A Books

Lately I have found I have been judging books by their ability to make me feel emotion. At first I wondered if Moloka'i could do that. This story begins with Rachel as an innocent, naive little girl, suddenly thrown into an unfamiliar world separated from all that she knows and loves. Her character grows into her adult self in this world of isolation just as any young girl would. The author expertly conveys the growth of this character slowly over time.
Shame and prejudice exist all over the world, only Rachel didn't realize that she was never alone until she found her family again.
Moloka'i made me angry and made me cry. This is a wonderful story set in an unusual place and it is a must read on my list.
Linda C. Wright
Author, One Clown Short
One Clown Short

Alan Brennert's "Molokai" is a wonderful story, full of the joy and misfortune that makes for heartfelt reading. It is the story of Rachel, and her family, and her discovery of a mark that would change their lives completely. The characters are tangible, seeming to appear out of time. The depiction of the lush beauty of the Sandwich Islands is splendid. The characters of the captive community are depicted in their glory and their misery. Rachel is not a leper, but one of us, stricken with an insidious disease. Leprosy was treated like a medieval plague, and the casualties left along the way were many, even though the manner of dealing with the disease was effective in the long run. In my own trip to Molokai in 1987, I heard that ships arriving with stricken men, women and children dropped anchor while still away from the shore, and the afflicted were pushed into the water, and had to swim to shore or die trying. It is an ugly moment in our history, and one that needs to be revealed.

I enjoyed reading about the switchback trail along the pali, the looming mountainside which cuts off the leper settlement from the rest of the island, and cuts away the sun during daytime hours. Our group made the trek up, and back, and it was no easy task.

I wanted to give the book five stars, but I was disappointed by how some of the characters were painted by the author. The Franciscan Sisters from Syracuse, led by Mother Marianne Cope, were given short shrift. Brennert gives religious life an insult by showing nuns as misfits for the most part. One gets the feeling that Rachel is far more mature than them all. I am glad that Sr. Catherine was given a human face, but why not some of the others?

And the leper priest, Father Damien was depicted insensitively, coming across more like a stereotypical zealous Evangelical preacher at times. One should know that there were musical instruments, and there were riding horses, and lumber for homes for the residents on Molokai because of his tireless efforts.

Suffice it to say that despite these drawbacks, the book is a must read. It will brighten the life of the reader, who may be able to conceive of God as larger than any human tragedy.

This is such as sweeping, visionary tale. It has characters that are so real and alive, and the juxtaposition of them against their physical torment and obstacles is fresh and moving. This is the first book in a long time that stuck with me long after I read it. A MUST READ!

Moloka'i is an historical fiction that tells the sometimes horrible story of leper patients who lived in Hawaii. There are great things in this book. It will make you weep because it all really happened (except the main characters are fictional). But there is also humor and love and great kindness. It's well written and about a subject that was foreign to me. I learned a lot and read a few other books on the subject afterward to find out more. I highly recommend it. It's a great read.

This was the most engrossing and emotional book I have ever read. There were moments I had to put it down for fear of crying and looking ridiculous for doing so. There were joyful moments and sad moments and everytime I put it down, I had to remind myself I am Tara in Utah, not Rachel in Molokai. Thats how truly potent this story is. You must remind yourself where and who you are. The story starts with Rachel as a child, no leprosy yet and progresses to her diagnosis and being torn from her family. She makes new family though and lives her life to its fullest. The ending will bring tears to the hardest of people. The author was very informative of the history and times without being tedious. I really reocommend this to anyone who has a handicap, disability, or disease and to anyone that has ever made cruel jests at those who do. Those with some kind of impairment will understand and feel for the leper colony and also gain some hope from this story. Those who have made cruel jests, I hope you learn something and perhaps feel some compassion for those you see as less fortunate physcially than yourselves. On the outside, we all have flaws. On the inside some are truly beautiful no matter their physical deformities or differences. That is what this story really speaks to me.

I gave this book to both of my kids before they went to college.
My son first said that he wouldn't read it but when his roommates started getting into credit card problems they turned to this clever guide to see how he could make it through college without falling into the ubiquitous debt trap.

His fraternity brothers graduated with thousands of dollars in credit card debt. Two of them even had to move back into their parents' homes because they couldn't afford aparatments on their small starting salaries since their credit card payments far exceeded their salaries.

My son got a great job after college using advice he also found in this broad ranging book. Granted hia job didn't pay much in the beginning but without credit card debt he was able to get an apartment that he could afford and buy a used car with cash he had saved. A year later he has enough left over from his paycheck to put into a 401(k) plan. He's happy and able to support himself and his mother and I are proud that we have raised such a financially responsible son.

Our daughter chose to go directly to grad school. Learning from her brother's experiences she also followed the advice in this savvy book and just said NO to credit cards until her senior year of college. She uses the cards but pays them off each month.

While most of our friends don't like to discuss the financial problems that their kids have gotten into a lot of our neighbors' growns kids have shared their credit card problems with our kids. Some are even using the book to help them get out from under their college credit card debt.

That just scratches the surface of the useful advice in this book. All college kids and teenagers should be required to read this book before they've dug themselves into debt.

I highly recommend it.

Most of reviewers who gave 5* have only one review on their pages. At least it looks suspicious, at most like fake promotion.

This is one of the worst books written on finance. Nancy lloyd has a lot of fluff in this book and its only marketing. Iam glad my friend lent me this book and I didnt have to pay money for this POS. Compared to the peter Lynch and Graham book, this one is surely aimed for preschool toddlers.

If you have been trying to make money in the markets or even just getting started by paying off debts then you -- like most of us -- have probably bought many books that purported to help you manage your finances and create wealth.

Like most of us those other books probably did not work for you --even if they were recommended by TV celebrities who know nothing about finances but can't resist recommending books for other motives.

If those other inferior books did work as they were purported to then why would you still be looking for a book with usable answers?

This book, Simple Money Solutions, is a stunning exception.
The advice is accurate. It includes an array of advice because money advice is not one size fits all. And the advice never becomes obsolete. It does stand the test of time!

In fact those other books that claim to have THE One and Only answer is almost guaranteed to be nothing but a book built on unproven gimmicks or trendy tricks that do NOT work and that certainly won't work over the long haul.

This book and its author, Nancy Lloyd, have taken a different and sound approach to money matters. She presents the issues we're all struggling with out in a clear and concise way and then lays out the options, including financial products, services and strategies to implement various plans.

My neighbor and I both read this book but based on our individual situations we chose different financial strategies that fit our unique lives.

I have now thrown my other financial advice books out (I wouldn't even give them away for fear that some unsuspecting reader would follow those other books' feeble and inaccurate advice).

But I have been punked by other books for the last time.

Simple Money Solutions is a KEEPER!!

Our book club had a secret a few years ago. In addition to loving to read good books with strong narratives, it turned out that all of our 18 members also had huge amounts of credit card debt. Some of us had about $5,000 in debt, most of us hovered between $20,000 and 35,000 and two of us actually had over $50,000 in unwanted debt. Things were getting desperate.

When we finally fessed up to this secret problem we started looking for good money management-debt reduction books but while many claimed to do it most left us with more debt than we started with. Eithher their advice was too convoluted, or too simplistic or in some cases not legal.

Several of us had even been to debt consolidators and other debt eliminators but many of them took our money and fled without ever paying our bills.

Then we saw Nancy Lloyd on Good Morning America and decided to give this book a shot. Ding, ding, ding. It was a winner.
She explained in plain talk how to get real about our debt. We learned how to negotiate with our creditor -- even exactly what to say to get them to lower our interest, forgive some debt and get some negative marks taken off of our credit reports.

Nancy also showed us some simple ways to, as she put it "free up cash each month" so that we could finally make more than the minimum payments.

What can I say except that after several years all but two of us are DEBT FREE. The other two women can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Our book club has now become an investment club and Nancy's great advice on starting and growing a portfolio are paying off even in this sideways stock market.

We now have Peace of Mind at last and no longer fear answering the phone because the creditors are no longer calling!!!

I have the WORST time ordering on Amazon.com. I ended up with two of these cookbooks (one new and one used). That was after I was told they were out of stock/unavailable. I DON'T want to pay to ship it back!! I have ordered from Amazon.com before and had problems. I will avoid this website in the future!

I love this book! It's very interesting! Come with good recipes and techniques! If your looking for a grilling book I really suggest this one! You'll be amaze of all the recipes it comes with and its has a good assortment of them.

This is not only a great book of recipes, but the high quality paper and the beautiful pictures make this a perfect coffee table book. Leaf through it when you have a few minutes to get inspired for the next grilled meal.

I cook for myself and I like to keep things simple. When I see interesting recipes that list two or three ingredients that I know I would never have at the same time, I cease to consider making that meal. Most recipes in this book list fairly basic ingredients that most kitchens would have on hand.

The author doesn't just use terms for techniques that many more experienced cooks would know, but gives a little detail on how to do the procedure for the novice. Besides the recipes, many topics on basics are covered in the front of the book. Humor is used on occasion, which can lighten the mood for the harried grill-master with hungry guests to feed.

I liked this book so much, I purchased two more for friends who don't eat to live, but live to eat.

This is a great guide to a first time owner of a Weber Grill.The recipes are easy to make and the tips and anecdotle information are great!!!

I have to bow down to this book as the best grilling book EVER. We've tried many of the recipes and never been disappointed. Plus, it's entertaining to read with great pictures. Can't ask for much more than that.

Everyone hears about the book you can't put down. ELIXIR, by Gary Braver,is such a book. It is one of the few thrillers I WILL read again. Chris Bacon is a trained biologist in search of medicinal plants, but returns from Papua New Guinea with the 'Fountain of Youth.' Now Braver poses some very big questions. Would living for centuries, maybe forever, be too much of a good thing? Where will everyone live if people don't die? Suppose members of families disagree? What will be the new policies? Who decides?

The author draws you in to this potentially changed world, but unfortunately some things never change. Greed, corruption, jealously, murder, all play a part in the compelling plot. This book should be a movie. Someone once said, Man is Nature's sole miatake. Braver shows us why.

A gripping bio/pharma thriller with the allure of forever young and the concequences.
Braver moves your imagination closer to reality in this fine novel.

I want another like it. Mr braver...please let us know when you are gonna write one as good as this. Does anyone else think this would make an awesome movie?!!??

I DO
Jamie

I'm the same age as the hero of the story (Chris Bacon) when he worked on producing the Elixir drug in the first half of the book. Despite his efforts and successful experiments, the drug has a terrible consequence. As I read this fast moving and thrilling story, I wondered if I would want to have Elixir available so I could live much longer than the lifespan nature has given me. Would the side effects be enough to make me fearful of taking Elixir? Would the social, environmental and moral consequences be enough? Where would all those billions and billions of people live if they didn't die? Or would the promise of staying young and never aging be too much of an attraction to ignore?

Braver doesn't just write suspenseful thrillers with good guys and bad guys in conflict with each other. He gets us to think about what can happen when something so promising and not really that far-fetched descends upon us. What will humans do to themselves and their world? Will they do the right thing? But what is the right thing? These are hard questions. Braver does not provide easy answers and we wouldn't want him to. He makes you care about the characters, think about these questions and also enjoy the ride he's taking you on. Any fiction writer capable of doing that deserves five stars and a recommendation to read his books.

Two weeks ago, I discovered a book called Flashback. It looked interesting, so I picked it up at the library. I was hooked at the first sentence. I then ran to the library where I picked up Grey Matter. I'm telling people "This man can flat out write." (That's a southern expression). I am now about to finish Gary's first Braver book: Elixir. Yes, I read them in reverse order; so, sue me.
I have become besotted with Braver's writing and I will BUY his next book, and all that follow. Hope Mr. Braver makes it soon.
I have advised all my friends, family and fellow readers to discover this fascinating writer. I mean, Robert B. Parker loves this guy!!!

I enjoyed reading this book. Just enough substance and not a lot of "dragging on". If you follow a diet of positive reading, this is a good one for the collection, but not the only one.

This little book holds the key to everything you have ever wanted to accomplish in your life. The Five Laws of Stratospheric Succes are simple yet, like a diamond, so replete with facets as to render the book new each time you read it. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever wanted to learn how to attract a mentor, or understand what it takes to create true significants in life. Learn to enjoy the coffee and the ability to find world changing opportuities where other just see an Italian resturant and a room full of pipe cleaners and modeling clay. Like a good meal and a fine cigar, this book will leave you satisfied, and looking forward to the next opportunity to enjoy the experience.

If you are reading this review and/or considering buying this book, you have probably read your share of business and self-help books. The Go-Giver takes the essential components of all of the major books out there and distills them down into an easy to digest parable. After reading and implementing the principles of the Go-Giver, I have, in fact, received an increase in referrals and created deeper, more meaningful relationships with friends and colleagues. If you need a refresher on how and why to serve others better, pick up this book.

The Go-Giver is a great story loaded with fantastic business concepts and practical, easy-to-apply advice for business as well as personal relationships. Just what we need in today's world, when authenticity seems to be lacking. A success story we can all learn from and apply in our business relationships as well as in our personal lives. Can't say enough great things about the Go-Giver! Terrific!

Upon completing this little book (that I couldn't put down) I immediately ordered 5 more copies. I knew that I had to share this message with family and friends. I continue to recommend The Go-Giver to family, friends, associates and and new acquaintances, many of which have already heard of it or even own a copy. It's a powerful message wrapped in a very human story. I truly enjoyed this book.

Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully have put together a complete revision of the Battle of Midway. Using many Japanese sources we find out the underlying truth of this battle.
I have not read Mitsuo Fuchida's Midway and I cannot comment on his errors or omissions. However, in reading Shattered Sword, I learned a great deal of the mindset of the Imperial Navy of Japan in 1942. It is a fact that Japan's hubris made for the unexplained lack of professionalism in their actions of their offensive on Midway. Yamamoto's battle plan was flawed, he assumed the Americans were mentally beaten at this point in time.
As pointed out in this book and which is widely known even before the writing of Shattered Sword is that the United States had broken the Japanese code. It is fact that they knew the location of the Japanese attack.
However the battle was not won on this fact alone. What Parshall and Tully have done is to examine the points of the Japanese failures and they were many. They sent out their reconnaissance planes much too late to spot American carrier activities. They also made the cardinal sin of sending out all their planes and leaving their carriers unprotected.
At this time the Japanese were in command and were pushing forward to deal the decisive blow. They indeed failed. Japan in fact seemed to think of themselves as infallible. Even in their training exercises they created predictable scenarios in which their school solutions were indeed winners.
In fact Midway never became the ultimate solution. As Midway faded into American victory, the sun was beginning to set on the land of the rising sun.
As Parshall and Tully concluded, in reality even if America did lose Midway, it would have been unlikely that Japan would have prevailed. In conclusion the industrial might of America would have won out. All destroyed carriers and planes would have been replaced. America's fate was indeed to win the war in the Pacific. That was obvious to a real student of history even on December 7, 1941.
Great read, thoroughly researched with great photographs and diagrams. Five Stars, no problem!!

Haven't finished its reading yet, this book is a superb job about the battle of Midway. With every data carefully referenced and a lot of research in the JPN archives, most of them ignored so far in western bibliography, this book torpedoes a lot of myths that have risen around the famous naval battle over the years.
Reflects, in my opinion, the real "fog of war" that both navies had to fight with those days.
It is mainly focused in the Japanese side, giving credible answers to questions that had been ignored over the years by all history books that I have read.

I was rather surprised that the authors make no mention of the actual prime source for the Battle of Midway that most Americans carry around in their heads: the 1976 film, "Midway." With familiar names like Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford, Robert Mitchum, Hal Holbrook and Charlton Heston, the film reinforces the popular wisdom that an under gunned American Naval task force, on June 5, 1942, surprised the main fleet of Japanese carriers bearing fighter planes helplessly exposed on the decks. Certainly I had never heard the names Yamamoto, Nagumo and Genda prior to seeing the film one rainy summer afternoon. After reading Parshall's and Tully's masterful study of the battle, I was even more surprised to learn that this enduring version of the Midway encounter came not from the understandable pride of American historians, but from the pen of Fuchida Mitsuo and Okumiya Masatake, whose "Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan" [1955] served as a template for historians, school books, and even Hollywood.

Since Japanese historiography has shaped the Midway story for over six decades, Parshall and Tully decided to address their gripping minute-by-minute account of the battle through the eyes of Japanese experience and intentions in order to restore a sense of perspective. In truth, much of Mitsuo's narrative and interpretation is not as much defective as it is deficient. Midway was the product of complicated forces; its individual tactical events at many turns had lives of their own. Thus, only by breaking the battle into dozens of microcosmic signatures could Parshall arrive at something resembling a true chronology of the encounter, though war is such a hellish psychological event that exactitude is its first victim.

The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, was for the US the beginning of the beginning. For Japan it was the beginning of the end. It may not have been clear to Americans in 1941, but Japan's eastward expansion to Hawaii was something of a Pickett's Charge moment save that Japanese efforts had, for a time, a more favorable psychological outcome. Parshall's map [20-21] makes the Japanese problem crystal clear: advancing across the Pacific meant investment north and south as well as east. Japan at this point had been at war since at least 1937, first with China and then throughout Southeast Asia.

In these circumstances the Midway situation takes on a whole new look. The Empire's interest in seizing the Island had little to do with westward expansion, and much to do with protecting its holdings. Possession of Midway would allow the Japanese to cut US supply lines to Australia. Achievement of the goal was certainly within capability, given the limitations of the US Pacific Fleet, had not the ambitious Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku overreacted to recent US sorties with a complicated plan of his own for Midway. Yamamoto violated a basic tenet of war--massed force--to execute simultaneous action toward Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians. Parshall is careful to note that this Aleutian action was not a feint, as is popularly believed, though Dutch Harbor had questionable value in any strategic equation.

With two carriers off to the cold north, Yamamoto proceeded to Midway with four carriers instead of six, and just a one carrier advantage over Halsey's three. [Bill Halsey, of course, would be hospitalized with shingles and replaced by Ray Spruance for the Midway expedition.] The result is basic history, with the US destroying all four Japanese carriers with the loss of only the Yorktown. Parshall certainly does not diminish the accomplishment, nor do he and his colleague entirely deny the element of luck. More often, he takes the dramatic edge off of events, reminding his readers that in war the best schedules go awry, runways get congested, radios break, intelligence gets manhandled, and weather conditions change.

Parshall believes that that US Pacific fleet was not quite the crippled eagle it is often portrayed to be. Between the Pearl Harbor and Midway encounters the Lexington and the Yorktown had embarrassed Yamamoto on several occasions in his back yard. The US Navy had learned quite a bit about aerial warfare despite the fact that at Midway its planes were somewhat inferior. Vice Admiral Nagumo, commander of the strike force, found himself repeatedly surprised by the Americans' tactics and capabilities, though admittedly some of these tactics--with tragic and needless loss of life--were as much a surprise and shock to the Americans' own commanders.

Parshall observes that American forces did enjoy an overall edge in technology, planes notwithstanding. Photographs of the late Soryu, Kaga, Hiryu and Akagi carriers throughout the book reveal tinker-toy vessels of another generation, which in some cases were actually Gerry rigged when designers changed schemes. US carriers enjoyed greater simplicity and a much more efficient deck technology, particularly in the design of elevators which allowed for rapid turnover of planes for duty. Most notably, American carriers enjoyed much safer and more efficient fire control systems, which gave the Yorktown an added essential day. From a humanitarian standpoint, Parshall brings home the terrible suffering of Japanese sailors primarily from fires resulting from poor ship design. As a rule the rank and file of the Japanese Navy manifested an amazing courage and devotion to duty; Parshall's account puts the responsibility for their plight in the appropriate places.

Parshall's decision to write from the Japanese perspective was quite daring and very successful. As befits a military work, nearly one-third of this book is composed of maps, photos, and an exhaustive bibliography. It is hard to imagine how the author could have been more helpful with his illustrations of ship movements and time lines. And yet this is a work with a gripping story line. The revised truth about Midway is still a captivating tale, about commanders coping with strain and sailors loyal to their comrades. For all its technical information, Parshall's work can best be described as eminently human.

"Fantastic" is not enough to describe this book. The research which has gone into it and the amount of details presented is absolutely unbelievable.
In the wake of this book, I don't think there will be any further need for continued discussion over the relative action of the US and IJN fleets and what really happened near Midway on that fateful day.
The explanation of Japanese tactical and strategical thought which lead to their demise is clearly spelled out and it finally lets the reader understand the how and why of the action Adm. Nagumo took at the time.
Altogether, I could not have asked for a better book on the subject.

Shattered Sword by Parshall and Tully is simply breathtaking, the most thoroughly researched and lucidly thought out history of an event that I have ever read. Setting out to tell the story of Midway primarily from the Japanese side they have created the new standard of that crucial battle in the dark days of 1942 that shines as an example of scholarly effort without parallel.

First these authors clearly did their homework, and to say that they explore the battle in the utmost would be an understatement. Setting the stage for the battle with germane explanations of the geopolitical, then strategic, and then operational backdrops that led up to 4-5 June 1942 the authors then delve into the battle wielding an awesome array of salient information ranging from the psychological makeup of the senior Japanese commanders on the scene, to Japanese naval doctrine of the time, to the naval architecture of the four Japanese flat tops, to how many bomb carts each carrier had (and are thus able to derive such details as the quickest possible practical TIME, down to the minute, it could have taken to re-arm waiting dive bombers and torpedo planes in the hangar bay) to even the names of individual Japanese pilots in the CAP and when they were launched. What emerges is a picture of the battle in toto, grounded in a thorough understanding of the pacific campaign and the entire war itself, aided by a completely fresh and unbiased look (which subsequently shatters many myths about the battle) and delivers not just the most accurate picture of what happened and why during the fighting, but also what it meant in the larger scheme of how the rest of the war was fought and ultimately won (or lost by the Japanese). This is truly the stuff history is supposed to be about.

What is better yet is that the book, in a surprising cut against the grain for pieces written by more than one author, reads both like an erudite intellectual analysis and Tom Clancy-esque action thriller. Throughout the book you are taken from the strategic and coolly logical minds of senior commanders, to white knuckle seventy degree dives in the cockpits of cascading American SBD's flying through walls of flak and marauding Japanese zeros. Later you are privy to the acts of desperate survival of Japanese engineers sweating in the asphyxiating air of the engine rooms in their carriers as the ceilings above them start literally glowing red from the heat of uncontrollable fires ravaging above and blocking their only route of possible escape.

After setting the stage of the history of the Japanese naval war in the Pacific up until the time of the battle and explaining the strategies, doctrines, and technical features (i.e. carrier air wing make up, command organizations, etc.) of both the American and Japanese navies the authors place you onboard the ships of the Kido Butai for a minute by minute account. This in depth and detailed account takes you from the moment they sortie from Hashirajima bay to their ignominous retreat mere weeks later. The writing is crisp, fast paced, and clear, conveying information, tension, emotion, and action all at the same time without compromising any of those features. Told primarily from the Japanese side it is taut and disciplined, delivering information to the readers as it came in real time to Nagumo and the staff of the Kido Butai on the cramped bridge of the Akagi and under fire, instead of giving the reader a truly "God's Eye View" of the battle. There is just enough delving into the worlds and actions of Nimitz in Pearl Harbor, Flether onboard the Yorktown, Spruance onboard the Enterprise, and several other American forces to give appropriate context and understanding, but the reader is basically experiencing what the Japanese commanders were going through. This allows the reader to truly appreciate the Clausewitzian "friction" that plagues any battle, and to understand the decisions the commanders made at the time. After the fact everything is tied together by the authors to deliver a true picture of exactly what happened each minute of the battle. The scope of the battle and the author's telling of it is enormous, covering not just the more familiar strike on Midway istelf and ensuring carrier duel, but the ordeal of survivors from each carrier as they attempted, futilely, to save their ships then abandoned them, to the harried Japanese retreat and the less familiar American attacks on the Mogami and Mikuma which ultimately led to the latter's destruction.

The book sets the record straight on many things, of which I cannot mention all. When the American dauntlesses rained down upon the Japanese carriers at 1020 however it is clear that their decks were NOT full of a strike package just moments from launching to crush TF 17, this was a myth that was propagated by Mitsuo Fuchida after the war's end for self serving purposes as well as dramatic flair. VT-8's heroic and fatally doomed torpedo attack did not draw down the Japanese CAP, instead it was just one of a series of hurried and poorly organized American attacks that virtuously threw the Japanese into confusion and left them reacting to conditions rather than shaping them. The Americans were not so outmatched as is commonly believed, but still won a glorious victory ableit against a deeply flawed plan developed by the actually bullying and overbearing Yamamoto (who was restricted from leaving Kure Naval Harbor while in Japan to visit Naval General HQ in Tokyo on fear that other resentful officers there would literally kill him.)

The lessons the authors draw from this battle are applicable even today. The Japanese primarily lost the battle, and the entire war for that matter (although for the entire war the relative industrial might of the US played a far more important role than it obviously could have in this single, early on confrontation), due to an operational rigidity born of national culture and character. This rigidity left it unable to correctly learn lessons from its past operations, anticipate future operations as well as enemy capabilities and reactions to such, and, most critically, to adapt to real world circumstances when their overly elaborate plans inevitably began to unravel against determined and unpredicted enemy actions. (The Japanese expected to face a cowed, fearful, and largely reactionary and passive US Navy at Midway, and not the aggressive and ably commanded force that Nimitz actually sortied to meet them and that guided itself on the flexible principle of calculated risk rather than dogmatic devotion to operational planning.)

I simply can not say enough good about this book. It is useful to anyone with an interest in history as an example of the heights that that discipline can reach and the edifying fruits it can bear when practiced properly, to those in the military who seek a better understanding of how war actually is fought and can be fought best, to someone who wants to read about a real world battle written with the excitement and drama of a great fiction author.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

If you like books about adventurous, sci-fi stories about the world then you are sure to enjoy reading the Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen. This story is about a 13 year old boy who falls into a mysterious blue light that transports him very far into the future when he is hiking through the missle mountain range. When he thinks that he is alone on this deserted planet he is proven wrong when he finds and arrow in a tree. He is determined to find the people who this arrow belongs to. When he finds them he is rudely awakened by the style of life they live and decdides to move away but is captured by another tribe and forced into slavery but is granted his freedom because of his noble deeds and his different looks than everyone else. After the virus hit almost everyone died and the remaining people were changed physically and they had to start over because the virus had kept the population so low for so long that people forgot about normal life and went back into the stone ages. I really enjoyed reading this book because it has very good description and a very good storyline and plot that I could see maybe happening in the future if a virus like that hit or if there was a nuclear disaster. If you are looking for an adverturous, science fiction, page turning novel Gary Paulsen's The Transall Saga is right for you.


Nick Stauffer

I am a 13 yr old who reads a ton. my room is a library. This book was exceptionally good. I think everyone should read it. It is very creative. I think it has a good plot and is exciting. This book is to me, better than the Harry Potter series.

It is not gory, but it has some fighting which makes it exciting. It also keeps you on your toes. It is a little funny at times. IT IS A VERY INTERESTING BOOK AND I THINK YOU SHOULD READ IT.

Gary Paulson has once again written a compelling book on one boys struggle to survive in a strange world. Immediately in the first chapter the main character Mark is thrown into a dangerous environment making an interesting read right from the beginning. With the evolving plot line and the numerous surprises you'll have a hard time doing anything but read Mark's adventure.

As I read this book I loved the various ways Gary Paulson showed how Mark became a master of survival and gained status in the strange world of Transall. He describes everything perfectly so that you can picture it in your mind. Another great thing about the book is its ability to cover many genres; with the mystery of Transall it covers (you guessed it) mystery's spot, the alien world and mutated creatures will keep a sci fi fan happy, and it could even pass as an apt survival guide.

Anyone who has read and enjoyed the Hatchet books will definitely want to grab this book, like the Hatchet books it tells the story of a boys struggle to survive in a unfamiliar place, but it is also very different so it wont feel as if your reading a rewrite of Hatchet. Some of the variations I liked were that it was set in an entirely different plant, there's interaction with other humans (some hostile), the mystery that unravels as you read, and how it is set in more of a medieval time frame.

In the book The Transall Saga Matt Harrison is hiking in the old Magruder Missle Range when a strange blue light transports him to a future Earth where the Earth has a very different look after nuclear explosions. Matt finds himself in a jungle for a few years trying to find discover what happened to the blue light. While he is in the jungle one day he finds an arrow and that night hears noises coming from the forest. The next day he looks for people and finds them but is knocked out by a guard. He awakes in a hut a few hours later and lives with these people for a few weeks. After he decideds to leave the tribe is attacked by another tribe called the Toosk who kill most of the tribe but capture the rest and make them slaves. After the few years Matt is finally accepted into the tribe after he saves them from an attack from another tribe. After he is made a member, he starts a new life and starts a quest with a few other tribesmen and the leader of the Toosk called the Merkon. On the way to find the light the convoy is attacked and the Merkon is captured. Matt then decides to go on his own to the Toosk capital and find the Merkon. When Matt arrives he finds that the Merkon is alive and hears what has happened to Earth and how a disease like the Black Plague killed mostly everyone and the rest were left with physical disabilities. Matt then fights the Merkon and kills him and then the blue light appears and takes him back to his time.

Mark is a bigger kid who loves to explore. He goes out on his own in a desert for a hiking trip. He finds a bright blue light and desides to touch it. He finds himself waking up on another planet,or is it? He has to find ways to survive on this weird planet. He finds what looks to be human life and becomes part of the tribs or villages. He has to fight and protect his village that he grew to love and learns that we are all the same and there is no need for wars. This book teaches how to survive in the wild and how to love one another. Gary Paulson finds amazing ways to tie together the book at the end. It is interesting.

It just came to my attention that a new revised and corrected edition with a little additional material will be released in a couple of months! I have the orignal Random House edition and this is a great collection of instructive games with analysis of every move. I have enjoyed it with the "More Unbeatable" book as well.

After having learned the basics from the same author's CHESS FOR JUNIORS book I decided to get this book for myself, my children and grandchildren.

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I just finished reviewing CHESS FOR JUNIORS, which I consider to be an 8th wonder of the world, and now I discovered the 9th!
CHESS FOR JUNIORS leaves off at the end with with nicely analyzed games (move by move commentary) and UNBEATABLE CHESS LESSONS FOR JUNIORS adds 24 more games. You will learn just what the author knows you need to learn once completeting CHESS FOR JUNIORS (well, if you know the basics well, then you can skip CHESS FOR JUNIORS and jump right into this book).

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I might also suggest that you get WINNING CHESS TOURNAMENTS FOR JUNIORS in this series, which provides an explanded opening system, intermediate level tactics and endgames and lots of information on how to improve and prepare for tournaments.

ENJOY!!!

This is a revised edition of the book originally published in 2003. The main difference between this edition and the earlier one are:
1) The format has been changed to double column on the pages. This allows the explanations of the moves to be closer to the diagrams which accompany the explanations.
2} Some of the analysis has been updated and expanded to further help the student.
3) A result of the new format and slightly smaller print has been a saving of space (less white space per page}. Therefore, the new edition has the same number of games and explanation, but in under 200 pages. At less than 1/2 the thickness of the previous edition, it is much easier to carry.
4} A new edition gave the author a chance to correct many typographical errors and rephrase explanations to make for further clarity.

Like its predecessor, this book is for anyone (not just juniors) who want to understand why certain moves are played. Those who have read Irving Chernev's "Logical Chess: Move by Move" will be even more delighted with Mr. Snyder's book. Instead of the lengthy explanations that are repeated over and over again in Chernev's book, the book by Mr. Snyder gives the important information once at length and then relies of the reader to review if the explanation is needed again. When a move is a simple recapture he keeps the explanation to a short senctence. In the case of the opening moves being repeated in a later game, Snyder does not give the explanation again, but relies on the reader to refer back if explanation is needed. Half of the games are those of the author and half by other masters. Some important features of the book for students are:
1) Games are arranged by opening and thus start the player on developing an opening repretoire to play against opponents.
2) Analysis (i.e. alternate moves) is kept to the minimum needed to help the student gain understanding of what is happening and of alternate possibilities.
3) There are numerous diagrams (generally after every 3 or 4 moves) to help the student make sure of the correct position. And for stronger players it allows for them to read the book without the need of a board.
4) Explanation of moves are clear and concise. Anyone from about age 11 or 12 and up should have no trouble understanding the material.
I recommend this book for anyone who seriously wants to improve their play.

The idea of explaining the idea behind every move is a good. I wish that more books would do this for the Beginning and Intermediate level chessplayer.
There are several problems with this book; 1) The book is overly focused on the opening - it should spend more time going into the middlegame and endgame, and 2) It often would not answer the questions I had about a move or what was going on it the game, and 3) half the games are of the author, who is only a measly master. However, overall I can still recommend this book.
This book does not compare in quality to my favorite book, "Logical Chess, Move by Move, which just recently was updated."

I really enjoyed reading Unbeatable Chess Lessons For Juniors. I felt that I gained a lot of knowledge especially in the following areas,
a) Learning how to build an attack. The placement of your pieces and planning aheady.
b) Learning how to use sacrifices and to recognize when they work and do not work.
c) Positional play - manuvering your pieces and planning the use of Pawn structures.
d) Many tactical ideas were covered.
e) Learning the openings. The openings in the complete games are well covered with important opening lines being show. The games are organized by the type of openings being used. This makes it easy to study openings. The lines being shown are up to date and very accurate.
f) There are not a lot of endgames but the ones covered are very instructive. What I like is to see how plans were made to get to the winning endgame right from the opening! This book then gives a step by step explaination of how to win the endgame.
Some special features I liked about Unbeatable Chess Lessons For Juniors,
a) You are asked to find the best move. This forces you to think and makes for fun problems to solve out of games. This is much different than most books.
b) All the moves are analyzed.
c) General rules are pointed out. But, what makes it really nice is when the exceptions to the general rules happen, they are pointed out.
I like the nice easy flowing style of the author. For a person who already knows the very basic stuff about chess this book is just right. This is because there is both a review of important ideas and a depth of analysis making this book interesting for a more advanced player as well. The author uses a lot of his own game where he has used them in chess lessons with his own students. This makes the explaination very clear and things that only an experienced chess teacher knows need to be covered are right there. I have read some of the other reviews which have been helpful to me in being able to point out some of things that I agree with.
If you really love chess and like to study to improve this book is good for any age. But it is written so a 6th grader can understand it.
I understand that this book is going through a new printing correcting any typos and may be hard to get for a while. It would be worth waiting for if you cannot get it now or even getting a used copy for now.

Every now and then I read a book that I believe should be on every Christian thinker's bookshelf. Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov is one such book. It is not an exaggeration to say that The Brothers Karamazov might possibly be one of the greatest novels of all time.

Warning: Plot spoilers follow...

Dostoevsky's description of the tragic Karamazov brothers and the murder of their father provokes questions about God's sovereignty, the place of suffering in our world, human depravity, and redemption through pain.

I have decided not to give a description of this book's storyline. There are many places where one can find the story. I will say that there are sections of this book where the theological questions are so profound and well-treated that the reader feels he must read them several times to fully feel their force.

The Brothers Karamazov is a long book (almost 800 pages). Pevear and Volokhonsky's translation is, undoubtedly, the easiest to read in English, but even the good translation cannot overcome some of the slow-moving moments where the novel labors in details. Many Karamazov fans (and I am one of them) love the extra details, as the information helps to better form each of the unforgettable characters.

Who, after reading this book, can forget Fyodor Karamazov, the wicked and sensual father? Or Ivan, the cold rationalist son who has abandoned his belief in God? Or Dmitri, the well-intentioned son who is held captive to his own base desires? And of course, Alyosha, the good son who trusts in God but is powerless to stop the murder of his father? And these are just the Karamazovs. Dostoevsky's descriptions of Katerina, Grushenka, Father Zosima and Smerdyakov are just as compelling.

The Brothers Karamazov is not for the faint of heart. It is, at times, difficult to read. At other times, its story is captivating. And, as always in Dostoevsky's works, the depth of thought behind the philosophical questioning is what makes the book stand out. If you have time to read and you love classic literature, buy the book and read it all. If you don't have time, but would like a taste, I suggest you at least read "The Grand Inquisitor" chapter.

Great book --compelling and one of Dostoyevsky's best. The conversation between Christ and the Grand Inquisitor is a passage for all human kind.

With this book, Dostoevsky makes a brilliant social critique spanning over religion, family, social caste, and existential thought. His characters are passionate and real. His observations are apt and moving.

I found the beauty of this work to be that I appreciate its darkness and let it depress me only because it is timeless and relevant still.

Yeah you've got to read Dostoyevsky's Brothers Karamazov

Yes I know its long (indeed, it was intended to be the first book of a trilogy) and the names can be hard (Smerdyakov, Kolya Krossotkin) and characters can have more than one name (Dmitri, Mitya)

But just stick with me here. The books incredibly moving. You finish reading it, it knocks you over like a pile of bricks. POW!

I've read the book twice. Its a long one, make no mistake. HUGE. Books like this can be used as doorstops, stop up the winter draft


Not to give anything away, but the book is the story of a family. The father is a rather nasty piece of work, and you won't care what happens to him. "Why is such a man alive?" one of the character asks early on, and noone really cares for him except Alexey (more often called Alyosha)

Not to give away the plot, but there are sons of the lecher and all of them are vividly drawn. You have the young novice Alyosha, brother to Ivan (they share the same mother). You have the illegitimate son, and the intellectual. To write about the relationship between those two would be a sin, suffice it to say that terrible thoughts will find someone to act upon (Raskolnikov in Crime & Punishment is similar - fixated on an idea)

I was saying the book was powerful. This is so. So many high points! In his letters Dostoyevsky wrote of the book having its climax - in 2 different points!

He was referring to the Zossima narrative and the Pro & Contra chapters, but its all strong

Pro & Contra is probably the most famous section of the novel: Ivan and his Alyosha relax with one another over a meal, and talk. And argue (although Alyosha for the most part listens)

To tell more would be unfair, Alyosha loves his brother Ivan, but has to call what his brother suggests Rebellion, and the relation between the 2 will become even more sundered

You get vivid characters (even the minor characters, like the dreamer and the nihilist Rakitin are well drawn). A powerful plot (a character is murdered, and thats all I'll say about that). You get deep intense conversations about God and the devil (and Ivan returning his "ticket" as a matter of course, since its the suffering of children he cannot abide)

So powerful its beyond words. And this was just going to be the first of a TRILOGY. Amazing

At the beginning of my freshman year at college, a girl told me to read this book, it would 'change my life'. She wouldn't elaborate further. Now that I've read it, maybe I shouldn't either.

Read it.

Odd, its one of the most painful books I have ever read, it left me a wreck when I finished it.

But its...comforting. Not in the story, in my own life. That won't make any sense till you read the book. (And every synopsis/interpretation on the web misses the whole meaning completely.)

Take it as the last testament of a man who bounced from Christian to Socialist and back, "tormented by everlasting sin and injustice--both of one's own, and the world's" (quote from character in BK). "Thirsting for belief" and simultaneously very much "I will be a child of this age--a man of unbelief--till the lid of my coffin closes", and asking 'the parable of the prodigal son' to be read to him as he died.

The story is like life in general...beautiful and then ghastly, painful, loads of hatred and love twisted and not so twisted.

It hasn't got any pat answers, beautiful explanations for tormenting questions, or happy endings. But its...comforting. Read it.

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Actually, I couldn't stop crying for awhile after I finished The Brothers Karamazov. It was weird, it hurt so much, and yet it felt so true, like real life is like that. And then I felt this love welling up inside that didn't leave for awhile. Its like TBK hurt so much and at the same time gave this love inside and felt so true that the book was devastating and painful and comforting all at once.

This book will probably give you these common symptoms of many readers of the books. Namely:

1. took 3 weeks to recover from one of the books and become a functioning member of society again. Couldn't talk about the books with other people during that time, because it felt so intensely personal.
2. wanted to change your life after recovering from TBK.
3. shortly after recovering from TBK, found oneself choking up about the meanings of things too heavy for words.



******spoilers ahead****************
It says so much about life, and it is so true. Especially what it says about shame, hatred, strained virtue (Katya), torment, injustice, hope, and love. At the end of the book, I was bawling so hard because it felt so real. This sounds weird, but the book is so comforting precisely because parts of it are so painful and raw like life. I felt like it was saying: yes, there is so much wrongness, there is so much pain and defeat and death, and we have the choice to rage against earthly injustice like Ivan, or like Mitya and Alyosha, put all our hope in that inexplicable love that rushes into our heart at the darkest moment....to put our hope in it, and to love and forgive. Oh dear, I'm slaughtering it, this post doesn't do it justice at all.