Hayes Books

I really like the pictures and descriptions in this book! I know my students will like it and will be able to learn from it!

I don't have any children, so maybe I'm being too picky with this book but I felt the string section was covered nicely. The Violin, Viola, Cello, and string bass all were discussed. When it came to woodwinds, flute, piccolo, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, and bass clarinet were all shown (they seem to have forgotten saxophone may be more common than oboe.) . The brass section was empty only showcasing French Horn, Trumpet, and Tuba...leaving out euphonium or baritone, cornet, trombone. Basically that brings me to me to my point, the brass section of the book was bad...

I bought this book for my 4 year old grandaughter after members of the symphony visted her pre-school. The illustrations are beautiful and the animal musicians kept her interest as we talked about each of the instruments. The book is a wonderful way to intoduce any child to the joys of music.

A delightful, beautifully illustrated book, wonderful for
children three years and older.

Stephen Halpern

As someone who teaches and coaches emotional intelligence, I'm always saddened to find people whose emotional lives are stunted for lack of introduction to the arts. I include great art, symphonies and opera, in my EQ Foundation Course for adults, and in my coach certification training program. Why? Because we know we need it! Classical music is an acquired taste, because in the US we don't grow up with it. I bought this book hoping to include it with my EQ products, and to offer it as a selection for my Club Vivo Per Lei/I Live for Music, and I love it. Buy the book for your little one and then go with them to Barber of Seville; it's humor appeals to all ages, over time. (Spend the money to sit right up front; the immediacy is important!) And put the arts in your budget right after food, clothing and shelter. The arts develops the emotional life in an intelligent way. It can't over-ride IQ, but without it, IQ is rendered ineffective. Ask Turandot, wink wink. He had to teach her that his name was love, and he didn't do it with his intellect, he did it with a kiss.

This is a geat book. If you liked all the others, you will like this one

This book is about a girl named Abby Hayes.Her best friend,Jessica comes to give Abby a visit. But when Jessica comes she is a whole different person. Her name was Jessy, she wore lip gloss, and she carried around a cell phone. Abby is sad, because this is not the best friend she knows. This story tells about their friendship. I recommend this book to: 4th and 5th grade girls who have friends or friend problems.

I've read the 14th book, and this book is not as ugly as that one but it's NEARLY the same.
I'm a huge fan of "Abby Hayes" books, I just love the books when Abby, Jessica and Natalie were friends and I'm sorry that Jessica had to leave in the 9th book, but in this book was starting to get ugly.

P.S. When I read the 14th and this book, I wonder where Anne Mazer got this crazy ideas.

This is the book where Jessica came to visit, she had forgotten EVERYTHING! She even changed her name to ' Jessy '. Jessy didn't wear overalls and smiley buttons anymore.She wouldn't play soccer with Abby either, she said it was TOO MESSY.'Jessy was now a girl that carried a cell phone, wore mini skirts, lip gloss, EARRINGS......and had a BOY FRIEND! Someone said Jessy was prettier and cooler than Brianna. But I think that she's CRAZIER. To make matters worse, Abby's friends didn't seem to have time for Abby anymore. How will her friendship survive when her friends were changing?

Abby Hayes' best friend Jessica comes to visit. Well,Jessica has changed alot. (And,please,don't call me crazy,but I like the new Jessica a bit better,I just really like people who are very girly!)And her friends Hannah and Casey are getting closer because of a talent show,although that part has a better ending. So,in all,the story was kind of sad.

Wow! In this book a lot of things do change for Abby. First there is a talent show, where Abby does not want to preticipate, but pairs her two best friends, Casey and Hannah together. Then Abby's former bff, Jessica-now Jessy- comes to Abby's town to visit from her father, stepmother,and stepsister's house. Abby relizes thet Jessy has really changed. Jessy carries a cellphone, has a boyfriend and wears miniskirtrs 24/7. In this novel Abby relizes for the first time that some things do change. I would reccomend this book. It was an enjoyable read.

Readers can approach this book in two ways: as a work of fiction or as a forum for Hayes to discuss his educational philosophy. As fiction, this is one of the worst books I have ever read. The dialogue is contrived (if I ever read the word "amigo" again I'll puke), there are so many characters who add nothing to the plot, and speaking of plot Hayes destroys what could have been an interesting one. The only reason I gave this book a star at all was because of Hayes' expanation of his thoughts on self-education. He has some insights on classical fiction which spurs further thought. The problem is that he has embedded this in the form of lectures which he tries to pass off as character dialogue. If you like to get preached to, this is the book for you. It's ironic that Hayes endorses self-education yet comes off as a college professor, and a boring one at that.

Portals is one of those books that stimulates the mind in an enjoyable way. Hayes has managed to once again present mind expanding ideas that forces one to question, or at least examine, traditional thought patterns.

This is a great book for skeptics, but is bound to be disturbing to true believers. You aren't likley to find a copy of this book on a WalMart shelf and it is likely to make the Tim Lahaye (Left Behind) crowd break out in hives. I agree that for free thinkers this book may become a classic.

In a nutshell, the prose and dialogue in this book is pat, formulaic, disjointed, incohesive, and forced. The literary masterworks the writer repeatedly alludes to only serve to cast his piece into further aprobation. The rare moments of lucidity never quite make up for the rest. The writer (an ex-cop! Imagine.) should stick to what he knows: apparently nothing.

A thesaurus was not consulted during the writing of this review.

Portals In A Northern Sky is a fresh and new concept on time travel that rivals Michael Creitons wonderful "Timeline" at it presents a mystery adventure of a family migration across the continent from the east to the west where several of its characters find common threads in their genealogy just like many of us might do if we had the ability to see all of the events of the past. The book begins in Alaska and after many twist and turns has its surprising and complex climatic end in Alaska. It is like reading three novels in one with lots of philosophy, history, intrigue, a journey back and forth in time.

For Science Fiction lovers it has an examination of the ramifications for governments to no longer have secrets, for Mystery lovers it has crime and murder, for Adventure lovers it has searching for gold in Alaska, for Classic lovers it has several summaries of some American classic literature with various philosophical ideas in interpretations and for History lovers it has many of the great events in American history mentioned.

The novel is a puzzle where in the end all of the pieces fit together to form a very large picture of past and present letting know that know one can foresee the future. This is a must read for anyone who is interested in creative three-dimensional plots and interesting characters.

Here's a serial killer tale that satisfies even as it doesn't break any new ground. We're teased with some professional insight into the M.E.'s world but that trails off pretty early. (And there are some distracting allusions to earlier and better examples of the genre.) What's best about this is the NYC setting and the resonant romance at the book's core. Be warned though, the victims are dispatched in grisly fashion.

This is a debut novel by Jonathan Hayes who is a British born forensic pathologist. Having studied pathology in Boston, he became an Associate Medical Examiner in Miami at the height of the Cocaine Wars. His investigations include multiple homicide scenes and the recovery of bodies from the Everglades. He is currently Senior Medical Examiner in Manhattan. He regularly lectures on forensic topics at the New York Police Department Homicide Investigation School and several other academies. Quite a C.V. and one that should certainly give the author a head start when writing this type of book.

The book is an exciting and at times frightening read but you never feel as though things are put in purely to provide sensationalism. In fact they all seem to be chillingly accurate and essential to the plot and of course with the author's background they should be. People who deal with death on a daily basis sometimes become inured to it, but I felt that the author told it as accurately as possible, without resorting to sensationalism. After all at the end of the day the book is a thriller and if the title doesn't give you a clue to the contents then the cover certainly should. For me there was nothing gratuitous about the death and violence in the book.

The storyline itself seems at first glance to be the old chestnut that is doing to rounds of recently published books, i.e. an undecipherable script or object, found or buried in the jungle, a tomb or other remote place. A race against time to find the secret and save the world. In fact the storyline in this book bears no resemblance to these adventure stories. This is a well thought out and well structured novel that I found well worth reading.

Jonathan Hayes, a forensic pathologist himself for the city of New York, writes his first thriller PRECIOUS BLOOD from a place of pure authenticity. Though Publisher's Weekly complained of the lack of "...insufficient focus on his protagonist's emotional state...", I found that the essence of that emotional state permeates every fiber of Dr. Jenner's being as he is dragged into the dark, sickness of the killer's escalation into mind-bending cruelty. The book may seem to some slow to build but I found as the serial killer mounted his campaign of carnage, the author used clinical detatchment brilliantly to imbue his characterizations: They are not so much gross-out moments of blood lust as they are a sensory, visceral, tactile explosion of a killer on a mission that parallels Jenner's coming to terms with his own demons in the aftermath of 9/11's senseless horror. Jenner is as human as Hayes himself while remaining a fictional character.

This may be Hayes first attempt at writing a serial killer thriller, but something tells me Jenner's story isn't finished and we can only hope for a series that continues to explore his journey with many more page-turning, realistic stories.

Edward Jenner, is a complicated and emotionally scared ex-Medical Examiner for the State of New York. Still reeling from the effects of identifying 9/11 victims, Jenner has been asked to investigate a bizarre death and help a friend. Although initially reluctant to rejoin the forensic world, Jenner embarks on a journey to discover the truth.

Then there is a crazed serial killer (aren't they always crazed?), who has superhuman strength, is tattooing the victim's bodies with religious symbols, and displays them in a way that mirrors/mimics various religious martyrs, all while staying several steps ahead of law enforcement. Pulled once again into a world of murder and mayhem, Jenner struggles to solve the mystery, maintain his sanity and save a troubled witness/victim (Ana de Jong) from herself and the killer.

As a first novel, in what I can see as a series, I thought this story was pretty good, extremely entertaining (I mean you have a troubled hero, who isn't invincible, and several decent sub-plots) and worth reading. I can definitely see Edward Jenner joining a long list of popular crime fighters in the fiction world. And he could perhaps even fill the void where Alex Cross (James Patterson), Eve Dallas (JD Robb) or Kay Scarpetta (Patricia Cornwell) are. I would love to see what happens in Jenner's life, love and career.

I really liked this book until the end. All of a sudden it was over. No tie-ups. Too many loose ends. I can only hope that his second book will help us all out.

Threads of Passion is the story of a woman's sexual,emotioinal, spiritual journey from lust to mature love. While Lexi develops as an individual and emotionally mature woman there is a parallel evolution of her sexuality. We follow Lexi on her journey and gain insight into her development and our own. This is a great book to read for self reflection, or for discussion with a book group, partner or adult child. It opens up many areas for reflection and discussion. Beautifully written and thoughtfully conceived.

THREADS OF PASSION by Holly Hayes is an unusual travel book, which gives beautiful descriptions of a woman's longing to find herself and her inner spirit in her travels and love affairs in Hong Kong, the coast of France, Barbados, Japan, and Bali. This book sizzles, and if you enjoy reading Playboy and Penthouse, you'll read this with relish.

The plot of the book is about a woman finding herself throughout different periods of her life and trying to keep passion in her life. This translates to steamy sex scenes with the men in her life at the time. There is, of course, a larger plot about her meeting the right guy, etc. etc., but the writing on the other scenes wasn't enough to keep the flow going. I thought the writing was a little stale for me and I never really got into the characters, so it wasn't the greatest book in the world. On the other hand, it did make for an interesting read. I wouldn't really recommend it to people, since it didn't seem to have much of a purpose besides being erotica (regardless of the description) and I wasn't too crazy about the end, but if you're looking for some steamy passion... look no further!

Threads of Passion is what English majors would call a "bodice ripper," from the cover on. Basically it's a series of loosely stitched together steamy sex scenes. And the most surprising thing of all is that the author doesn't seem to see it this way. ...

Far away and close at hand are the experinces of the heroine of this book that is filled with passionate interludes. I had to stop reading the book until my husband came home from a trip. Some of it is a bit contrived, but very sexy, which makes it a GREAT beach read or even a book to share with your significant other.

This is a really great book! It's about when Abby's in 6th grade and there is a thief on the loose! She still has a crush on Simon, and she has a chose of either staying with the Jazz Tones to still see Simon, or join the school newspaper. She decides to join the paper, and there's so much to think about when one of her things gets stolen to! If you like adventure, this is the perfect book to read.

Abby faces something really bad going with her friends. Most of her classmates are losing their unique and special things. For instance Bethany lost her hamster key chain, Brianna lost her me magazine and cd, etc. Abby finds that its Natalie- one of her best friends' who is stealing the things. Abby and Simon (Abby's friend) solves this problem (kind of a mystery) by telling Natalie what she is doing, So Abby and Simon keep it a secret from the classnmates and Natalie returns all the stuff back.
Abby is an all rounder. She has good thoughts that are almost the same as mine!
This book is interesting and exciting. It has a lot of feelings and I love to read books with feelings.
You should read the series too.

I love Abby Hayes,and it was a good story line and very interesting,but I wasn't too crazy about it,as I am with the other books. If you like mysteries and things like that or Abby Hayes then you will love this book.

"Now You See It, Now You Don't" was a very interesting Abby Hayes book. I enjoyed it very much, and loved reading it. I always wanna know what will happen next.

In this book, everybody's losing items, items that are really important to them. Abby decides to try to crack the case, putting together all the suspects and clues. Abby sees something big that tells her who the culprit is. But, should she tell on her friend, or just let others get hurt? Read this book to find out!!

i just re-read this book and i still think it's bad! i don't really think abby should have a crush at age ELEVEN! i wrote the first review too and i think it's a LITTLE better than when i first read it, but not that much.

This was an excellent book. It vividly describes the beautiful Alaskan wilderness. I felt like I was there. It also includes the adventure of the bear hunt while also giving the reader the background of several characters' lives. The book is funny, serious, exciting, and very emotional. I couldn't put it down. Can't wait to read the next book!

This is not a how-to-hunt book, it is a 191-page novel where the main characters are two different and unrelated parties of bear hunters and one predacious male brown bear. Isley does a skillful job of portraying the difficulties of a typical Alaskan brown bear hunt. He paints vividly clear word pictures of the magnificence and raw beauty of the rugged and remote mountains of the Alaskan Range as well as the fearsome abilities of a mature and dominant male brown bear. The book contains a few bear biology facts and I found these to be accurate, as an example: "Although nearsighted, its vision is equivalent to that of man, with a sense of hearing slightly more acute. Still, nature was generous to the old brown bear. With a brain larger than any other land dwelling carnivore, it was given the ability to learn, and with a nose that contains a mucus membrane one hundred times larger than a human, it is equipped with the ability to scent prey up to a mile away. If food is near, it will be found."

Isley does a splendid job of portraying real characters; the story is as much about the strong bond between father and son as it is about the taking of game. Isley writes with a great deal of understanding of how a guided wilderness hunt is conducted and of the interaction and bonding which takes place between hunter and guide. One group of hunters has booked with a totally professional outfitter, accommodations and food are all first class; the other hunters have booked with a less than professional outfitter and experiences a totally different type of hunt. Each succeeding chapter flip-flops from one hunting party to the other and the contrasts are vividly clear. I have personally hunted with and experienced both the professional and the less than professional outfitter. I could really relate to some of the situations he so colorfully describes.

Although this book is purely fiction, I do feel it has a place in the bear hunter's library. It accurately describes how one goes about conducting a spring brown bear hunt, the terrain, the weather and the outfitters. If you are going to be doing a brown bear hunt or you're dreaming of doing one, read this book!

This book review was also published in the December issue of Bear Hunting Magazine.

A mature old grizzly wakes from his winter sleep in the Alaska spring, his belly screaming for food.
Two men from the Lower 48 settle comfortably into their first class flight to Anchorage, on the way to a grand adventure.
On the same plane, further back, a man recovering from a bitter (and costly) divorce tries to enjoy the only asset left to him - a pre-paid, already-booked bear hunt in Alaska.
Before the second chapter is finished, the reader knows these four beings will meet, and the resulting aftermath probably won't be pretty.
James Hart Isley, a former nature videographer, touts "The Bear Hunter," his first novel, as "destined to become a standard for exciting wilderness adventures." Now, call me skeptical, but putting that out there - on the back cover, no less puts a great deal of pressure on a neophyte writer.
Isley introduces us first to "the bear," a creature with instincts honed over years at the top of the Alaska Range food chain. From his first appearance, "laying quietly in his dug-out cave," the bear is depicted as an inexorable force of nature, pushing his way out of the dripping lair he has spent the winter in, gulping fresh air, surveying his domain for food.
The two men sitting in first class are Dominick Petrone, a seasoned hunter, and Jeremy Miller, a writer for a running magazine and the son of Jake Miller, bear hunter extraordinaire. Dom and Jeremy are on their way to Jeremy's first bear hunt, a way for Jeremy to bond with his recently deceased father. Oh, and he also plans to write a book about the man, so his hunt is actually research.
They hook up with Barry Lyons, pilot, and Jean-Luc Le Rouge, guide, for a first-class-all-the-way trip to Game Management Area 16 (McGrath, Talkeetna, Tyonek and Kenai).
The bitter man flying coach is Stan Phillips (although he isn't identified by name until Chapter Four). He's mourning the loss of his wife and kids, angry at her infidelity, pissed off at "the incompetence of his discount attorney," and just mad at the world.
Stan connects with his guide, Pierre (AKA Frenchy) Le Rouge (yeah, they are father and son - that's an overriding theme throughout the book, but more on that later). But first, he endures a lost hotel reservation, crummy customer service, lots of booze and too little sleep. Turns out, they are going to Game Management Area 16 as well, although they're hoofing it (Pierre doesn't believe in using planes for hunting).
Two different camps, two very different levels of "adventure" (Isley really likes that word), but one goal: Shooting a grizzly, preferably 8 feet or bigger, and taking home a trophy.
Although a non-hunter might think that hunting bears in the spring, when they're groggy and weak from the long winter, is unsporting, our intrepid hunters really do have to work for their trophies. Dom and Jeremy are stuck in camp for days because of unending spring fog that makes it too dangerous to fly the Cessna in search of game. Stan finds himself hiking miles each day, first to the camp and then through the area surrounding the camp, in search of a shot. It's cold (still), wet and boggy. And then he falls through the ice still covering Beluga Lake and almost freezes to death.
And the bear doesn't just sit around, waiting to be shot. He's constantly on the move, searching for anything that will fill his stomach.
Of course, the long periods of fog-bound inactivity lead to tall tales and bonding, and the reader discovers that Jeremy never really felt his father loved him, and this hunt is a way for Jeremy to discover the man behind the legend. Jean-Luc and Pierre have their own back story, having become estranged because of differing philosophies regarding hunting and guiding, and Pierre's addiction to drink and his violent tendencies when under the spell of alcohol.
The fatal encounter (and before you start yelling "SPOILER ALERT," know this: This particular incident is teased on the jacket of the book) occurs when Jeremy, wanting a photo of the Arctic fox that has adopted the camp, sets up a lure with frozen bacon grease. But instead of the little fox, Jeremy attracts the attention of the old boar, which has become desperate to fill his stomach, having had no luck for many days.
The encounter does not end well for any of the men, including Jeremy, who runs from the camp while the bear is otherwise occupied. Having been training as a triathlete, Jeremy thinks he can put enough distance between him and the bear (even though the ground is still covered with snow, and Jeremy, in his sleeping bag at the time of the attack, is wearing only socks) and find his way to safety.
You can guess the rest of that scene. And the end of the book (all 30 pages of it - in a 191 page novel). I won't spoil it for you.
The book, although depicting a hunt, is "as much about the strong bond between father and son as it is about the taking of game," according to the jacket, although I saw more fighting and estrangement than bonding. But hey, I'm a girl - what do I know about the complex relationships between men and their male offspring? But it didn't seem to me that any of the characters resolved any of their problems, or even came to grips with them, other than whining that "Daddy didn't love me."
There are a lot of other problems with this book, but the biggest problem, and one I have found far too often in books lately, is that it's badly written. Badly as in not technically competent; badly as in poorly constructed and executed; and badly as in misspellings, typos, awkward phrasing, overwriting, and wrong or missing punctuation.
Newsflash: One uses a colon (:) to introduce a related thought or example into the sentence, i.e., "He and Jeremy's father had been together on many adventures: Alaska, Africa ...." The semicolon (;), on the other hand, separates two different thoughts in one sentence.
One would expect an adventure story to be fast-paced, to rush headlong into excitement and a massive adrenaline rush. But Isley's writing is passive, over done and uses far too many words to convey meaning. "Easing down the mountain, the grade would sometimes become so steep that the bear would turn around and slid rump first."
Perhaps I wouldn't have been so hard on this first-time writer had he not set himself up for harsh judgment: The jacket touts him as the next Jack London, and breathlessly gushes, "Not since Peter Benchley's blockbuster hit of 1974 has there been an adventure like `The Bear Hunter.' " And being that this is a self-published book, that wording came from the author, not the publisher. But Isley hasn't earned those praises, not with this book.
Bottom line: This adventurer was sorely disappointed. This book definite did not live up to its hype, and I was seriously rooting for the bear.

I thought "The Bear Hunter" was very well-written and totally believable. The story really flowed and I could really picture the scenes described by the author. Alaska sounds like an incredible wilderness and the book really piqued my interest in exploring that part of the country. Similarly, I was intrigued by the various characters in the book, especially the locals, and felt a kinship to the different characters and their places in life.

There are a few parts of the book that are realistically gruesome and R-Rated. However, if you are a fan of Wild Kingdom and can endure watching predators go after and capture their next meal, you should be fine. Overall I was very happy with the book and would recommend it to anyone who likes adventure-seeking, outdoorsy, thrillers.

Felicia Brown
Author & Recording Artist
Just Breathe: Guided Meditations for Inner Peace

What an amazing, heartfelt, deeply emotional book!! I was totally unprepared for the authors insight into human suffering, feelings of inadequacy, anger, lust, love and the deep connections that fathers have for their sons. All this in the mist of a bear hunting trip that expounds on the beauty of mother nature in the great Alaskan wilderness. This author delights and surprises you with his story turns. Sometimes funny, sometimes emotional, and sometimes keeping you sitting on the edge of the chair! One of those books you just can't put down! You'll love it and be waiting for more! So Mr. Isley, when is your next book??

How come no one told me of this movie, huh? I'm shocked that such a phenomenal movie could go under the radar for so long for me...and I'm 42. I mean I know it is a french film but there is just no excuse for this film not to be a household word universally, especially among cinephiles.
That being said. Damn, what surprise and pleasure to stumble onto this. It's anarchic (nothing is owned, everything is "shared"; brutal humanism), hedonistic, spiked with black humor, and underlined with existential positivity. If all is vanity, the fight for rich life beyond rutted conventions is heroic if not divine. As two juvenile, and what AT FIRST seems to be misogynist, men bounce from trouble to trouble, with no regard for the future or the past, it reveals a philosophy that underscores every moment. It's life intensely lived and lived for its own sake. Anything related to death or fear, they bewilderedly mourn and turn away from. I personally find this the most life-affirming film I think I've ever scene. One critic called it a "hymn of life". Forget Spielberg and his life-draining sentimentality.
It's childish and absurd but not fatuous; it's sexist in that gender roles are defined and yet unafraid to go beyond them; it's exploitive and illuminating; it's repulsive and seductive.
Its an affront to a life of passivity!

Crude overgrown juvenile delinquents commit petty crimes, terrorize and share women. It's funny, earthy and is an examination of young alienated youth.

This is the type of dark comedy that could only be made in France, it is so un-PC and graphic that it could never have come out of Hollywood. This film tells the tale of two young men (Gerard Depardieu and Patrick Dewaere) who wander around the French countryside causing trouble, creating havoc, looking for women, committing petty (and not so petty) crimes and generally just causing turmoil wherever they go. This is the film that made Depardieu a star in France in the mid 70s, he and his sidekick Dewaere play off each other wonderfully. Miou-Miou played the role of the vacuous nymphomaniac quite well also, much different than some of her later, more mature roles. One of the other reviewers compared this film to Easy Rider, but I think this is a mischaracterization. This film does not have the philosophic overtones or deeper meaning for a generation that is searching for itself that Easy Rider does. This is an unusual film, but I think it is more like a dark, violent, sexually explicit predecessor of the Jim Carrey film Dumb and Dumber, without the slapstick and body-function humor. Maybe this film explores the `angst' of the French youth of the 70's, and explores the newfound social freedom of the French youth at several levels. The film also takes several violent and completely unexpected turns (ala Pulp Fiction). I found some of the scenes to be absolutely hilarious. Bottom line is that this is an unusual (and unusually graphic) film, the subject matter may be offputting to some. If you are looking for an edgy, dark comedy, you may find this interesting.

Jean-Claude (Gerard Depardieu) and Pierrot (Patrick Dewaere) are two friends who like to lead life their own way and by their own rules. They harass and terrorize women, rob money from stores and steal cars. They even get away with it, even when their pictures are on the front page of the newspaper as accomplices to murder.

Early on, they abduct Marie-Ange (Miou-Miou) to rape her, but for some reason, despite further abuse, she later becomes their willing girlfriend. Marie-Ange is a fairly vacuous character (though undeniably beautiful, especially in her several nude scenes), but the same cannot be said for Jeanne (marvelously played by Jeanne Moreau). Marie-Ange is sexually frigid, so the two guys go off in search of a woman who'll give them more. They meet Jeanne after she's just been released following ten years in prison and so begins the film's most interesting section. Surprisingly, Jean-Claude takes a true liking to her. She's the only person either of these two guys actually respect and is the only character in the film with any real depth. She's everything that Jean-Claude and Pierrot are not - experienced, thoughtful, wise and possessing a real appreciation of what life has to offer. I'd liked to have seen a film about her life alone - and her appearance here is much too brief.

Other women in the film worth mentioning are Brigitte Fossey as a woman they harass on a train and a young Isabelle Huppert in one of the earliest roles of her illustrious career.

Ultimately, this is the kind of film where the viewer should not have to identify with the characters for it to work, given their unsavory nature. Jean-Claude and Pierrot never fell into the category of likeable rogues and they weren't as deliciously malevolent as someone like Malcolm McDowell in "A Clockwork Orange," so I'd like to have had more insight into these two guys. Still, this film is worth watching if for Jeanne Moreau alone.

I had mixed feelings for "Les Valseuses" (1974) written and directed by Bertrand Blier when I started watching it but I ended up liking it. I would not call it vulgar ("Dumb and Dumber" is vulgar, "The Sweetest Thing" is both vulgar and unforgivably stupid); I would call it shocking and offensive. I can understand why many viewers, especially, the females would not like or even hate it. It is the epitome of misogyny (or so it seems), and the way two antiheroes treat every woman they'd meet seems unspeakable. But the more I think of it the more I realize that it somehow comes off as a delightful little gem. I am fascinated how Blier was able to get away with it. The movie is very entertaining and highly enjoyable: it is well written, the acting by all is first - class, and the music is sweet and melancholic. Actually, when I think of it, two buddies had done something good to the women they came across to: they prepared a woman in the train (the lovely, docile blonde Brigitte Fossey who started her movie career with one of the most impressive debuts in René Clément's "Forbidden Games"(1952) at age 6) for the meeting with her husband whom she had not seen for two months; they found a man who was finally able to get a frigid Marie-Ange (Miou-Miou) exited and satisfied; they enlightened and educated young and very willing Isabelle Huppert (in one of her early screen appearances.) Their encounter with Jeanne Moreau elevates this comedy to the tragic level. In short, I am not sure I'd like to meet Gérard Depardieu's Jean-Claude and Patrick Dewaere's Pierrot in real life and invite them over for dinner but I had a good time watching the movie and two hours almost flew - it was never boring.

The best workbook for managers who want to develop the skills and knowledge in integrated communication.

Kotler, for my money, is the ultimate marketing authority. While I agree with much of the book, there are just a few things that I found missing in the approach. As a marketing consultant for independent professionals, I prefer the people I coach to read David Maister, Alan Weiss and Robert Bly.

After reading about 4 other books on the same subject this will be the only one that I will keep. This book goes beyond the typical professional services marketing subjects of get published, speak, etc. It instead describs TACTICAL ways to determine which services you should provide, how to price those services and how to let people know you provide them.

I am a fan of Philip Kotler but this book misses the mark. There are some factual mistakes and errors but this is not the biggest problem. The book comes across as a frankenstein of joined together marketing theories and application from many of Kotlers other works and there seems little new here. Additionally, many of the concepts discussed, such as the BCG matrix hardly seem applicable to most professionals, particularly those working on large multi million dollar tenders such as engineers and architects. Having taught marketing at post graduate level using Kotlers text books as the core text, this work becomes even more dissappointing as it seems that there is little evidence that the authors have a solid understanding of professional services marketing as it for the professionals who practice it.

This is an excellent book by erudite professors that is well written and an easy read. This is a valuable book in the area of selling services, an area that is more challenging than selling physical products.

The skill of selling professional services is critical and is the one most often in need of improvement for professionals such as engineers, architects, lawyers, marketing, IT and management consultants, accountants, doctors, among others. The authors stress the critical importance of focusing on customer needs, as the one key, which by itself will improve one's success in selling one's work. If one will always focus on client/customer benefits, rather than product/process features, one will improve one's success immediately. Features are components of a service which may include one's experience and expertise.

People do not buy features but benefits, hence the need to focus on turning the important features of professional offerings into true benefits. To assume that one's client/customer will figure out the benefit is to lower the chance of selling one's potential product or idea.

The book does a good job of providing practical advice on a wide range of critical subjects pertaining to this subject such as the 7Ps of marketing, the differences between products and services, the description of the distinctive challenges of marketing professional services, tactical ways to establish the services we should provide, pricing of services, among others.

Case studies and examples enable the reader to reinforce what they will have learnt. As a management consultant, this book is a valuable addition to my library that I refer and consult regularly.

The story opens with Dr. John Townsend lamenting about selling everything and joining a wagon train to take him and his family to California. The year is 1843. His wife, Elizabeth, tosses and turns in a fever beneath the piled blankets. He fears the air is too dry for her and wants to take her to where she can breathe easy. After much consideration, they do indeed sell everything except for a few precious items, his surgical tools, Elizabeth's grandmothers china tea set , and his small writing desk and journals.

They soon have everything well stocked in their wagon to begin their journey. They meet up with a group of wagons heading west, and begin their journey. With high spirits, and a newly elected wagon captain, they set off into the great unknown. Although the families grow closer over time and help each other with assorted camp life, many challenges spring into their path. Rivers that aren't quite passable, the loss of livestock, and the fear of Indians are just a few.

One day, they come to an impasse. They are camped at the Great Sink and cannot find a path that will get them over the mountains-at least not a path that the wagons can cross. They debated leaving the wagons and just walking out with packs on their backs. But with much discussion, they discarded that idea because of the women and children. They wouldn't be able to carry enough supplies. Then an elderly, naked Indian strolls into camp, much to the astonishment of many. He sits down with the captain and doctor, and many other men and they have a discussion by drawing pictures in the sand.

The next morning, the men follow the Indian into the mountains. He wants to show them a path they could take through the mountains. All the way, he is shouting to them, "Truckee." Since they didn't speak his language, they just nodded. In Indian, it means "everything is satisfactory." Since they didn't know this, they thought that was his name. So they named the mountain pass after him, "Truckee's Trail."

Getting the wagon train through the mountain pass though was only one of the major challenges this strong group of men and woman overcame. Soon , winter would be upon them, and time and supplies were running short.

The long-lost diary of Dr. John Townsend is reconstructed and carries you through the trials and tribulations that this great group of Americans went through. A fascinating read about their adventures and sacrifices to get to the land of "milk and honey." Filled with some true accounts, and some excerpts from diaries and letters from real and fictitious characters, the book is lend some authenticity of the true account.

Armchair Interviews says: Interesting historical fiction of the early settlers.

I must say right off that I know the author. And I might as well add that this is not the sort of book I would normally take up to read. That out of the way, this is a good book. It reads like a first-hand account. I love history and so I was suprised that the diaries were fictional although the story was based on fact. She fooled me for about the first quarter of the book but then I was not asking my self critical questions. The story pulls you along and Celia opens a imaginative door snd invites you into the past.

Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to cross the prairies and the Rockies, then the truly perilous trip through the snowy mountains to California during the first half of the 19th Century?

Celia Hayes (best known to the blogosphere as "Sgt. Mom") has written a great book which will take you on this harrowing journey in a way that reading history can't. What's unusual about this is that unlike many historic novels it has a documentary feel to it (it is loosely based on real characters and events). The action is punctuated by diary entries, and a (fictionalized) 1932 interview of one of the members of the party who lived into his late 90s and recalls his childhood memories.

It is a riveting read. Close calls with Indian war parties, political treachery, near starvation and freezing to death, and inevitable illnesses and deaths. It's truly amazing that they made it.

Some great observations along the way. I loved this one:

"A good wife will re-load for you, a great one will take up a knife and slit your enemies' throats."

Very rugged people, these pioneers.

I found myself wondering how so many of their descendants came to evolve into the soft people we've become today.

Don't miss this book. It's a real treat. I loved every page.

This is the story of the Stephens-Townsend party, true trail blazers of the California Trail. The story moves along at a nice pace, beginning with the "easy" part of the journey across the high desert. The travelers' day starts at 4:00 a.m. when the wagons are packed, the teams are hitched, and everyone is fed, so that the wagons can roll out at 5:30. Despite the difficulties of numerous river crossings, a blazing sun, dry camps, lost animals, and more, they arrive at the pass that will take them to California.

Now, the difficult part of the journey begins. The weather and challenges of the trail slow them down to the point where it is decided that the party will need help getting through the mountains, and straws are drawn to decide who will go ahead to Fort Sutter. The book reaches its high point when the decision is made to leave behind in the mountains some of the women and children until spring arrives and the snows melt. Can this vulnerable group survive the winter in the Sierra Nevada?

If you ever wondered what it was like to travel the early trails to Oregon and California, then this is the book for you.

Reviewed by Tyler R. Tichelaar for Reader Views (1/08)

"To Truckee's Trail" by Celia Hayes is described on its front cover as "The Greatest Adventure...Never Told." It is definitely a fantastic story, and more importantly, a true story of the Stephens-Townsend wagon train that crossed the continent in 1844 to reach California. Why the story has not been told sooner is hard to say. Perhaps this journey was not as dramatic as that of the Donner Party that had to resort to cannibalism a few years later, but the Stephens-Townsend party apparently set the trail, the pass through the mountains known as "Truckee's Trail" and like the Donner Party, they also had to survive the winter in the mountains--in fact, the Donner Party ended up using one of the cabins the Stephens-Townsend party used.

Besides not being as tragic a story as that of the Donner Party, the Stephens-Townsend party's story left behind little documentation. Dr. Townsend reputedly kept a journal of their exodus, but what became of that journal is unknown. That did not stop Celia Hayes from researching and re-imagining events. Hayes skillfully weaves the story by recreating a fictional journal for the doctor, creating a historical project memoir of one of the children, Eddie Patterson, who recalls in 1932 his time on the trail, and by creating letters to a friend from Dr. Townsend's wife. These first person narratives are interspersed with the regular third-person narrative that is the majority of the text. The shifting points of view help maintain the reader's interest even when the events the pioneers are experiencing are at times long periods of toil and boredom.

The novel does read slowly and several typos distract the reader. At first, I kept wondering when something exciting would happen like an attack by Indians or cannibalism in the mountains. However, I was engrossed in the book by the time I was a quarter of the way through it, and I read the last two hundred pages in one day. The author, wisely, does not seek to entertain the reader with sensationalism, but rather she gives detailed depictions of the daily life of the wagon train--the babies being born, the oxen nearly stampeding from thirst, having to douse fires from fear of Indian attack. The novel's slow pacing makes one appreciate how long and tedious the journey west must have been. This incredibly long and dangerous undertaking comes home all the more at the end when Eddie Patterson recalls returning along the trail decades later when he is able to cross over mountains in minutes by railroad, crossings that would have taken days for the Stephens-Townsend party.

As I read "To Truckee's Trail," I felt the trepidation, the fear, and the exhaustion of the pioneers. At the same time, Hayes's prose is almost poetic, making one see the courage and the humor in the face of odds that defined the pioneer spirit. I was content to experience the journey from my armchair, in sheer wonder at what it must have been like to make the trip in real life. I have traveled across the country in an automobile over the course of a week and that alone is an undertaking; I can't imagine the faith and determination that drove on these pioneers. "To Truckee's Trail" makes me appreciate the generations who came before me and all they went through to build this country--a task from which Americans, generations later, now profit. "To Truckee's Trail" is one of those stories that should be read in our high schools, and colleges, to make American history comes alive to students. It is a story that stays in the reader's head long after the last page is turned. It makes one feel grateful even for the smallest comforts we have today, and it encourages one to persevere to accomplish great deeds oneself.