G Books

This dynamic memoir is written with much candor,humor,and passion. The author allows us to see deep inside his heart to experience the pain, the joys,the thoughts and the emotions as this living account of God's mercy and grace come alive.

The author responded to his own internal compass that was instilled in him by his parents as a child. This was a faith that held steadfast in the face of evil and death. This revealing biography will take you through the fog and friction of war,the deprivation of a prison camp,his calling of God to the priesthood;balancing married life,children,ministry and Air Force responsibilities that will transform you in unexpected ways.

From the time that I started reading the first page of Unchained Eagle until I finished reading the last page, I was completely absorbed in the account of Father Certain's life as a military officer and church leader. His story is an inspiration to those of us who lived through the Vietnam era and who are also engaged in our churches. He has provided special insights into the trama that the war experience caused for many military personnel, especially whose who were prisioners of war, and has described a strategy for addressing our personal and spiritual problems through our faith in God and support from God's servants. I highly recommend Unchained Eagle as a must-read autobiographical work.

A well done account of the authors feeling and thoughts from being shot down in a B-52 to becoming and being an Episcopal priest. He gives detail but he makes it so readable that I found it a real page turner. A very interesting look at how the author deals with his Post Traumatic Stress from his ordeal. I recommend it.

It is very rare for me to take a book of this nature.I was glued to it from cover to cover. Unchained Eagle is not just a re-count of events made only for Vietnam Veterans or for Episcopelians,has been written for all who want to keep his/her believes against all obstacles in life.
Unchained Eagle shows us the true price of freedom.It gives the reader an understanding on the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and how coming back from a War, takes a lifetime to overcome the hurdles.With incredible amount of success, as we may see his life unfolding after the book.Reader keep on reading, his story is still being told.

Robert Certain's biographical sketch is more than the story of one Vietnam POW who survived his ordeal with strength, honor and integrity. It is truly the story of one man wrestling with his call to serve, first as a Navigator over targets in Vietnam and then over flocks of Christians seeking God through the Church. Fr. Certain's tale cuts to the core of what it means to serve and serve faithfully. Beyond the loyalty to his oath as an officer Certain presents a compelling story of his loyalty to his devoted wife who stands by him during his time in the Hanoi Hilton and then, how his faith in God made him give himself over to Christ.
For those who knew the times and appreciated what our Veterans did for their nation it is a compelling tale. For those born after the Vietnam War Robert Certain's book will help you capture the times and trials of this troubled period through the eyes of one who lived it vividly. Every veteran can share in his fears, hopes, joys, adventures and ultimate victory over his captors. Every Christian can find their own path to redemption by accompanying Fr. Certain on his journey from Prisoner of War to Prisoner of Christ.

I loved the Jeeves & Wooster books so I was sad when I read the last one. Then I decided to move on to other Wodehouse books and have read a few since. I have to say this is one of my favorites! It definitely compares to the hilarity of the Jeeves/Wooster books. Uncle Fred or the Fifth Earl of Ickenham is one of my favorite Wodehouse characters. He always seems to be dragging his nephew Pongo Twistleton (occasionally mentioned as a fellow Drones club member in the Wooster books) into trouble but always seems to get through it as is typical in the Wodehouse books. Anyway, it is a great read, a good laugh, and a lot of fun. On a side note, if you like Wodehouse, the dvd series of Jeeves and Wooster (starring Hugh Laurie from the tv show House) is also very funny. You will see many of your favorite Jeeves story lines in them and they are very true to Wodehouse.

Professors of literature are fond of writing that the three greatest novelists of the twentieth century are Marcel Proust, Thomas Mann, and James Joyce. In this, they could hardly be more in error. The only contender for the title of the greatest novelist of the twentieth or any other century is P.G. Wodehouse, farceur supreme, or, in plain English, an extraordinarily funny writer.

Wodehouse wrote novels and stories that can be easily classified into several series: there are the Bertie and Jeeves novels and stories, the Blandings Castle novels and stories, the Mr. Mulliner stories, the Uncle Fred novels, etc. The characters from one series rarely appear in another. This novel is an exception. Uncle Fred appears at Blandings Castle, where he poses as Sir Roderick Glossop, normally seen in the Bertie and Jeeves novels (and one story); indeed, he encounters Sir Roderick while traveling to Blandings Castle. Uncle Fred, properly, Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, fifth Earl of Ickenham, is a man who "together with a juvenile waistline, . . . still retained the bright enthusiasms and the fresh, unspoiled outlook of a slightly inebriated undergraduate" at the age of sixty or so. It is he who sets in motion the events that enable young lovers to marry and his nephew Pongo to settle his gambling debts. In general, his role is that normally played by Lord Emsworth's younger brother Galahad.

Of course, any reader of Wodehouse novels knows at the start that things will turn out all right for any sundered hearts or frustrated lovers, as he knows that, any time the efficient Baxter appears, he will be discredited despite being thoroughly correct. The fun is in discovering just how it happens.

And what fun it is. Wodehouse's mastery of the English language is unrivaled. He succeeds in producing prose that not only is enjoyable in its own right but also moves events ahead at a pace that is nigh exhausting. In the Bertie and Jeeves novels and stories, it is Bertie's narration that does this. In this novel, it is the dialogue as much as the narration that moves events ahead, establishes the characters, and gives the reader immense pleasure.

If you have ever read "Elements of Style" by Strunk and White (and if you haven't, then you should be legally prohibited from writing even so much as a thank-you note), then this book, like all Wodehouse books, is a perfect example of how to violate almost every rule in the book.

Consider the following: "The ninth Earl of Emsworth was a man who in times of stress always tended to resemble the Aged Parent in an old-fashioned melodrama when informed that the villain intended to foreclose the mortgage. He wore now a disintegrated air, as if somebody had removed most of his interior organs. You see the same sort of thing in stuffed parrots when the sawdust has leaked out of them."

How's that for failing to "omit needless words"? And how's that for vividly portraying the feeble-minded Lord Emsworth, one of Wodehouse's most memorable of his many memorable and hilarious characters?

The plot here is typical Wodehouse: a few love-stricken young people see their dreams of eternal wedded bliss threatened by either misunderstandings or lack of cash or both, and a young ne'er-do-well has run up some gambling debts, a circumstance which puts him in danger of some painful bone-crushing. Enter Uncle Fred, an aging playboy with a manipulative mind and a sense of adventure. He orchestrates a plan involving a visit to Blandings Castle (the Emsworth estate) which results in everyone living happily ever after.

But, of course, that plot outline is pretty much the plot outline of every Wodehouse novel. What makes it (and every Wodehouse production) a 5-star novel is the delicious phraseology, the preposterous and yet believable characterizations, and the continuous twinkle in the author's eye. You either "get" Wodehouse or you don't. If you don't, then go to a doctor and get it fixed immediately!

This is my very favorite book, and I have been reading it about once a year for the past 15 years or so. I still laugh out loud at every reading. The very complex plot deals with Pongo Twistleton and his Uncle Fred, who visit Blandings Castle as imposters (Sir Roderick Glossip and his secretary, to be exact) in an effort to prevent the Duke of Dunstable from stealing the Empress of Blandings, Lord Emsworth's prize pig, and to keep him from smashing the drawing room furniture with the fireplace poker. Polly Pott (daughter of private investigator Mustard Pott) is also in attendance, pretending to be Sir Roderick's daughter. The story also involves the Duke's two nephews and their romantic problems: It seems Horace Davenport has hired a private investigator (none other than Mustard Pott) to tail his fiancee Valerie (Pongo's sister) and she has called off the engagement as a result, and Ricky's jealousy of his fiancee's attention to cousin Horace has landed him in the onion soup. Money won and lost at Persian Monarchs, the slipping of mickey's into people's drinks, and a Duke who throws eggs at people who whistle The Bonny Bonny Banks of Lock Lomand outside his window add to the hilarity. Of course, Mr. Wodehouse's unique turn-of-phrase doesn't disappoint in this delightful novel. I recommend this book to anyone who seeks diversion from reality. A must-read.

A complete Wodehouse fanatic, I would have trouble giving less that five stars to anything I have read so far. Uncle Fred is a particularly good one to add to the guest room bookshelf----incredibly funny and nice light reading for a few days away from home.

Filled with true suspense and engaging swordfights. The storyline is perfect and it keeps you involved with the characters throughout the book. I would recommend the entire collection. The Vagabond series are one of my favorites.

I bought this manga without ever having heard of it and it quickly became my favorite. I usually don't read manga (though i do watch anime) but this one I fell in love with. I would suggest it to anyone. Beautiful artwork, neat story and the fact that it's historically based is the icing on the cake. I can't wait to read the rest.

Vagabond is about the journey of Takezo, a young man, future master swordsman, who is in search of purpose and meaning to his life. In the first book he thinks its to become the best swordsman by challenging and defeating the best in the world. This is bravado for an untrained youth, even just fresh from his first battle on the losing side.

If you like Manga that does not romanticizes war or swordsman, Vagabond should peak your interest. The storytelling is excellent in the drawings, more so than the text. I would rank such adept skill in the same arena as Lone Wolf and Cub. LWC is the standard for balancing poetic story telling and showing the hardcore grit of life as a swordsman. Vagabond starts with a youth, a teen, not a man with a child. So Takezo maturity is not yet there. What drives him to succeed and overcome his past makes this series promising. The characters show a range of emotions in this manga, and the situations they deal with does an excellent job of targeting a mature audience. Takezo struggle for "his" truth becomes ours to learn from his journey about becoming complete.

Read each book like a wine, one delicious sip at a time, enjoy the flavors.

I've been reading various Manga for more than 15 years. I read Japanese manga in various genre not only ones in English but also the old ones that never made it to English translation. The first two volumes of Vagabond so far are fantastic. Definitely a tall cut above the average. I can even compare it across genre and say it's a lot better than Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball (one of my top choices before I read Vagabond).

Vagabond is very poetic and alive. It fully exploits the advantage of the manga as a media and I feel the scenes from the comic are actually more alive than movie or novel. Look carefully at the expression of the characters. My favorite is Takuan Soho - it feels almost like you can get a glimpse of "Satori enlightenment" just by looking at his features as drawn in the manga. Beware that you may end-up being converted into a big Musashi / Japanese swordsmanship fan after reading this manga! This graphic novel is very absorbing!

For those of you who don't mine a fair amount of explicit violence, and enjoy fast paced things with good actions and pretty good characters, I suggest Vagabond. Okay, so thus far I'm, on the 2nd vol. However, I HAD to read that right after the first one.

You see Vagabond moves very fast, its not a short manga, page wise, but you get through it quite fast. Vagabond is based off of a novel based on the geatest Samurai whom ever lived. Forgive me, but I don't remember his name(blocks some shots). haha

I don't really see a need to run through the story, so I wont. Just read it, and be sure to get volumes 1 AND 2. :D

God Bless & *enjoy ~Amy

Venice for Pleasure is an off the beaten path sort of guide, filled with anecdotes, character sketches, and historic photos. Links takes his readers beyond the famous facades and brings the "theme park" to life. Fun to use then to keep and reread for reminiscence afterwards.

Terrific read for those intent on seeing the Venice that lies beyond Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge. Whether you follow the author's routes on his strolls thru the sestieres, or just use his walks as a source of inspiration (as we did), this book is an indispensable addition to the library of anyone planning a trip to Venice. Thanks in large measure to encouragement offered by this book, we ventured into some of the nooks and crannys of this amazing city... we'll see St Mark's Basilica next time we go.

What a strange and wonderful little book!

Venice for Pleasure is essentially four walking tours told in a charmingly conversational style by an author who is clearly in love with Venice. Stopping in a Venetian cafe to read a passage is like having a friend leaning over your shoulder to recall the local history and gossip, point out fascinating details that you probably wouldn't have noticed, and make you smile with his dry wit.

We did all four walking tours and thoroughly enjoyed Links' companionship along the way; I can't recommend it highly enough if exploring Venice on foot is your aim. We also found the directions infallible.

Please note that this isn't a conventional guidebook, so you shouldn't expect logistical information.

If there is no such thing for you as having too much information, then think about buying this book. This book has walking itineraries including places to stop for rest and refreshment, and wonderful details on things to look at while you are walking and even while you are sitting down. This book is not useful for restaurants or hotels or hours that sites are open. Includes history, and comments on Venice from famous writers of the past like John Ruskin. It is to be savored.

Fantastic Book!!! I bought this for my wife as a memento of our 25th Anniversary trip to Venice. It was perfect. I highly recommend it to any armchair traveler who wants to "visit" the world's most romantic city. David

This is a prequel of sorts to the Golden Chronicles series by Patricia Veryan and in it we get to see the beginnings of Treve's derring do to help the hunted Jacobites escape from England and get a glimpse of some of the other characters from later books. Treve is your typical cynical rake who's been wounded in love but he's also a man whose eyes show his sadness and longing for a wife and family of his own. Rebecca is a woman forced to seek out the biggest matrimonial fish she can land in order to pay her bills and keep the constable from the door. But she's also a woman who has known love in her family and marriage and longs for it again.

Veryan does a great job with the secondary characters and if you love descriptions of Georgian style clothes then this is the book for you.

I loved this book. It expertly combined humor with romance. If you're a romantic to the core I guarentee that you'll this book. Enjoy!

This is the story of Rebecca Parrish, who is widowed, has a five year old son, and a mass of debts since her husband was killed.
After the customary year of mourning, she comes back into society looking for a man to help pay her debts. She sets her eyes on Sir Peter Ward, handsome and RICH. But she is also drawn to Trevelyan deVillars (whom I love and is a great character) who is pennyless and a rake.
During Rebecca's quest to win Sir Peter, there is much hilarity, as well as duel and the appearance of Jacobite rebels.
I really recommend this book, which is probably my favorite by Ms. Veryan. But don't miss her other books, and you can find Trevelyan deVillars :) in her Golden Chronicles books.

Of course, I've pretty much loved all of Veryan's books, but this is my favorite. Rebecca is a smart, funny heroine who is neither overly prudish nor overly argumentative, the kind of heroine you don't find every day. And Trev- smart, funny, a rogue, handsome but human. I thought the story was very entertaining without being contrived, and Veryan's prose is very pleasant. I'm one of those readers who skims a lot when she starts getting bored by description, but I read and enjoyed every word of this book.

Rebecca Parrish is a beautiful young woman who, although fond of the foolish husband who'd gotten himself killed in a duel, was finally ready to re-enter life after a year of mourning. Nearly destitute, the bills were piling up due to her late husband's mismanagement and gambling. She now is determined to find a wealthy father for her six-year-old son Anthony.

On her first foray out of widow's weeds she attracts two suitors: the dashing but impoverished Trevelyan de Villars, whose intentions are far from honorable, and the handsome, very rich, and impeccable gentleman Sir Peter Ward. Trevelyan, very cynically made a wager with Sir Peter involving the lovely widow and when Rebecca's beloved brother found out, he challenged Trevelyan to a duel. Rebecca believing all of the gossip of the sins attributed to Trevelyan, thought him a blackguard and made to feel uncomfortable over his ribald remarks and double entendres. These tended to only infuriate her more, but for the sake of her beloved brother she would do whatever she could to save him even if it meant compromising herself to the infuriating rake!

Meanwhile, danger lurked in a more sinister manner as treasonous Jacobites are pursued, captured and executed. Rebecca soon realizes that she has far more to worry about than snaring a future husband. Bravely, she must use all her wits and risks her very life to save a desperate, fugitive Jacobite. She soon realizes that people are seldom what they seem as she willingly is ready to toss aside security for love.

This was a most splendid tale of love and danger by one of the most accomplished romantic novelists writing today. I thoroughly enjoyed being propelled back into the Georgian period by the well researched and beautifully described costumes, palatial homes and events from that period. While such a plethora of secondary characters emerged, the reader is made to feel at ease with each and every one through a deft hand with the dialogs and cant of those times. This was truly an adventure in `time travel, fraught with comical situations, adventure, intrigue and a beautiful and tender romance. For those lovers of true historical romance genres, this is not to be missed and although out of print, it would prove to be worth the effort to locate a copy to relish a true master at her art!

What struck me over and over about reading THE WAR OF THE WORLDS was the imagination that fueled this story at a time when men got around by horse and lit their homes with lanterns.

H.G. Wells envisioned space travel, mechanized warfare as well as a killer Heat Ray and a deadly Black Gas the Martians employed to destroy mankind. Simply amazing. And that was only this story! To think he would also write THE TIME MACHINE, THE INVISIBLE MAN, THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU and THE FOOD OF THE GODS! Just think what his mind might have come up with had he seen the technology he forecasted in the 20th Century!

Another well-crafted aspect of this novel is how realistically he writes of the human slaughter as the Martians invade. Either on a personal level (the novel is narrated by one man with a section devoted to retelling what happened to his brother) or a description of the masses fleeing the attack, the story is quite believable. The chaos and carnage of the World Wars decades later kept coming to mind as I read the passages of the crowds fleeing London as the city and country are ablaze under the power of the Martian war machines.

The writing also holds wonderful description and passages. I kept hearing the authoritative voice of Richard Burton from Jeff Wayne's 1978 musical version of WAR OF THE WORLDS as I read the opening, as great a first page of any work of science fiction since.

And did the makers of the 2005 Spielberg movie bother to read the novels? I mean, come on: the section in the book of the men trapped in a house collapsed by a falling cylinder played so much better than the SIGNS rip off sequence with Tim Robbins in the basement in the film!

Even the ending is brilliant (something else discarded by the filmmakers in their effort to remain politically correct).

If I was an English teacher, I'd use THE WAR OF THE WORLDS as a reading assignment, exposing the students to the 1938 "panic broadcast" by Orson Welles and perhaps even show the movie adaptions to engage the kids. I wish my teachers had.

Note: I made some Mormon reader angry over my negative reviews of books written by Mormons out to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews.

Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks. It took some effort to type up the following wonderful lines from this story about an invasion from Mars. I hope you enjoy them.

"No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinized and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in the assurance of their empire over matter. It is possible that the infusoria under the microscope do the same. No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of human danger, or thought of them only to dismiss the idea of life upon them as impossible or improbable. It is curious to recall some of the mental habits of those departed days. At most, terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise. Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment."

Don't miss the other great novels by H.G. Wells--"The Time Machine" and "The Invisible Man." The wonderful opening lines of "War of the Worlds" are worth repeat readings--note the phrase "across the gulf of space."

H.G. Wells is best known for his science fiction novels ("War of the Worlds," "The Island of Dr. Moreau," "The Time Machine," "The War in the Air," etc.) but also has an extensive background in the sciences and a keen interest in political philosophy. Specifically, Wells subscribes to Darwin's theory of evolution and believes that the people of the earth should unite under one world government that promotes universal education and a world economy. From this background and these interests, Wells writes his best-known work, "The War of the Worlds."

This novel follows the exploits of an unnamed narrator during a month-long Martian invasion. The inhabitants of Mars--a highly evolved, intellectually superior race of octopus-like brains--find that their planet is cooling to the point of being unable to sustain life. For purposes of survival, the Martians build a giant cannon and shoot "manned" projectiles to Earth as the first wave of a Martian invasion. These projectiles (ten in all) land in the greater-London area and are at first met with curiosity. However, once it becomes known that he Martians are bent on violence and conquest, the inhabitants of England's anxiety rises to a fevered pitch. The British army is useless against the Martians' highly advanced weaponry; the civilians panic and stampede into the countryside; those who remain in London succumb to a variety of mental delusions and insanities because of the hopelessness of the situation and widespread slaughter of humanity.

This reader found "The War of the Worlds" a very enjoyable read. The contrast between technologies (England of 1900 which relies on livestock and railroads versus Martian heat-rays, battle tripods, and black poisonous gas) a highly interesting part of the book. The literary technique of the narrator-protagonist successfully advanced the rising action, climax, and falling action. Finally, Wells' imagination is captivating--Martians (and the antiquated nineteenth-century way in which he describes them and their technology), the variety of human reactions, descriptions of Martian plant-life and physiology, the plans of man, etc., were all engaging and ingenious. This book is highly recommended.

Published in 1898 and set in and around turn of the century London, the story evokes the latest that was known at the time in astronomy, mechanics, and biology. Man had not yet flown and rockets were basically for fireworks. The story has been portrayed on radio, on the movie screen, and I believe even on television. Every telling requires some updating of the story so that modern audiences can get the effect of Wells' tale from more than a century ago.

Mars was thought to have canals and that would imply a civilization. Suddenly there are huge artillery blasts. Gargantuan enough to be seen from earth. These blasts continue for several days and shortly afterward a cylinder crashes into suburban London. It is too hot to touch and nothing more is aroused than curiosity. Finally, the end of the cylinder is screwed off from the inside and exit and begin working on something unseen. The sounds of hammering and machinery tell the people something is being built, but what they do not suspect or understand. Then the craft arises and the heat ray begins laying waste to the people, buildings, and anything in their path.

There are a couple things in the story that are different from most presentations. The creatures fire a canister of a black mist that seems to be a forerunner of the chemical agents of World War I. And the creatures are powerful, but not invulnerable. The people take a couple of them out along the way, but the creatures learn and become tougher in their attacks. More canisters arrive and more machines are built as the attack grows.

The life of the citizens in late Victorian society is also so different that modern life that the details of the story are also often changed, but you can read these differences for yourself. They make for interesting reading as a window on the past. Remember, the story was quite modern when written. And the violence and destruction was quite hyper-real for its audience, but seems tame by modern standards. Have we gained or lost?

Another fact that is often lost on modern audiences is that London was the capital of an empire that spanned the entire globe and controlled 40% of the world's land mass and a similar proportion of its population. The Martians were subjugated the greatest nation on earth as if they were, well, impotent natives out in the reaches of the British Empire. This aspect was not lost on its first audience.

It is still a powerful story and reads better than most of the adaptations show. The narrator is always merely an observer and escapes with the most fortunate of circumstances, but the story lets us meet more people than we get in a movie, and all the adaptations have to leave holes where some of the problems that time has forced into the story because of modern advances make the story implausible.

Still, the Martians end up the same way in every telling and for the same reasons. It is am important plot point, but knowing what we know now, probably quite faulty for an advanced civilization deciding to come and conquer Earth. Our own knowledge of bacteria and viruses would allow us to largely protect ourselves from such things as took the Martians and I doubt we would be so foolish as to enter another world so unprepared for this issue. But the people of the story were quite happy that the Martians were so foolish.

Read this book and you will be able to better judge the adaptations.

An extraordinary tale, War of the Worlds (the first epic tale about martians and man) tells of the great conflict which engulfs humanity when engaged against a power that greatly surpasses her own. Slowly informed of the alien lifeforms Wells soon bombards the reader with imagery of the future of warfare. Aliens terrorize as lasers vaporize, gas mystifies, while man remains helpless against this unslaught of futuristic intellegince. Drizen from house to streets to dens the narrator (one out of millions who flee before the martians, for what else can one do?) is eventually forced to observe the creatures that never rest, horrified by what he sees. After page upon page of war an eary silence suddenly echoes throughout the land, and the narrator ventures to find the world he knew a desert place as both martians and man are devasted and destroyed by the war which engulfs both worlds.

One of HG Wells most enduring novels it has the characteristics which would combine to define science fiction. Origenal and thought provoking it shocks and entertains the reader throughout the 200 paged tale. However, like all of his novels the revolutionary ideas and not the litary magnifisence of the text makes this one of the premere science fiction tales of all time. I recommend reading this piece of literature if you are in high school or above so as to truly apreciate and understand the intricate brillance of the War of the Worlds.

This book is a must have for all wetland researchers, managers, scientists, and anyone with a general interest in wetland ecosystems. If I had to choose 1 wetland book, this is it. It is one of THE most popular textbooks for university wetland courses and workshops. I have been a wetland scientist for almost 15 years, and this is one of the books I use on a regular basis, and recommend to all my assistants and students. Wetland researchers will also want to keep in mind that with the release of the 4th edition, this 3rd edition is still a must have in your wetland library. The 4th edition removed all the wetland ecosystem specific chapters that are in this edition, so this edition is far from outdated. Don't choose one over the other! Buy them both :).

The Mitsch & Gosselink Wetlands 4th edition arrived promptly and in very good condition as was claimed it would by the seller.

This book is very helpful in understanding the various aspects and dynamics relating to wetlands. It includes management, legal, and various other topics of importance to wetland biologists, wildlife students or researchers working in wetland delineation or consultation.

Overall, this is a very good text on wetlands (for students and professionals both). However, I personally feel that a entire chapter could be devoted to wetland soils and wish that this book gave a better presentation of wetland soils. Furthermore, a great deal of research has been performed in Boreal wetlands and Boreal Prairie wetlands of Canada yet the Canadian literature is somewhat lacking in this text. Its still the best option out there for professors.

There is no better book for learning about wetlands that I have found. Many students find hydrology difficult, but this book lays this critical process out clearly, with excellent illustrations and diagrams.

This book helps the biotic oriented student understand the abiotic processes in clear and simple language.

I will never part with my copy, and reference it often!

What Kids Need to Succeed does not just tell, it shows. It is a book full of funny stories, way too true illustrations, and simple listed ideas that anyone can follow. Andrea and Harry Patten took real life stories to show the potential of "the average joe." This book shows that parenting is not just instinct. I would argue it is mostly NOT instinct. I grew up in a home in which I parented myself for the most part, or at least sought out my own mentors. As an adult, I so wish that I would have had parents who knew the value of discipline (this is different than punishment, by the way!) and that hard work and determination can take a person further than he or she would dream. The stories in the book inspire me. I learned about the book from meeting the author herself. We met at the Horatio Alger Awards conference where I received a scholarship. I can attest that Andrea Patten is down to earth and passionate about the topic of deliberate and caring parenting. She is going to tell it like it is, in the best way possible. A very real read, simple and effective with no "gentle lying", this book will teach you to think about the future adults you shape as you raise children. I plan to keep it on my bedside table when I have children to raise. I highly recommend this book to any parents, grandparents, or any people wanting to know what is essential for them to be their most effective self.

Andrea Patten and co-author/father Harry S. Patten share the `four foundations of adult achievement' in their book, `What Kids Need to Succeed.' It is written from the unique vantage point of seeing youngsters as future adults and helping them to acquire fundamental values and skills for success AS ADULTS rather than as children.

It's different from most books on parenting because the authors started by interviewing generals, CEO's, mega-best-selling authors and the All-Stars, asking them to look back on childhood and the lessons that made them high achievers as adults.

In so doing they found the same four themes running through all the great success stories, and these became the `4 Foundations of Adult Achievement.'

One of my favorite gems of the book is the discussion about what Harry S. Patten (creator of the $100 million a year Patten Corporation, the USA's largest buyer and seller of recreational land) calls "the competitive advantage of growing up poor."

If you're looking for guidance on how to give your child the tools to be the best human being possible, Andrea and Harry S. Patten's `What Kids Need to Succeed: 4 Foundations of Adult Achievement' is a great choice!

A need to read for any parent or anyone wanting to better understand what self achievement is all about. What Kids Need to Succeed is a quick, easy read. I was involved from the first page. The authors have the ablility to share their own life experiences with clarity and humor. I gave my first copy to my son's middle school principal!

I love this book. It's full of common-sense, easy to understand wisdom. I was excited to give it to my children who are now parents.

As a new father, I was looking for a clue on how to best bring up my daughter. When I found this book, I realized that Andrea and Harry Patten had captured the essence of how I had been raised--to be self-reliant, understand the consequences of my actions, and work for whatever I wanted. Every other parenting book I've seen (and I received plenty from well-meaning friends) takes a soft, New-Age approach to parenting, as if kids grow up right by good intentions. Not "What Kids Need." These writers get it. A wonderful, insightful book that I think will produce better kids and adults.

I have only just caught up with this book 14 years after it was published. Kisor is very good on how he managed a life as a deaf person who operates orally in a hearing world, and manages to be quite tactful in dealing with the subject of the Deaf -- people who use sign language. He is perhaps more tactful than he really should be in discussing the ignorance of a lot of educators of the severely hearing-impaired and the rather patronizing "poor-you" attitude they often take.

I can say this because I have only a little more hearing than Kisor -- and for the same reason, meningitis at the age of 3. I am ten years older than he but remember well some of the stages he describes so accurately and honestly. Like him, I was lucky in my early teachers and in being kept away from schools for the deaf.

It does need to be said that cognitive psychologists and students of child language have learned a great deal about child language development since Kisor and I were children and even since his book was published in 1991. Their progress dates from Noam Chomsky's destruction of behaviorist notions of language almost 50 years ago. I hope very much that things have changed significantly in the education of the deaf and severely hearing-impaired.

With luck, students will recognize that Kisor is describing a bygone era. But it is an era that was and is still well worth describing.

I read this book for an ASL class in college and wow. This book is great. An amazing autobiography written by a deaf man, Henry Kisor who has managed to exist in a hearing world as a deaf man strictly by lip reading. He has been a journalist and this is amazing to me. A wonderful story written in the point of view of a deaf man and his lifelong journey to success and living in the hearing world. Reading this book has made me take a look at my life and made me feel as if I could do anything.

I read this book back in 93 when I had just lost my hearing. I was 14 and dealing with suddenly becoming deaf. Most books about Deafness are written by physicians, or parents of the deaf, or children of the deaf, and not by the deaf themselves. Kisor's stories about lipreading and growing up and just being Deaf were wonderful for me to read. It gave me hope... if he is totally Deaf and can accomplish that much, then I, with a little bit of hearing left, certainly should be able to. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone deaf who is oral, anyone late deaffened, or anyone just interested in reading about the trials and joys of a hearing loss.

What should our attitude be towards the deaf? Kisor gives us good insight with his memoir which is beautifully, sensitively and humorouly written. Some would term him an outcast to both the deaf culture and the hearing culture, since he lipreads and doesn't sign. Can't possibly be happy because he can't fully participate in hearing world, he's missing so much. But Kisor disagrees.

He achieved more than most hearing, having accumulated great English language skills. He demonstrates with the rare book written about deafness from a deaf author. His title is fascinating, since it is from story regarding his five-year old son and the nuances lipreading has trouble discerning.

Yes, improvements have happened and will continue with behavioral psychology and deafness, but here the spirit of the human inside is spoken of, something that no program can really guarantee success, but determination, help and support will aid.

This marvelous memoir contributes much to this cause. It is a most wonderful read for all interested in what a deaf person in a hearing world might be going through, especially the emotional strains deafness brings with it. Much to be gleaned here.

I read this book back in 93 when I had just lost my hearing. I was 14 and dealing with suddenly becoming deaf. Most books about Deafness are written by physicians, or parents of the deaf, or children of the deaf, and not by the deaf themselves. Kisor's stories about lipreading and growing up and just being Deaf were wonderful for me to read. It gave me hope... if he is totally Deaf and can accomplish that much, then I, with a little bit of hearing left, certainly should be able to. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone deaf who is oral, anyone late deaffened, or anyone just interested in reading about the trials and joys of a hearing loss.

Roy G. Williams and Terrence E. Deal are an incredible duo to describe the intricacies of effective management and leadership in all organizations. Their insight and experience is particularly helpful in the leadership realm of public education. "Discovering your opposite" is a unique perception to reflect on one's own view of leadership. As a public school administrator, we seldom take the time to reflect on our lenses of leadership. The need to identify a balance in our manager/leader role is essential as pointed through their examples of current leaders among us: Rudy Giuliani, Donald Burr and Hillary Clinton. Their case studies were not only interesting, but relevant to the four leadership styles of a Rationalist, Politicist, Humanist and Culturist. What a wonderfully positive way to imagine the flow of effective school leadership! Williams and Deal allow me to define my current leadership tendencies and discover where I wish to develop into my "dance of school leadership".

In over 40 years of leadership and management covering manufacturing, textiles, furniture, municipalities and hospitals, this book is the clearest, most effective management/leadership book ever. Takes Dr. Deals' book to new and exciting directions. Predict great things for this effort. What is next?

This book should be mandatory reading for every MBA candidate. Boards of directors across the country are wondering why their best and brightest can't get the job done. The answer, in many cases, is that there are too many managers and not enough leaders. Dr. Williams and Dr. Deal provide an interesting and insightful examination of that issue.

Expert educators Roy Williams (Adjunct Professor of Leadership, Vanderbilt's Peabody College) and Terrence Deal (University of Southern California) combine their considerable expertise and experience in When Opposites Dance: Balancing The Manager And The Leader Within, to knowledgeably examine the four natural styles of managing and leading (rational, political, humanist, and culturist) and explore how to balance managerial tendencies against the needs of workers within the context of current and volatile situations for optimum productivity. An exceptionally well written, personality examining, and goal-oriented self-help aid, When Opposites Dance is very highly recommended reading for corporate managers and executive policy makers.

The path to the publisher's door is crowded with authors anxious to reveal "the way" to develop strong leaders and effective managers. Most offer guides that are unreadable beyond page 50 because they reveal nothing more than a reshuffled list of the habits of successful CEO's or a new George Patton story. A generic title could be: "I Am Publishing This So I Won't Perish".

Professors Williams and Deal have broken out of the pack with "When Opposites Dance". What is new is the combination of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Deal's "Cognitive Frames" - with a bit of Jungian psychology - to explain the importance of a manager achieving a balance between the Adam and Eve in his life. The clear logic of the premise will allow the most combat-hardened military leader to begin to look for his feminine side without cringing.

What really sets this book apart is its readability. The use of twelve well-known Americans as illustrative examples (college freshmen will recognize most of the names) will hold the reader's interest. If you are seeking to develop your own management/leadership style, and particularly if you are training others in the art, buy this book.

Military Leadership Instructor