Hill Books

As an internal consultant and leadership coach, I have often shared this book with leaders and leadership teams (at all levels). The profiles in the book are engaging and the development exercises are pragmatic. They are relevant for both men and women. Zichy uses Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) as the book's primary frame of reference. The essence of MBTI theory boils down to basic differences in the ways individuals prefer to use their perception and judgment. Perception involves all the ways of becoming aware of things, people, happenings, or ideas. Judgment involves all the ways of coming to conclusions about what has been perceived. If people differ systematically in what they perceive and in how they reach conclusions, then it is only reasonable for them to differ correspondingly in their interests, reactions, values, motivations, and skills. Zichy depicts 8 distinct leadership styles. As you journey through the book and read about the various leadership "neighborhoods", you will learn more about your own personal leadership style, optimal and least preferred working environment, approach to change, contributions to a team, decision-making style, potential blind spots, as well as, the strengths and differences of the other 7 styles.

This book is insightful and fun. It punctures the usual stereotypes about the difference between male and female leaders. It quickly showed me that it was okay to be competitive and task driven. After all, one in every three women is. I wish I had read it 20 years ago. The test is incisive and Zichy's advice is right on target - become comfortable with yourself, play to your strengths and appreciate what others bring to the table. I also loved reading about the women she profiles - about their backgrounds, ambitions and views on leadership. This book is a unique toolkit. There is something in it for everyone.

To achieve power and influence, people have to know who you are, what you stand for, and why they should promote you, do business with you, or even VOTE FOR YOU! The authors give great tips on creating a leadership role for women, but creating a strategic 'personal' publicity plan needs to be part of the package.Visibility is part of leadership and to really take charge of your future - you have to create a significant image in the workplace, in the community - or on the political scene.

To achieve power and influence, people have to know who you are, what you stand for, and why they should promote you, do business with you, or even VOTE FOR YOU! The authors give great tips on creating a leadership role for women, but creating a strategic 'personal' publicity plan needs to be part of the package.Visibility is part of leadership and to really take charge of your future - you have to create a significant image in the workplace, in the community - or on the political scene.

Do We Really Want Women to Have More Power? Reviewer: John Westergaard from New York, New York USA Hey, guys, this is a scary book. Zichy tries to tell us her power 'model' applies equally to men, but I'm skeptical. It's about how women can scheme to attain power. Sure, it's a must read for us guys but not to apply the Zichy program, although that's not a bad idea either. It's a must read because we need to protect our backsides. Know what's coming. Zichy puts out a lot of sneaky, tricky stuff like 'how to get along with your boss', how to create 'a more effective team' (read 'takeover coup'), how to steal business from guys by 'better client management', etc. She admits her own business went up 50% after applying the Zichy system. Well, who do you think she took the business away from if it wasn't guys? The book provides a toolkit with exercises and case studies of 38 successful women of which two are in Washington -- Christie Whitman and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison . You don't think this system works? She's also got president-in-due-course Hillary in there. 'Women and the Leadership Q' could be the most dangerous book around!!!

This is a very nice addition to anyone's library who's trying to get/is pregnant. Information you won't find anywhere else. Awesome. I only made it 4 stars because I'm a super tough critic.

This book was very helpful in my pregnancy planning journey...a must read for first timers!!

This book is a must have for any soon to be or current parent. While it makes you think about things you may not want to (i.e. wills, life insurance), these are things all parents need to plan for.

I wish I had this book during my pregnancy beside all those other books that just relate to being pregnant. I think everyone who is becoming a parent for the first time should read this book.

This book has provided a wealth of information. It's not a "what to expect" type book about your body and the developing baby, but rather a planner for finances, insurance coverage, disability leave, wills, your rights and much more. It's basically the stuff you know you should be thinking about, but are too excited about the baby and what's going on with your body to stop and plan for the practical stuff. This book breaks down the information into manageable monthly checklists. If you follow her month to month guidance, you will have less to worry about when the baby arrives knowing you have all your ducks in a row.

This unique book combines psychological self-testing to better know oneself, (ones needs, interests, dislikes, what one is good at, & less good at,) with a personal strategic planning process resulting in a personalized & updateable action plan to fully live the 50% of ones life ahead that one may have in today's world if we're in the 60 yr old range.
Absolutely great for baby-boomers who believe in themselves & taking charge of their own future!

Retirement Your Way gives a lot of great, practical advice. More importantly, the Birkman quizzes are fun and a good reminder that it is important to know yourself first before following retirement advice.

To look upon this extraordinary work as a "how-to" book about retirement is to miss the point. Once the reader gets into it just a little way, it becomes apparent that Your Retirement, Your Way, is a tool, potentially immensely useful, for giving thoughtful consideration to the "third chapter in our lives", and then building a personalized `Master Plan'. The plan is comprehensive, in that it includes not only the financial side of things, but also the psychological preparatory work that makes the transition to "retirement" a rewarding experience. In short, this book not only makes you think, but also engages you in a rich, complex and in-depth process which goes far beyond what professional financial advisers will tackle.

The authors recognize that financial planning is only a part of retirement planning. The genius of the book is that it integrates the financial side of things with the personal, psychological issues that merit--but seldom receive--acknowledgement and attention. The reader performs exercises that reveal his or her individual personality profile. This leads to careful consideration of life goals, and the preparation of a meaningful "New Life One-Year Action Plan."

There is an explicit recognition that one's retirement plan is going to involve costs quite different from those that are a part of pre-retirement life. Every aspect of financial planning is covered in clear English. As with the psychological side, the financial parts of the book can easily be understood by anyone.

I mentioned that Your Retirement, Your Way, is `potentially' immensely useful. That's because the reader really must follow through with the exercises that are essential to the process. If you are looking for a quick read to get some facts about retirement and its challenges, this is not your book. If you want a trusted adviser who will help you develop your own, personal approach to retirement over a few weeks, then get the book, and get to work!

I loved this book. It was all about ME! This is a wonderful read about what to do before and after retirement - masterfully written with great advice.

It seems to me--and I admit the possibility that I may be wrong--that when I retired back around the turn of the century (1999, to be exact), retirement planning books were mostly about money. Yes, financial planning is very important, but it always seemed to me that by the time you reach retirement, you've done it or you haven't. I'd planned in my own conservative way, so I never read those books.

Today, thanks to the self-help book craze, the scope and number of retirement guides seem to have expanded. I'm not a fan of self-help books in general, and I've been retired quite a while, but I still decided to take a look at one of the retirement guides for the new age.

Your Retirement, Your Way, by Alan Bernstein and John Trauth, is subtitled, "Why it takes more than money to live your dream." In thirteen chapters, including "Preparing Psychologically for Change," "Creating Your NewLife Master Plan Summary," and "Determining How You Want to Be Remembered," Bernstein and Trauth cover many of the retirement concerns I've faced, and they provide common-sense guides for coming to terms with these issues.

The authors of this book invite you to create a "personal, customized NewLife Master Plan . . . through a structured process that will give you the power to take your future life into your own hands and create the best possible retirement lifestyle unique to your own interests, personality, relationships, and situation." A lofty goal, indeed!

I especially like Bernstein's "Who Were You? Who Are You? Who Can You Become?" chapter because the author suggests writing down things such as "What I was doing when I was at my best," "Situations in which I've been at my worst," and many more. I promote the same strategy in a less structured way in my own book, Seniorwriting: A Brief Guide for Seniors who Want to Write (Infinity, 2007). "Writing to Discover," as I call it, is a great idea! I'm glad to see it included here.

I was also happy to be introduced to the "Birkman personality profile" (copyright Birkman International, Inc.), a somewhat complex but very interesting strategy used by some psychotherapists "to better understand people negotiating complex transitions."

I tried the included "Birkman Interest and Style Summary" to discover my interest and lifestyle colors: Red (Implementer), Green (Communicator), Yellow (Administrator) or Blue (Planner). My result was blue all the way. That means I like to plan activities, deal with abstraction, think of new approaches, innovate, and work with ideas. It also means that I appear perceptive, agreeable, conscientious, reflective, and creative.

Blue means that my interests include abstracting, theorizing, designing, writing, and originating, and that my fields include writing a book, joining a spiritual commuinity, teaching, and volunteering. My style is insightful, relective, selectively sociable, creative, thoughful, emotional, imaginative, and sensitive, and my preferred environment is cutting edge, informallly paced, organized in private offices, low key, and future oriented. With the exception of "joining a spiritual community," these terms fit me perfectly. If I had not pretty much done so already in my own way, I could have gone on with goals, strategies, objectives, and specific activities and tasks to create my NewLife Chart.

There's much more in this book, including one chapter on financial planning, but the emphasis is on self-anaylsis, facing reality, and planning ahead. This book fulfills its stated purpose to "help you recognize and draw on resources that you may never have recognized . . . to create a truly fulfilling life, custom-designed for you and you alone."

I heartily recommend Your Retirement, Your Way to anyone nearing or even beginning to think about retirement. It's a big step; don't take it unprepared.

Seniorwriting: A Brief Guide for Seniors Who Want to Write

This book is a 7 course meal for the eyes and mind! You will love the photographs of the rare Oz treasures, which are organized by decade.

This book is one of my favorite Oz reference books! John Fricke is truly the leading Oz expert!!

With Willard Carroll's Oz collection as a backdrop, John Fricke has cataloged the fabric of Frank Baum's stories of Oz. I am certain that Frank Baum could not have been aware this fabric would become a great tapestry upon which the world could identify what it meant to be human. Oz has permeated our society with its influence. It is found in our languages, our politics, human behavior, and is probably used more often as a simile than any other imagery in our language.

From the opening pages of this book to the last, the book is a compelling journey through Oz. The collection of Mr. Carroll's Oz memorabilia is so large that it is like trying to comprehend the distance between stars or that a few people actually have a billion dollars. This colligation of Oz collectibles somehow unites every civilization, geographic location, and human condition. It is one of the few things that have true universality.

After reading John Fricke's take on Oz, of course, based on Willard Carroll's collection, I am left wondering how history would be different were it not for Frank Baum's Oz?

The pictures are glorious, the layout intelligent and thoughtful-I will never see Oz in quite the same way again. John Fricke's writing is stellar. Willard Carroll's collection ---what can I say, WOW! 100 years of Oz is entertaining, educative and provides a new look at Frank Baum's Oz through the other end of the spyglass. This is a visit to a museum with a very knowledgeable guide through an unforgettable exhibit. Thanks for the tour. I'll be back again.

This book is a must for all collectors.

"100 Years of Oz" is a delight for everyone who has ever fallen in love with "The Wizard of Oz" (which includes just about everyone.) The success of the book lays in John Fricke's capabilities as a writer. His words are consise, thoughtful, and honest. The photographs, likewise, catch the eye like flashes of brilliant light. It is not easy to take one of America's most chershed series of books, its favorite film, and 100 years of mechandising and condense it all into one volume. Thankfully, Mr. Fricke has done that- impeccably. Buy this book today. I highly recommend it to everyone as an example of first class research. Above all, it is a time capsule of memories. Fricke will long be heralded as "Oz"'s best friend. Congratulations to all who made this book such a beautiful addition to my library.

Lions and tigers an bears? Oh my! Add Munchkins and Winged Monkeys and a Horse of a Different Color to the list. This is Oz Country, and things simply don't get better than this. To celebrate the centennial of the publication of L. Frank Baum's novel (and the 60th anniversary of the classic MGM flick), preeminent Oz historian John Fricke has written a glorious homage of all things fun and fantastical. Not only does the book offer a fascinating chronicle of the Ozian phenomenon, but the illustrations, culled from Willard Carroll's priceless collection of more than 10,000 museum-quality pieces, are breathtaking. Oh Auntie Em, there's no place like home . . . provided you're snuggled up in front a fire with this gem.

When I first saw this book years ago on "the Inernational Wizard of Oz Club", I wasn't really keen to get it (I guess the front cover looked a little too dull for me), but after seeing it in a bookstore and actually looking through it, I then knew I had to get this book, because (unlike the small "All Things Oz" collection), this book includes things OTHER than Baum's Book and MGM's Wizard, such as an unknown song from the 1904 Musical (not mentioned in "Oz: Before the Rainbow"), the Silent Films, 'Journey Back to Oz', 'The Wiz', both the Rankin Bass & Disney versions of 'Return to Oz', the 4 1987 CANADIAN-Animated Cinar Films (YES!! The mystery of their animation origin is written here!!), "the Wizard of Oz - Animated Series", "Oz Kids", the Asian "Space Adventures of Oz" TV series, "On Ice" Productions . . . it not only has all of this but also INCLUDES the most important and best of all, "The Dreamer of Oz"!! other language editions of the Oz books, and we also get a few 'Baum's Non-Oz' stuff, like his "Last Egyptian" Film and "Queen Zixi of Ix" book (plus a "Denslow's Picture Books for Children",) games/items/figurines, a few design sketches for MGM's Oz props/Emerald City and lots of other things that have to do with 'Oz' too - even though we don't get like 1-full page on info on every particular item, we still get some good information and lots of pictures too. Just like "All Things Oz", this book has lots of written information, pictures in the background/inserts and quotes from "the Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (and I'm glad to say that it doesn't have so many mistakes as "All Things Oz" does). But we also get a glimpse at some not-so pleasant Oz stuff, like the "Oz Comics for Adults" and a horrific Winged Monkey Creature Features model.
The Chapters of this book go by 10 Years (e.g. 1900's, 1910's, 1930's, 1940's, 1980's, 1990's, 2000's, etc.).
This was a pleasant surprise to find on a bookshelf (along with many other Oz books) and it was an absolute pleasure for me to buy it.
Also, what you see is a slip-on cover. The actual front cover is (an Italian poster of MGM's) Dorothy looking at the Crystal Ball and seeing the Wicked Witch of the West flying on her broomstick.
Trust me, get this book, and you'll love it - maybe even more than "All Things Oz"!

Mr Freiler was my teacher this year for AP Euro. As one of his fellow teachers said, "Mr Freiler really is the man who wrote European History." His book really help prepare anyone for the test. I would use it to prepare for my regular test in his class and was able to really good on them. He breaks everything down for you so you don't have to be boged down with the some details of other books. His system of giving you the information helps you see everything in a clear light. Freiler you are the man!!!

this book is great for review and highlighting major points to expect on the ap exam

I've taught AP European History for 10 years and never recommended a review text to my students, until now. Unlike other review texts, the AP Achiever is comprehensive; well balanced in terms of political/diplomatic, intellectual/cultural, and social/economic history; user-friendly; and even entertaining at times. Freiler manages the broad scope of European History with humor, clarity, and the expertise of someone who has been on the inside of creating the AP Exam. I strongly recommend his text for both students and instructors.

This is a very concise review book that basically covers anything and everything you need to know for the AP exam. Throughout the whole course of the school year I Struggled to maintain a B average in the class, due to the fact that I never touched the text. This book saved me on the AP test. With diligent application and studying of the material presented, there is no reason as to why anyone would even need to bother with the text book. I managed a five, and actually found the test to be relatively easy due to the information i got from it. The chapters are reviewed in Chronological order, and end with 10 review questions that are good estimates of one's understanding of the chapter. There are many essay examples throughout, and detailed explanations of why they were good or not. The practice tests in the back were also very good examples of what appeared on the AP test. The only qualm I had with the book was a lack of an index of key terms; this wasn't too big of an issue, since the chapters were organized nicely, but this would have been a helpful addition. All in all, the review book is great as both a companion and as a stand alone review of the material in the course.

The AP Achiever is a very solid review book. If used in context with a good text, notes, and other supplements, it should help students to earn an extra point on the test.
Like all review books, it's not enough by itself.

Very good, very concise, especially with radiology. Get it - I think it is out of print but you can find it used. Good luck studying!

I found this book to be pretty good review for Part III. It helped with summarizing all the stuff I learned in chiropractic school. It gave good reviews of the clinical impression or diagnosis, physical examination, neuro examination, etc. I also used the following which was just awesome for showing me the type of questions to be prepared for on the Part III and Part IV chiropractic Boards:
National Board of Chiropractic Part III Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answers with Explanations by Patrick Leonardi
National Board of Chiropractic Part IV Study Guide: Key Review Questions and Answers (Volume 1) and (Volume 2) by Patrick Leonardi.
In fact, Dr. Patrick Leonardi's and Dr. Jeannette Gibson's study guides helped me to pass the boards. I advise getting these four study guides. It's better than taking these boards over again.

I agree that this book is a great asset, and would recommend it to anyone in Chiropractic school, having previously stipulated that it will not prepare you for part IV. The book does indeed review Part III is great detail, but the part four review - with the exception some medical stuff, abdominal exam, thorax, etc. and some others, does not fully prepare you for Part IV. I found the last section on technique extremely lacking, there were no pictures, and very little on the method with which National Boards test you on (vertebral malposition listings [national listings]) since most of us were taught Gonstead (at least at Life West).

In conclusion, I recommend the Irene Gold review seminars. They may help more than this book will. It is a great book, but let's be real here, with the expense of Part IV National Boards ($850), it is cheaper not to buy this book and go to a review and get a passing grade, than to save in the beginning and fail the exam. That's the opinion of someone who used this book and studied in detail and failed the first time around.

4 Stars!

Buy it, study it, and then take some time to relax while the rest of your class tries to learn that which you've mastered. This text allows you to optimize your time studying. No more wasted hours organizing; it is already done for you. Great book. Worth much more than the price tag. I can't endorse it enough. I gave it to my son, a chiropractor for Christmas, and it proves as useful in practice as it is in school. Much thanks to the authors for writing this book. Well done.

At first I thought this was too much information, then I realized it was everything I needed to know for my clinical studies as well as my academic studies. It is hard to understand how this book was written by doctors. I think professional editors would have a hard time negotiating this level of complexity. You both made it look simple and easy to follow. The amount of organization it contains is awesome. I am finishing up school now, and I only have one complaint about this text. It should've been handed out to the students on the first day of class with a schedule of which sections to learn for each year of study. It should be a required text for everyone. My life, my family, and my peers all would have benefitted from the decreased stress associated with a properly organized course plan. I probable could have saved thousands on coffee and actually slept instead of cramming this information for hours on end. This is an entire education between two covers. Thank you, thank you, thank you. My younger brother starts school in September and he is studying this book already! His life will be so much simpler because of it. I not only studied this material for boards, but due to the ease of which it is laid out I actually had time to learn it. You should write a business text next!

"Architects on Architects" is such an amazing book where you can learn from the masters. See also Gray's "Designers on Designers" and "Writers on Directors" to discover how the pros are influenced by their mentors.

"...much more edifying is Tadao Ando's epiphany on his first visit to Le Corbusier's Ronchamp chapel: 'Because of the overwhelming spatial experience, which penetrated deep into my soul, I had to escape after staying less than one hour. I was awe-struck by a light unprecedented in my life.'Best among the other appreciations are Carlos Jimenez on Luis Barragan; Ricardo Legorreta on another Mexican, the little-remembered Jose Villagran;and Hugh Hardy on William van Alen, architect of the Chrysler Building. As Hardy writes of that idiosyncratic aluminum-spired skyscraper,'This iconic office building goes for broke, flaunting the exterior skin's independence as a costume pageant of pattern, gleaming profiles and symbolic panache. It's a theatrical gesture that identifies this as a building like no other, and gives New Yorkers proof that they are extraordinary.'"

Classic text, rich assortment of photos, all presented in this, the new contemporary work on archs. What could she possibly venture into next....can't wait Ms. Gray

Practitioners of a wildly competitive art form, architects are always looking over their shoulders, not just at contemporaries with whom they must compete for jobs but also at the great predecessors against whom they'll be measured by history. The master builders that 24 present-day architects chose to write about for this revealing if somewhat repetitive collection tell as much about the authors as their subjects. Predictably, many of the participants (all men, with the exception of Diana Agrest) gravitated toward the big boys of modernism, and three architects are the focus of almost half the essays, with five on Le Corbusier, four on Paul Rudolph and two on Louis I. Kahn. Sometimes those pairings can seem willfully contradictory. It would have been far more interesting to find out what Richard Meier thinks about Le Corbusier,who has had such an overwhelming influence on his own aesthetic,than for him to draw tenuous analogies between his work and the diametrically different architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. Likewise, there is more than a bit of irony in Michael Graves's praise for Le Corbusier, whom he routinely belittled in lectures earlier in his career. Much more edifying is Tadao Ando's epiphany on his first visit to Le Corbusier's Ronchamp chapel:''Because of the overwhelming spatial experience, which penetrated deep into my soul, I had to escape after staying less than one hour. I was awe-struck by a light unprecedented in my life.'' Best among the other appreciations are Carlos Jimenez on Luis Barragan; Ricardo Legorreta on another Mexican, the little-remembered Jose Villagran;and Hugh Hardy on William van Alen, architect of the Chrysler Building. As Hardy writes of that idiosyncratic aluminum-spired skyscraper, ''This iconic office building goes for broke, flaunting the exterior skin's independence as a costume pageant of pattern, gleaming profiles and symbolic panache. It's a theatrical gesture that identifies this as a building like no other, and gives New Yorkers proof that they are extraordinary.''

Introspecting Influence

Who inspired the Whos Who of Architecture? "Architects on Architects" attempts to address this loaded question in a series of 24 essays by leading architects of the late twentieth century from around the world from Norman Foster to Carlos Jimenez to Tadao Ando. As the essays illustrate, influence is actually not simply a question of "who?" but rather comes from a number of different sources: a single building, an entire career of an architect,or sometimes just an attitude or way of looking. Many of these influential experiences happened during the architects formative years as students or interns and the impact of how these influences changed the direction of a life are revealed for the first time in these later career recollections. For Richard Rogers, his visit to the Maison de Verre as a student in 1955 would not only determine his thesis project, it would stay with him through the next half century as the symbol of "the power of innovation itself." For Tadao Ando, Le Corbusiers words in "Vers une Architecture" stressing that a journey in ones youth has a deep and strong significance throughout a lifetime inspired the young untrained aspiring architect to visit Le Corbusiers church at Ronchamp in 1965.As the essays attest, the importance of an architect can be measured not only by his or her designs, but also by the architects impact on other architects careers. Based on this criteria, Le Corbusier, Paul Rudolph,and Louis Kahn appear in these essays as some of the most influential architects. However, although five of the 24 essays are devoted to Le Corbusier, we see five very different aspects of the master architect: Ando describes impressions of Ronchamp, Michael Graves talks about Le Corbusiers method of drawing, William Lim discusses him in relation to Frank Gehry, Sumet Jumsai describes his personal meeting, and Arata Isozaki describes the context of his death. While Paul Rudolphs reputation suffered greatly during the Postmodern period, we see his lasting impact through his students who studied at Yale ranging from Norman Foster to current dean Robert A. M. Stern.
One of the most interesting aspects of this collection is the great variety of topics that the architects chose to write about. Some easily understandable choices include Cesar Pelli writing about his mentor and former employer Eero Saarinen and high-rise building specialist William Pederson writing about Rockefeller Center. However, it might come as a surprise to see Diana Agrest writing about architect-turned-filmmaker Sergei M. Eisenstein or Richard Meier writing about Frank Lloyd Wright rather than Le Corbusier. For the most part, these short essays are poignantly written -- a refreshing change from the typical arrogance and incoherence of many architects writing about their own work. Nevertheless, the essays shed great insight into the
architects inner thinking and also reveal architecture as a collective profession greater than the work of any single architect.The collection serves as a valuable document to understand this generation of architects from the second half of the twentieth century and also begs the question of how this generation will influence future generations of architects.

The word artificial originally meant "artful, crafty." That's an apt description of ARTIFICIAL IMAGINATION, which blends art, craft, and wit into a narrative that teaches us life lessons that we did not knew we knew.
-- Richard Lederer, author of Anguished English

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2JQ1EBHV3YOR6 Great book, nice splash of humor--high quality photos! I specially like the love story at the end.

Here are some links to photo posters and calendars from the book and promotional T-shirts:
Scenic City and Boat Photo Poster
University of Washington Photo Poster
Seattle Secenic Sunset Photograph
Seattle Secenic Photograph
Thonging At the Beach
San Francisco Scenic Union Square Photo Poster
Pike Place Market Photo Print
Beach Hotties Poster

This book transcends genre -- it's a good collection of memoirs, entertaining style, nice splash of humor, an extremely detailed travelogue with beautiful photographs, a good description of technology, a touch of Science Fiction (since it is purportedly written by a Artificial Imagination program) and suffused with philosophical musings.

Even though it's obviously written by a Technologist, the book is very human. It is primarily about the immigrant experience, but Kalpanik is extremely observant and has an eye to look for the unusual, notice what stands out and build humorous side of people, places and his own life.

Wonderful! one can feel a touch of his bitter-sweet experiences but one is encouraged by his ability to find humor everywhere.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1CJDZRIOJJIFN Kalpanik's writing is down to earth, funny, witty and smart. He chronicles his journey of self-discovery with an amazing detail and humor. His coverage of the various places he has been to--UC Davis, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle and Nashville-- was informative and enjoyable, and so were his jokes around them. I recommend this book to anyone looking for light reading, specially busy professionals who do not have time to read a whole book in one straight session but want to read one entertaining a chapter at a time.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3T5IX83S8N7DX Light reading, but very engaging! Entertaining and excellent for busy professionals since you can read it chapter at a time and still enjoy it!

Tony Salin's collection of stories in "Baseball's Forgotten Heroes" is a reminder that baseball's charm is created by more than the superstars that the media cling to when trying to get the average fan's attention. As much as I enjoy reading about Williams or DiMaggio, Baseball's Forgotten Heroes is a fresh approach that I hope will set a standard for future volumes. Throughout history, baseball has presented many men with fascinating stories that have been otherwise overlooked. Fortunately, there is at least one author with the desire and perseverance to publish some of these unsung-heroes' stories. The style of this book would appeal to anyone regardless of his or her degree of passion for baseball or knowledge of the sport, but it is a "must-have" for any baseball enthusiast's library. I hope Salin is able to produce many sequels to this wonderful model of baseball literature. HOF!

Baseball is a game rich in history and stories abound about those who have played the game. Author Tony Salin has provided us with stories of players who are known to true fans such as Chuck Connors, Billy Jurges, Frenchy Bordagaray, and Larry Jansen. A number of stories of very obscure players who have interesting tales to tell as well is also in the book. I especially enjoyed the pronounciation of names in the back of the book. I had hoped to see the name Chris Van Cuyk listed, but, alas, that one will continue to mystify me. The book is a quick read and is worth your time.

This is a book written by someone with a lot of love for the game of baseball. It will mostly benefit others with the same love: Salin has found sufficiently obscure figures that I had only heard of half of them. Where feasible, he lets them tell their own stories, thus preserving their style of speech and bringing them to life (very important as most are very elderly or since deceased).

Salin must be a persuasive fellow and is certainly a persistent one; he wangled an interview with the very reclusive Pete Gray, who played major league baseball with only one arm (true story). He has gathered a collection of amusing and interesting stories that tell a lot about the times in which his subjects played.

And as if all that weren't enough, there's a great bonus at the end: a pronunciation guide to baseball people's names. How is someone like myself, born in the early 1960s, supposed to know how to pronounce a lot of the names of the past? What a superb inclusion, and the list is both long and phonetically clear. I couldn't believe my good fortune when I got to that part, having thought that the book was over, and was so pleasantly surprised. It was like a performer coming out for a superb encore.

Well worth the money and time for enthusiasts of baseball history. I'm going to keep my eye on this author, and I hope we get more.

Are you tired of reading the same stories about the same baseball players? Pick up this great little book for a different look at the game. Instead of rehashing old stories the author delves into the careers of some little known but colorful characters. The interviews, though somewhat rough around the edges, allow the author to give you the conversational type of history, as if you were sitting across the kitchen table from these baseball nomads. It's the kind of book you find yourself saying, "I could have written this book". But hey, the author followed through on his idea, and I look forward to seeing more of the same type material from him.

This book, like Andrew Torrez's critically acclaimed _Off Base_, appears to be part of a growing trend among baseball authors to encourage their readers to think "outside the box." Salin's ideas, like Torrez's, are provocative and entertaining.