ringing endorsement! I've been to the Golden State a few times and I can vouch that the author describes Californians to a "T". This is a witty and insightful book that will be enjoyed even if you have no plans to visit. It's a lot of fun, give it a read!

I am a Californian, and I loved this little book that is filled with fact and wit that had me laughing out loud. The character differences between the Northern and Southern Californians were hilarious. All of the stereotypes of the golden state were well illustrated. This is a great gift for every Californian, those who visit California, or anyone who would just like a few laughs.

Wow!! California has been analyzed and humorized in this delightful book that will keep you laughing from beginning to end. Mr. Marais doesn't miss a beat as he rattles off one quip after another about this culture of characters that even Hollywood couldn't dream up! From pampered pooches to personal growth weekends, from smog alerts to freeway traffic jams, California has set itself up for this author's hilarious take on the "sunshine state". Enjoy!!