Anne Books

At the height of the Cold War Vernon Johnson decided to take a trip around the world - with his wife and eight children. Home Is Where The Bus Is is Anne's autobiography of that experience, packed with rich encounters with other cultures and a journey filled with adventures and unique experiences. Armchair travelers will delight in the stories.

A really cool book and in these days of modern times I can think of no better way, other than flying one's flag 24 hours a day, to kick "Mister Osama Yo' Mama" right in his little be-turbaned rag-headed behind other than buying Ms. Johnson's bejeweled, glimmering memoir/slash/travelogue, plus its not as much as a downer as Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", at least there's no half-insane Kurtz waiting at the end of the bus trip, unless I smoked a bit too much hash and missed a coupla' chapters so far. There is only 2 great travel books about buses. There's "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test", there's "Magical Mystery Tour" (I know, not really a book, well excuuuussee mmeee!) and now there's a 3rd! "Home is Where the Bus is!" You Go Girl! 5 Big stars!

This book is wonderful. Remember that old Coke commercial - the one with people singing on the hillside "I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony...?" Remember when you first heard it and it felt possible and warm, not corny or ridiculous?
This book feels like a refrain from that jingle, like all we need to give peace a chance is to send out a family like the ten Johnsons on another goodwill bus tour...

The author should know that the only criticism possible is that the covers of her book are too close together!

This is a terrific story! It is touching, funny, and to think it really happened. Family values are the message in this people-to-people around the world saga which is never cloying but often bittersweet.

In 1960 during the height of the cold war Vernon Johnson packed wife & 8 children in a bus for 2 years to travel the world on a good will mission both to show his children that the people in countries of our "enemy" are human and loving and to show the world what Americans are like. Using his unique style of finagling they were the first foreigners in 40 years on the TransSiberian Railway. Anne speaks from the heart and soul about washing laundry in rivers, meeting Krushchev, fear of getting locked in Russia, and following a dreamer.
The writing is fluid, humorous, and real! A real gift of good will and political hope in these post-Sept 11th days.

it's new and it arrives fast

This surprisingly comprehensive little book addresses over 40 questions children would dream up about a slave's life...and a few they wouldn't. What did slaves wear? What did they eat? Would you live with your father and mother? What if your father belonged to another slave owner? Did the children have to work? What games did they play? Were any black people free? While the answers are by necessity simplified for the targeted age group (9-12) the content is honest and relatively thorough. I think this provides an excellent foundation for helping children understand this sad time in American history. Includes web and physical addresses of seven historic/interpretive sites.

Young readers will come away from If you Lived When There Was Slavery in America with an I-was-there knowledge of the history and lives of slaves in America. Some of the information is especially interesting, since it comes directly from slave narratives or diaries. The story of Robert Glen's secret education from an owner's son and Emma Knight's report of sobbing in pain because of having no shoes in the freezing cold will stimulate genuine understanding, classroom discussion and a desire for further study.

I highly recommend this wonderful book.

I'm teaching Early American History to Japanese adults who have an "elementary" level of English and virtually no experience in studying American history. The "If You Lived in ....." books targeted for US elementary school children is ideal for college students in Japan. Just the title causes discussion. eg. Why do you spell Willimasburg with ..burg but then spell Pittsburgh with "h"?

This book is simply incredible! My daughter read this book and was fascinated by the details that helped her understand how people really lived during slavery times. This book sparked such an interest in understanding her history until she is constantly reading and requesting more information about the struggles of African Americans. The book also makes for good conversations and an understanding of how obstacles and the struggles are life should be used to motivate us to seek better things in life. As an African American mother, it is absolutely necessary that our children be given all the tools to survive. This book helps them understand the importance of making the best of any kind of situation that you are placed in and always striving for something better!

Fortunate enough to come across this book, its make an enjoyable read, providing some insight into the minds and traditions of families from around the globe. "You are what you eat" - Praise to the authors for this approach.

This book is enlightening because the recipe givers are from so many different cultures. It is a book for all levels of cooks from the Moroccan orange slices that need no cooking to the more intricate recipes from Germany and Iran. I especially like the Scottish Steak Pie, which I made for my family, and they ate every bit of it--and I don't even like to cook! This book is a keeper.

This is one of the few cookbooks that is fun to read from cover to cover, learn about other cultures and cuisines, and be inspired to write down your own kitchen memories. There are pages at the end of the book to write your own recipes and a web site called familyfoodmemories where you can ask questions - I like this book!!!

All cooks enjoy reading cookbooks; but not all cookbooks are truly good reads. "Kitchen Memories" is a treasure trove of recipes passed down through generations from a variety of cultures and countries. Moreover, it's filled with wonderful vignettes that capture the history and love that make the recipes special. Well done!

Kitchen Memories is a history lesson and travel guide with fasinating short stories and, OH YES, it's a marvelous cookbook which I have read from cover to cover and enjoyed every minute of.

It's practically impossible to find a novel that offers an insider's view of a relatively untouched subject, via fictional characters who are as admirable as they are likable. Anne Black Gray did just that in "Laughing Sickness: A Medical Mystery." I allowed myself a flip-through read to see what Gray had done with this latest addition to the mystery shelf. Once started, I couldn't stop. I had to see how young, smart, healthy Jessica, benched by an undiagnosable disease, plows her way through the laughably (if it's not you) bungling medical system to a diagnosis she can live with. Good for Gray.
Harriet Rochlin

Laughing Sickness is a fiction-based story of medical hope based on actual events. It is about a young woman who suddenly at the age of 25, after receiving a tetanus shot, becomes ill with a disease that causes episodes of paralysis and the appearance of unconsciousness. The debilitating condition is especially brought on by her own laughter. From her point-of-view we experience the alarming frustrations of dealing with a life-threatening disease and the response of ignorant doctors, baffled specialists, and a majority of the outside world who view the handicapped as invisible, invaluable, or just pitiable.

Laughing Sickness contains veins of social consciousness. Ms. Gray's insistent message is a patient wants and needs financial security, social dignity, employment and the best health care possible. The author wants to eradicate the assumption that lack of evidence of a physical problem is evidence for lack of a physical problem. You may bristle, accept, or defend Ms. Gray's cynical attitude toward doctors as demonstrated in an article written for an alumni magazine by her characater.

"If there is a God, I hate to think he only laughs at my cries for help. But I've evidence he's never touched by my pleas to watch over me in doctor's offices. Doctors with failings they can't face, who malign my sanity to save their pride."

The story's ending satisfies the mystery and the morals converge with an uplifting feeling that sometimes answers can be found if your determination doesn't weaken.

"... another world where gravity was stronger and the atmosphere more viscous." Author: Anne Black Gray

This image, for me, is strikingly vivid and evocative of Jessica Shephard's struggles with a disease that mysteriously and intermittently drags from her the energy to speak, swallow, breathe and remain upright. A disease whose diagnosis so persistently eludes discovery that in some opinions may not exist except as a construct of Jessica's psyche. The author carefully chronicles the progression of Jessica's symptoms, the frustrations and disappointments attending her interactions with the medical and nonmedical communities, the eventual "aha" that rewards the research efforts of Jessica and family, pins the diagnosis and also, significantly, Jessica's relentless efforts to maintain her independence and gift of laughter.

As an RN, I sometimes bristled at the author's broad-brush, black-hat approach to the medical community, but I suspect the incidents, though presented as fiction, were actually experienced by someone, therefore inarguable. One wish I do have is that Jessica's gift for making others laugh, an attribute she equates with power, would have more explicitly developed. The reader is frequently reminded of Jessica's gift, but in retrospect, I remember only one laugh out loud. In Chapter 1 where Jessica, having collapsed, lies there watching shoes while their owners discuss her, and she finally calls out, "Hey, how about listening to me... I have the floor here." There I laughed.

Of all the relationships realistically drawn, I especially appreciated the author's depiction of the relationship between mother and daughter--sometimes contentious, distant, loving, always poignant. The garage scene is unforgettable. Ms. Black Gray shows us that the loved ones of the afflicted also have much to bear.

This work, admirably, shows the authorial intent to foster awareness of "orphan" diseases, the need for improved medical research and development of therapeutic approaches and a greater respect and understanding of those with disabilities. This novel is more than the sum of its parts.

As an avid fan of the medical genre, I found Laughing Sickness fascinating. If you enjoy the diagnositic series "House" - you will love this book because it is medically precise without the over-your-head-writing of a medical textbook. The facts of this strange case don't have to be stuffed into a one hour show, but extend over a hellish two years where the experts turn helpless as the patient collapses with no one in her life to keep picking her up off the floor. She is almost alone in her torture as she alienates everyone who tries to help her because of her unrelenting desire to remain independent.

Who knows, we all react differently to discomfort and pain, but this book allows you to imagine things that seem impossible: like being incapable of communicating, losing the ability to walk, and having no answers to why you are slowly losing everything valuable in life. It unravels at a fast pace and gives a side story of the main character's faltering career in the engineering environment (where the author also tackles high-brow issues with ease). It's a teaching story and it would be rewarding to medical show voyeurs, or people in the medical profession like myself.

I believe that many of us at different times have weird things going on in our bodies that we don't understand. Thankfully, these usually pass, and we go about our merry way. But what happens when they don't? What happens when the doctors that we turn to for help, don't give it? I can only imagine the panic and fear that must occur in such a situation.
In this outstanding novel by author, Anne Black Gray, we meet Jessica. She is a young hard working woman who loves to bring laughter into life; she didn't know this was her downfall; when without warning she falls prey to a mysterious illness that literally depletes her life force. Scary. We travel with Jessica as she battles to find an answer to what is happening to her, and hits one stone wall after another. But she is determined, and although her independent spirit pushes many away when she needed their help the most, it is the factor that finally leads her to uncovering what is going on in her body, and why.
I found this book to be a grabber from the beginning to the end. Although fiction, truth was there, and the author brought to light many problems faced by people who have illnesses not of the norm; and all the trials and tribulations, pain and suffering they go through seeking their answers. I truly recommend this read, great story, informative, and inspirational as well. Well worth your time.

The story of the two sisters' Libby and Sam seemed very real and as we grow up we do grow apart. I found myself not liking Libby very much, especially at the beginning of the story. I thought the end was rushed, and more of the story of why Libby's daughter wanted to leave college should have been talked about more. It is an easy read and worth reading just not as good as it could have been.

What a wonderful love story. This is a story about true love, the kind you feel unconditionally. This book was filled with all kind of emotions. Definetly a page turner.

The Law Of Bound Hearts: Separate them and only one - at most - would survive.

That statement sums up how Libby and Sam felt about each other as children...they were inseparable. All that changed one day when Libby did something to Sam that was unforgivable. Now, six years later, Libby is suffering from kidney failure and needs to find a donor and does not want to ask her sister Sam for help. As the story unfolds, we gradually learn a bit about each woman, where they are in their lives now, and what they are thinking and feeling. We also discover what transpired to bring them to this point in their strained relationship.

Once again Anne LeClaire has woven a story that takes you on a magical journey to the heart of the family where no one is perfect and forgiveness is possible.

Anne LeClaire writes compellingly and engages our empathy and curiosity about two estranged sisters who are faced with a life-changing decision. I became so involved with the characters, I didn't want the story to end.

Two years younger than her sister, Sam is a pastry chef living on the coast of Massachusetts designing wedding cakes that are a work of art. Libby, the free spirit of their childhood is living in the Midwest, near Chicago, having turned into a control freak of sorts. They haven't spoken in six years even though as children they were closer than twins. Now, Libby must go through dialysis and needs a donor to give her a kidney. Can she ask Sam?

But this story is much deeper than that. It's a lyrical and poetic story about sisterhood, love, betrayal, forgiveness, and hope. It's a story about families and friendships and marriage. Anne LeClaire has created a landscape of words that capture your interest and surround you with the spirit of giving without being predictable or ordinary.

Better than her other books (which were pretty darn good), you'll be glad you chose THE LAW OF BOUND HEARTS and look forward to LeClaire's future books.

As a long-time "geocacher", I have experienced many adventures in geocaching, both alone and with family and friends, all the while having fun without wondering why the sport is so appealing. This book answers that question by capturing the spirit of geocaching in a quiet, meaningful voice. The photographs are exquisite, finely textured and rich in detail. The accompanying text is multi-layered, giving a glimpse of the physical geocache while providing background into circumstances that led the author to that location. This makes for a warm, tender, deeply personal story that touches the heart.

This book would be well worth owning just as a gorgeous collection of American photos: Kelley's photographs capture the spirit of many places that most shots couldn't convey, often thanks to unusual perspectives and compositions. But Local Treasures also tells some interesting stories about the methods of geocaching--and how people use it as a both a hobby and a way to orient themselves to the places they occupy in the world. The photos and stories in this book really manage to invoke a sense of the diversity of places and people across the US, and to give the reader a brief sense of alignment with those places.
Overall, a beautiful array of photos stitched together with a great storytelling voice give a relaxing and worthwhile read.

Margot Anne Kelley reminds us of exactly why we started playing this game in the first place! It's not about the treasures you find in the boxes, it's about the treasures in the world around us. The pictures are beautiful and the stories really draw you to the locations. As an added bonus there's that great sense of camaraderie that we get through the shared experience of geocaching.

This is a great book for cachers (especially those dealing with cabin fever) and also a great way to introduce your non-geocaching friends to exactly what we see in this game.

This book is an exploration of a new-millennium game; which is to say, it's an exploration of new-millennium humans. And Margot Kelley explores her territory with grace and precision. The book fascinates whether or not the reader is a geocacher because Ms. Kelley so skillfully expresses her own fascination -- not only with geocaching but with the rapidly-changing world that engendered it. With arresting images and insightful stories, Ms. Kelley inspires and includes her readers in the gentle art of Paying Attention. The attention here is on intersections and the trajectories that create them -- the meeting place of latitude and longitude, image and experience, nature and technology, time and place, politics and play, the mundane and the mystical.

Deft mini-essays, a few hundred words each, face off with arresting full-page photographs of the locations that inspired them. Up in one corner, the mathematical analog, exact longitude and latitude of the place you are looking at, for that was how it was discovered, via a game played with hand-held global positioning satellite (GPS)units and the internet, a game called geocaching. Margot Kelley's essays are at once intimate and cosmic, playful and poignant. Highly personal, even confessional, they are interwoven with public policy comments, next-wave scientific facts, and speculative cultural theory. Each photograph is stunning composition in its own right that also speaks its side of a complex dialogue with text. If you are a geocacher, you will feel vindicated and fulfilled. If you are curious about geocaching, you will be educated and intrigued. If you know anyone who is into geocaching, you have found THE perfect gift. But, in truth, this would be a great book without a single reference to the game. This is place-writing at its wisest, each segment adroitly paired with a visual feast, so that the effect of the whole transcends the sum of the parts. LOCAL TREASURES speaks more truth about Americans and our relationship to our environment than any book since Walden Pond.

The Lottie books portray sweet and complex friendships in a perfect, simple way. Just like people, sometimes the characters are petty and jealous and the lessons learned are good ones without being cute or heavy handed. Dodo's predicament gives the story a wonderful turn, and the illustrations are charming, which make the repeated readings of this book a special pleasure. All three of my children - 2 boys and a girl - love this book.

My 5-years-old really enjoys reading this book. It is funny and easy to read for beginning readers. Even my 20-months-old loves reading this book. Its good message about friendship is an added bonus.

I recently discovered this series (3 books by Petra Mathers -- this is the 2nd) and I'm already anxiously looking forward to book 4. Great illustrations, sweet story. My 2 and 4 year-olds adore the characters.

Lottie and Herbie return, with Mathers' trademark gorgeous paintings that are quirky, quaint, and very funny. These Lottie books tend to be winners.

I love this world, of Lottie, Herbie, and now Dodo that Petra Mathers has created.You'll laugh but most of all you'll recognize yourself--because who hasn't ever felt like a fifth wheel at one time or another? The art is fresh, and filled with wonderful details of this seaside town--which is so cozy that it makes me want to buy a house there right next to Lottie! And look out for perhaps the funniest line you've EVER seen on a flap!( I won't ruin it by telling you). I am crazy about this book AND the series and I know kids and the adults that read it to kids will be too!!

What a well done little book. This is a story of a little girl, during the Great Depression, who lives on a farm with her family and figures she is "just a little poor." This is a story of friendship and strength and simply helping others that need help. The illustrations by David Catrow are very well executed and a delight to the eye. They also go perfectly with the text which is nice when reading to a group of young ones. There are several lessons to be learned from this tale, all good ones. I have read this to several classes of children at school and it quite holds their attention and is very useful in helping to open up discussions. THe kids all seem to like it, and often times ask for a seconed reading. This is probably the best indorsement a children's book can have. All in all, there is not much to not like about this book and I do recommend it highly.

I enjoyed Patricia Mckissack & James Carville's lovely story set in the Lousiana Depression-era about a little girl hearing lots of talk about hardtimes with people out of work, no jobs and about her adventures in the swamp meeting up with a real swamp ghost, or so it seems at first. Little Lu shows her big caring heart when she be friends the ghost only to find out he's a little orphan boy. It is here we see her joy in finding one good friend and feeling mighty rich from it. David Catrow has out done himself again with his fabulously fun illustrations. This book also comes with a CD read by James Carville giving the listener a good flavor of that Lousiana drawl. A great story about family and friends.

I read the book to my son and he loved it. I think Paula should read the book before she reviews it. Unfortunately Paula hasn't taught her child the old saying "don't judge a book by its cover". Maybe Paula should see if the FOX News Channel will let her fill in for Bill O'Reilly when he reviews a book. There is one book I think her child will love its called "My Pet Goat".

My son is only 2 1/2 but sits still for this story aimed at 4 -6 year olds. He just likes the story and the art. And wonderfully imaginative art it is by David Catrow. It's written by James Carville...yes THAT James Carville. KNown most for being a former advisor to President Clinton, Carville grew up in the swamplands of Louisiana and writes a captivating children's tale of the mysterious bayou country.

Lu is a poor little girl who has no friends her age. One day she encounters the legendary swamp ghost of whom tales have become legend in her neck of the woods. But all is not what it seems with this "ghost" and soon Lu finds a true friend as Carville teaches a well thought out lesson about impressions we have about people. Nicely done and the fact that it's about a "ghost" really intrigued my little one.

Lu and the Swamp Ghost is a wonderful book that should be read to kids of almost any age and a sure to be classic.

Young Lu has always been told that as long as you have wonderful friends and family, you're never actually poor. But Lu, who has a great family, knows that she must be a little poor, for she doesn't actually have any friends. However, all that changes one day while Lu is taking a stroll along the Louisiana bayou, for she comes face-to-face with a real, live swamp ghost, who ultimately becomes her one true friend.

Taking place during the Great Depression, James Carville has created a wonderful story that will show even the youngest reader that friends and family are more important than material items. Filled with super-adorable illustrations by David Catrow, LU AND THE SWAMP GHOST is sure to earn a place in the hearts of readers the world over.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Excellent book both in terms of framework and use of practical examples.Comprehensive coverage.Quite updated and international coverage due to the alliance with E. Anderson that teaches in Insead. The mix of the authors's background clearly enriches the book. Highly recommended and easy to see why it is in its 7th edition.

Marketing Channels is a must-own for any executive who thinks strategically about the way in which customers buy their company's products.

Like the sixth edition, the seventh edition is organized around a comprehensive framework for channel strategy. Each chapter walks through a different element of the framework. This approach integrates a wide range of material while making it easy to sample just the strategic topics that are relevant to your business.

The seventh edition continues the evolution of the book toward an approach well-grounded in the real-world economics of channels. Much of the content has been carried over from the sixth edition, although the book's structure is more streamlined. A lot of superfluous and outdated material from earlier editions has finally been cleaned up.

The chapter on vertical integration has been rightly moved into the "Channel Implementation" section. This is an outstanding chapter that provides a truly unique synthesis of marketing strategy and economic reasoning.

I have only two minor quibbles. One, the book is beginning to lag behind actual management practice. For instance, the discussion of margin vs. fee payments, new to the seventh edition, receives a scant four paragraphs. Two, the chapters on channel institutions (Retailing, Wholesaling, and Logistics) should either be expanded or more closely integrated with examples in the text. In addition, the data presented in these chapters are often out-of-date, in some cases by more than ten years.

As both a channel strategy consultant and one of Erin's former students, I can personally vouch for the validity of their insights into channel strategy. You will not be disappointed by the quality and rigor of thinking in this book.

In a business world that is constantly changing, it is absolutely critical to understand the function and behavior of marketing channels -- that is, the roles that manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers play in the channel of distribution. The businesses that understand these tenets will be able to adapt to changes in the marketplace, and those who do not, will ultimately fail.

This is the 5th edition of the original book that developed the theories that explain the structure and behavior of marketing channels. There is still nothing better. For those who understand the significance of channels, it provides a clear roadmap for the analysis of changes. For those who do not, it will explain channel member behavior and illuminate recent successes due to channel management (Walmart, Dell Computer), so that you can understand how the lessons can be applied to your business.

I recommend this book to all business managers, not just to read once, but to keep in your office and refer to often through the years in order to navigate the high seas of channel change.

This edition is really a significant leap forward with so many great examples bringing the framework and principles to life. All the other changes help to broaden the readership appeal and increase the book's usability.

For me, this is the definitive text in the emerging discipline of routes to market and is of tremendous value to channels managers, marketing managers and anyone responsible for their organisation's routes to market.

In fact, never mind the marketeers, every CEO should be required to read it.

This book, containing plenty of cases in accordance with each topic in every chapter, gives readers hand-on perception on how the theory exists within the business world. I especially love chapter 8:"Channel Power", which specifies 5 powers a manufacturer or distributor may owns and how to deploy them properly in different situation or period. While you read, the book keeps you thinking about your own business and desiring to apply these breakthrough knowledge tomorrow, great!

I had the priviledge of attending a class taught by Anne Trip on the entitled book. I had never heard a marriage book taught in the way she writes. It is straight from Christ how we are to treat each other. This should be a pre-requisite to marriage. I reading this book for the 2nd time, but I know i will be reading it again and again to re-enforce and strenghthen my own marriage. This is truly a wonderful book and the best book on marriage out there.

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and I believe this book to be the best book on Christian marriage. So many books are written on marriage, but this book is the answer to healing in a marriage. The book takes you through 4 couples that are being counseled and shows you the journey they took through marriage counseling. It also offers exercises and other supplements that help you determine the state of your own marriage and how you can be complete in life by following the truths in this book. It is a must have for all marriages; ones that are hurting as well as those that just need some enrichment.

Over the 37 years we have been married, we have read a LOT of books on marriage and attended a lot of conferences.........but this book is clearly the best one we have ever read! So many of the other books we had read seemed to be about about trying harder and changing behaviors, which only left us increasingly frustrated that we couldn't get it right. In this book, however, Anne leads her readers on a journey of understanding that it is only dependency on the indwelling life of Christ which will lead to the intimacy and vitality that God intends for every marriage. Our marriage has been transformed!

One of the best books on marriage I have read. It has benefited me professionally as a clinician and personally. Must read for those who want to grow in their marriage.

If your marriage needs help(and whose doesn't), this book can be used alone or in conjunction with counseling. This book would also be an excellent study used in a small group or Sunday School class. It is easy to follow and puts the emphasis on all the right issues. Nobody would feel intimated reading this book.