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The Golden Filly series was absolutely fantastic! I would highly recommend this series. You will be blessed in a very special way and inspired by these books whether you're a Christian or not. I will definitely reread and save these books for the rest of my life. I've read a lot of books, but none have touched me in the same way as this series has. If you love horses and enjoy reading about a person's life, even if it is fiction, you'll love these books.

These book were the best books in the world! Lauraine Snelling should write some more! I think the girls that see these books should read every one of them! My mind got lost when I started to read them! I did not stop till I was finished with them all!

I like it that the story line was liked it hapened in real life. Nothing out of this world. At night I couldn't put them down.

this series was one of the best series we ever read. we are twins and are horse crazy. we have a horse crazy best friend also. we love this series so much!!!!!!! we wish we had all the books. we have read all of them but we wish there were more!!!!!!!!!

I wish this book existed during the turbulent 80's and early 90's. Outmoded accounting system's, corporate reorganizations, high employee turnover, pressure to do more, faster with fewer resources. As a Controller, most of my biggest headaches involved the amount of time required to close the books. The original closing schedule was 10 days into the new period. Then it was 8 days. Then 5, then 4 days.

I can't even guess at the time I could have saved had I known the techniques the author demonstrates in Just-In-Time Accounting.

This is not your usual accounting tome, based on statistics and theory. This is real stuff. Built out of scar tissue, experience and real world solutions. They are not necessarily easy solutions but lasting solutions worth the effort to implement.

The content deals with streamlining some basic areas:

Cash - How to speed up the process but still keep control. Some very interesting ideas about corporate credit cards, using your bank and lock boxes to save time and money.

Sales & Accounts Receivable - Some good ideas about redundant approvals, and minimizing paper.

Inventory - With hundreds of physical inventories under my belt I can vouch for the absolutely necessity of doing what the author recommends. This area was one of my great bugaboo's. Nothing affects the balance sheet like an inventory error. This involves bills of material, suppliers, production records, and computer system's. This is a whole world in itself but the problem(s) and solutions are concisely described here. Get your inventory under control and the rest is cake.

Accounts Payable - Good stuff that took me a long time to discover on my own.

Cost Accounting - Mostly about why you need it and how it allows you to spot P&L problems before the month ends. This is one of the critical areas to review since it is necessary for faster closes. Get the major variances identified early in the month instead of wasting time digging it up 4 or 5 weeks after the events occurred. One comment I have is the need for weekly staff meetings to review what happened last week, how will it affect this week and what is being done about it. These meeting will point out problem areas for the controller to preempt delusional variance explanations after monthend.

Payroll - Many good ideas that work. I have used the barcode system's.

The Budget - You probably know about these already but there are some time-saving techniques to minimize constant re-casting and interations.

EDI - I'm not too familiar with this.

The Quick Close - It can be done. This tells you how and I can vouch for the soundness of the concept. I actually set a corporate-wide benchmark of 1-1/2 days using these techniques. In my view that is the real payoff since it is the realization and payoff of all the other hard work. Gives you more time to do yet another iteration of the budget.

Some of the examples apply to huge corporations but most of the principles are universal. I really can't find fault in this book. It tells the controller, in the real world, how to get your system(s) sorted out. I have seen many "instant pudding" or fad of the month cause real damage if it didn't really work. There is no downside to these techniques. This is motherhood and apple pie. You can't go wrong trying.

A great reference on aspects of operational accounting -- easy to read and use format.

This book is the best in the market so far for accounting process improvements. The author did a great job in outlining the traditional and revised accounting procedures. Lots of opportunities available to streamline the work process and enhance the information flow. There are lots of useful flowcharts and tables that you can apply to your company right away.

I wish this book existed during the turbulent 80's and early 90's. Outmoded accounting system's, corporate reorganizations, high employee turnover, pressure to do more, faster with fewer resources. As a Controller, most of my biggest headaches involved the amount of time required to close the books. The original closing schedule was 10 days into the new period. Then it was 8 days. Then 5, then 4 days.

I can't even guess at the time I could have saved had I known the techniques the author demonstrates in Just-In-Time Accounting.

This is not your usual accounting tome, based on statistics and theory. This is real stuff. Built out of scar tissue, experience and real world solutions. They are not necessarily easy solutions but lasting solutions worth the effort to implement.

The content deals with streamlining some basic areas:

Cash - How to speed up the process but still keep control. Some very interesting ideas about corporate credit cards, using your bank and lock boxes to save time and money.

Sales & Accounts Receivable - Some good ideas about redundant approvals, and minimizing paper.

Inventory - With hundreds of physical inventories under my belt I can vouch for the absolutely necessity of doing what the author recommends. This area was one of my great bugaboo's. Nothing affects the balance sheet like an inventory error. This involves bills of material, suppliers, production records, and computer system's. This is a whole world in itself but the problem(s) and solutions are concisely described here. Get your inventory under control and the rest is cake.

Accounts Payable - Good stuff that took me a long time to discover on my own.

Cost Accounting - Mostly about why you need it and how it allows you to spot P&L problems before the month ends. This is one of the critical areas to review since it is necessary for faster closes. Get the major variances identified early in the month instead of wasting time digging it up 4 or 5 weeks after the events occurred. One comment I have is the need for weekly staff meetings to review what happened last week, how will it affect this week and what is being done about it. These meeting will point out problem areas for the controller to preempt delusional variance explanations after monthend.

Payroll - Many good ideas that work. I have used the barcode system's.

The Budget - You probably know about these already but there are some time-saving techniques to minimize constant re-casting and interations.

EDI - I'm not too familiar with this.

The Quick Close - It can be done. This tells you how and I can vouch for the soundness of the concept. I actually set a corporate-wide benchmark of 1-1/2 days using these techniques. In my view that is the real payoff since it is the realization and payoff of all the other hard work. Gives you more time to do yet another iteration of the budget.

Some of the examples apply to huge corporations but most of the principles are universal. I really can't find fault in this book. It tells the controller, in the real world, how to get your system(s) sorted out. I have seen many "instant pudding" or fad of the month cause real damage if it didn't really work. There is no downside to these techniques. This is motherhood and apple pie. You can't go wrong trying

This book is the real deal. It's a story Spanish-American War from a real participant's view, instead of some long-winded pseudo-intellectual pedagogue.
Unlike the more famous [and high ranking] participants, such as Theodore Roosevelt and George Dewey, who wrote about their exploits, Charles Johnson Post was a private. He was a combat veteran who successfully dodged Spanish bullets and survived the Cuban campaign only to nearly die in the horrific quarentine camp which awaited the returning soldiers.
Not only did Mr. Post write a great story, but illustrated the scenes of the war.
My reason for not rating this a 5 is that there were not enough of Mr.Post's artwork and for printing copies of his water colors in B&W!

The Little War of Private Post is undoubtedly a classic in the genre of "American Memoirs of the Common Soldier". Common in this case is most uncommon as Charles Post recounts his days with the N.Y. 71st infantry during the Spanish American War. His account of the experience of combat rings true, but truer yet, an unfliching look, sometimes poignant, sometimes hilarious, of his experiences as a citizen soldier in the Spanish American War. From the incompetence of the high command to the inadaquacies of the supply chain, Post leaves no doubt in our mind as to the idiocy of going to war in haste to serve the popular will, a timely reminder for our present situation. His descriptions of the food, the living conditions, (especially aboard the transport ships), the lack of unified command strikes one as curiously contemporary in light of the more than 100 years separation. Post went on to live a varied and adventurous life, his war time sketches and paintings have a very vivid impact onto our black and white images of the Spanish American War. They can be found in larger size in Living Color in older issues of American Heritage, February 1957 as I recall, where I first saw his art as a boy. A lively and entertaining account of a now forgotten era, highly reccomended by this old reader.

A classic story of one man's experiences during the short, but brutal war in Cuba. Private Post details his everyday struggles to keep his health, his sanity and his life intact. Amazing information on small details of what life was like in the army at the time. The heat, bad food, military blunders, inept commanders, cunning Spanish foes, the wounded, sickness and victories are explained in Mr. Post's basic and direct style. A must read for any fan of this conflict that allows the reader to suffer along with the soldiers wearing wool tunics and armed with weapons that were outdated. A classic. Check it out.

I first read this book in 1961 when it was published by Signet in a mass market edition when I was at university. I have found it so valuable that it is still in my collection.
As a long time "grunt" historian of the life and times of the common soldier I have had occasion to refer to this time and again for details of clothing and equipment. Post was an illustrator for a New York paper and went to war carrying his sketchbook as a member of a New York National Guard unit still equipped with Indian War vintage single shot "trapdoor" Springfield rifles firing black powder whose smoke revealed their firing positions to the Spaniards concealed with smokeless firing Mauser rifles.
A less grim story is that the box knapsacks carried by the troops were admirably suited to carry bottles of whiskey in the blanket rolls and demijohns in the compartments along with a pair of spare socks and some toiletries.
Seldom was an amphibious campaign more mismanaged or carried out but this is not the place for that discussion.
This war was the last gasp of that primitive nineteenth century organization dominated by the technical bureaus and in which the Commanding General of the Army commanded only his own personal retainers in peace time. The main result of this war was the establishment of a proper general staff for planning and training on the European model.
The commentator, Graham A. Cosmas, is a long time specialist in the history of the Indian fighting army.

Norman Solomon's Made Love Got War is a fascinating read. Solomon interweaves personal history with major world events. As a member of the anti-war movement in the 1960's Solomon has lead a colorful life and his story is certainly uplifting for those of us trying to make a difference in this world. He discusses the faults of the New Left, the fight against nuclear proliferation, and the "Greased Path to Iraq." At times (especially towards the end of the book) Solomon seems a bit pessimistic as he reflects on how things have never really changed.

Despite that pessimism, this work so is endearing and indeed inspiring because of Solomon's personal take on the events going on around him. While there is the cogent media analysis like in his other works, it is coupled with his own stories of activism. Norman Solomon has consistently been fighting for peace and justice in a world sorely lacking both. This book is a must buy for newcomers to his work and devoted fans as well.

Often I find it difficult to read books about antiwar activities in the 60s and 70s. Perhaps it is because they are constructed like the tapes of good old boys sitting around a table with a bottle of wine reminiscing about old times.

Made Love, Got War, on the other hand, is the story of the political awakening of one person and his continued engagement in peace and justice activities. However, it is not ego-centered. Instead, packed within are scenarios and stories that contain relevance for today. For example, the white-train action and trial in Washington in the mid-eighties uses specific incidences and real people to describe what he call "agencies of annihilation."

Solomon brings to this story relevancy and relation to similar current peace and justice and antiwar activities. In the last year on trial for civil disobedience at Alliant Tech Systems, I (and my fellow arrestees) experienced exactly the same type of problems with judges who, as Solomon puts it, "proclaim their own versions of reality in the full expectation that we follow lockstep."

The geography is different, the time is different but the system is unfortunately the same. The arrest at Alliant was because of a different type of crime against humanity, but the concept of the judicial system as one of the agencies of annihilation has as much relevance today as it did in 1983 in the white-train trials.

In the last chapters, Solomon brings us into the current time--Iraq--thus showing a continuity of activities. The 60s and 70s are not an isolated incidence, an aberration or tear in the fabric of our history. They are part of a long tradition of similar activities by the people of this country built on the moral values of what we often call today "peace and justice" issues.

Two well-known sayings came to mind as I read this remarkably compelling book: George Santayana's famous statement, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," and the variously-attributed "If you remember the '60's, you weren't really there."

Solomon remembers the `60's, and he was really there. In recounting his odyssey from principled teenager to passionate political and social-justice activist, Solomon takes us back through the decades, starting with his childhood in the Cold War, proceeding through the "make love not war" `70's, then into the anti-nuclear age of the `80's and mid-`90's, finally bringing us to the never-ending wars in the Middle East. The book reads like a journal; it is a series of windows opening onto the important daily events of the past fifty years, and how he responded to those events. As a child of the same era, I was reminded at every page of how those events affected me, and what I was doing at the same time.

Towards the end of the book, Solomon reflects on how much things have not changed over the years he's chronicled. Political and social-justice activism is like washing dishes - you have to keep doing it every day; the dishes don't stay washed. If we don't remember the past, we will be doomed to repeat it. Read the book; remember the past.

This is an autobiographical account of the peace and disarmament movements in the United States over the past half century. Better than his other books, I think, this one achieves the level of artistic composition found in Solomon's brilliant and frequent columns on the media, war, and peace. But the value of "Made Love, Not War" lies in the lessons it provides for current and future activism, the accounts of pitfalls and seductive detours encountered in the past, the insights gained, and the analysis of how one can push on without hope or optimism or the desire for them, all as told by one of the most morally decent people we are privileged to live alongside today.
"I was born in 1931," Daniel Ellsberg writes in the foreword, "and my generation had to reorient itself to the unprecedented threat of planetary nuclear suicide-murder. Norman Solomon was born twenty years later, and his generation has never lived under any other circumstance." Yes, but few in that generation have remained constantly aware of the fact and devoted to changing it. Human beings have always been able to put the fact of their fast approaching personal demise out of their minds, often aided by the pretense of an "afterlife." Solomon's and later generations have usually managed to put the possibility of our collective nuclear end out of our thoughts, often aided by the pretenses of the news and entertainment industry.
Solomon has refused his entire life to forget that we are dangerously close to nuclear oblivion, and wishing others would also stop forgetting, he inevitably became something that most peace activists do not: a media critic. In a section toward the end of the book dated July 7, 2006, Solomon writes:
"Today is my fifty-fifth birthday, and the feeling that despite all the changes so little has changed really torments me. Turn on a television and there's the president, giving hypocrisy a bad name, and this is normal. Always has been in my lifetime. Turn on the TV when I was fifteen and there's the president, some kind of perverse fount of lies. That was when I started to get it and not get over it. If I'd been born ten years earlier, it would have started with Ike instead of LBJ."
Or it could have started earlier, with Truman. "[F]rom one president to another," Solomon writes, "one commander in chief to another: . . . they've all been ready to demolish us in an instant. That fact, alone, from Harry S Truman to George W. Bush and whoever comes next, is so ghastly that we can't really look at it . . . ."
Solomon's recent book "War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death," which has also been made into a movie, documents the similar lies all recent presidents have told about wars. This new book touches on that theme, with Truman (discussed by Ellsberg) pretending Hiroshima was a military base, Kennedy pretending the Soviet Union had more missiles, Johnson pretending he was for peace and restraint, and so forth. But here we learn not just what Solomon thinks of these lies today, but what he thought of Kennedy as a young man growing up in the suburbs, what he thought of Johnson as a teenager in full rebellion, and how he viewed the world as an activist through turbulent decades.
Solomon's early sins read more like the confessions of St. Augustine than the confessions of an economic hit man. He failed to fully appreciate the racism of his society or the horrors of war by the time he was 17. If that were the worst anyone had done in life, we would have utopia now. From the time Solomon was 17, he was on the path to try to better the world. The story he tells is of his own activism but also of trends in the movement. One point of frustration is reached around 1970, with unsuccessful saviors of the world beginning to advocate self-absorbed dedication to personal liberation rather than structural political change. "The idea that 'consciousness' - or, for that matter, culture - can fundamentally change as swiftly as hats," Solomon writes, "was to cause enormous confusion, shallow posturing, and bitter disappointment in the 1970s and beyond." Later, Solomon describes the efforts of various people in 2006 to save the world by growing organic crops.
In the meantime, the Vietnam war was being declared officially on the way out. Air strikes were replacing ground fighting, meaning fewer U.S. casualties, but more Vietnamese. And a pundit, whom Solomon quotes, commented: "The American majority is against the war. To oppose it involves no risk: the only risk is in trying to stop it." The summer of 2007 has witnessed endless "anti-war" rallies outside the offices of Republican congress members, and TV advertisements to the same effect have funneled progressive dollars into the media war machine. No similarly funded effort has urged the Democratic leadership to actually end the occupation.
"Despite all the changes, so little has changed."
Solomon's goal is not just to make us aware of what the U.S. military state is doing, but to stop it. He offers no hope that we can, instead arguing that the demand that we be ever optimistic is another assumption imposed on us by the media, and something we can get along without. That may be, but clearly optimism breeds activism which in turn increases both the grounds for optimism and the likelihood of success. The fact that Solomon has done what he's done, seen what he's seen, and continues to insist on sanity and disarmament, should provide us at least with inspiration. That's a good enough substitute for optimism in my mind, so who am I to say it won't do for others as well?

Joe McDonald's book covers a very wide range of wildlife photography. There are a lot of tips for the amateur but also a lot of info for serious photographers using professional equipment. The examples used to illustrate Joe's message are well chosen and also beautiful and inspiring to look at. It is difficult to imagine how you could get more or better material into a book of this size. Strongly recommended.

After reading several photo books, this was the one that finally let me take control of my camera and get away from all of the auto modes. The chapters on flash, for the first time, gave me an understanding of how flash works and how to manipulate it in both TTL and manual. Contains info on design and composition as well as approaching wildlife, but it was the exposure and flash info that made it an invaluable reference for me.

Mr McDonald puts passion into every word of this book,its simply explained lessons are written in a provocative style that leaves you yearning for the next page.....

Its a "must have" book for anybody wanting to explore wildlife photography as a hobby or professionally, and just a great, easy reading book.Ive owned my copy 6 months and have already read it 3 times! Its well explained so even people with a basic knowledge of photography can put many of his "lessons" into practical use.I cant wait for his next book!

Joe has done a very good job in writing this book explaining the basics of exposure control in the field including some flash techniques. I find this book to be indispensable in my library. I am now reading through it the second time. The pictures in this book are all very inspirational and well taken. I certainly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in wildlife and nature photography.

I had to get this book for an online class when I was a freshman in high school. I'm 23 now and this book is still my US History bible. While it may not always have factoids or boring memorizations like traditional history books, it's first person experiences bring history alive for the reader.

If you just can't seem to make history relate to you (or are having issues with your teen) this is a great book. The stories from those who lived it are both interesting and educational as well as eye opening.

Enjoy our history.

This was needed for online class and couldn't find it anywhere its a great book and came in fast and in pretty good condition as a matter of fact great condition

My son used this book at city college and brought it home when he was finished. He recommended it to our homeschooled 14 year old daughter. She loved it. The book got stolen along with some other books. My daughter ASKED me to get her another one. I think that tells it all.

Ordinary Americans is an engaging and informative collection of almost two hundred first-person accounts of five hundred years of American history by ordinary, everyday people who lived through the events they describe. Editor Linda Monk draws from letters, diaries, autobiographical accounts, and interviews for this compendium of funny, moving, exasperating, often inspiring descriptions and reactions of the people. These men and women include Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, as well as Americans of various European ancestries. These multi-cultural everyday perspectives will enable modern readers of all ethnicities to discover shared experiences that define us all as Americans. Ordinary Americans is a superlative contribution to American history and is a highly recommended acquisition for personal, school and community library collections.

Let's forget about the founding fathers for a while. The recent flood of books on America's first generation of politicians has often been informative, but none is as immediately essential as Robert Scheer's new book on American presidents during the last four decades. Instead of revising portraits of men we recognize from old paintings, textbooks and wrinkled currency, Scheer gives us a study of the men we know from the televisions in our living rooms.

The book, delightfully titled, "Playing President: My Close Encounters with Nixon, Carter, Bush I, Reagan, and Clinton--and How They Did Not Prepare Me for George W. Bush" provides a real "fair and balanced" examination of recent presidential politics. But it also provides an incisive critique of our selection process. "After decades," Scheer writes, "I came to the conclusion that the process endured in obtaining electoral power tends to be the controlling influence on the candidate's behavior once in office." It's a frightening thought, but in chapter after chapter, he illustrates this point and identifies a system that, "stupefies rather than educates."

As a veteran teacher of history, government and politics I have learned that there is something dangerously fictional about all American presidents. Ask most high school students (or their parents) about any of the presidents since Nixon and you will be struck by the shallowness and predictability of the responses. Unfortunately, most of the pre-university textbooks to which we subject these students do little other than reinforce the caricatures. Playing President facilitates a better understand of the complexity behind the sound bites and rescues some of our immediate past from myth.

Of course, "Playing" is the indispensable word in the book's title. The book documents six men playing president in the manner of children playing at being what they think they should be while being watched by relatives at a holiday dinner. Scheer's book offers disheartening evidence that "playing" at president has become more important than "being" president.

Readers are treated to reflective and penetrating portraits beginning with Richard Nixon. Painfully aware of his own awkwardness, but always thinking about policy. Nixon offers advice that would be useful today if W. would listen, "Periods of confrontation," Nixon said, "strengthen dictatorships, and periods of peace weaken them."

Carter is portrayed as consciously creating himself as a character in his own version of a Faulkner short story. His Playboy interview should be required re-reading simply for all of the commentary that outshines the famous lust in Carter's heart. In the 1976 essay, "Jimmy, We Hardly Know Y'all" Scheer paints a vivid picture of a complex American South uneasy about confronting its own history. When he asks Carter's mother about the history of an integrated communal farm not far from Carter's Plains, Miss Lillian snaps back, "Why do you want to bring that up? It's over with."

Ronald Reagan knew just how to turn his head toward the camera. He was good at playing. Scheer documents how Reagan came alive on stage, so that even when he is spouting complete nonsense his audience wants to believe him. Summing up this talent for illusion, Scheer reports that, "Reagan can be magical on the stump, because he can convince even a cynical observer that he is a highly moral, honest, and purposeful man... [and] that allows the audience to ignore serious gaps in his knowledge, his lackluster eight years as Governor, and the reality that his own family life has been quite disorderly....people want the image more than the truth."

He was a hard act to follow. His successor, George Herbert Walker Bush, is the impossibly maladroit player, uncomfortable and arrogant at the same time. Scheer's encounters with this first Bush are interesting to read and often enjoyably hostile. Consider this bizarre response to a simple question about the Pentagon Papers, "I told you," snapped Bush, "I don't have a judgment; I don't have - I don't remember all that ancient history." And then, pages later, at the interview's end, Scheer asks him to be more explicit in reflecting on a situation in the middle east. And again Bush responds with revealing and angry impatience, "No, I couldn't. I've given you that, and that's all I'll give you." This is fun stuff to read and it would certainly liven up a classroom.

Bill Clinton comes off as a natural actor, always very, very smart, but sometimes twisting a fact or two for convenience. In the middle of a long chat, Scheer asks him to point out the best example of the get-off-welfare program that the Arkansas Governor had been touting. Clinton tells him to check out "Project Success" in Forrest City, but when he gets there he finds no evidence of any real project - successful or not. The reader comes away from this section convinced of both Clinton's unrealized potential and his real accomplishments.

The last section on George W. Bush is different from the others, but that much is hinted at by the best part of the title. Partly this difference is because Scheer has never engaged W. in an extended interview, but partly it is because George W. Bush really is different from all the others. The section title: George W. Bush - Perpetual Adolescence seemed to say it well enough. However, after reading the many columns that follow the introductory essay this reader preferred the title: George W. Bush - Dangerous Adolescent.

This is a serious and important book, but it is also a delight to read. If, like me, you have read some of the material before, reading it again forces one to recognize how vital it is to have reporters willing to spend the time, to listen, to investigate and to write of complexity. The clich? is that journalism is the first draft of history has been amended by suggesting an obvious tension between getting it first and getting it right. But over the years some journalists have gotten both. "Playing President" demonstrates that Robert Scheer has been both first and right for decades.

Playing President is an impressive collection of informative interviews by award-winning "Los Angeles Times" journalist Robert Sheer with the presidents Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush Senior. Deftly compiled and analyzed to create a sound basis for understanding each of these former presidents in terms of their respective parts played in the national debates and issues of their respective administrations, Playing President offers readers a wealth of insights into their lives, minds, and decisions which had historically influenced and shaped the American political front during the course of the second half of the twentieth century. A core addition to academic library "Political Science" reference collections, Playing President is very strongly recommended for non-specialist general readers with an interest in the American presidency for its wide-range of informative and first hand accounts drawn from direct interviews with the men who occupied that august office.

Playing President is an insghtful,well balanced review of six Presidents as candidates and as president that I would recommend to anyone who is concerned about where we are and how we got here. His assessment of Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush1, Clinton,and Bush2 is sometimes painful and sometimes complimentary, but always fair. This should be required reading for Pundits,and newspersons.

The title of this book suggests something more than it is, a collection of the interviews that Scheer conducted in fleeting moments during the election campaigns of the presidents named. As such, the interviews are well worth reprinting and rereading, especially that with the enigmatic Jimmy Carter. One might have wished, however, that Scheer would have composed his retrospective thoughts about these interviews more thoroughly, evaluated the package more cogently. The book-in-hand seems just a bit lazy.

After reading plenty of those "say what I say, exactly as I say it" sales books, none of which I found truly helpful out in the field, this book was like a breath of fresh air. Easy to read and easy to adapt to personal styles it is a treasure trove of good advise. If you actually care about your customers and want them to return to you on a regular basis, this is the book for you.

I manage a distributor sales force throughout the U.S. and Canada. After reading this book (actually WHILE reading this book) I applied the information and witnessed immediate success, as did my sales reps. The information is direct, common sense, well presented, easy reading and entertaining. It is not full of 'theory', but actual 'meat' that can be applied each day after reading even a chapter or two the night before. I am buying books for each of my reps and feel it is one of the best gifts I could ever give them. Well done!

From my many varied experiences, I realize that I just don't like selling, but when I was trying to bone up on my sales skills, I found this book to be the most useful. It is heads and shoulders above other books on the subject and it was so intersting that I probably read it cover to cover in a day or two. The advice is extremely practical and you are learning great principles of selling. You are not learning a bunch of closing dialogues that only work for the person who invented them. Easily digested, the principles allow you to adjust your approach in mid-sale because you are asking questions whose answers will tell you what you need to do or say next (positioning.) Tons of great info here. It should really be a textbook for sales classes.

The problem with any "how to sell" book like this is, until you can integrate the advice given here so that it comes naturally to you, you will sound as mechanical and forced as some of the "tellers" Richardson criticizes. I used to sell big-tiicket business-to-business, and I can say the advice here is timeless: engage your customer, identify what your customer's needs are and position your product so that the customer realizes that your product meets their needs. Of course, if the customer doesn't need your product, then maybe you need to learn some of those "hard-ball sales" techniques (or find a better product!). No amount of customer empathy, listening, or product positioning will help you overcome a customer-product mismatch. Which brings me to a point: although Richardson argues against this, I think playing hardball has a place in negotiations; remember, the party you are negotiating with doesn't always have to feel warm and cozy inside in the process. A true persuader will know when to be soft and fluffy and when to apply the pressure.

Also, the whole paradigm-replacement languuage ("we are moving into a new age of selling...") is corny. The advice Richardson is giving is not new or revolutionary, as she claims. But she has succeeded in organizing a lot of really good sales principles in a clear and coherent way which can easily be appreciated by readers.

I read this book together with Richardson's "Selling by Phone" and frankly, one is just a rehash of the other. Richardson copied entire paragraphs from one in writing the other. So save your money and buy just one of the two. But if you are an accidental salesperson, or even if by trade you are not a salesperson but you are occasionally called upon to negotiate (maybe you are a lawyer or a manager) Richardson's books will be a refreshing introduction to the discipline of negotiation and persuasion.

This is a well written and unique book that gives an in-depth look at the history of Afghanistan to explain how the country evolved, followed by an up-to-date look at the Taliban up to and immediately following the 9/11/02 disaster. The author is a Muslim and first-hand authority on the area. He was raised in Pakistan near the Afghanistan border and graduated from their local medical school. Dr Hussain is now an American citizen and professor of surgery at the Medical College of Ohio. In 2000 he visited Afghanistan and interviewed several of the top Taliban leaders. His insights into the tribal culture of that area provide perspective on how things evolved to the present time and suggest what should happen in the future.

This is an excellent book; the best I have read concerning afghanistan. The author, Dr Hussan, is an American Muslim who was raised in Pakistan near the Afghan border, and he completed medical school there. Coming to America as an adult, he is professor of surgery at the Ohio Medical College. There is probably not another author writing in English who has a better background and ability to explain afghanistan to American readers. Also, perhaps no American had more credible access to interview top Taliban leaders with such credibility and objectivity. After reading this book I now understand how that part of the world evolved historically into the Afghan nightmare, and the tremendous challenge we now face to achieve stability in Central Asia. This book is a "must read" for anyone interested in the Afghan situation.

What is unique about this book is that A) the author as a Pathan himself can offer us a view of the complexities of the internal conflict and objectives of the tribal societies at the heart of today's delicate issues. B) this author truly understands the history of the conflict and can lucidly explain these facts to the many Americans who look at events within the past few years only as relevant history. In fact, one truly needs to scan approx. 150 years of political history to truly understand how and why Sept 11 became a day of terror. This is a work every true historian and politician should read. It is clear and concise. A truly worthy contribution to Taliban political assessment!

Dr. Amjad Hussein is Toledo's most eminent personalities who has written another wonderful book, this time on the contemporary history of Afghanistan. The book is timely, easy to read and provides a great overview of the Afghanistan tragedy. It is also a useful review of history of Afghanistan which segways well into the role of Taliban in the destruction of Afghanistan. I found Dr. Husseins book full of remarkable insights, and have been impressed by his ability to simplify a very complicated story into a well-written manuscript full of interesting personal anecdotes. This book is compact enough for most of those unfamiliar with the history of that part of the world. For those who are familiar with that region there is still a lot of useful information. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and learnt a lot in the meantime.

My final verdict- definitely two thumbs up!

This book is beautiful!
I love this book. I have my own natural beauty product business, and this book has so much to offer. I also love that it isn't sectioned by product type, but by the seasons, and furthermore, that it doesn't just have body care recipes, there are Teas, Elixirs, Soups and Tonics as well. It really brings home the idea that it's not just what you put ON your body, but in it as well.
Just looking at it and reading it really creates this atmosphere that urges you to be relaxed and creative.
Very good information on ingredients and Aromatherapy as well.
A great find!

I bought this on a whim when it was recommended to me and couldn't be more thrilled with this purchase! What a beautifully presented book, packed with rejuvenating recipes for inner and outer health and beauty, and written with the beginner in mind. It is very informative, easy to follow, and the ingredients can easily be found by anyone near a health food store or internet access. It's apparent that Barbara Close knows what she's doing as an aromatherapist and I can only imagine that her holistic spa must be absolutely wonderful considering the attention, care and fine taste that went into this book. I plan to give copies of this as gifts and am sure anyone who receives it will be as enthralled with it and ready to try their own recipes as I am. Five stars!

This is a wonderful book that teaches you how to use essential oils and herbs to cure common ailments. After reading this book and trying some of the recipes I truly believe that by sensibly using aromatherapy, herbalism, massage and healthy food you can live more naturally and improve your quality of life.

The book starts out with a brief history. Then you find first aid charts, one for herbs and another for essential oils. The charts include the name, properties, common uses and any hazards of each item. Instructions for preparing and using them in teas, infusions, decoctions, tinctures, ointments, inhalations and vaporization follow. There is also a great list of carrier and herbal infused oils.

Next, there are forty recipes arranged by seasons focusing of different aspects such as rejuvenation and sensuality. Spring includes recipes for a delicious pear elixir and calendula salve. Summer features a natural pleasant smelling insect repellant, a tea tree oil antiseptic and a citrus body splash. Autumn includes a wonderful grapefruit exfoliating paste and rosemary infused massage oil. Winter contains a tasty recipe for garlic soup, a chamomile face serum and a peppermint thyme inhalation.

Association, education, and resource directories are a nice bonus. I liked that the resource directory listed places to find herbs and oils as well as bottles and jars to put them in. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to pamper themselves. It is packed with information and is easy to follow. It would also make a great gift.

Great recipes and this book will be an inspiration for those long winter days and evenings. What a great way to take care of yourself!