G Books

I've looked at, bought, and borrowed several other books like this one, but none offered anywhere near the detail on income and self-employment tax that this book does. There are actually several chapters (5) dedicated just to taxation, including rates, audit trends, pros and cons of doing things one way over another, even information on paying estimated taxes that was written in a way that I finally understood it. I went through it all extensively with a highlighter, and came out understanding much more than when I'd asked my retired CPA uncle. As a newcomer to the self-employed workforce, I was grateful for the information I found here.

Oh, and the rest of the book is great too! The suggestions for record-keeping, documenting expenses, samples of contracts and legal forms, copyright and trademark advice -- it's all exactly what I needed. I wish I had found this book first, it would have saved me a lot of time and money. Highly recommended as the all-in-one resource it claims to be.

I recently a started an S corp for my software contracting. The book is helpful and worth the price. It won't answer EVERY question you will have, but you probably should talk to a CPA for those anyway.

I purchased the book since my employer explained that I will become an independent contractor for 2007. The book explained everything about being a contractor and how to stay in line with paying the taxes, how to protect my self employed status, what deductions I can take, and what forms and agreements I should use. I found it very informative and would recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the world of self employment.

My husband is an independent photographer, so the Nolo Press books are great for him, geared as they are to all those wishing to handle all the paperwork for themselves, instead of the usual array of lawyers, accountants, etc. He keeps it as a reference book and can easily turn to whatever subject he needs more information on. Well-written and easy to understand, as are all Nolo books, these books are wonderful to review periodically.

Plenty of books impart the basics of how to work independently - but too few include all the legal tips, tricks and traps involved. WORKING FOR YOURSELF: LAW & TAXES FOR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS, FREELANCERS & CONSULTANTS covers everything from setting appropriate fees and understanding how and when taxes are paid to limiting liability and getting paid. Record-keeping processes are simplified with sample logs and entry advice, chapters on how the IRS defines an independent contractor versus a paid employee are essential keys to keeping independent status, and advice on pricing and insurance offer key strategy-oriented tips and approaches. A 'must' for any who would work independently.

Pam Vredevelt writes from a Christian point of view. She is a wife of a man in the ministry, a woman who gives talks, and a mother of three. Their third child was born with down syndrone. Pam went through a period of depression. Slowly, she began to realize that there is beauty in having a "special needs" child. The messages of hope throughout this book make it an appropriate book to give to any friend who is going through a difficult time. (ie cancer, divorce, etc.) I received mine as a gift, and have dog eared pages to refer back to.

Anyone who has faced disappointment, death or any kind of tragedy this book is for you. It is filled with hope. I will give this book as gifts to many of my friends and family. I hope others will treasurer it as much as I have.

I loved this book by Pam Vredevelt so much that I am reading it a second time. It is so encouraging because it gives the perspective of a parent in clear and heartfelt wording. I have many "Nathan's" in my classroom whose parents have surely felt some of the same grief and joy expressed by Pam. I applaud her for writing such an emotionally open and inspiring book becuase it has given me new perspective into what the parents of my students continually deal with.

Someone gave me a copy of this book years ago when I was going through tough times. Though details of my situation were in no way similar to the author's, I could relate to the fears and spiritual/emotional struggles she faced. Her story of hope and spiritual strength helped me to face and then conquer my own fears. I have since given several copies of this book to other friends facing their own life struggles, and have received much positive feedback. Highly recommended.

I am the mother of a child with Down Syndrome. My neighbor gave me this book and it was at a time when I most needed it. Sometimes raising a child with a disability can be challenging and this gave me hope. I sent it to two other people who could also use the same hope at a difficult time. It is inspiring to know that these children are not alone. I learned that from this book and it helps us as we go on this journey. Thank you Pam Vredevelt!

I enjoyed this book so much read it in a day which wasn't hard because it was pretty light reading, this book offeded lot of tips on how to make college life easier. I am headed off to college in the fall and Ithink it will help.

What I liked the best about the book is that it's told in students' own words -- students from a number of colleges commenting on topics ranging from how to schedule classes to handling homesickness to handling finances to getting along with that up-all-night roommate. You're getting the real scoop on college life from the people who are LIVING it, not what the admission literature says. As a student affairs professional, this is the kind of "quick read" resource I'm going to buy (on Amazon, of course) to make available to my students.

I enjoyed this book so much read it in a day which wasn't hard because it was pretty light reading, this book offeded lot of tips on how to make college life easier. I am headed off to college in the fall and Ithink it will help.

A very good read that will keep one's attention until the end. Although much of it will strike a chord as common sense, it naturally wouldn't dawn upon most for at least a year or more. Since Been There... is made up of quotes from college students, it reads more like a conversation. All the ideas are down to earth & they sound much better coming from those there than from adults who have been away for some time.

Now THIS is a really great little college book. It's literally filled with extremely useful advice from the first page to the last, all from the lips of college students who "learned" from their mistakes. Very fast and entertaining read as well, definitely an excellent buy for anybody about to enter college.

Just an extra note, this 505 tips for making college easier is similiar to the title "101 Things College girl should know" and "101 Things College guy should know."...this is a MUCH better buy for your money. The latter 2 books are the most useless excuses for books I've found...with tips like drink 8 glasses of water a day and...similiar common sense. Buy "505" instead, you'll be glad.

This book explains the nature of the eight functions in their inferior roles when they're exerting an uncharacteristic influence on a person. It briefly summarizes the nature of the functions when they're in the dominant role for purposes of contrast, but that's not the focus of the book. This is to my knowledge the definitive book on the nature of the inferior functions, and together with Lenore Thomson's "Personality Type" which deals with functions in their dominant role, it covers the most important aspects of personality theory. If you're new to personality theory, I recommend reading Lenore Thomson's book before this one. They're both roughly the same quality (excellent), but knowing the nature of the inferior functions isn't as urgent as knowing the nature of the dominant functions. These two books are a must read for anyone interested in personality theory. Naomi L. Quenk (the author) is INFP. I am INTP.

This book is super! Here, Naomi Quenk bridges the gap between Jung's psychology of the shadow, "Keirsey's" temperament, and MBTI.

While not for the novice (some of the themes are contextually difficult to understand the first read through), this book offers startling insight into how MBTI and Jungian psychology play into our own (and others) personality makeup.

The focus is, of course, what happens to us when we are at our worst - when we are "beside ourselves". That is, when our least developed aspect of personality comes out full force - much like an 8 year olds temper tantrum.

While one would expect to see remarkable similarities between people "in the grip" of their least experienced emotional state, Naomi Quenk gives us both insightful, scientiic, and experincial data to show that personalities express their least developed parts in vastly dissimilar ways.

This is yet another book which I believe shoud be "required reading" for anyone looking to get a better view of personality, temperament, MBTI, and character. Of course I will always refer people to Keirsey's work for the basic principles, along with "Games personalities play" (authors name escapes me). All of these offer a very good view of how the interactions of personalities play out in everyday life.

Naomi Quenk's book is superb. In the appendix, she offers selected quotations by Jung (on which a preponderance of her work is based it seems). This book is well worth your money! I thouroughly enjoyed it.

-Regards

MBTI is becoming everyday more popular, more of a tool for business. Also, it is more and more misused as people settle for the quick fix approach of the system, the labelling of people and an expected (or rather hoped for) predictability of people's attitudes and reactions. Some of us amateurs understand that this is not a labelling tool, but a sophisticated tool to understand some of the aspects of human thought process; and that it is not easy to always assert the psychological type of the person that we are dealing with. Naomi Quenck offers us another way to look at the role of type in our lives, by looking at the obscure side of psychological type, the side that "generalists" gloss over pretending that we are all great and beautiful. We are not. She clearly explains that under grip experience, or Jungian shadow as you might have it, the negative side of our personalities can act up. The understanding of this dark side of course helps us in our individuation process. And also help us in understanding some of the reasons that bring our loved ones into trouble, perhaps allowing us to help them more effectively without any of the sentimental language that we find in so many "help and self help" books. Also we can use the examination of grip experiences to ... the true type of the people that surround us and for whom we cannot get a clear idea of their actual type, be it due to their secretiveness, their need to conform to society's norms or any other reason. Grip experiences do not lie. It is to the credit of Naomi Quenck to have written a book that does not sugar coat what type is about, yet of easy access by its organization and good redaction.

I am not a psychology or mental health professional, but I found this book fascinating. It uses enough theory to be credible, but didn't get me lost in terminology or assumptions. Not only did I find this book to be beneficial for understanding myself, but as a business consultant I find it a great tool for helping organizations understand their personalities.

Until I began reading Beside Ourselves, I had really only thought of the Myers-Briggs types as defined by the dominant functions. In other words: being an ENTP, I thought that my personality was dictated and defined by extraverted intuition (my dominant function). After reading Quenk's insightful work, however, I realized that my actions are equally a result of my inferior function (introverted sensing).

For me, Beside Ourselves is a guide to recognizing the importance of our "hidden personalities" and recognizing why we can act in ways that seem foreign even to ourselves when "in the grip" of our inferior functions, as Quenk puts it. This book shows that there is (obviously) value to accepting and understanding the "dark side" of our personalities, and that true equilibrium can usually be reached when we learn to deal with and even embrace the "eruptions" of our hidden inferior functions.

In my opinion, grasping the concepts found in this book will require that the reader has an understanding of personality type as defined by Jung, Keirsey, Myers-Briggs, etc. In order to understand the hidden personality, or inferior function, readers should have a strong understanding of the dominant function, which is essentially the personality we feel best describes us under "normal" circumstances. Highly recommended!

This book is wonderful, and the recipes are so tasty. If you want to lace baked goods with soy, buy this book. Your kids will love the great muffins, cookies, cakes and pies. The Apple Spice Cake is so good, you will never make it without soy again. It is amazing. I highly recommend this book.

Try these melt-in-your-mouth rolls. Then buy the book. You will never regret it.
ITALIAN HERB CRESCENT ROLLS

1 package active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water (110°-115°F)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon cooking oil
½ cup tofu, drained and mashed
2 cups nonfat milk, scaled and cooled
¼ cup vital gluten
5-6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

HERB COATING

3 tablespoons cooking oil
2 teaspoons parsley
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons thyme
2 teaspoons basil

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Using a food processor or mixer, combine sugar, salt, oil, and tofu. Add to yeast. By hand, stir in milk, vital gluten, and 1-2 cups all-purpose flour. Beat 1-2 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough that pulls away from sides of bowl.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more all-purpose flour, if necessary, to keep dough from sticking to surface. Place in a bowl coated with nonstick cooking spray, turning once to oil top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours.

Punch dough down. Divide into six parts. In a small mixing bowl, combine the herb-coating ingredients. Set aside. Pull dough into 9-inch circles. Brush each with herb coating. Cut dough into 8 pie-shaped wedges. Beginning with wide end, roll each wedge into a crescent. Arrange on cookie sheets coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Bake 20-25 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Remove and let cool on wire racks.

Nutrition Per Serving
Calories: 125
Total fat 2.4 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Protein: 2.8 g

Best soyfoods baking book on the market. Try the delicious bread machine breads, all made with soy's goodness. Order today.

This cookbook was excellent at cutting out a lot of the fat and replacing those high fat items with tofu or other soy-based products. Unfortunately, I found a LOT of sugar to be in the recipes. I realize this book is entitled "Beyond Low Fat Baking..." thus indicating that it had cut back on the fat, and "...Cancer Fighting Foods For The Millennium" indicates the soy, but all that sugar is not healthy either. So many people have Type II Diabetes, and everyone in the US seems to be overweight, I wish she addressed this issue as well.

The recipes I tried were very flavorful and tasty. In fact, there was a delicious recipe for a Spice Cake in there that my family loved.

If sugar is not an issue for you, then pick this book up. But if you need to cut back on the sugar, and you do not know how to do that on your own, then do not get this book.

That Tofu and Pumpkin Pie Treat
My advise is simple. I've made this one from Beyond Low Fat Baking over two dozen times. It's the best. Go ahead--try it. Made with a rich grandma type molasses, spicy ginger, cinnamon, and allspice, this pumpkin pie isn't like any other. Why not? It is powerfully enriched with that great American cuisine - tofu.

Yes! This book is about baking with tofu. Now, come on. Give it a chance. The author, Shirleen, has proved that tofu has earned a lot of respect these days. When flopped into a handy-dandy blender, it comes out looking exactly like fluffy, white cream cheese. I tried it. It works. You do bake with cream cheese, now don't you? Of course you do.

The author points out that when blended, tofu looks and reacts in baked products much as cream cheese does. The advantage: tofu is a powerful-packed, vitamin and mineral rich food. The beauty of it is that it just happens to blend right in with the food it is cooked with. Add blended tofu to chocolate, and it picks up the flavor of the chocolate. Toss it in cream cheese, and it tastes like cream cheese. Blend it in pumpkin. Yep, it tastes like pumpkin. That's why it works so well in pumpkin pie. You'll never know that stuff is in there. By the way, pumpkin straight from the can doesn't appeal to many of us either. But, dump in molasses and spices-it's a pie to dream about. Pile on a dollop of whipped cream-it's the American tradition. It's part of the Great Thanksgiving Feast.

To top it off, tofu not only adds a hefty dose of nutrition, but as the author says, tofu added to baked goods actually makes them better. So this Thanksgiving, try something new. Try that tofu and pumpkin thing. Do it for yourself. Do it for your family. Do it because it just plain taste G-O-O-O-O-O-D!
Colonial Pumpkin Pie--from Beyond Low Fat Baking--TRY IT!
Piecrust
1 unbaked piecrust

Filling
1 package low-fat, silken tofu (12.3 ounces) drained and mashed

1 can (16 ounces) pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
2 egg whites, beaten
1 egg
1 cup low-fat soy milk

Prepare Filling Preheat oven to 425°F. Using a food processor or blender, process tofu until creamy. Spoon into a large mixing bowl. Add pumpkin, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, molasses, egg whites, egg, and soy milk. Mix ingredients thoroughly. Pour into pie shell. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F. Bake 40 minutes longer or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Nutrition Per Serving:
Calories: 275
Total fat: 8.4
Cholesterol: 8 mg.

Sakura, the Clow Card girl, is back! She's not capturing the Clow Cards again... She's got to find out who else is making mysterious situations! Her magic is weaker than somebody else's. Who is this person and why is he(or she) doing this? Sakura's gotta find out, and get stronger than this person. One day, she defeats the magic with the firey card, but the card changed. Then, she figures out she makes this card and names it a Sakura Card. Now, she's got to change all of the cards too! Double trouble! Can she do it when she has to go to school and with her sixth sense brother lurking around?

Sakura and her friends are back in the first book of the follow-up series to Cardcaptor Sakura. Sakura has passed the trial by Yue the Judge and rightfully become Master of the Clow Cards. But when a new force shows itself, Sakura's magic isn't strong enough to defeat it. Can she somehow find a strength in herself to overcome?

I was so happy to find this book and to revisit my favorite Cardcaptor characters once again. Full of the same wonderful story, art, and characters as the first series, this book is sure to please any manga-lover. Find out what happens next!

Master of the Clow is the sequel to the original 6-part Cardcaptor Sakura manga. Sakura has collected all of the cards and has even beaten and subjugated the other guardian, Yue, to prove that she was worthy of being the "Master of the Clow". Perhaps, after that, Sakura believed that she would be able to go back to a normal life. But in a vision in the last volume of the first series, Clow Reed, who is believed to be dead, appeared to her and told her that he "might cause her some trouble". Now, what this means is anyone's guess. But soon after some unnatural occurences begin to happen and Sakura steps in to stop them, she finds her card magic is useless! Sakura is going to have to step it up a notch to face this new threat. And do two mysterious transfer students have a hand in this magical test?

I don't know if I'm going to like this second series. I enjoyed Cardcaptor Sakura a lot and got in her corner as Sakura had to overcome trial after trial to prove her power of spirit. But I think it's a little cruel to have to start all over again from scratch. To me, it's already been done. The formula of discovering new powers to lick new enemies just doesn't sound promising the second time around. Don't get me wrong, this book wasn't bad, it just seemed to be a repeat of something I've already read. I'll go one more volume to see if it has any surprises.

SF : THIS REVIEW IS RATED SPOILER-FREE

After watching the CCS anime up to the part when she faces Yue in the final test, I was agast (sp??) that my beloved Sakura had ended. But, much to my glee, I discovered a WHOLE NEW ARC OF CCS!!! Bigger, bolder and far, far better than the first arc, sakura faces a whole new posse of villains (or ARE they?) out to get her, the plot becomes even thicker than before, and relationships begin to develop. This is the bigger cliffhanger EVER -- the plot out-does LOTR, Harry Potter, Sailor Moon...in fact, ANY OTHER BOOK I'VE EVER READ!!! it is simply incredible. I am told the next books are even better. Don't know how that one works..............

Hiya! I'm an otaku-girl living in the U.K, where it's DAMN difficult to get manga! I wish I lived in the U.S,waaah! But anyway, I get all my essentials imported, so it's not too bad! Enough about me, let's talk about Cardcaptor Sakura! I didn't actually buy the manga, I reserved it from the library! Infact as I'm writing this, it's only been the second day since then! I LOVED it! I recommend it to everyone who loves art from CLAMP, and the previous series of Cardcaptor Sakura! The art is just BEAUTIFUL, the story is great and you'll just want to read it all over again once you've finished! Here are some of my favourite scenes:
1. When Li blushes when Sakura says she can't wait for the day he'll come back to visit from HongKong.
2.When Eriol and Li have an encounter over him holding Sakura's hand.
3. The way Li blushes when he sees Sakura.
4. The teddy-bear scene.
5. Rika giving the bear to Mr. Terada.
6. Li thinking of giving a bear to Sakura."Return your love......"

Well that's all, hope I didn't spoil too much! By all means buy this book, 'kay!

This book was riveting. I found amazing revelations about my own childhood while reading this book, and I quickly discovered I have some background in common with the author. Never before has any psychology, non-fiction or self-awareness book kept me in such profound awe or has unlocked the key to understanding the emotional, mental and physical impact of my being one of a half million children of Holocaust survivors raised in America.

As the child of a survivor, this book talks about many of the things our family kept silent. Just reading that even one other person out there had similar feelings, experiences, and views was so very comforting. It is important that society acknowledges the 2nd Generation's special status. May the memory of all who perished, of all who survived, and all who have come after them be ever for a blessing.

I purchased this book for a friend who had been unable to get a copy here in Australia.

As an 'outsider' to the experiences described I find this book remarkable in its bredth and depth. Epstein manages to convey as much in between the lines as she does in her sensitive, unjudgmental tellings. She has allowed her subject to expand and flow without careful categorisation and containment so that I have the sense that most children of survivors would find something to recognise in this book.

What a humane and remarkable writer she must be I would like to read more of her work.

I read this book many years ago. I was greatly moved by it, and through it understood the special burden children of survivors have to live with. Helen Epstein was the first to really explore the feelings and situation of the children of survivors. The secretness she writes about it, the things which were in the air but never spoken about play a large part in this.
I do remember having one point in which I felt the author did not do enough. While she deals with the individual psychological of problems effectively she does not really consider the ' collective side' of the disaster.
The imperative to keep the Jewish people alive after such a great disaster is not a subject she dwells on intensely.

As a daughter of Holocaust Survivors, when I first read this book (over 15 years ago), I was astounded. This author was the first to raise the issue at all: how has the Holocaust affected those whose parents survived it? When I was growing up, not only was the Holocaust itself practically a taboo subject, but no one ever, ever discussed the children of Survivors. This author had the courage, the foresight, and tenacity to do just that - and to do it in the most sensitive and articulate way.

When I first read the first chapter, I was so astounded that I stood up, and read that chapter standing up! She describes exactly, to the letter, how I felt growing up: that the Holocaust was a locked black box in your household, and that its secrets were more secret than sex, or anything else you can possibly imagine. Finally, someone has put on paper what I always felt, but could never describe. Everyone I have ever given this book to, no matter what his or her background, said he couldn't put it down. To anyone interested in the Holocaust - you must read this book!

While this book was quite enjoyable, it is not a thriller, filled with twists and conspiracies and secret societies, along the lines of the Da Vinci code, which starred Tom Hanks. In fact, there is no code-breaking at all. Read this book for its comedy, not for its code.

P G Wodehouse was very likely the funniest, most inventive and creative humorist in the English language, as agile a wordsmith as Shakespeare and far more prolific. There are very, very few of his books which are not every bit as funny today as they were when first published. (You may wish to avoid the very first school stories, but that's about it.)

The Code of the Woosters is of a piece with all Bertie/Jeeves novels, that is to say, brilliantly funny. The plot, which is as complicated and involved as any in British farce, is just about beside the point, as so much of the value in reading Wodehouse is in admiration and enjoyment of the language, the outrageous similes, the references to snippets by everyone from Browning to the Bible to contemporary stage songs, and the ridiculous characters, but even then this one is admirably involved. Somehow a book involving a would-be dictator (of the Black Shorts), a nauseautingly ugly cow-creamer, a journal of the repellent or objectionable mannerisms of one's companions, friendly aunts and domineering country-house hosts, etc etc et multiple cetera, all combine to jam 222 pages of joy, which cannot but leave you with a huge grin on your face as you close the book. Like every Jeeves & Wooster novel, it is a must buy.

Code of the Woosters served as my introduction to the oeuvre of Wodehouse, and, I must say, it was an exceedingly pleasant introduction at that. The book is absolute comic brilliance; it sets the standard for what lesser folks (like Carl Hiaasen) have tried to accomplish on their own right.

Some books are read once and discarded, but Code of the Woosters, I feel, has the rare quality of being able to be read time and time again...not just cover-to-cover, but at any particularly mirthful point which captures the reader's fancy. (The number of laugh-out-loud vignettes are too numerous to list.)

The only negatives to the book were the verbose introduction by left-wing crank Alexander Cockburn (if I had a name like "Cockburn" I'd be a bit edgy myself) and the relatively scant presence of Jeeves. Not that he plays a cameo role, but one does wish he figured more prominently.

If you haven't read this yet, you are in for a treat.

'Code of the Woosters' is frequently cited as P.G. Wodehouse's best entry in the Bertie and Jeeves series. It is a deliciously funny and clever little novel, revolving around the acquisition of an antique cow creamer. Bertie summarizes his pickle perfectly:

"Right. Now then. Item One-Aunt Dahlia says that if I don't pinch that cow-creamer and hand it over to her, she will bar me from her table, and no more of Anatole's cooking.'
'Yes, sir.'
'We now come to Item Two-vis., if I do pinch the cow-creamer and hand it over to her, Spode will beat me to a jelly.'
'Yes, sir.'
'Furthermore-Item Three-if I do pinch it and hand it over to her and don't pinch it and hand it over to Harold Pinker, not only shall I undergo the jellying process alluded to above, but Stiffy will take that notebook of Gussie's and hand it over to Sir Watkyn Bassett. And you know and I know what the result of that would be. Well, there you are. That's the set-up. You've got it?
'Yes, sir. It is certainly a somewhat unfortunate state of affairs." (106).

Revealing much more of the humor involves revealing more of the plot, which I won't do. I will simply say that Wodehouse was one of the literary comic greats of his time. This novel is a good place to start.

The Code of the Woosters, by the inimitable P. G. Wodehouse, is a fun and enjoyable romp with Bertie Wooster and his Man Jeeves. This novel features numerous plotlines, including but not limited to, the battle over a cow creamer, a lost notebook, romantic entanglements, the theft of a policeman's helmet, a potential jail sentence for Bertie, a dictator, and more romantic entanglements. Each plotline is brought to a conclusion by the brilliance of "Plum" the excellent English humorist. The book is full of hilarious one liners and brilliant wit. Amazingly, this novel was first published in 1938, yet it is still full of timely situations.

This novel of classic comedy introduces us to Totleigh Towers and its owner, Sir Watkin Bassett. Several memorable mainstay characters are in this book including Gussie Fink-Nottle, Aunt Dahlia, Madeline Bassett, and Stiffy Bing. Any journey taken with Wooster and Jeeves is time well spent. This classic series endures because the characters are wonderful and memorable. A 5 star fun-filled romp.

Perhaps one of Oklahoma's better-kept secrets is the work done by the University of Oklahoma Press. To be sure there are some readers that know about the quality works published by the Press such as Lige Langston: Sweet Iron; The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown; and The Western Range Revisited, to name but a few. However, I am frequently surprised at the number of readers that are not aware of the caliber of the offerings by OU Press. Thus, I was anxious to read this just released paperback novel, which is volume 30 in the highly acclaimed American Indian Literature and Critical Studies Series. I was not disappointed. The novel, written by a Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of New Mexico who is of Choctaw-Cherokee-Irish descent, will draw you in from the first page and keep you reading to the very end of the 296 pages. It is about Jacob Nashoba who was born in Mississippi, came of age in Vietnam, and settled in an Apache village on a reservation in the Black Mountains of eastern Arizona. He finds a job as a game and fish ranger for the Tribe and tries to adjust to a life of semi-isolation and "adjustment." It's not easy. The cast of characters he must deal with include his estranged wife, corrupt tribal officials, a resident anthropologist that is, well, different, and various and sundry sellers of "vision quests" to tourists and former Hollywood extras that I swear I have seen in old John Wayne movies. Add to this mix a right-wing militia group secretly, to some, training on Indian land and you have the makings for a first rate story. Dark River has it's light side but be aware that this is a complex, subtle, sometimes violent story that deals with the aftermath of Vietnam on certain individuals(not just Nashoba!) and the contemporary problems associated with Native Americans and their identity. It is not a novel to be taken lightly. I had to go back and re-read parts of some chapters and think about the message of this book a number of times. I would do it again. It's that good. OU Press is to be commended for making this book available to a wide audience at a reasonable price. They do good work.

In DARK RIVER, Owens creates memorable characters (one of his strenths, I think) and tells a compelling story with laugh-out-loud humor. Consider one of the minor characters: the resident anthropologist Avrum Goldberg, who wears a traditonal breechcloth and Apache leggings and moccasins. He shares traditonal lore with tourists, who mistake him for an Apache and call him Chief Gold Bird, a title he denies without success. Goldberg's dream is for the Apaches to turn the reservation into a tribal theme park to attract more tourists and generate income, a scheme that does not gain favor with the Apaches, who are reluctant to give up their cars, televisions, and other twentieth-century technologies. This is by no means the central focus of the novel, but Owens skillfully weaves his imaginative subplots and characters into the central story, his concern about what is happening on a river in the reservation where he goes to flyfish.

I think this is Owens's best novel yet. Furthermore, it is accessible to any reader--one doesn't need to be familiar with his other work or knowlegable about American Indian literature to read it. Actually this is true for THE SHARPEST SIGHT (1992), which my then 85-year-old mother compared to Norman McLean's "A River Runs Through It." She would read and reread passages from each.

I understand DARK RIVER is a finalist for the Best Novel of the West from the Western Writers of America, and I wouldn't be surprised if he wins. He has received several awards for his earlier works.

Dark River, with its main character Jake Nashoba, starts off like the other excellent novels of Louis Owens. The story has great quirky characters, encounters and conflict between native and Anglo culture, different native cultures, and traditional and modern native culture, plus a little Native American magic and mysticism. But with the turn of every page, Dark River turns increasingly surreal. The excitement of the novel grows as the characters all head for the dark river of the title. Dreams and reality mix until it's hard to know where one ends and the other begins. This is one of Louis Owens' best novels and I enjoyed reading it immensely, ranking it up with my personal favorite, Bone Game. My one regret is that Louis Owens' life ended too early and he isn't around to give us any other stories to read.

This is one very nice novel, and Owens has a sharp eye for character development. I heard him read from this book a couple of years ago--and must say the laughter of the audience was echoed as I read it for myself. Let's hope this talented author keep producing these gems.

Tongue firmly embedded in cheek, Owens seems to take on everything in this novel, including his own previous novels. And nothing is as it would appear. Absolutely nothing. It's wonderful!

Owens is a true original, yet his stories are as old as time. His characters come to life and take charge of the story. For the academically minded, this would be an interesting novel to use when discussing the Foucault/Barthes debate concerning role of the author in the text.

If there was going to be a Charmed movie, this is the story they should use.

I guess I'm just a huge fan no matter what, because I love ALL the Charmed books, and own them all! Each one has a great and unique story, I'm addicted to collecting AND reading them!

I watch the show every day, sometimes twice a day, every episode, haven't missed one yet, and don't plan on it, ever. I would love to get all the books on the series, especially shadow of the sphinx. That sounds so good. I give the series books 5 stars, cause its the best show on tv except for wwe raw and smackdown.

This book circles around the 3 new strangers who are close to each of the sisters, and each time they meet, something strange happens. Piper's emotions are unruly, Paige seems to be exhausted for nothing and Phoebe has short-term memory loss, and all 3 of their powers are getting weaker and weaker. Just like that. And the more times the sisters meet these "strangers", their sudden-weaknesses seem to be worsening (both magical and non-magical). At last, they discover that there is something sinister going on, and they have to pit against these strangers to defeat them AND get their powers back, as all the Ks (strangers) want in revenge, to what happened to their ancestors nearly 3000 years ago. Dark Vengeance indeed.

Find out what happens to this awesome story penned by Diana G. Gallagher. Definitely worth your money and your time to read it. Happy reading!!

this is my favourite charmed book!!! this is mainly because it gives each of the sisters an equal part bringing them all together at the end to kick but. although there are parts in this book that mirror the crimson spell this book has more levels plus a good twist at the end plus the charmed ones get a few good one liner jokes in. although the bad guys are pretty see through the ending is pretty solid.

overall this is a great book even if your not a mjor charmed fan and if you are it's better