Elliott Books

Jock Elliott captures and relates all of the building blocks that went into making our Christmas holiday what it is--in terms of the way in which we celebrate.

As an ad man, he's got a unique perspective.

Fascinating reading.

This book is such an amazing find! It tells the whole celebration of the Christmas holiday, from it's pre-Christian pagan celebrations, through the 20th century. Particularly interesting is how it became a Christian Holiday a few hundred years after the birth of Christ. But the book also covers how Santa Claus came to be, the history of the Christmas Tree, carols, and a pretty extensive article on Charles Dickens 'A Christmas Carol.'
The author, Jock Elliott, is probably the foremost collector of Christmas memorabelia, and through many color photos has shared some of his extensive collection with us. The man even has his letters to Santa from the 1920's! But, most impressive of all (to me!) is his 'A Christmas Carol' collection. He has a copy of the original first edition from 1843, as well as the original newspaper advertisement for the book from that same year! And, yes, Mr. Elliott shares this with us, too.
I've compared his history of the holiday with other books I own and I feel I can safely say that Mr. Elliott has done his research. His writing style is very entertaining and easy to follow, so the younger set can enjoy this book, too.
All in all, this is one of the most entertaining books I've read on the Christmas holiday. I guess if I had one complaint it would be for Mr. Elliott to maybe add a bit about the Reason for the Season - Jesus Christ.
Very highly recommended.

Saw this book when it was listed with a book I wanted to buy about Christmas and the history of our American traditions. It is a beautiful book with lots of pictures- not alot of written information. Still find it interesting and informative.

Almost all Americans celebrate Christmas but so few of us really know its deep-rooted and ancient origins as well as the origins of so many of the traditions we hold so dear.

In his wonderful book called, Jock Elliott has charted all of this story (and more) with care and good cheer. He reminds us of how recent the Christmas "tradition" is, and how ancient. He tells us, for example, that the Christmas tree is basically a product of the second half of the American 19th century, and can be traced to England. The British royal family - themselves imports from Germany - first pitched such trees in their palatial homes. But the trees, and the rituals of winter celebrations, could themselves be traced all the way back to pagan times and the celebrations of the winter solstice.

We learn about the men who defined Santa claus Including Clement Moore who wrote the "Night Before Christmas", and Thomas nast. Nast was the greatest political cartoonist of the 19th century, perhaps of any American century. During the holiday season of 1862-63, Nast put visual flesh on the poetic bones provided by Moore. In the Jan. 3, 1863, issue of Harper's Weekly, he showed Santa Claus cheering up the battered Union troops. He's wearing striped pants and a shirt spangled with stars. Nast would do a year-end drawing of Santa Claus for each of the following 25 years.

From giving gifts to misletoe, Elliots great book fills us in on the origins of Everything Christmas. Highly Recommended

Written by certified personal trainer Elliot Young, Kiss Dieting Goodbye: Embracing a Whole New Way to Lose Weight explains why "quick fix" dieting doesn't work - and what truly does. Kiss Dieting Goodbye teaches the reader how to accomplish long-term positive transformations. Tips, tricks and techniques for portion control, embracing a more active lifestyle, healthy recipes, true stories and much more make Kiss Dieting Goodbye a "must-read" for anyone tired of starving themselves only to see all the weight they lost come right back.

Personal Trainer, Elliott Young writes with balance and insight about the roller coaster of dieting. January is a perfect time to change into a healthy lifestyle. This book promotes a careful balance between eating nutrient-rich foods and learning about portion control along with a practical look at exercise and asking God's enabling.

Young uses KISS as a lifestyle acrostic for weight loss and weight maintenance:
Kardio: carviovascular exercise
Intake: Ingest fresh food
Strength: strength training
Spirit: spiritually grounded weight loss

This book is loaded with easy-to-apply information. I recommend it.

I really enjoyed reading "Kiss Dieting Goodbye". There are so many dieting books on the market and so many diets out there it makes your head spin. Most of them don't even work. It's refreshing to read a book with a sensible, practical and spiritual approach to dieting. "Kiss Dieting Goodbye" is written in a light, positive style with easy, healthy recipes, a lot of information and good advice to move anyone toward and more active, healthy and skinnier lifestyle.

I'm not one to adhere to "diets" but this book provides an
accessible framework to getting healthy and fit.
It's also very refreshing to find a spiritual element in this genre.

With ingenuous humility, Anne Ellis recounts the first phase of her difficult life as if it were a cakewalk. Several passages convey such emotional impact that I remember them months later. A great read for anyone wishing to understand how women really lived in mining towns of the American West around the turn of the century.

Ann Ellis is the real deal! She's raw American...living, working, loving, and raising children in the gruelingly hard world of the mining towns of the Rocky Mountains, years before the amenities that we American women take for granted today...things like running water, ample heating, and doctors always available for very sick children.But Ann is tough and savvy, witty, and has a great sense of fun, even in the toughest of times. Her life is richly-laden with deep emotion.Her descriptive style is pure and simple, but takes us right to her heart. She never complains...only explains.You read the book with a great sense of admiration for these strong women who raised strong families,loved their men, had dreams and joyful aspirations, even in times when they were struggling to find their way in this sometimes brutal world of their husbands' lust for gold and silver.This lady was a true pioneer in every sense of the word. Her story should be shared with anyone who finds strength in true accounts of brave American men and women.

No matter what your own life experience has been you will find things in this great book that you identify with. This true life experience is from a woman who lived a heroic experience from penniless poverty to being elected to public office, rising above all her own expectations, A wonderful book full of comedy, tragedy, drama, supence, you won't be able to put this book down.

In an age when autobiographies are considered fascinating only if the writer survived abuse, rape, incest or murder, Ms. Ellis' account is refreshing because she survives life.

I am a huge fan of Stephen Elliott's fiction; HAPPY BABY was one of the best novels of 2004. So I was excited to read this and I wasn't disappointed. It's a superb and hilarious account of Elliott's year on the campaign trail, and you don't have to be a politics junkie (I'm certainly not) to find it absolutely charming as well as remarkably insightful and smart about various aspects of American political culture. It's a classic!

This book is a rare treat, a double-secret insider crawl through the wasteland of the presidential election season. Elliott shows us stuff no one else does, from up-close views of the most accomplished paid spokesliars, to the real reasons Kerry won the nomination. Along the way, he steers us, careening, through alternate realities, dozens of funny Eggers-style footnotes, drugs, and compulsive gambling.

I'm not on the same end of the political spectrum as Elliott, but I still enjoyed this book's insights. What I didn't enjoy was the sloppy editing, no doubt resulting from Picador rushing the book out the door in two and a half months. (See misspellings of "Mineta", "signal corps", even the arcade game Pole Position, thought the last is at least understandable.)

Elliott has some great analysis of the PA senatorial race, the youth vote, and more, but shows a strangely innocent naivete on occasion. A few cases in point: 1) He repeatedly calls Bush a liar, without ever specifically naming the lie. Perhaps he means the lack of Iraqi WMDs? But every intelligence agency in the world unanimously believed Iraq had WMDs, meaning Bush was mistaken, not intentionally lying. Sloppy. 2) He shows a fundamental ignorance of how the free market works by not understanding why rents go down when property taxes are cut. 3) He incorrectly states that the NORC analysis showed Gore should have won Florida if all votes were counted, under any standard. Actually, Bush would have won under certain standards where all 3 ballot viewers had to agree on voter intent. At least he correctly lets the Supreme Court off the hook, something many Democrats will never do. 4) He really, really wants universal health insurance, to the point where he says silly things like "Switching to a public system would save a whopping 10 percent in administrative costs, more than enough to offset the expense of universal coverage." Uh huh.

All in all, lots of fun, whether you are a Bush-hating liberal, or just a conservative looking for a tasty bit of schadenfreude.

. . . because Stephen Elliott has written our new campaign classic.

Now, I'm not saying this book isn't full of insight into the theatricality of the political process, or the sycophantic relationship between the mainstream press and the two major parties, or the silliness of the sound byte culture. It is. I promise. It's all there.

But what makes this book sing is the digressions, sometimes personal, sometimes fictional, sometimes incomplete, sometimes written in the first, second, or third person, sometimes funny, sometimes quite sad, sometimes involving sadomasochism, sometimes involving nonsexual love affairs with fellow travelers.

The real protagonist of Looking Forward to It is not John Kerry or Howard Dean or George W. Bush. The real character, the real hero, is Stephen Elliott. And thank God for that.

Okay, that's all. I'm not giving anything else away. Buy this book. Buy it, buy it, buy it!

Stephen Elliot's book is far and away the funniest and most insightful political punditry from the 2004 election. From the rise and fall of Howard Dean to the Republican convention in New York, Elliot doggedly pursues value in stories most reporters don't even recognize. As he crosses the lower 48 by bus, plane and thumb, we are introduced to some of the wisest, most astute political analysts grassroots America has yet uncovered.
I loved this book for the sound byte it isn't.

My son LOVES this book. It's suitable for a 10month old, but the rounds monkeys are made of cardboard and got destroyed pretty quickly from being gnawed on. At 13 months, he knows the book by name, and I have to read it ten times a day. It's only 5 pages so not too annoying for me. :)

My 15 month old nephew loves this book. While his coordination is not so good yet that he can drop the little pog-like monkey disc in the slot at the bottom AND be able to watch it tumble, he "helps" me drop the monkey in and watches. My stepmother says her friend bought one for her two year old granddaughter and the kindergarten-aged brother loved it too. He read it to his sister and they both enjoyed it. Also, the book comes with two monkey discs so I suggest stashing one in a drawer and only leaving the kids with one at a time.

My 18 month old granddaughter LOVES this book. Matter of fact, it's a replacement for the original! Good for her coordination as there is a round 'chip' with the monkey on it that she has to put in a thin slot at the top of the page and then open a flap to get it out. Loves it!

My 14-month old loves to read this book b/c it is interactive. It comes with two little monkeys on cardboard discs. You drop the 'monkey' in a top slot and you can watch the monkey tumble down to the bottom of each page. While my little one doesn't really pay attention to the words he loves to lift the flap to find where the monkey tumbled to. It is a unique and fun concept. I'm looking for more like it.

In a broadcast studio, a man in the audience introduces himself as "one of the very few people in America with a name that is completely unpronounceable", spelled W-W-Q-L-C-W. "I'd like to say hello to my brother on your program, but I don't know how to pronounce his name, either."

Consumer affairs expert Hoyt Netley recommends a child's tricycle from Denmark on account of its rounded edges, plus the gunpowder-fueled rocket engine that eliminates the need for dangerous pedals. "The child just lights a fuse when he's ready to ride."

Bob and Ray. How I miss those guys. This 1985 collection of sketches was their last published work before Ray's death in 1990, and catches them just about wrapping up their comedy career. Even though it is a half-step below their earlier two books in terms of consistent excellence, there's enough good moments in here to sustain many of today's comics over an entire career.

There's another episode of "Tippy The Wonder Dog" and a new visit to "The Hobby Hut", where host Neil Clummer meets a man who collects numbers held by people who wait in line. Two doctors exchange rote platitudes about patient confidentiality until they repeat each other's lines.

The accent on newer material is a drawback. By 1985, Bob & Ray were reworking old concepts rather than trotting out new ones with the boldness they displayed in the 1960s and 1970s. As sharp and witty as they were, there was also a structural element to Bob & Ray's best comedy, Monty Pythonish logic-stretching, which simply doesn't come off as well in a series of sketches of a man being interviewed, which is what you have here.

The newer ideas they did use, like the soap opera "Garish Summit" (a couple of episodes from which appear here) annoyed some older fans who remembered the goofier antics of "Mary Backstayge, Noble Wife". "Garish Summit" was funny, though, and so is regular sports announcer Biff Burns' interview with champion low-jumper Big Steve Wurbler, who explains why standing atop a cliff and jumping should be an Olympic sport.

"In high jumping, you can strain a muscle or hurt yourself on the way up," Big Steve explains. "But in low jumping, you only have to worry about what happens to you on the way down."

One thing "New! Improved!" has over the earlier B&R collections is the audio version that came out the following year, which shows the two men in fine form giving even the weaker material in this collection a fresh life. Bob & Ray had a habit of surprising you just when you thought you had them figured out; their like won't be seen again for a long while.

Here are Bob and Ray on tape again, late in their career but still the funniest duo on, and off, radio. Here they're reading (with sound effects) from their book - which is more like a collection of radio scripts; it's a good introduction to their work, and longtime listeners will find their material as fresh and funny as always. And while some hardcore fans may miss the unique "live radio" quality that Bob and Ray had, they're every bit as funny as in any of their earlier work. The running gag about walnut pickers is reason enough to buy this, as is the grammar lesson. It's also fun to read along while listening to the tape, so get the book as well. Bob and Ray are a reminder that enduring comedy needn't be offensive.

Approach this small book as a collection of comedy routines written for a Bob and Ray broadcast; while reading it, longtime fans will probably hear in their minds the duo's voices and inflections. And this book is even more fun when reading along with the recording of Bob and Ray themselves reading the routines. But whatever the circumstances, this is a good, and funny, introduction to Bob and Ray's work. And knowing that this was one of their last works together makes one realize how remarkable their comedy was.

A work of off-kilter genius from Bob and Ray, surreal comedy pioneers. From "small village endocrinologist Engelbretzen" to the seedy soap opera Garish Summit, it's one loopy deadpan laugh riot. The cheesy, mock-melodramatic music adds to the fun. Hilarious running gags, idiotic talk show guests, crackpot pseudo-experts, bizarre mini-dramas, pathetic losers we can simultaneously sympathize with and deride--the "New! Improved! Bob and Ray Book" is first-class lunacy.

How often do you find humor so insanely funny that you can't resist smirking and chuckling in public places as you remember your favorite lines? This is that funny. A great gift idea for anybody who likes warped humor that's both sophisticated and moronic at the same time.

I buy this book for my good friend who escaped from Denmark during the War. He is Jewish and gives lectures to small school children and groups on the flee of Jewish Danish citizens from Germans. He loves this book.

I first read this book about 30 years ago and have read it several times since. A wonderful affirmation of honor and courage that appears in ordinary people. Every high school student should be encouraged to read it.

This book had a great impact on my life. Having met one of the members of the Dansih undersground after reading this book, and hearing his account, I was impressed by the ring of truth from the author. As a Danish-American, I was truly inspired by the heroism. I wanted to buy a copy for my Jewish-American friend, but was dismayed by the fact it is out of print. This book had a major impact on my general philosophy of life and how to behave in a moral manner. It shows regular people can be heroes. It should be recommended reading for high school kids as an uplifting example of positive morale acts. It is, for adults, an affirmation, in historical perspective, of decency and respect for other human beings. Rated in my top 10 of all books I've read.

My Danish-American mother gave me this book to read when I was 12. It's a pity that it's no longer in print, as I am looking forward to my own child reading it. The book's strength is its description of flawed and ordinary people who managed to do the right thing at a time when it really mattered. The book upholds the importance of affirming the value and dignity of individual human beings even if the goverrnment or prevailing ideology discourages doing so. A paean to ordinary decency.

Perhaps first and foremost, this is a collection of interviews about Jesus with a variety of famous people--writers, preachers, scholars. Interviewees include Christians from the liberal (eg. John Shelby Spong, Marcus Borg) to the conservative (eg. Jerry Falwell, J. I. Packer), as well as those outside the Christian tradition (eg. Rabbi Harold Kushner, Deepak Chopra). Almost every interview is worth reading and has interesting, insightful things to say. No matter what your own views on Jesus are, you'll find things you agree with and things you don't, and probably some food for thought.

All the interviewees are answering the same questions, which gets a bit monotonous after a while, but fortunately, we get more than the interviews themselves. We get to know something of the interviewer, of the interviewees, and of the process of tracking them down. The book is part spiritual autobiography, part travel memoir, and partly the story of the author's attempts, successful and unsuccessful, to get his interviews and write his book. It's a bit of a jumble, but it works, and turns out to be quite readable. Elliott is an appealing guy, sincere, open-minded yet opinionated, unpretentious; and it's a pleasure to spend time in his company as he tries to learn more about Jesus and about how different people view Jesus.

William Elliott's "A Place at the Table" is a mostly successful attempt to present the many faces of Christian spirituality in America today. To do this, the author set out on a cross country journey to interview many religious and spiritual leaders on their beliefs about Jesus and the Bible, everyone from Marianne Williamson to Jerry Falwell. The author's approach is inquisative without being didactic, and his more open minded approach makes this a vastly better book than Lee Strobel's similar "A Case for Faith". His struggle to get the project financed is inspiring, and his folksy musings on the road are a breath of fresh air amongst the more serious theological interviews.

The book is not without its problems, though. For one, the interviews have a ring of similarity to them, since all the interviewees are answering from a boilerplate. For another, the folksy musings between the interviews create a tone that at times is hard to pin down. I suspect the author is sincere, but some of these scenes -- like the one where images on a Last Supper painting are speaking to him -- seem unintentionally comic. It's as if he has temporarily detoured into Hunter S. Thompson's Las Vegas.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it for spiritual seekers. It has some insights, and an ultimately peaceful message, that will inspire and stimulate.

Elliott takes us along on a journey to know more about Jesus. I have been in church all of my life and appreciate this fresh perspective on the incredible being of Jesus.

The writing captures each turn in Elliott's journey, allowing each of us to find Jesus through these people--including through Elliott himself.

Even if you don't agree with everything that is written in this book you can appreciate the quest of the author who is trying to answer his questions about religion and Jesus. There are so many different points of view expressed - it creates an unobtrusive and honest reflection about Christianity. Bill's personal commentary is also amusing and is a great enhancement to this wonderful book.

I remembered reading a few of these books in Elementary School, so I decided to buy them, & I'm so glad I did! I'm almost in High School & I love them! They're nothing super deep or insightful or anything, they're just funny, cute, fun fairy tales. They're pretty fast reads, but they're fun to just read when you feel like a light-hearted, funny story. If you want something more developed, try Ella Enchanted. But these short stories are very entertaining & humorous, I love them! I recommend this & the first volume.

I loved Ella Enchanted and Levine's style of writing. This book has a collection of three different short stories by Levine that are imaginative and fun. All are simple and the characters fall in love easily. Gender is switched up in these tales where the typical role of the male is played by the female.

Cinderellis and the Glass Hill--From the title, you'd think this is another story about Cinderella. It is in fact a story of a boy named Ellis who is nicknamed Cinderellis by his two older brothers. The king has devised a test to determine who is worthy to marry his daughter. All suitors must ride their horse up a glass hill and collect three golden apples from the princess.

For Biddle's Sake--The fairy Bombina has a nasty temper and a love of turning people into toads. But she quickly repents when she accidentally turns her beloved Parsely into a toad and must wait for love to save Parsely.

The Fairy's Return--The baker's son has fallen in love with the princess! He loves to tell jokes and has won her heart. But no one will listen to him, thinking him simple minded because only unintelligent people tell jokes. His goodness wins the help of the Fairy Ethelinda, but can he overcome prejudice and marry his beloved?

Lovely modern fairy tales with our daughters in mind. My 10 yr old has these tapes as well, and reads them over and over.

If you have little girls, Gail Carson Levine is an author you should know. Her stories are imaginative and delightful. My daughters love them and so do I.

as a company who searches titles in all 120 kentucky counties, everyday, we believe this book is useful in showing the various basic terms in real estate and the nesessary use of title insurance.

I am not a law student, but I want to feel secure in the legal aspects of my activities as a real estate investor. This book provides exactly that. It is easy to understand and very well organized. It may be missing a few examples for some complex points, but in general is a great book for anybody who want to really know the ins and outs of real estate law.

The book is useful if you have no experience with real estate law. It presents real estate legal concepts in a logical manner breaking topics up into such things as easements, etc. However, much of the information is covered in the real estate law class if you have taken the California Salesperson exam.

First, I should note that a more recent edition (5th edition) is out. I bought this edition used to save money, but it is so good (but slightly out of date, published in 1998) that I will next buy the 5th edition.

The best thing I have to say about this book is it is well-written. It is probably the best-written textbook I have ever read. It has useful case studies and good citations and explanations of relevant court decisions. The one weakness of this book is it does not in my mind spend enough time covering differences between state laws, but that would probably make the book far too long.

This book covers almost everything you need to know about the law and real estate. It covers ownership forms (including JTWROS, tenant in common, joint tennants, etc), liens, buying and selling property, easements, government regulation and zoning, environmental regulation, and much more. I should note that at least this 4th edition is lacking in a discussion of LLC ownership of land and some recent environmental concerns (such as radon), both of which are probably covered in the more recent edition.