Combs Books

If you are thinking of writing a book or have one you are trying to sell, buy this book! The real life experiences of these authors will help you move forward! (Plus the stories really are interesting--nothing run-of-the-mill here.)

This book was a gift from a friend and it's wonderful. As a new author--one without a book in print--I found the information on how these authors landed their first book sale very encouraging and interesting.

I have studied this book as well as other Guided Activity Workbooks and was so impressed that I researched how this one has been used to help traumatized children and want to share what I found, quoting from source material as the book has been written up and used by parents, teachers and mental health professionals to help many thousands of children.

"When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans on August 29, 2005, causing extensive flooding, immense destruction, and mass human suffering, we began collaboration with Mercy Corps to produce and distribute a guided activity workbook within a week after the disaster. To evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention, the American Psychoanalytic Foundation and Mercy Corps jointly funded a study of the resource. The objective of the resource was to decrease post-traumatic symptoms in several hundred among the evacuated fifth to eighth grade children attending a displaced school, temporarily based in Houston. Fortuitously, Tulane University was also relocated to Houston and the project had the advantage of an independent psychiatrist's involvement in setting up and studying the effectiveness of the project, including the supervision of interns to introduce and follow the children's use of the workbook. The formerly New Orleans student population was 100 percent African-American, the majority (82 percent) from impoverished areas of New Orleans that were widely devastated by Katrina. The University of California at Los Angeles Child Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index (PTSD-RI) was administered to the children prior to beginning work on the Hurricane Workbook and again after three months of working with the specially designed psychoanalytically informed workbooks. Mercy Corp eventually distributed more than 12,000 workbooks throughout the region."

"Tulane University School of Medicine's preliminary report on results of using Guided Activity Workbooks with middle school children displaced by hurricanes is published on The Children's Psychological Health Center's website: www.cphc-sf.org. Briefly, My Personal Story About Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: A Guided Activity Workbook for Children, Families and Teachers was given to each child. Each worked on it in class for 30 minutes weekly for three months. Post-traumatic symptom level scores among 100 twice-tested adolescents declined sharply. The improvement was statistically highly significant (p=.0001). It confirmed compelling clinical observations that even classes of highly agitated and overactive inner city children almost immediately became very calm and focused when using the activity workbooks. "

Results for Children Caught in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

I am currently working with Drs. Jan Johnson and Leslie Lawrence ...using your Katrina and Rita workbooks in a middle school in the French Quarter of New Orleans. When we used your workbooks last year in Houston with displaced 6th-8th grade students, we found that using the books for 30 minutes once a week for two months decreased PTSD risk factor/symptom scores by 18.75% (from 32 to 26 median; p=0.0001). In our current study, we have expanded the student population to include 5th graders, and also are allowing students to participate whether or not they were displaced; they all, however, live in post-Katrina New Orleans, which is in itself a stressor. Other studies have found that PTSD continues to be a major issue, especially among children, here in New Orleans, and so far our work has replicated this finding.

We just wanted to inform you of this because the workbook itself is your creation, and we love it. We also thought it might be appropriate to be in communication with you in the future about how our results turn out, and also how we might use concepts from your book to continue helping New Orleans kids who are likely to have continued stress living in our troubled city.

-Adrienne D. Mishkin, Tulane University School of Medicine

My wife and I found this book while honeymooning on St. Simons last year. It has heavily illustrated chapters focusing on the natural history, flora, and fauna around all of the major island landmarks, beaches, and marshes. As newcomers to the island the background information made the sightseeing experience much more educational. It was so interesting and informative that we ended up taking it with us just about everywhere we went.

This book is highly recommended for residents and visitors of St. Simons Island. The text is informative and easy to read. The over 200 pencil drawings by Jennifer Smith beautifully illustrate areas of St. Simons and accurately protray the text. Her art lends a special charm to the book.

I was very happy with my purchase. I received the item fast and for more than half the price that was offered to me from the school's vendor. I will recommend ordering from amazon for everything. I was very pleased.

This is by far my favorite english book I've ever had! The content is organized so well that it's incredibly easy to find whatever you're looking for. I didn't even have to really read anything because I could so easily find what I was looking for. Very nice! The language is simple, concise, not inflated, and straight to the point. Very easy to understand.

This is the best cookbook I have come across for so many different foods. I love it.! I had been looking for bread recipes all over and this cookbook has many different ones to choose from.

All of the traditional recipes combined with more contemporary health conscious meal ideas. And the fact that it goes to support a great cause, this is a Win Win purchase for anyone interested in a comprehensive cookbook.

It is a "complete guide" to this new way of vacation. My husband and I have been to numerous timeshare informational in Hawaii in the past. But, this book gives serious travellers the information and the benefits the timeshares without sitting through lenghty presentations. Alex, thanks a lot for this great book!

Alexander Barbara opens up the world of timeshare with very intellectual yet plainly spoken lingo. He allows a person to see two sides of every incident and expects them to make the decisions themselves. This book is for the person who wants to know more and is seeking the best possible solution for his or her situation. It should be a neccessity for people who are interested in the timeshare industry. Bravo!!!

If you really thought about it, a little baby is going to come into this world totally dependant on you, with nothing. No clothes, no hairbrush, no crib. Its all up to you. This is the only planner to actually help you plan out your purchases & borrowings so that when your baby arrives, you've thought of everything. When to apply for a SSN for the baby, questions to ask pediatricians, health care providers, midwives. When to and what to buy (clothes, furniture etc.) to spread the expense out. It has space for you to fill in all your answers too. I love this planner. Looking ahead, yeah, you have 9 months, but when you realize all that has to be done you may panic. This planner keeps it and you all together. I'm getting a second for our second pregnancy. Congratualtions!

Louise Edeiken and Johanna Antar are to be congratulated on their bouncing baby book, Now That You're Pregnant. The book is small, light and totebagable. The no-nonsense checklist format especially appeals to Dads-to-be...no wading through warm, fuzzy paragraphs on the joys of motherhood and feeling left out. Leave it to these two professional organizers.... Who wants to worry about insurance policies and diaper services, labor and lab work when there are bigger issues at stake...macadamia nut or choco-mint with that kosher dill? This book really takes the panic out of pregnancy. It's the best gift you can give or receive.

I bake cookies moreso than most people, as I babysit children often and it's a good activity to do together. Easy to follow recipies, and of the 60% (I have yet to try any of the "cookie in a jar" bits) I've baked so far, all are just delicious!!

I was pleasantly surprised with the recipes in this book! I bake cookies for my family about 2 times a week, as an alternative to store-bought sweets, which are costly and have preservatives and additives I do not want to feed my children. We were looking for some variety, and boy, did we get it! The chocolate sugar cookies were a big hit, as were the Cinnamony Apple Streusel Bars. I really impressed my husband and some friends with the Almond Biscotti, and it was easier to make than I ever dreamed. All the ingredients are fairly inexpensive and I had most of them handy in my pantry! I would recommend this book to anyone looking for easy-to-prepare, old-fashioned cookie recipes. I am planning on getting a few copies as gifts!

That this book is back in print is a gift to the world. It's a completely thorough and wonderful trip through various 2d and 3d geometries and patterns. The drawings can be appreciated just on an aesthetic level, or can be delved into deeply. A rare book.

This was one of the books that first showed many people the interrelationships between the Platonic and Archimedian solids. Critchlow studied under Buckminster Fuller and many of Bucky's perceptions find their way in to these pages. Not without a few small errors here and there but overall a groundbreaking book of its day and still an essential volume on the shelf of anyone who works structurally in 3-d. Highly recommended.

I have been using ORGAN TECHNIQUE: MODERN AND EARLY for less than a month with three students who are just beginning organ study. I am very pleased with the content of the book, and how it is laid out. There is attention to details that other organ books that I have used in the past do not include.

I like the specific instructions on manual and pedal technique, and I am particularly pleased with the exercises and the selections of organ literature that have been included in this book.

I am very pleased with this book.

In the last three years I have been learning the Organ, and this book is an excellent guide and tool for doing that. It is easy to read and easy to work with -- but to learn the organ, cotninues to demand lots of time for pracitice!