Brown Books

The conservative, european-american movement's declaration of the end of white supremacy in this country requires the kind of challenge offered by "Whitewashing Race". This book offers every fair-minded reader an opportunity to judge the realities that still persist as a consequence of 250 years of chattel slavery, 100 years of complete segregation, lynchings and restrictions on work and educational opportunities. The efforts needed to create a truly non-racialized culture in America are far from over.

It presents information in such a way that you are at the very least, forced to consider what they've presented. As a self-identified "African-American" who considers himself a conservative, I think this book does a great job of presenting the foundation of how the problem of race still exists and presents pragmatic ideas - however controversial - that are far better, in my view, than maintaining the status quo.

If those who on principle oppose these ideas (specifically, the conservatives this book spends a lot of time lambasting) would come out with substantive data to disprove what this book says, the race debate would become a lot clearer and would bring us closer to realizing a better America for all.

For anyone interested in how the politics of race are presented in today's world (affirmative action, prison sentencing, etc.), this book is a definite must-read. The authors analyze the conservative's overly-simplistic view of race as being based simply on whether a person exhibits overt prejudice while ignoring the larger implications of accumulated wealth and advantages enjoyed by whites from years of legal discrimination.

The authors poke holes in much of the misinformation coming from the conservative side of the aisle, and reveal just how sinister and permeating racial bias still is in America. Grab this book, a good cup of coffee, a high-lighter, and become updated on the dynamics of race in 2003 America.

I read this book hoping to find some ideas about the status of race in post civil rights America. Although I found the book helpful and infomative, I do remain highly concerned that the issues the book addresses seem static. The authors do offer a lot of statistics and concise ideas to help understand the problems concerning race in America.

The attack on the racial realists and conservitive views on race really caught my attention. I find the arguements in this book far more convincing. I struggled to articulate how the conditions of American culture create a negative experience for blacks, but this book articulates the message clearly. I find myself reading and hearing arguments about race with a new understanding.

Should one send political scientists to do a historian's job? That is the question one has to ask about this book compiled by a consortium of political scientists, in response to the "racial realism" of today's right-centrist consensus. This consensus, argued by such authors as Jim Sleeper, Tamara Jacoby, John McWhorter, The New Republic and the renowned historians of American immigration Stephen and Abigail Thernstrom, argue that racism is not really a problem in American life. To the extent that African-Americans are disadvantaged it is because of their own failings or, somewhat more tactfully, the failings of the black politicians and the guilty liberals they (overwhelmingly) support.

This book argues that this fundamentally optimistic view is wrong. They are right to say so and their book is very detailed and comprehensive (the Thernstroms in particular are repeatedly criticized). Still the book is not perfect. The book makes an error in numbering its footnotes in chapter five. It also incorrectly says that until recently there were no African-Americans elected from North Carolina since Reconstruction (one in fact was elected in 1898). The style is not very engaging, it consists mostly of summaries of papers in economics, political science, sociology and the other social sciences. The result is a certain dryness and abstract quality that could use more historical analysis (the treatment of unions is somewhat superficial). The discussion of racism is not the most thoughtful available (and little is said about Latinos). Nevertheless one should not ignore its points. "Racial realists" argue that racism is not a problem because only a handful of people would support racist attitudes in opinion polls. There are several problems with this argument. Aside from the fact that people do not necessarily volunteer their support of unpopular ideas, it turns the concept of racism and racist harm into a question of pure malice. If there is none (or if it somehow "rational") there is no racism. One might ask why showing discrimination should require showing malice, when other torts merely require showing negligence? Also it is a non-sequitur to argue that if whites are not malicious, blacks and/or liberals must have screwed up. Moreover, rephrasing the question can lead to rather different results: in a 1980 poll only 5% supported segregation, but only 40% supported a law stating that a homeowner could not refuse to sell because of race. The authors go on about how in the post-war period African-Americans were discriminated in social security legislation, GI bill benefits and housing segregation. We also relearn about the insufficiently notorious effects of urban renewal and automation.

What is best about the book are the statistics it provides showing consistent racial gaps, even when corrected for class, age, income or any other variable. For example 53% of mortgages in black Chicago middle-class neighbourhoods are from sub-prime lenders, whereas only 12% of mortgages in white neighbourhoods are. African-Americans are 25% less likely to get mammograpy screening, notwithstanding age or income, while a 1985 Massachusetts study showed that whites underwent significantly more corony surgery than blacks. 61% of basketball players were black in 1996-97, but 81.5 % of coaches were white; 52% of football players are black but in 2001 nearly 97% of head coaching positions were white. During the 1990s in Los Angeles, Latinos make up 41% of the population, but only 6% of the jurors. It is often said that spiralling illegitimacy is the key reason for persistent black poverty today, but the President's Council of Economic Advisers has noted that the poverty gap would have fallen by only a fifth had there been no changes in black family structure since 1967. Likewise the Thernstroms et al have argued that high black youth unemployment is the result of their demand for excessive wages. Yet studies have shown that their length of employment is not correlated with wage demands. The gap between black and white test scores has infuriated potential university students. But the correlation between scores and success is somewhat weaker for women and Asians. Another questionable use of data by "racial realists" is their concentration of Berkeley in the 1980s. There the white graduation rate within 6 years was 88% but only 59% for blacks. But in 28 other colleges the white average was 86% and the black average 75%. Might this not say more about the problems of particular universities than an inherent cultural failing of African-Americans?

We also learn about a third wave of criminology scholarship and we learn how only 26% of the gap between blacks and whites drug offences in Pennsylvania is the result of the higher arrest rate among blacks. Even after making every allowance Georgia blacks are five times more likely to get life sentences for drug offences than whites. We see at every stage of the arrest process, from scholars such as Madeline Wordes, George Bridges, and Michael Leiber, a clear bias against African-Americans. Although the prospect that somewhere, somehow affirmative action might hurt white men has haunted the conservative imagination, only 4% of 1990-94 sex/age discrimination suits were launched by white men, (yet they file three-quarters of age discrimination suits). Oddly enough, racial realists have blamed blacks for inadequate black representation. Supposedly they won't vote for whites. Yet in the past few decades only 0.5% of white majority districts elections have chosen a black representative. And whites have shown great reluctance or active hostility in voting for blacks in prominent elections in Chicago, Philadelphia and California. The authors conclude with sensible suggestions for reforms in education, stronger civil rights protection and an improved welfare state.

There's a lot of variety here, and some very good stuff that will make you want to read the fiction written by the authors as well as help inform you on the craft of fiction. One of my favorite books on writing.

This elegant book is beautifully written and is a wonderful peak into the process of some very good writers. I now have a new list of writers whose books I want to read. What a treat!

This is a holy compendium of wisdom for fiction writers to keep themselves from pulling out every single hair of their frustrated heads on any given day. When I need intensive literary therapy, I sit down and read the book from cover to cover; I've done this on at least seven occasions. WHY I WRITE is my intelligent literary cheerleader . Every morning before I begin to write, I randomly open the book and put my finger on a paragraph, and read the section. Invariably, I get the boost I need. It's like having coffee with a witty, brilliant friend that happens to be a writer. Ann Patchett, one of the writers whose essays appear in this book, says that "writers are people who desperately need habits to fill up their days." One of the best habits I've formed is referring to this powerful volume on a daily basis. Will Blythe's introduction is one of the best essays on writing I've ever read; he has brought together a magical cast of writers whose blunt, holy words have the power to heal many an ailing writer.

Blythe is as fine and impassioned a writer as he is a shrewd and judicious editor, and the real gem of this wonderful anthology is his beautifully drawn, occasionally hilarious and ultimately inspiring introduction. In these literal-minded journalism-crazed days it's hard to imagine any work that exhorts the merits of fiction putting much of a dent in the near-monopoly held by fact-based writing, but this anthology should lure many readers and maybe even a few journalists themselves who are tired of splashing around in the shallow pool of stories that actually happened when they could be diving into the deep water of figurative and imaginative truth.

I'm a produced playwright who has been working hard on writing prose for a few years. I've taken some University Extension classes on writing and was even selected to be a part of a prestigious year-long university novel-writing intensive. I own many wonderful books on the craft of writing and I have to say that this is my favorite. It's the one I always keep with me whereever I go. I can literally open it to any page and find something that will help me at that moment. I read it when I'm stuck or when it's flowing, when I'm bored with my writing or when I'm happy with it. Some of the essays in here I have read literally hundreds of times, and each time I get something new from them. The pieces by Rick Bass, Thom Jones, Mary Gaitskill and William Vollman are, IMHO, worth the price of the book. I have purchased copies for many of my writer friends when they've hit a slump. If you are serious about your writing, are past the beginner stage but every so often need the sage advice of a seasoned pro, then buy this book immediately.

I read this book as a youngster, and have reread it several times since. I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to explore a world that most don't take the time to notice. The author is most descriptive in explaining the how and why of all that happens in a very interesting ecosystem.

If I had a list of my top ten favorite reads, something I find impossible to create, as I like so many different books, I would probably put this one right at the top of that list. I first read this one when it was first published around 1967 or 1968. I, like another reviewer, have read this one each spring since that first read. It has become sort of a reading tradition for me. It never seems to get old.

The entire work covers the thirty one days of May. It consists of some of the best nature writing I have ever had the pleasure of reading. The author takes a very small geographical area, centered in the woods, around a pond and stream, and examines just what happens during this brief but explosive time of year. Eckert goes from animal to animal, insect to insect, plant to plant, critter to critter and gives us a wonderful story of the life cycle of these creatures and plants during these thirty one days. His writing is quite blunt and to the point. This is not a Disney Bambi book! Nature is revealed in all of its fascinating glory which includes birth, life and very sudden death. The author does a wonderful job of showing us how the death of one creature, gives live to another and on how all life is so closely interwoven. He examines the habits and habitat of each of his subjects and explains how one cannot survive without the other. There are no anthropomorphisms here, and rabbit is a rabbit and a blot fly is a blot fly. Yet, you find yourself pulling for the survival of this creature or that, even a wayward seed of wheat that is sprouting in the forest via bird droppings being deposited there.

The book takes us on a day by day journey through surroundings that are all around us but few of us actually take the time to see. It becomes very apparent and vary obvious that there are entire micro-worlds around us, so much is happening, so much living and so much dying...all for a purpose though. The author's writing style is almost flawless. This is one of those rare works that a rather young girl or boy can read and thoroughly enjoy and at the same time can be just as enjoyable to geezers like myself!

Now I have always been fascinated by the outdoors and nature, even as a very, very small child. This book though, started me on a life long hobby. As an example; we have lived in our present location in the Missouri Ozarks for almost twenty five years. We live in the woods. My wife and I have left over two acres of our property as it was and is. We do not mow, or disturb it in any way. It is wooded, full of brush, has a small water source and can best be described as a rain forest. I have spent all these years since we began living here, studying this small patch of "wilderness." This has not been a casual study, to be quite frank, I get pretty intense about it, observing, writing, drawing, painting, photographing and watching. The neat thing about this is that after all these years; I still keep finding and observing new species and events. Love it!

It you have the slightest interest in the world around us, the outdoors, and the life we share this planet with, then this is one of the most enjoyable books you will ever read. Recommend it highly.

Don Blankenship

I had to read this book as a school assignment (I'm in 7thgrade), and enjoyed it immensely! Mr. Eckert presented the nature ina clear, understandable way without twisting the facts. The story flows well from one animal to the next. Wild Season is definitely one of the best books I've read. I'd recommend it to anyone!

Though written to more of a junior high reading level, this book has been a favorite of mine for many years. It chronicles the events surrounding a pond in the midwest from the early spring through the fall. It is more of a rambling journey up and down the food chain more than a scientific text. The book can make you realize just how important every part of nature can be in "the big picture". I highly recommend it to all readers interested in nature.

I read this book many years ago and have read it every Spring since. It never gets stagnant. It moves along with a flow that could be compared to Nature. I recommend that anyone with the least bit of interest in nature and wildlife, should read this book.It will remain in your memories for a long time to come.

If you enjoy reading about travel adventures, Josie Dew will tell you fascinating tales of Europe, Asia, and Africa--on a bicycle! It was fascinating to learn about the people and countries she visited, where she stayed (often by herself in remote places), and what it's like to travel on a bike. Josie shows how her simple way of traveling can bring immense joy. She is a young person full of fun and curiosity. Can't wait to read her other books.

...and I have read a lot. Since I've pretty much cycled around this planet I reckon that this is a qualified recommendation. Her text is sprinkled with some evocative poetic descriptions. One that has stuck in my mind was about watching clouds recede down a valley (somewhere in Iceland/Scandinavia) like a ghost shimmering down a hallway. There are lots of these sort of things, this makes the book Very Good. However what made this book Excellent was the thrilling drama in the last few chapters. Not only is the book well written but it is full of interesting stories.
My only complaint is that she did not mention meeting a know-all pedestrian on the Post Office steps in Prague, where I seem to remember offering the little mite some advice!
Summary: A damn good read between cycle trips.

This book is a collection of travel tales from a young brit bike traveller who has logged an impressive bunch of kilometers on this planet, will maintaining a business as a bike caterer in the off season.

In this book she covers her trails in [no particular order] Bulgaria, Morocco, Nepal, Africa, France, Spain, England, Ireland, Romania, India, Iceland, Italy, Gibraltar, Russia [briefly], Belgium, The Netherlands, Scotland, Newfoundland & Nova Scotia, among others I'm sure I forgot. It's dizzying actually, and hard to recall at points which country she is in.

So in terms of coverage this is the most complete globetrotting bike travel book I've read, having covered all this land, she goes a little soft in points on the details of certain places for example Newfoundland was not even mentioned in her text other than a picture of Dildo--I guess she skimped on details there.

Having looked at but not yet read her other books, they seem to have more focus and less land travelled so I'm sure they'd be better on those details, leaving this as not much of a criticism.

It is a fun and light read, Dew is obviously a biker by choice and rather than taking time to search into herself outin the world on a bike, she travels partially for a job and the sake of riding in these places. So if you're looking for a fun read about riding through places, not some grander perspective, this is your deal.
In her own words "I think it is called 'introspection'. I prefer to reamin 'lost within' and throw any self analysis to the wind"

In this regard she shows her age and interests, when most of these books are the opposite this caters to a niche. She is funny at times and not at all averse to honest discussion of travel with all it's frozen fingers and poop stains. This is a book about bike touring for the sake of bike touring, and in that it is wonderful and fun.

From what I've seen in this book, this is a good series complete with little school scribbler type drawings, and funny maps. [better than the snotty Anne Mustoe].

I chanced upon this book , many years ago while wondering whether it was safe to embark on a 60km ride outside the city. Josie's lively description of her adventures, in the saddle, in many countries,proved the turning point and I ventured out with a friend.

That 60km ride has unfortunately, not been following by many more. However, the book still enchants. I read it every once in a while, to loose myself in the freedom of 'the wind in my wheels'.

Recommended highly - if you like cycling, or travel or just have a sense of humour :)

I hope Josie keeps pedaling and keeps writing. Her narratives were fun and interesting. The author has strong opinions and a lively sense of humor. It makes you want to jump on your bike and go! The miles this woman has put on her bike are amazing. There is enough material in this book to have written two or three books, at least.

Yes, this is the best book on this subject that you will every read. I've long read Eric Brown's articles in Air International.
I've always found them both enjoyable and informative. This book is a collection of some of those materials and others he had yet to publish. The articles come directly from his log book and include broader experiences then even the log books provide.
Each article about each aircraft is both informative in there detail but are also delightfully colored by some personal experience that Mr. Brown had with them. Eric Brown is arguably
the most experienced pilot when it comes to the sheer number of aircraft types that he flew during World War II and in the 1950s. His ablitity to evaluate these aircraft of different companies and different nations makes his assessments truly unigue. This is NOT a book to be missed by anyone truly interested in military aviation!

The details are great for model builders but his comments on the personal flying difficultlys too much in depth. Overall, a solid 9. I paid $28.95 and it was worth every cent.

Just as flying magazines review the latest twins, this is a 'you are there' kind of book. Organized to convey the standard specs- takeoff distance, range, armament, etc, Brown has included plenty of photos, and a rich narrative. Did you know the Germans used propeller controls modeled on the face of a clock? I was also intrigued by Brown's experiences with German aviators before and after the conflict. He must have led a fascinating life. Every scholar needs a copy of this book beside him when reading anything about World War II Luftwaffe operations.

World war two is history like other things we learned from books and media. But how many times could you find a reference is written by a person who actually flew those airplanes ? Especially they were not Allied's planes, they were German's military airplanes.

You could learn the speed, range or how many guns of each airplanes from tones other books, but you won't be able to learn the feeling to fly all of them by the same person from them.

This book was published long long time ago, but don't think the data and describtion is also old. Those experience is never faded away.

This is probably the closest that the average person will come to flying a captured Luftwaffe aircraft. Wings of the Luftwaffe is certainly among the best books in the relatively small flight test review genre. Brown has a terrific eye for detail, and must have been an exceptional test pilot. I just wish Brown would write an expanded edition of this book, and his other classic, Wings of the Navy.

I finished this over Thanksgiving. My mom flipped through it, as did several other family members, asking was it a dissertation. I did not think that it was, but discovered my error in the Acknowledgements. I have a special affection for scholarly works that are compelling reading. The genius of non-fiction is a story that would not be believable if made up.

Leslie documents every assertion, and includes transcripts of interviews and court proceedings so that there can be little question of context. The intermittent inclusion of belabored detail is a little odd to the casual reader, but there is often a gem in a table or list which helps transport the reader back over a 100 years (a list of schools in Augusta includes the only public one for blacks in the state - and that segregated, of course).

The story itself is stunning (grown plantation owner forcibly rapes 13 year old slave girl before her first period, "getting" upon her a b*stard half breed upon whom he dotes all his life and to whom he leaves all that he has, making her the richest "colored" woman in America), but aside from the drama which unfolds chronologically in such a way that without device one is compelled to keep reading, one is almost by the way exposed to an entire sub-culture of "people of color" whose character, enterprise, integrity, ability, and or good fortune prevailed against all odds to create a world of privilege, the survival of which depended in part upon being invisible to less affluent whites. One of them married the grandson of a signer of the Declaration of Independence!

Leslie presents the product of research of a phenomenon without mediated moralizing. Nor does the author speculate upon motive beyond presenting the range of possibilities. This volume belongs on your shelf next to Thurmond's Freedom, Meyer's The Children of Pride, and Reese's The Clamorous Malcontents, especially if you are a Georgian.

Hi my name is Ashlee Dickson and I am a descendent of Amanda America Dickson. I am very apprieciative to the people who have read the book and reviewed the website. I am also proud of my heritage and what she has done for the people of America. I am proud to be a Dickson.I am John R. Dickson's daughter's child. Thank you for your time.

I first saw the movie, A House Divided and searched out and found out that there was a book. I read the book and i recommend this book for everyone to read. It is a good book. If you haven't seen the movie. SEE IT! the author that wrote this book should be commended. He did a very good job. I am about to write a paper for my history class on this book. Linda D. Westman Mannsville, Oklahoma

I JUST RECENTLY FOUND OUT THAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT A GGGG/MOTHER AN FOR THE OBVIOUS REASONS FOUND IT VERY INFORMATIVE I MEAN HOW MY OF US HAVE THE BENEFIT OF A BOOK BEING WRITTEN ABOUT A PAST RELATIVE THESE COMMENTS ARE NOT ONLY TO EXPRESS MY JOY TO FIND OUT ABOUT MY GENELOGY BUT I HOPE TO BE ABLE TO USE AS A VEHICLE TO REACH OUT TO ALL OF MY FAMILY MEMBERS THAT I DONT KNOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS IS PAULOTOTHEMAXX@AOL.COM MY GFATHER EDWIN EUBANKS DICKSON DIED HERE IN COL OHIO ON 04/09/46 AN THE TRIAL ENDS IF YOU HAVE ANY INFO FOR ME PAUL DICKSON OR MY FATHER JOHN R DICKSON OR MY AUNT EVA DELEROES DICKSON(THOMPSON) PLEASE EMAIL ME AT ABOVE ADDRESS THANKS

Hi my name is Ashlee Dickson and I am a descendent of Amanda America Dickson. I am very appriciative to the people who have read the book and reviewed the website. I am also proud of my heritage and what she has done for the people of America. I am proud to be a Dickson.I am John R. Dickson's daughter's child. Thank you for your time.

Reviewed by Nick Gauvin (age 12) for Reader Views (8/07)

It's the year 2024, 20 years since your favorite baseball team (the Boston Red Sox) won the World Series, and you and your friends are worried that the 86-year Curse has once again settled on the Red Sox. So during the summer you and your friends (Peter "capisce" Capiscio, Joe "lights" and Paul "paulie" Beacon and you, Jerry "tags" Taglia) come up with a crazy plan to steal it for them. The Plan includes a new system of umpping called the "Cleanerama" which is controlled by cameras and sensors around and on the field called "the Brain," your dad who is a button salesman, a cannibal who lives in the sewer, and a hot dog.

Now let me tell you more about the characters. Capisce is twice the size of everyone else and is stronger than the rest. Lights is the fastest of all of them and is twins with paulie. Tags' dad is a button salesman and one day buys him a Louie Cardinale series glove (and by the way, he's his idol) and tells him to rub baby oil on it to help it squeeze easier. Then, about two weeks later, he and his friends get together and his friends are shocked by the glove. By that time, it is the second half of the season and the red sox are ten games ahead of everyone else and they think that even the Red Sox can't lose this lead.

Overall, I think that "The Year They Won" is an excellent book for anyone who likes baseball. Great job, Gerard Purciello!

This is a lively and fun book about four friends (Jerry "Tags" Taglia, Peter "Capisce" Capiscio, Paul "Paulie" Beacon, and Paul's twin brother, Joe "Lights" Beacon) and the Boston Red Sox. The friends come up with a wild plan to steal the World Series of 2024 for the Sox, who haven't won the Series in twenty years. They spend their whole summer working on the Plan, but the Plan goes hilariously wrong! (Turns out that the boys are brave enough to face the cannibal in the sewer, but they're no match for an elderly security guard.)

What do a robotic umpire, the "Cleanerama," a button salesman, and the "World's Best Sausage" have in common? Not much, but they all come into play in this wacky and entertaining novel about buddies, baseball, and the Boston Red Sox. (Did I mention the cannibal in the sewer?)

One might describe this book as a wonderful Sox adventure. Gerard Purciello is an amazing author. I would read other books by Mr. Purciello. (However, the language could have been chosen more wisely for the displayed age group.) All and all, I loved THE YEAR THEY WON. It's a great book, not only for Red Sox fans, but for all baseball fans'well, maybe not Yankee fans (just kidding)!

By a Flamingnet Book Reviewer for www.flamingnet.com

This book took me back to my summer vacations and hanging out with the kids in the neighborhood. Summer vacation...We never wanted it to end...And this book has magically captured those childhood days.
It is just terrific!
I should also mention, that my son, a very reluctant reader loved it. As a parent in search of books for a young boy (he's 11) who doesn't like to read, I found The Year They Won to be a real winner!

I knew I was going to like this book after just a couple of pages. The characters reminded me of my own childhood friends and the fun we had playing stickball and impersonating our heroes. The story was very creative (I was getting tired of reading recaps of the 2004 Red Sox season - this isn't one of them) and makes you want to grab your son or dad and go watch a game.

Can't wait to read more books by Purciello.

This book made me want to spend all day playing with my friends again and dreaming up outrageous schemes. It made me want to lie in the grass and listen to cicadas in the trees, and bats cracking on balls.

Chock full of funny characters and scary chases through dark tunnels! Exciting behind the scenes glimpses at a Fenway Park we only dream about.
Made me smell the hot dogs. A kids book that grown-ups will love.

Are you ready for some lessons in uniting body, mind and spirit? Are you having issues finding the life you want to live? Are weight issues, depression and/or anxiety problems keeping you from living the life of your dreams? Your Highest Potential, by Annette Colby, PhD, is an inspiring read. I wept when I read in her introduction her description of the little girl she was - as I related so closely with her description.

I've learned some good things from this book. It's positive nature and "you can do it" message will be helpful for anyone, but is especially good for those who need a boost toward having a stronger self image.

Your Highest Potential, as well as a lot of other good information, is available from Dr Colby's site at www.annettecolby.com. Give Annette a visit and see what she has to offer.

Carol Bradley Bursack
Minding Our Elders
www.mindingourelders.com

Infused with light and hope this intensely riveting book shines a light inward and opens our eyes on who we are while showing us who we can be. Dr. Colby is a master from the ancients skillfully writing the story line of our souls. Once read, the stories and words stay with you like a guardian angel leading you through life.

I'll admit it: I'm an avid reader of self-help books of the spiritual sort, but that doesn't mean I read everything that comes down the pike. For me to endorse a book on Amazon, it has to resonate as truth and create those delightful "ah-ha!" moments that have me underlining and dog-earring 'til kingdom come.

Annette Colby's "Your Highest Potential" is just such a book. With clear, concise and exquisite prose, Colby introduces truly fresh ideas into the overcrowded field of tomes that promise to change your life for the better after just one read.

What's most memorable about "Your Highest Potential" is Colby's take on the ingrained belief systems we learn in childhood, and how they can continue to control us if we don't make a concerted effort to see them for what they are: either "truths" that were never true in the first place, or truths that are too outdated to be of any use to us anymore.

What she suggests to break these thoughts is a leap of faith of sorts--to stop focusing on the negative past and instead fantasize a joyous future, believing that what we give energy to is what we will manifest.

While other authors have had similar insights, Colby goes so far to say that once patients in therapy have uncovered the painful truths of their past and gain insight into their own unconscious behavior, at some point they must walk away from that process and start an entirely different journey. Despite what some believe, continuing to rehash childhood traumas will not make them go away, according to Colby, nor will it reveal a wealth of joy at the bottom of it all.

What *will* manifest joy, she says, will be the envisioning of it, which is actually a joy unto itself.

In this way, Colby's ideas are truly fresh. While she fully acknowledges that a life worth living takes work, she also offers a promise of relief when we stop fighting everything so hard.

In short, she really does offer a unique path to discover your highest potential. Enjoy!

WOW! This book blew me away from the first chapter! It was as if the author peeked into my soul,took my hand, and guided me thru an incredible journey to a happier me! You will find the courage to let go of old truths and imagine new possibilities. You will learn that it IS POSSIBLE to live a joy-filled life!

This book is unlike any self-help book I've collected over the years. It is written in a way that allows you to move beyond your past and create the life you've always dreamed of. My life has changed dramatically since reading YOUR HIGHEST POTENTIAL. I've lost weight, started an exercise program and readjusted my goals for the future. I live my life with a renewed zest and appreciation. I can honestly say that this book changed my life!

I loved this book! It helped me see where I was "stuck" and how to move past all my old issues without reliving them. It is full of insight and meaning and a very easy read. You can open it up to any chapter and find helpful ways of creating the life of your dreams. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is tired of their old life and looking for a way to be a happier you.

The World's Wackiest Inventions was a book I used in a course I taught this summer to teachers. I wanted to show that not all ideas are really valuable for broad consumer use. Some of these inventions were totally unrealistic. However, they were all interesting as creative thought, in my opinion. Some unrealistic ideas lead to more usable or practical inventions. Therefore, it is important to be supportive of creative ideas regardless of their practical applications.

Ever wonder where all those examples of crazy inventions come from? This is the book. Glasses for chickens, dimple maker....all sorts of crazy ideas. Maybe it will stimulate some new ideas. Either way, it's so cheap you can't go wrong.

My father was a co-author of this delightful little book. In the 1930's he and his friend, Al Brown, went on vacation to Washington, D.C. With time on their hands and fueled with a little beer, they found themselves in the U.S. Patent office looking up odd things that had actually gotten patents. It was first published as, "Beware of Imitations" and was reviewed favorably by Life Magazine. Patent Attorneys collected it. Then, it was published as, "Absolutely Mad Inventions". When my father was in his late 80's, he sold the rights to it for a paltry sum. This publication is news to me. I re-read it often and cherish the copy he signed to me (his oldest), "To My First Edition". Naturally, I heartily recommend it.

This is one of the most hilarious books you will ever browse, and will be eager to share with a someone. It is a treat. It induces nothing but side-splitting belly laughs without ever trying. The book lists actual patents obtained, by inventive out-of-the-box thinkers and tinkerers. It beats any current humorists's or comedien's dull gibberish by a long shot. I knew there were wacko patents issued to wacko inventors but this list contains: lip shaper,automatic saluting hat,trains which go over one another on the same track,( as opposed to colluding) vulture powered baloons, water splashing wake up clocks, chewed gum locket, and some others I will let you to find out yourself. All and all, there are about 60 inventions listed. These inventions, all, were granted US patents by the Patent Office. Keep it on your bedside it will end your day laughing out loud regardless of the day you had earlier.

This is a book that is jam packed with beautiful applique quilt patterns based on nativity themes. It includes instructions for a lovely tree skirt and other decorative quilt projects. I've seen patterns like these offered block of the month style at $7 to $12 per block ... Here you have many usable, detailed designs and configurations all for the price of one book. If you shy away from detailed applique, this book probably isn't for you. However, if you are a quilter looking for projects that focus on the spiritual meaning of Christmas, and enjoy McKenna Ryan or Mount Redoubt style applique designs, you will enjoy making the projects in this book.

Rachel Brown's book, Adoration Quilts: Applique Nativity Projects, is much more than a how to book for Christmas quilts. While the illustrations and directions in this book clearly teach the reader how to construct attractive Christmas quilts, there is a story here. Ms. Brown takes you on a Biblical and personal journey with each quilt block. She puts the spiritual element back into Christmas by sharing her family traditions. After reading the role each block plays in telling the story of Jesus's birth, I felt better prepared to tell the story,creating my own nativity quilt.

I recommend this book to people who like quilting , applique work ,and Christmas stories.

I was looking for a good book of Christmas patterns that were based on the holy family and I found it it in this book. It is very flexible in its patterns and possibilities for different projects and I was thoroughly pleased. I definitely recommend this book for people looking for patterns in this area.

Rachel W.N. Brown's ADORATION QUILTS: APPLIQUE NATIVITY PROJECTS uses Christmas and the story of the Nativity as a theme, offering projects which blend Nativity themes into quilts. Table settings, fireplace mantle decorations, and more. A top pick for holiday decorators handy with the needle.