Adamson Books

Review: A Thick Slab of Poppy Seed Bread
by Rhonda Adamson

Rated: 5 STARS

I found Rhonda's book inspiring. Her faith and knowledge of the Bible is interwoven between the lines in her poetry. Her knowledge reveals itself in her poem, "A Person Who Worships". Another poem, "Father Filters" shows us that all things are in the hand of God and "Forsaking All I Trust Him", really touched my heart, showing us how our Lord and Savior forsook everything to leave the safety of heaven to walk among men. To be born for sin, to give His life, so we might live. Jesus trusted His Father and gave all for us. In her poem "Give Way Make Room", we are to make clean our hearts for the Spirit of God. Beautifully done. "OUTSTRETCHED ARMS", shows the suffering of Christ because of the love of us His people.

I could go on, but I'm sure that each reader will find their own favorites. Read and enjoy. Read and find peace.

Review by Nancy Lee Shrader
IS IT NOW? The End of Days!
The Curse of Mayweather House
IS HE MESSIAH? Messianic Prophecies Revealed!

A Thick Slab of Poppy Seed Bread written by Rhonda Adamson is a book of poetry that covers many areas of everyday life. Rhonda Adamson shows her ability to write different styles of poetry making her a very diverse author. Some of Rhonda's poems will appeal to practical people; while some of her poems will appeal to a quirky, thirsty humanity. If you enjoy variety and poems with themes that will appeal to the masses then A Thick Slab of Poppy Seed Bread is the book for you.

Tom Ward, author
The Enemy Within
Outposts of Hell or Portals to Heaven
(...)

From the Acknowledgment and Dedication through its high-spirited poetic expression, Rhonda's book delights us with genuine honesty, humility and humor. Her poetry describes a person in love with both God and family. She knows how to achieve the delicate balance of a soul that yearns to be better, yet who can relax and enjoy life because she knows God loves her as she is.

Rhonda uses a variety of poetic forms, e.g. acrostics, the sonnet and the ghazal, balancing wisdom with words in unexpected ways. If you do not know what a ghazal is, neither did I, but by reading the Ghazal on Silk, I found out!

Some examples:

Entropy
This poem perfectly expresses the fragility and spontaneity of life as experienced by a child and Rhonda contrasts this with the permanence of the "tree" of life in Christ.

In "Forsaking All I Trust Him" she describes faith;

In "Father Filters" she shows the creativity and supporting love of the Father.

In "Knowing a Lot More Than I'm Living" she understands the futility of counseling a teenage daughter without looking inward and applying her advice to herself in humility.

In "Land of the Not So Random," Rhonda praises rejuvenation through springtime.

Finally, in "What If?" she sees clearly the boredom of a homogeneous world where everything is alike and praises variety.

Rhonda's knowledge of the Bible as it relates to her everyday life is a clear and strong quality of her poetry. This is a book that bears reading more than once for the ongoing joy of life her poetry expresses.

Joyce Ann Edmondson
The Listening Tree
Falling Petals

In the culmination of the truly amazing story of the Adamsons and the lioness, Elsa, the Adamsons are quite surprised to see Elsa again when she brings her cubs back to show them. Sadly, the lioness dies and the Adamsons are left with three motherless cubs that they again must teach somehow to fend for themselves in a wild environment.

"In 'Born Free and 'Living Free', Joy Adamson told the extraordinary story of her association with Elsa, whom she and her husband George had raised from a tiny cub to a full-grown lioness and then released to life in the wild. 'By a passionate patience and an understanding love,' as Sir Julian Huxley points out, a relationship was established that survived the release. When Elsa had mated with a wild lion and her three cubs, Jespah, Gopa, and Little Elsa, were born, she brought them to the Adamsons' camp. And when she died prematurely, leaving her cubs unprotected, the Adamsons assumed guardianship over three lions raised in the wild. How they acquitted themselves of their unprecedented, heroic task is recorded in 'Forever Free'."

"'Forever Free' is the dramatic story of Elsa's death, and of the remarkable relationship that grew between the Adamsons and Elsa's wild cubs."

As a collector of early 1800's chintz quilts, I found this book very important, informative, and most of all beautiful. The quilts are gorgeous and quality of photos is top-notch. If you like early chintz, you will love this book!

In addition to pictures of lovely quilts, this book provides a comprehensive treatment of the history of cotton printing before 1850. Quilt enthusiasts will find this useful for dating fabrics, but it also provides a handy summary for textile historians.

I really enjoyed this book. I bought it years ago and finally got around to reading it and I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It is a collection of short erotic stories about EVERY kind of sexual encounter that occurs after the many participants go to see a "kinky" movie. I enjoyed it because it was really fascinating to see how different types of people related to the same experience.

The Catalyst is a compilation of short stories about people who have all recently seen the same erotically charged movie, and how they use that feeling to explore their sexuality. The stories range from light bondage to hard core s/m, with various genders and orientations. Not one of the author's best (The Marketplace Series are far superior), but a good introduction to the world of alternative sex, recommended for the shy, ready to explore types

This book will most likely not appeal to US students in linguistics. Because Bourdieu deals with rather abstract concepts which cover a lot of social ground (e.g., symbolic, cultural, economic capital, field, etc.)and not enough linguistic ground, some linguists will have trouble applying concepts to the actual production of speech at the phonological, morpho-syntactic, pragmatic and discourse level. He never really deals with actual production of language by speakers, so it creates a lot of work for the reader to fill in the details of what, for example, an actual linguistic habitus might look like, what its dispositions might be, and how they might be coordinated in their habitus set.
However, unlike many US linguists, he assumes there is an empirical connection between language use and larger social domains; furthermore, he is able to explain the way power often operates through exclusion and devaluation (dialect analysis). One of the less abstract chapters, the chapter on Searle, is excellent. Bourdieu accurately locates the efficacy of the speech act, not in the functional form of the utterances, such as christening, ordering, requesting, etc., but in the recognition by all involved that the agent who produces the speech act has the right to be obeyed and that the material circumstances of the speech act are appropriate. Mary Jane down the street and the mayor of NY may christen a new warship using the exact same functional words, but the power of those words depends on our recognition that, in this example, the mayor, not just anybody, has the authority to name. Bourdieu masterfully argues this point, and I would recommend reading that chapter first for its accessibility and accuracy in pointing out that the extra-linguistic is as much linguistic as the linguistic.

Bourdieu's point is not to explore linguistics but rather to explore the larger impact that language has on shaping symbols, meaning and power in the social context. Symbolic interactionists and conflict theorists would probally find this book to be a great read.

Joy Adamson's autobiographical account of what happened after she successfully reintroduced Elsa the lioness into her natural wild habitat. It is so successful that she manages to breed, and produced three fine cubs.

It's a fairly straightup diary form telling of Elsa's pregnancy, her cubs, and their life after her death. The photographs are quite good.

This book is a quick read despite its length. A significant portion of the book actually covers the raising of children instead of being exclusively about pregnancy and birthing. I found the exercises given to be fairly uninspiring for the most part, but it was a nice read for those of us who want something more focused on the inward experiences of the mother than all the technical books that abound.

The authors do quote Barbara Walker as a source for much of their information, an author who has spurious credibility in more academic circles.

Don't be put off by its title, this book is grounded in reality. The authors focus on the more transcendent qualities of pregnancy and motherhood: the power, the wisdom, the transformation. They explore the myths and stories of ancient mothers from several cultures.

I found it a relaxing, welcome alternative to my reading on the physical aspects of pregnancy and childbirth, and just as educational.

Although I'm a fan of the underdog, this story of four such students (all underdogs in their own way) is more insipid than pleasant. It covers the subjects sixth-graders worry about, especially that of how and where they fit in with their classmates and the world. Through a series of coincidences or fate, the four eventually team up and crush the scholastic competition. And there are four sub-stories, one covering events leading up to each student being chosen for the team. But the idea that because individually, for reasons that I won't share so as not to spoil the plot, is able to answer a particularly difficult question custom-tailored by the author to fit their background, qualifies them to be chosen for the team is a bit silly. The obviously contrived plot overshadows the feel good aspect of The View from Saturday. Better: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, Frindle by Andrew Clements and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

I think that Konigsburg writes in an intelligent way, considering the age groups that will be reading the book and how they're going to interpret the material.
Telling the story of a sixth grade academic team, and how they can pull together to become friends, 'The View From Saturday' is a feel good novel that everyone who loves friendship and a learning experience should read.

I have taught this in my classroom every year since 2000! I absolutely love it. I've used it in 6th grade and currently in 5th grade. The book easily lends itself to teaching about point of view and a host of other reading skills. Point of view is the skill I think the kids enjoy the most when using this book because each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character. The theme is friendship and genre is realistic fiction in a modern setting. I cannot recommend this book enough! It will always be one of my favorite teaching novels!

I was going to write a review, but Sara Hathaway has spared me the time it would take in her "Cloudy View" July 16, 2007 review. I am a grandmother in the process of reading through Newbery winners (a retired elementary teacher, mother of 5, + have 13 grands) and so far am finding it rather tedious and disappointing (See my review for Criss Cross). "View" seemed to promise more, but it just never delivered and so I was disappointed when I got to the end.

I think the book The View from Saturday was a waste of time for the writer. The theme was not so interesting and the characters had no personality. It is not a book I recommend to people.

This book was confusing and did not explain the story so well. On every other page there was a new scene. In the book the author did not explain when the characters went to the academic bowls. Some of the characters did not have a personality although Juilan was my favorite because of his differences. He is different because on the first day of school he wore knee socks and shorts and to the other characters and school that was weird. Another part I thought was a little strange was the theme. If you drink tea with your friends your personality will change.

The book is not worth reading.

Good quality, really almost new. Highly satisfied, only wish it had arrived a little quicker. Ordered another used book at the same time from another Amazon source and it arrived 3-4 days sooner.

By definition, a "raving fan" is a customer that is so happy with your company that they praise your actions to anyone who might possibly listen. They are the best form of advertisement and the hardest to acquire. Changing your customer service strategy so that you have raving fans rather than customers is the point of this book and the story is told in parable form.
The two main characters are Area Manager and Charlie, his male fairy "godmother." Using the magic that all fairy godmothers possess, Charlie takes Area Manager to several companies that generate their own raving fans. The strategy is common and ubiquitous across industries; treat your customer as a coveted and valued asset rather than a source of revenue to be squeezed.
Another very important point is that to be successful in the area of customer service, you must first decide what you want to do. A fundamental component of this is to realize that not all potential customers are desirable ones. The fact is that some people are simply unsuitable as customers. Decide up front that they are not what you want to do and don't do it. Focus on what you can and want to do well.
Ken Blanchard has once again been an author of a book that points the way to success in business. The path to success is by providing quality service that appears costly, but that is a mirage. Good customer service is one of the best ways possible to make money and save time by spending money and using time to provide it. This is one of the best management books ever written, made even better by the simplicity of the presentation.

This is one of the most informative and fun-to-read books I've ever read. There is so much to be learned and to think about. Really gets your energy and mind going.

I bought this in lieu of buying th book and am glad I did. We slipped it in and played it while on a day trip on the road. We are Amazon booksellers and found the information very helpful in our applying it to our bookselling business. The narration is story form which helps keep it interesting as well.

This book has a rather flimsy message. Simply stated it is that you can smash your competition and achieve exceptional success in sales by adhering to a deceptively simple formula: Know what you want; know what the customer wants, deliver beyond the client's expectation, and never stop enhancing your service. The message is delivered in a writing style known as "mystical realism" in the fiction world, and which doesn't work quite as well in the non-fiction world. There is some real magic here, though, and it's on the cover of the book, "More than One Million copies sold." This probably relates to the fact that the target audience is, in fact, probably not all that literate, that it reduces an MBA in Marketing to a 75 minute read, that the print is large, and of course the whimsical and all too frequent references to the game of golf. The fact is that salesfolk periodically need to have their batteries recharged, and this book is a quick-charge. It gives the reader the feeling that he has learned something new, and that the business world is really much less complex than appearances would suggest. I read it as mandatory preparation for a Xinnix seminar, and if they thought this book had exceptional value, I'm worried about how simplistic their seminar might be.

First of all, I have something to say about the negative reviews. Some are totally inaccurate (no wonder these folks lose money.) One person said he lost money on commissions and taxes when he was stopped out at a 10% loss. Yes, you have to pay commission, but you don't pay tax on losses. Get your facts straight even when you lie. I couldn't find the name Peter Lynch mentioned anywhere in her book like this person claimed. As far as the 10% stop loss, who says you have to keep it at exactly 10%? Investing is an art, not a science. You adapt to better deal with your particular situation.

Now on with the review, I have read over 20 books on the stock market, and I found this little book one of the most useful. The method in book is very similar to the one advocated by William O'neal. Some call it momentum investing. This method is more of a short-term or swing trading strategy than long-term investing. What makes this book a standout is she takes the time to explain difficult concepts in simple terms that beginners could understand. She even takes the time to show the readers how to use a calculator to find various values of a stock. Additionally, she includes many useful websites to aid people in their search for stocks to invest. She also did a good job explaining fundamental and technical analysis at the basis level.

The strategy recommended is solid and is used and tested by traders and investors everyday. The language used to explain this investing concept to the readers is clear. I recommend this book.

Great book!! Makes it easy to learn the important facsts about the stock market and trading.

Businessmen and politicians learned long ago that getting the money and publicity go hand-in-hand. Not just any publicity, but solid personal publicity. If we want people to value our abilities, we must first show that we value ourselves - by making sure our accomplishments are visible to targeted audiences. If we want people to invest in our companies, to buy from us, or to hire and promote us into the corner office, they have to know who we are, what we have accomplished and why they should do business with us! Self-promotion is a valuable business tool that businesswomen MUST add to their strategies for success. Following a careful step-by-step process will help even the most timid become comfortable with the concept of self-promotion. (from Marion E. Gold, award-winning author of "The Personal Publicity Planner: A Guide to Marketing YOU")

I have the audio cassette version of this book. I've learned so much by listening to it. She makes such great everyday comparisons to help understand the market and the terminology. Its a terrific overall guide to gain confidence in yourself and begin to invest in the stock market. The whole investing environment can be so intimidating and she has removed that with this book allowing even those who doubted ever becoming an investor to now be one. Listening to the audio version her voice is very animated and clear, even humorous in her examples. Highly recommend this for both men & women, even teens. Thank you Ms. Stav for taking the mystery out of it all.

I couldn't believe how Wall Street has made understanding investing so complicated, when it's not.

Julie has taken a so called difficult subject and made it really simple to follow. In fact, as simple as 1-2-3 and A-B-C.

Now I can talk the Wall Street lingo with the Big Boys, while laughing all the way to the bank.

Thanks, Julie.