Bates Books

A true gem among the many, many web business and internet marketing business books I have read! I am absolutely dumbfounded no one has been able to write a truly specific, step-by-step book like this before.

It contains exact instructions about where to host, how to build your website and how to promote it with results waaay faster than anything I've ever tried in the last 10 years.

Five Star recommendation, and I don't write reviews.. that's how much this book motivated me!

Great Book!!

Nelson Bates' book titled Best Website, Simple Steps to Successful Websites, (130 some pages divided into eleven critical chapters about what really works) is concisely written in simple English and is a combination business and technical book based on his twelve years of experience in the internet trenches where he has been making money online since 1995.

He built BuySellWebsite.com into the Internet's most popular marketplace for buying and selling Website businesses and developed the Internet's longest running Website Appraisal system, which has also given him a unique insight into the financial side of the Internet at a grassroots level. He's walked his talk.

This is not a get rich quick or opportunity seeker book with overstated optimism about how you to can get rich overnight, but rather a practical, and bluntly honest overview of what really matters if you want to build a profitable internet business. Also, while it covers technical subjects, it is written for the average person and not programmers or geeks.

He clearly and succinctly highlights what you need to know to be successful without superficial or pedantic ivory tower nonsense. The book is down to earth "How-To" book which is a must have in your personal library for anyone who is serious about building a successful Website. In addition to great layout and typography, sporadically placed tips & notes are also visually featured for quick reference.

One of the most important parts of the book is his "Essential 9" where he enumerates the nine most important things you can do now to make your Website a profitable success.

Whether you're a "Fortune 500" company or a kitchen table startup, His book will serve you well saving you time, money and heartache. This action book is a must have, but will only be of value if you follow his advice. I would have liked more Dreamweaver examples, but that's about it.

I'm a professional web designer, yet I didn't have much skill in web marketing. This book has helped me to streamline my marketing efforts online, gaining successful listings with both Yahoo! and Google.
The book itself is well written and easy to use for novice and professionals alike.

A remarkably good book at describing the actual steps. in detail - that need to be completed to build a truly profitable website! I'm surprised no one has been able to write a book like this before. An actual complete guide that steps through; what type of website to start, getting the right domain name, setting up the web server, easily building and managing the website and finally, a number of excellent promotional strategies - that are actually mostly free!!

I measure how much I like a book by how many tabs I place to mark the pages... and I have quite a few marked with this book. Even the "How to Make a $100,000 from Something You Already Have." Chapter isn't hype.. It's not easy to do, but it is a very interesting way to make money online.

Could have used more detail with regard to e-mail marketing.. but I think that is being picky. Very very, good book!! I Highly recommend it!!

My daughter is 2.5 years old. Loves this book. Helped her to overcome fears at doctors/dentist. Quality is good. Pictures are so cute. Good for early readers too. Good price. Fast shipping. Very glad I purchased it.

This book is aimed at toddlers and upwards. My 2 year old loves it. It details first experiences in going to the dentist, school, doctors, moving etc. The illustrations are well drawn, bright and lovely (which I am very particular about) and the stories short and easy to read. There is also a little duck hidden on each page which my child loves to find.

Would highly recommend this book!

This book is a wonderful compilation of all the first experiences that children have. The illustrations are amazing and full of so much detail that a child can take his time and really enjoy the book. The stories are written with the short sentences at the top, that the kids can read, and then longer sentences at the bottom of the page so the adult can add more detail to the story. The layout is wonderful and the stories are precious. I loved it!

This collection contains all of the First Experiences books (Going to the Hospital, Going to the Doctor, Going to School, Going to the Dentist, The New Baby, Moving House, The New Puppy, Going on a Plane, Going to a Party). The volume is a smaller format than the individual books, but still large enough for proper reading.

Each of the tales tries to give a well-rounded picture of what to expect from the experience. For instance, in the doctor visit the family has three kids who each need a different type of treatment. Each story starts out by introducing the family and each family is different in composition although none are single parent families. Each page tells an aspect of the experience with a more detailed description at the bottom. Each story also contains a small yellow rubber duck hiding somewhere (my favorite is where he is hiding during the metal detector section of going on a plane).

Obviously the families presented will not always mimic your own and many experiences will be different in some details, but they still offering an excellent way to get into the subject with your children and start a discussion. Each tale has a different expert consultant but they are all delightfully illustrated by Stephen Cartwright. Check it out.

THE ABYSS is the new word in romance genre, an anthology of Dark Romance, a new and daring area of romance where everything is possible. It takes the reader to places where few romance readers have gone before.

This anthology contains more than a dozen short stories by different authors, some of them big names in independent publishing, and others demonstrating their star potential. The stories represent many sub-genres, including
science fiction romance, romantic suspense, fantasy romance, BDSM romance, and contemporary romance, as well as, romantic cross genre.

Representing the new wave in publishing, it also comes as a print book with three (six for the members of the Dark Romance group) ebooks attached. These ebooks are full novels written by some of the participating authors.

Dark Romance means a walk on the wild side of romance. It has only one rule-there are no rules. No holds barred. All envelopes pushed. The formula is violated in good old romantic tradition-the ravished one is enjoying it through and through. The edginess makes it a captivating collection, and the creative freedom delivers the thrill of a highly unpredictable read, which is something this reviewer values a lot.

THE ABYSS is a unique and fascinating occurrence in the romance genre. The sheer amount of offerings allows everyone to find something they will like.
It is impossible to review all eighteen stories, but the overall quality of the book is excellent, and I recommend it to everyone who enjoys a romantic, unusual, and compelling book.


PS The new genre of Dark Romance has its own site www.Dark-Romance.com and membership providing extra benefits.

February 14, 2004: Romantic Times Reviewer Diane Tugman says:

Inside the pages of this book you will read eighteen dark and short stories. Each one will take you on a journey into the realm of dark romance. . . every one tells a story of love just as passionate and needful as any other. Even the bad guy can be a prince, when given the right princess. . . . If extraordinary is what you crave then I recommend The Abyss for hours of
reading pleasure. Enjoy!

Overall rating: 4 Hearts
Sensuality rating: Explicit

In typical romance, the handsome and upright (but occasionally arrogant and conflicted) hero finds redemption at the hands of the beautiful, virginal, and spunky-but-not-too-spunky heroine--leading to a happily ever after. Nothing wrong with that, right? But sometimes, it's fun to read something just a little different. The Dark Romance Group [...] pulled together a group of their authors to create an anthology of 'romances' with a difference. Eighteen stories, thirteen authors, and at least that many variations on the theme of romance gone different.

THE ABYSS contains mummies, vampires, the god of destruction, a cold-blooded thief, a consentual slave, a man whose love is a fantasy, a budding romance where both the hero and heroine are lying to each other about their identities, even a professional assassin who falls for--something different. Pretty clearly, dark romance is a wide-open field and THE ABYSS does its best to convey some of the breadth possible when authors take off the constraints of traditional romance publishing and let themselves go.

Most of the authors represented in THE ABYSS (CT Adams, Jordan Alexander, Allie Bates, Tabitha A. Bradley, Charlotte Boyette-Compo, Adrianna Dane, Amy Eastlake, Morgan Huxley, Steve Lazarowitz, Brenna Lyons, Terry Pray, Rob Preece, and Patricia A. Rasey) are extensively published in independent electronic press and the collection offers a uniformly high quality of story, writing, and production value.

THE ABYSS isn't for everyone, but it also isn't all gloom and doom. There are moments of humor, clever twists, and human insights. Dark doesn't have to mean depressing and, while there were definitely some downbeat endings, the overall sense of the book is positive rather than negative.

Ever wish you could read something that breaks all the rules? What about if there were no rules except to tell the best possible story the way it was meant to be told? Nancy Fulton, founding member of the Dark Romance Internet Group wanted to share her love of some untraditional authors by highlighting them in a new anthology. If you only read print books, you may not know these authors. They are the best of the ebook Dark Romance world. Their writing transcends genre to forge new stories open to all readers, and don't follow the traditional rigid romance structure or formula that is seen in the print world. The stories in THE ABYSS are about love; love that is not always true, and not always returned. Serious romances that will make you come away from the book thinking about something other than sweetness and light. THE ABYSS includes eighteen different stories from thirteen different authors. All of these stories have a great premise:

An Egyptian Mummy is found perfectly preserved, but all is not as it seems. Can ancient lovers find each other's hearts once more?

A Couple seem destined to be together - despite the threat of a monster that may someday come between them.

A Police Woman recovering from a vicious attack finds solace in the arms of another officer, but memories return of her attacker who seems less than human.

A teenage boy becomes obsessed with a fellow classmate, and spends the next ten years transforming himself to be eligible to date her.

A man whose mind is separated from his body guards secrets for his side of the war. When a woman gains entrance to his thoughts, he must discern whose side she is on.

A man is hired to put a bullet in a beautiful woman, but something stops him from pulling the trigger. Will that be the worst mistake of his life?

A woman struggles to keep her shop when she discovers the sale wasn't legal, and now her nemesis wants to take it from her.

A human thief gets more than he bargained for when he breaks into a vampire den looking for silver. Will he trade money for a chance at happiness?

A young woman is aggrieved by her brother's choice in friends, but should count herself lucky the rogue took no more than a kiss.

A man and a woman meet on a deserted beach, both desperate to find solitude to think through similar problems. Could their meeting be a solution for both?

A pregnant woman realises the father of her child is not to be trusted. Should she choose another just because he is good?

A Woman seeks to end her life before her first change into a werewolf. A man strives to stop her, for she is also putting his own life at risk.

A woman contemplates on how lucky she is that her master still wants her, despite what the years have done to her body.

A woman struggling to escape her sadistic Dom is rescued by others who lead a more moderate form of the lifestyle.

A young woman struggles against her families wishes to achieve the career she believes has called to her. When she achieves her goal - she finds new challenges await.

A reporter goes undercover at a prison and meets an inmate who isn't all he appears to be. When he gets out, he discovers the woman has secrets of her own.

A man is released from darkness with no memory. He is inexplicably drawn to a local woman, and as their love grows - his memory returns. Will it be to their detriment?

A woman fights to stay behind with her husband and children, but she must leave and her past comes back to help her.

Don't be put off by the word `Dark'. Don't be put off by the word `Romance'. Don't be put off by the cover. One thing you will find in all of these stories is good quality writing. This book has something for everyone - lovers of paranormal, literary, science fiction, and romance will all come away with a sense that this book was written for them. Even better, when you find an author you like - look them up at their website for more. They would love to hear from you. This anthology is a bridge between the print world, and the ebook world that these authors normally inhabit. To show you how easy it is to read and enjoy an ebook, you get three free ebooks with this anthology. These are written by one of the talented authors who has two of her own short stories in the anthology, Morgan Huxley. All three ebooks are an example of dark romance, and yet they are each different - paranormal, erotic, and historical. Go ahead and try something new. Buy THE ABYSS today.

Jaynie Ritchie - reviewer

I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK. I HAPPENED TO READ THE SHORT STORY OF HOW BRANWYN WAS BORN AND WAS REALLY INTRIGUED WITH THE STORY. AT TIMES, THE STORY WAS A LITTLE CONFUSING (THAT'S JUST ME, NOT THE STORY) BUT IN THE END, IT WAS WONDERFUL. IF YOU ARE A FAN OF MEDIEVAL SCOTTISH ROMANCE, THIS IS A GREAT ONE TO PICK UP.

This is an amazing book, a classic historical romance. Alpha-male hero, heroine with the sight. Great secondary characters. If you enjoy medieval romances with characters that live in the "real world" you'll love this book. Seriously great . . .

Not to get into a dispute here but I came here to write my review of Earthchild and when I saw another reviewer said "Trash" I had to comment.

Earthchild has been receiving Five Star reviews all over the place. I know because I'm now a fan of Ms. Bates and have been following her in hopes that she has another book out soon. And while I know you can't please everyone everytime, and reviews on books are always subjective, I must say that I totally disagree with the reviewer that called Earthchild trash.

Allie Bates has written a wonderful historical Scottish romance that is full of flavor of the time period. She gives you a rich taste into the lives of the Scottish people while creating three dimensional characters that are real and emotionally complex. The love story between Branwyn and Llewellyn comes alive and leaves you wanting to read more. I'm looking forward to the sequel to Earthchild by Ms. Bates.

But, you don't have to take my word for it - before you just assume that the other reviewer is right (it's his/her opinion and we're all entitled to our own but I also noticed that out of 9 books reviewed by this person only one scored higher than a 1) - do a search for "Earthchild by Allie Bates" online and see what the other reviewers in the romance genre are saying.

Wanda Rock
Historical Romance Fan

I haven't cried over a book since I read Wuthering Heights in high school, but I cried over Branwyn and Llewellyn. The writing is so evocative that the characters became quite real to me. The story is set in Medieval Scotland, during the reign of King James 1. It is a brutal time period, long after Braveheart, but drawing and quartering is still a legal method of execution. The King has been living in England, and is coming home to a land where the nobles run roughshod over the common man.
Into this picture come a weary and lonely bastard knight, and a Highland girl with a head for herbs, an eye for runes and a touch of magic. He is the highest of the high, born in pomp and circumstance; and she lives in a thatch hovel, scratching out a meager living with her potions and predictions. Poor Llewellyn and his unrequited love for the repressed Branwyn. (He's not a man I would kick out of my bed!)
When they meet, sparks fly. This is a very erotic book, full of sexual tension, magic and fascinating history. The characters are all very real, and they came alive for me. I can not wait to read more by this author!

this is a fun guide to the wonderful city of Pasadena and the territory around it--excellent advice and comments about a city full of history, beauty and community

Hometown Pasadena: The Insider's Guide Writer Colleen Dunn Bates, a friendly Pasadena woman nearing 50, thought she had a good idea: to put together an upscale guidebook about her city -- a kind of travel book for people who live there. And given the intensely local focus of the project, rather than dealing with a big New York publisher, she decided to publish it herself, producing it out of her den and delivering it to stores from the back of her car.

Almost a year later, "Hometown Pasadena" has not only sold 10,000 copies, it has also turned into a small empire: Local bookstores, both chain and independent, Costco and even a hair salon now carry it, and Bates is branching out to other cities.

Bates' formula for the books is simple: "It's about how to really live in a place, and be in a place, and understand a place, even if you've lived there for 20 years," she said recently. "I've never seen anything like it. My model was to not have it look like a Fodor's guide."

Bates' book taps into the growing desire to conduct the business of one's life as locally as possible, in an era of crazy traffic, expensive gas and worries about the effect of a sprawling lifestyle on global warming. As Sara Nelson, editor of Publishers Weekly, noted, books about local topics and niche themes are thriving nationwide, helped in part by digital technology that makes it easier to self-publish books with a professional look.

"I think people are interested in themselves. As everything gets more global, the local stuff seems quaint and personal," she said.

"Hometown Pasadena" features well-illustrated sections on eating and drinking, cultural offerings, and where to take the kids, as well as less-typical features: several pages on the Metro Gold Line, a chapter on public and private gardens, and page-long interviews with key local players, such as architectural historian Robert Winter and Pasadena Playhouse artistic director Sheldon Epps. Bates and her four co-authors also know enough to treat the city as the bull's-eye of a cluster of communities that includes Sierra Madre, Eagle Rock and most of the San Gabriel Valley.

Bates' decision to publish on her own press comes from her experience with the New York publishing world, beginning in the early '80s when she edited a series of French-originated guidebooks for Simon & Schuster...
By handling "Hometown Pasadena" herself, she was able to use local talent not only in its creation but in its sales and promotion. One of her co-authors, Sandy Gillis, has kept the book supplied at her hairdresser.

Even more surprising, Bates has gotten the book into a Pasadena Barnes and Noble, despite the difficulty of small presses reaching the chains.

Bates also handles her press' non-bookstore distribution, which for months meant hauling boxes of books into her Subaru and driving them around town.

"I did it all," she said, "and have the chiropractic bills to prove it."

Some of the secret lies in Pasadena itself, the author believes.

"It's a very literary community, very educated," Bates said. "We have, outside of Powell's, the healthiest independent bookstore on the West Coast. There's educational institutions and culture and art and architecture. And food, and neighborhood identity. It has everything that makes for a complete community: There's a 'there' here."

Either way, it takes the right balance of size, cultural sophistication and local roots -- and possibly insularity -- for a city to be right for one of her books, Bates said. San Diego, for example, is too large and sprawling.
"Pasadena has a healthy self-image," she conceded. "It's in love with itself, and that helps."

Scott Timberg, Los Angeles Times

LA/So Calif travel books have always given this gem of a city only a cursory glance. It's about time Pasadena got its own book! This glossy new guidebook is chock full of everything Pasadena; it is beautifully detailed and highly entertaining. I am a Pasadena native who thoroughly enjoyed reading about my favorite haunts and discovering new spots to explore. Highly recommnend this for visitors or ex-Pasadenans who want to reminisce about their beloved hometown.

I was surprised by this complete guide. It was so well written and amusing that I found myself reading it for fun! I thought I knew this town, but I learned so much about it's history, places I've never been etc.. I'm giving it as Christmas presents to my partners at work. I think they'll love it and it's great o have on the shelf for guests. X Chris

Jonathan Bate's admirable biography of John Clare is worthy of this unique poet. There were moments while reading the first two hundred or so pages of John Clare A Biography when I began to sense I was residing in Clare's mind and footsteps which is truly a tribute to Bate's fine scholarship and narrative skills. Definitely worth reading and exploring.

This is a wonderful biography of Clare. Bate not only paints a convincing picture of this largely self-taught genius, but he also provides illuminating information about the social context in which Clare moved. His speculations concerning Clare's mental illness are also on the mark. Take your time with this book. It's an enjoyable ramble through the fields and by the end you'll have a well-rounded picture of John Clare and a greater appreciation for his work.

Endearing, moving and mysterious, this is as sensitive a portrait of John Clare as we are likely to get. Bate's love for his subject is obvious throughout the book, in which he succeeds so well at walking the line between adoration and accuracy. Teeming with observations such as "for Clare even a fishpond is saturated with feeling and memory," Clare's unusually intense absorption in nature is brought to light here with the kind of beauty and empathy only a fellow-writer such as Bate could achieve.

Yet despite Bate's insistence on Clare's genius (I'm quite insistent on it myself after having read the biography and skimming through the Selected Poems) he does not look away from uglier aspects of Clare's life: his infidelity and apparent spousal abuse, his alcoholism and, most of all, the ever-bewildering case of his diagnosis as a "lunatic." This is where Bate's book becomes particularly poignant, and I wish he had spent less time gossiping about Clare's wrangles with publishers and more on the man's complicated and harrowing character. For this reason I felt the book to be a bit longer than it needed to be, but perhaps I'd feel differently had the material in the last 150 pages, which deals extensively with Clare's mental illness, been fleshed-out even more. Surely accounts of Clare's occasional belief that he was Lord Byron or Jack Randall the boxer are of far more interest than how many pounds he was paid for a poem published in the London Magazine.

Nonetheless, Bate does an excellent job of avoiding the temptation to romanticize Clare's dramatic mental illness (for which, in the end, "manic-depression" seems to be the most accurate but not necessarily conclusive diagnosis. In her incredible book, Touched With Fire, Kay Redfield Jamison lists Clare's name among the poets she counted as victims of manic-depressive illness). Unlike other biographers of writers (Quentin Bell's book about Virginia Woolf comes to mind) Bate does not settle for Clare's own metaphorical explanations for his "madness." Indeed, Bate often disputes the very term "madness" and exposes it as a dated and even superstitious label. He does not so thoroughly drench the artist's mental struggles in myth and theory as to have it become the stuff of folklore. Surely it would be flattering to think of Clare as some divinely inspired mystic, but Bate's many more logical scenarios are a refreshing contrast to the "mad genius" stereotype.

While Clare attributed his madness to the day he watched a friend fall to his death from a tree as a child, Bate's more plausible suggestions include: Clare's concussion after tumbling out of a tree himself as a boy, his heavy drinking, the awful malnutrition of his diet, the tormenting stress of his perpetual poverty amid obligations to his wife and seven children, his frustrating efforts to further himself as a poet while having to beg for farm work, and "mercury-poisoning resulting from attempted treatment for syphilis." In a further example of Bate's mature handling of this particular issue, he writes that "we should not rule out the possibility that his own derangement was partially shaped by his reading about the mental suffering of other writers." Clare was terribly impressionable. However, where Bate tells us that Clare's "episodes" afflicted him only after being admitted to the aszlum as if to imply that he was bound to become psychotic after living among the mad for two decades, Jamison writes in "Touched With Fire" that "manic-depressive illness not only worsens over time, it becomes less responsive to medication the longer" it goes untreated, so it seems only logical that his condition would have worsened with age, especially since no such "treatment" as Jamison discusses was available in his day.

Compounding the reasonable possibilities Bate offers is the fact that Clare's very devotion to write poetry may have been interpreted as madness by his neighbors. Tragically, this seems to be a chief reason why he was eventually confined. As Bate says early on, "In summer he walked in the woods and fields alone, a book in his pocket . . . his love of books began to isolate him from other boys . . . the villagers found this behavior very odd: `some fancying it symptoms of lunacy.'" Even after reading the book, it is anyone's guess as to whether Clare was insane; but stories of his battles against what illness he may have suffered from as well as the ignorance, incompetence and greed of those purporting to care for him make for a rather heart-breaking read. What we can be sure of, though, is that mad or not, Clare had become more of a liability than a father or husband. "There is no evidence that he was taken to the asylum because he was `mad' in the sense of having lost consciousness of his identity . . . he was taken to the asylum because he needed better care than could be provided by his family," Bate writes.

Though he probably takes a bit too much liberty in attempting to explain nearly every one of Clare's symptoms in a more rational light, Bate's assertions about Clare's psychological temperament make for some absolutely riveting explications and commentary. "To say that he had written the works of Byron and Scott was but an extreme way of saying he had written works that he hoped might one day be regarded as the equal of" those works, he supposes. In an even farther-fetching attempt at psychoanalysis, Bate explains Clare's delusion that he was a famous boxer as a dramatization "of the fact that Clare spent his life fighting battles - for his poetry, for recognition, for survival, against his inner demons." While this is probably the point at which Bate seems more of an adoring and apologetic fan than biographer, who's to say? We will never really know what was going on inside that jewel of a mind, and considering all that was taken from the man in his life by his illness, time, or other people, maybe that secret is the one thing we can let Clare keep.

A magnificent bio of a fabulous poet. I got to page 167 or so before it occured to me to check what page I was on. When one forgets one is reading, one knows one is reading excellence.

This bio is excellence and this poet is sublime.

As a knitter and spinner who makes alot of hats, and one who unravels thrifted sweaters for it's yarn, I feel that this book was written just for me! There are great tips for recycling yarn, (I even learned a new trick), and alot of fresh patterns for uniquely shaped hats for all sized heads and accessories to knit and embellish.
I have alot of books in my collection, but in the few short weeks that I have had this book, I have looked at it more than some I have in my collection for years.

I love this book! The patterns are adorable, easy-to-understand, and won't break the bank! They work with or without the embellishments, which are totally adorable too! Cosette's patterns and knitted items always stand out from the crowd with their originality and playfulness.

Love this book. The knits are simple but cosy (as appropriate to Cosette's nickname) and thanks to the thrifted and handspun yarn, full of personality. There are lots of hats and other headgear and several gloves and neckwear. I probably won't add the mostly-embroidery embellishments suggested, with the exception of the well-placed button or two, but it is inspiring to see what placing your original stamp on a knitted item can do to raise the appeal of a simple design.

I have been a long time reader of cosymakes blog, and I have been waiting for this book since she first announced it. I received it this morning, and it is beautiful. The work here is wonderful, I didn't see a pattern that I didn't want to make. This is the accessory book that will keep me knitting for a long time to come.

Great book! I still use it now. It arrived in mint condition!

This is one of the few books providing a framework for implementing technology in a college or university environment. The author uses a straightforward approach to technology. The text is easy to read and understand.

Of the numerous books regarding the recent online learning movement that I have read, this book provided me with the most useful, applicable insights. I enjoyed the author's perceptive knowledge sharing. The resources provided in the book are definitely worth the price of the book. This author illustrates both the advantages and disadvantages of the unique contributions that technology can make in this evolving and exciting realm of online learning.

Tony Bates writes an immensely practical guide for coping with changing technological needs and developing a rational and strategic process for making sound decisions. As a manager in a university department, I appreciated a resource that focused on the academic environment. In addition, I think the issues he raises and the process he proposes have relevance for other educational institutions and training facilities, especially those in the public or non-profit sector which tend to be financially conservative by nature. Bates offers best practices and expert advice on factors to address when confronting technological change, especially as it relates to teaching. As he points out, technology is a means to an end, so in order to best manage technology one must be aware of the inevitable impact technology has in society and, consequently, position the institution within changing markets and needs. Major investments in technological infrastructure must be paired with a corresponding vision of the organization. This book is about the art of managing cultural change as much as it is about incorporating new tools, taking into account the human factors and the hazards implicit therein.

The format of the book is also helpful. It begins with an executive summary, provides concluding summaries at the end of each chapter, provides a balanced perspective on the pros/cons to choices that the institution must make, and presents real-world case studies to give a flavor of principles in action. I highly recommend this reading for anyone in an administrative or teaching capacity who finds himself or herself faced with the difficult choices inherent in a technology transformation. The only thing that would have increased the value of the book for me is a deeper discussion and emphasis on the role of the library or technology center within this transformation.

I first read this book when I was in middle school. I graduated high school in 1998, so that should give you a good clue to my age. I remembered the basic plot of this book, and the big twist at the end. I recently came across it, bought it and read it again. Guess what?? I still love it! Becky is a well developed character, and it's easy to put yourself in her shoes, making the same decisions and mistakes that she does. If you've read it as a kid, try it again. If you are a kid, what are you waiting for??!!

Seventeen-year-old Becky Collier was hired under shady conditions to baby-sit a one-year-old boy (Devon Nelson) on Sebastian Island in Washington during the summer. She had hoped this would be a great opportunity to earn extra money for college, as well as get a great tan and relax. However, when she meets her young next-door neighbor, Cleve Davidson, and he starts asking her nosy questions about her job, her "aunt", etc., she realizes she doesn't have a good answer for alot of his questions, nor does she know exactly what's going on either. When she confronts Mrs. Nelson (her employer) about the persistent phone calls and her other dubious activities, Becky is shocked by what's really going on: Mrs. Nelson had recently escaped with her son from an abusive husband back in California. She had hoped to be able to hide away on Sebastian Island for awhile, but now Mrs. Nelson is afraid her husband has found them and wants his family back for good. But what will he do once he finds them? And what can Becky do to help protect Mrs. Nelson and Devon if he wants more than just custody of Devon? What if he wants to phsycially harm--possibly murder--all three of them?

"Mother's Helper" is a great, fast-paced teen thriller with several surprising twists and turns at the end. Recommended for readers 12 and up who enjoy Point thrillers.

In my own opinion, the book I read was a fairly good one. One reason I liked the book I read was because it had a good story theme. A girl works as a mother's helper to earn money for college. Another reason the book was good was that the author really got into each character. You were able to make your own opinion about each character based on what the author told you about them. A third reason the book was good was that the author really got you hooked on the the book. It made it hard to put down.
The best part of the book was when the Mother's Helper started getting really scared of all the strange things that were happening. She then goes to the mother and tells her she can't handle it anymore and tells her she wants to quit.
One story element that was vivid was the characters. Like I said earlier, the author really let you learn about the characters. Another vivid story element was the climax. During the climax, you find out that the mother lied about her husband. You soon learn after this, that the mother is out to get mother's helper and her neighbor.

I love this book, it was really cool. These kinda books can creep me out, cause it contains events that could really happen....they are ordinary people.

I found the book to be very informative and useful in my work place and my daily life.

This thought-provoking and informative work provides tools and guidance for healthier, more meaningful conversations about diversity. This simple and elegant work will sharpen our understanding and strengthen relationships in our personal and professional lives. A must-read for diversity advocates!

A wonderful and practical primer on the most divisive topic in our country. Simply written and easily read, it provides real answers to actual questions/statements. Patty and Greg gives several replies to common racially charged statements that will benefit anyone who values and embraces diversity. A must read for anyone with an interest in the topic, and I would recommend this for every graduating high school student. It would be good for any diversity training workshop, and highly recommended for any diversity trainer.

A very easy read. Shows how we all say hurtfull things to people without even realizing it. Easy solutions to everyday situations we find ourselves in at work, church, school, any place we interact with other people. A must read for everyone!