Jackson Books

Jackson's tale (to be continued, I hope) is set in the beautiful countryside around Lakenheath and Mildenhall,in England's Suffolk county. I was particularly intrigued from the start because I've spent time there, and the descriptions are so good that I could almost smell the place (and most certainly the pub food)! The plot, a quiet love story, unfolds delicately. The protagonist has a strong sense of self and is willing to let his own story - including his guarded but practical approach to a new love - unfold graciously. His love interest, who is much less tentative, is so intrigued that he's willing to wait to see what happens. This book has a kind of tenderness that is often missing in contemporary novels. The love story is courtly and patient. It's not a page-turner, but you won't want it to be. Just enjoy the good read. The author introduces the novel with a hook, which he deftly brings around again to close the book, allowing for future developments in the life of the protagonist. Will our hero find love again in North Dakota?

I was drawn into a new world from the first page of Mr. Jackson's book. He pulls the reader out of the fog of the ordinary and into a brave new world where the main characters are gay. He has created a world of believable people who participate in the full scope of human emotions of love, joy and sorrow. Long after the book ends, thoughts of The Capt'n and Nigel remain. All in all, Thirty Days and Counting is an excellent read and I am looking forward to a sequel.

From the moment you begin reading this novel, you are drawn into the story along with Jackson's well-developed characters. Your senses become stimulated by his vivid descriptions of the emotions they are feeling, the places they visit, and the food they eat which will make your mouth water. It is a beautifully written story of love, life, and the experiences we share with our partners, family, and friends and how the small things we all do for others in our lives are what really matters since they are what makes a difference in other people's lives and also make us the person we become. This is one of those rare gems of a story that as you read it you visualize everything and keep thinking how wonderful it would be as a motion picture. This is a story that should be shared with your life partner, family, and friends.

Having the pleasure of seeing this book grow into what it is now, I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes a great love story! It made me laugh and cry and laugh again. I couldn't put the book down and read it from cover to cover in one sitting. I found myself living the life of the characters and feeling what they felt. I have told all of my friends about this book and I know you will too. Take a chance on this new author! I am waiting to see what else he will come up with.

Homesick for Texas, and all those good eats? This is the book for you. It is much more than a cookbook, it is a piece of Texas to be read and savored. Having eaten at all the locations of Threadgill's and having spent many (too many, according to my college transcript) at Armadillo World Headquarters, opening this book was like a trip back home. Sure, there are the receipes for all the Threadgill's classics, including all the vegetable dishes. Sure you can try to make the wonderful chicken fried steak, but intertwined in all those recepies is the history of Threadgills, and the people who were there. You learn the thinking behind the place many called home, you remember the brand names of products that made Texas cooking great. You also get a bird's eye view of the Texas music scene and all the colorful people who inhabited that time and place. Threadgill's kept me from getting too homesick when I left Dallas, and moved to Austin. This book keeps me from getting too homesick for home.

Hands down, the greatest cookbook ever written (take that, Better Homes & Gardens!). If you've never been to Threadgill's, you've never truly experienced the bounty of God's green earth - but you can get a fantastic taste of it with this book. I cook something from this book almost every day, which may not mean I'm the healthiest soul alive, but I sure get my veggies! If you thought a down-home cookbook was just a bunch of artery-clogging recipes for fried vegetables, you're only 10% right. In addition to fabulous recipes, this cookbook is actually an entertaining book to sit down and read! Trust me, it will find its way to that revered shelf in your bookcase that's reserved for the family Bible and the baby books. Yee hah!

This past haunt of Janis Joplin is a true Austin institution. And, so is it's food. But don't expect recipes similar to the Lutece cookbook or Cooking with the Master Chefs. These are master chefs of the home grown type. Their chickenfried steak with cream gravy is well, artery clogging delicious. The recipes are simple to follow, the ingredients are few and the taste fabulous. And, the narrative relays some great memories of Threadgill's. I've enjoyed cooking these dishes for other expatriated Texans and we're in heaven!

As someone who moved from Austin to Washington, DC years back---and whose friends still ask me why, I don't have an answer. But I can tell you one of the things I miss is Eddie Wilson and Threadgill's. It's not fancy, it's not meant to be, but as Eddie says "This is not a lobster taco". This isn't fancy food, this is just good food, something you could eat every day, something that doesn't require an engineering degree to assemble and a degree in civil engineering to balance on the plate.

In The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare James Qwilleran aka "Qwill", is becoming acclimated to his new life as a millionaire in Pickaxe City (400 miles north of everywhere). He has moved his two beautiful Siamese cats (KoKo and Yum Yum) into the old Klingenschoen mansion and has settled in for a five year stay to fulfill the requirements of Aunt Fanny's will.

As this book begins, Qwill is awaiting the arrival of "the big one", a huge snow fall, as predicted every day on the weather report on WPKX. He is starting to adapt to life as the richest man in Moose County, and has started dating the local librarian, Polly Duncan. He begins to get acquainted with the various families in town, and develops an easy friendship with Junior Goodwinter, the young, energetic editor of the Pickax Picayune. When Junior's father dies suddenly in an accident, Qwill sympathizes with his friend, and looks for ways to save the centuries' old newspaper run for years without profit. Qwill begins to become suspicious of Junior's mother, and her reaction to her husband's death. It seems the widow is ready to sell all of her possessions and has been seen around town with a new man. Could the death of Senior Goodwinter have been anything more than a bad car accident? Distracting Qwill from the suspicious death is the upcoming marriage of his beloved housekeeper, Mrs. Iris Cobb. Qwill brought Mrs. Cobb up from "Down Below" to manage his household and the new museum that is being created in the Klingenschoen mansion. But the man she is marrying is highly disliked in town, and Qwill works hard to insure that Mrs. Cobb is marrying the right man for her.

In the Cat Who Sniffed Glue, Moose County is dealing with a rash of vandalism that has been escalating to increasingly violent acts. One of the suspects in the vandalism ring is Chad Lanspeak, son of the owners of the Lanspeak's Department Store. As Chad's parents are good friends of Qwill, he tries to befriend the young man, and begins to believe that Chad was not involved in the violence. A murder of two prominent citizens occurs, and the prime suspects in the murder are Chad and his friends. When a car crash kills Chad and two other suspects in the vandalism ring, the police are quick to close the case. Qwill suspects that the police have closed the case prematurely, and continues to quietly investigate. With KoKo developing a fascination with glue, and Polly becoming more and more distant to his affections, Qwill is kept busy while trying to solve the murders and to clear the name of his good friend's son.

In the Cat Who Went Underground Qwill, is feeling despondent over the recent absence of Polly Duncan, and decides he needs a change. He moves his two beautiful Siamese cats (KoKo and Yum Yum) into his lakefront cottage in Mooseville for the summer, and quickly learns that country living is not for him. He has to call for plumbing repairs almost daily, and with the small size of the cottage, he quickly decides to build an addition to create more room for himself and the cats. Finding a reputable builder during the summer season is a daunting task, however, as all of the builders are booked for months in advance. Qwill finds himself a builder with a stellar reputation and feels smug for his ingenuity. This all comes to a screeching halt when the man goes missing, and Qwill must find himself an "underground" builder to finish the job. This latest carpenter is sluggish and lazy, and Qwill finds himself having to supervise all of the work being slowly performed. When the carpenter is discovered dead on Qwill's property, he becomes a suspect. He quickly learns that summer at the lake is not what he intended and works overtime to discover who has a grudge against carpenters in Moose County.

This is my favorite cozy mystery series! I had read all of the books in the past, and wanted to read them again for a second time. This time around, I have chosen to listen to them on CD, as I love the voice of George Guidall.

This is a great series by my favorite author!

The first book in the series is called "The Cat who Could Read Backwards". Enjoy!

I have read all of "The Cat Who..." books except the very latest one (and it is on a UPS truck at this moment from Amazon.com). Jim Qwilleran is a semi-retired journalist in a small town. His column in the local paper is titled "The Qwill Pen". He is owned by 2 siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum. It pays to pay attention to Koko if there has been a foul deed commited and to Qwilleran's own mustache which throbs with unease when lies are being told. When you need a break from more serious reading my suggested antidote is one or more of "The Cat Who..." books.

Koko and Qwill are at it again in this combination of mysteries. The antics of Koko will keep you guessing who done it in this series. Braun is her consumate self in depicting the life of Qwill and his mystery solving companion centered in this quaint northern city. Once you start the story, you can't put it down until you have finished, even if it is three in the morning.

Lilian Jackson Braun always delivers, even if it's the latest edition of the "Moose County Something" in Moose County, which is 400 miles north of everywhere. Qwilleran is at his sleuthing best with KoKo, a Siamese cat with keen intelligence, as his mystery-solving partner. As always, the mysteries are well plotted with quirky characters that capture and carry the reader from the first clue to each satisfying conclusion. If you enjoy the "Cat Who . . ." books as much as I do, you'll want to read "The Cat Who Sang for the Birds", the latest in the series. And it's not necessary to read the books in order. Each stands on its own as a complete story. Cuddle with your favorite feline, and as Qwilleran would no doubt recommend, read aloud to stimulate your feline's intelligence.

This is a tough read, but worth it for the insights into the early seventeenth century masters. Don't expect to learn how to fence from reading this book. It is tough enough to learn a physical skill from a book. Tougher still without pictures. But this would be like learning how to fight by reading Shakespeare. Pay attention to the concepts and patterns of thought exposed. Leave the technical analysis to the experts.

BTW, if you are interested in the scholarly aspects of reconstructing historical martial arts I would expect that this would be a good place for an English speaker to start. If you already know German or Italian there are some potentially more accessible works in those languages.

This is not a modern re-telling or history book. It's not even re-typed - just a facsimile reprint of three fencing manuals of the Renaissance. If you want to know how it was really done, this is the place. It's real.

But don't assume you'll have an easy read. Saviolo is not writing in his native language, and it shows. He doesn't describe motions very well, and occasionally appears to leave out a foot move in a long sequence. Di Grassi never wrote in English. This manual is a sixteenth century English translation of his Italian manual. People who deride the "negative campaigning" of today will get quite a surprise when they read Silver's virulent contempt for the rapier and the foreigners who teach it.

There is also the language issue. Yes, it's written in English, but sixteenth century English doesn't always mean what you think it does. Saviolo tells you to come on guard with your right wrist against your knee, your right foot against your opponent's right foot, and your point against his face. Obviously, something has been lost in four centuries. In this case, it's the fact that "against" meant "opposite or across from", not "touching". You are now armed against one problem, but it's still not the language you think it is. (Hint: an Oxford English Dictionary is a very useful companion volume.)

Also, don't assume you can do this in modern fencing. The blades were longer and heavier, and they don't work like modern fencing weapons. Furthermore, these are very basic lessons. We know that the advanced moves were jealously guarded, and not written in books.

With all the difficulties, this book remains essential - it's a direct link to the fighting methods of the Elizabethan fencers. Di Grassi is the easiest to follow. Saviolo is particularly helpful for research, because he spends some time explaining why he does things differently form others, thereby documenting both styles and explaining the thinking process of fencing masters. Silver prefers the short sword to the rapier, and shows us that the Renaissance held many different views.

This books stands alone -- there is just no commercially available substitute.

Your stage combat will look better, your re-enactments will be more real, your understanding of the sword will be sharper.

This book is wonderful on so amy levels. First of all, it is a wonderful reference for fencers to see where it all began. It is also a wondeful book of you have a desire to read and want to be able to speak and understand old ELizabethan English. There are also many wonderful woodcuts showing costuming of the period. It is a great book to have in ones library.

This book is a facsimile of three fencing manuals of the XVI century covering two major traditions: the rapier techniques, mainly italian but also used in Spain and Portugal at the time; and the short-sword techniques, probably british in origin.

The time in which these manuals were published was crucial: there was a gradual transition from the medieval sword techniques to the renaissance rapier ones. At the time (and long afterwards) the french schools of fencing were not existent and the main flow was latin: two of the manuals were written by italians and the swords used in latin countries were rapidly evolving from medieval sword towards the rapier. Those were times of frequent wars and of deadly clashes involving different cultures and ways of fighting. Very different from the later "civilized" duels between long-haired make-uped "gentlemen" which originated the french schools of fencing from which our childish fencing appeared.

This work is the real thing! It shows the experience of three sword masters, in a time where expertise was gained by fighting often and staying alive doing it, and mastery was achieved by recognition from a world where everyone was a swordsman ready to challenge such a person just to get fame.

Forget for a moment modern sword-"play" and read this book about real swordsmanship!

In her first full-length collection, Jackson displays a range of poetic accomplishments. one of which is delicate yet powerful imagery. For example, in "The Twittering Machine" she remembers spring in Paris. She recalls the "red dress, a bag of apples, hope. / Two rooms and a bath, flowers in the garden." In the next stanza she paints in more of the scene, appealing to eyes, ears, and nose: "Birds twitter toward a sweet smell from the brambles. / The mountains blue again, leafless trees rising / like a formation of soldiers coming over the ridge." While such images energize individual poems, Jackson also uses imagery to provide complexity and structural unity to the collection. Contrasting images of light and dark are woven throughout the poems. In "Mother of Memory Come Up from the Well" the speaker confronts her mother's descent into the darkness of old age: "Night turns / into itself over / and over, / stars gleam, / then extinguish / in the light shafts / of daybreak." In a later poem, "The Hawks Come Back," the speaker asks, "What shall I do to accustom my eyes / to the new light? / We feel our way up through darkness. . ." This is a strong collection, highly recommended.

The debut collection of poetry by Susan Jackson, "Through A Gate Of Trees" is an impressive collection of poetry distinguished by an unusually keen perceptiveness, vivid word imagery, and engaging wit. Here are poems of a living intensity that will engage poetry enthusiasts of all preferences and literary backgrounds from beginning to end. 'Noctiluca for Peter': You come back with the children/for the first time since she died./New creases around your eyes,/you remember everything,/remember Contadora,/how she knelt on deck/cleaning the amberjack we caught/trawling, scales shimmering in the sun/as she flung them onto the wood;/the day we anchored off Saboga,/swimming in the shoals you found/a field of red starfish, almost too late/we saw the sharks, their triangle fins/black, circling in on us.

A book to read over and over. Alone and silent, aloud and intimate. It will fill your heart and touch your soul. It provides a place to rest and mourn, to refresh and join the quest. To be challenged to experience your world from a new perspective whether you are sad,lonely, filled with celebration or just curious. I know you will welcome the journey

Gentle, yet strong...
Mysterious, yet so clear...
Juxtapositions
held deep in the heart.

A story you will read time and time again. This touching story is for young and old. Thank you to the author for bringing the story for everyone to share!

This is a great book for cat lovers, or animal lovers.

Author of "Hobo Finds A Home"

Tim The Cat by Roland Hansen is a compassionate and delightful book about a unique and tiny kitten that is in search of his niche. As Tiny Tim makes his way along his journey, he experiences tough situations, and this helps him, as well as the reader, learn an important and helpful lesson about valuing people for what is on the inside; what is in one's heart.

This book could be used in any K-5 classroom to help teach morals within literature or to discuss themes and main ideas within stories. Individuality, accepting differences, friendship, love, and bravery are all themes within this story; however, even more themes can be identified and explored as you read this story with children.

The illustrations show the main idea of each page and help progress the story along, making it great for emergent readers! The illustrations appear to be done in colored pencil with effective shading that makes the characters pop off the page and come to life. While the drawings are effective in showcasing the feelings and emotions of characters, the texture of the art itself is soft, reinforcing and emanating the feelings of compassion and love; a repeated idea found throughout the book.

This book is sure to be a favorite of children, students, teachers, and adults alike! As an avid collector of children's literature, this is one I would strongly suggest having in your own personal library or collection! I cannot wait to see more from this talented author!

Highley recommend for readers of all ages. A very good lesson for all of us to learn. Great reading, THANKS MR. HANSEN for writing such a good book and look forward to seeing more of your work.

Happy Reader

Sarah Sachs is in the sixth grade. She and her dad moved from large Toronto to small Ottawa. As Sarah walks to her new school she is surprised to see a boy walk into the street without checking for oncoming vehicles. Her surprise turns into the first of many shocks when Sarah watches the skidding vehicle drive completely through the boy as if he was not there! This is how Sarah makes her first, though reluctant, friend Matt Barnes.

Professor Nathan Barnes is a famous scientist who has been missing since Matt's birth. Matt lives with his dad's assistant, Nadine, who is nice to him only when the public is looking. Matt wants nothing more than to know if his father is really alive somewhere or not. Sarah and Matt dive head-long into researching the answer.

The duo end up locating a machine that Dr. Barnes created for traveling into different eras. Before they know it, Sarah and Matt are dropped into the year 1615. Worse, they are in the middle of a war between the Algonquin and Iroquois notions. Knowing their own history, Matt wants to be a peace negotiator and halt the upcoming battles. This would save many lives. However, Sarah is not sure that Matt's idea is a good one since it could very well change history as they know it. If history changes, so will the future.

***** An extremely well done story that will have you rethinking your ideas on quantum theories. Though the tale involves multiple universes and the possibility of time travel, it is told in such a way that kids as young as the age of eight can easily understand everything. The book is recommended by the publisher for children between ages eight and twelve. However, I believe that young adults (teens) will highly enjoy the story as well.

The back of the book is filled with a short glossary, discussions for reading groups, and even some activities that could be done in the classroom. This novel is so exciting that kids will probably not even realize how much they are learning. Excellent! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Sara Sachs is switching schools in the middle of sixth grade and does not want to be in Ottawa. She wants to be with her mom not in what she calls the wilderness with her dad. She is shocked when on the way to school her first day she sees a car drive right through a kid. Sara is very interested in what this boy is like because of what she saw. She soon finds out that Matt is the son a very famous scientist. Sara wants to meet his dad but Matt has never even seen him. His father disappeared when Matt was born. Together Sara and Matt figure out that Matt's father knows the secret to time travel and figure that he is stuck in another time and they are determined to bring him back to the present. Will Sara and Matt be able to bring his dad back? Read the book and find out!

***** This is an excellent story. If you like adventure or time travel books, you will love this book. Once your start reading you will not be able to put it down! *****

Reviewed by Brandon Stabler. Age 14.

Sixth grader Sarah Sachs is not happy living in Ottawa with her father a member of parliament while her mother is back in Toronto working at the job she loves. Sarah also misses her friends but on the first day of school, she notices a boy who lives in her housing complex. They walk together but don't talk. When a car hits the boy, it goes right through him leaving him unharmed. At school he sits next to her and she learns his name is Matt Barnes.

Sarah learns that Matt Barnes' father is a famous archeologist who has made new discoveries all across the world but he never comes home to see his son; Matt lives with Nadine, his father's cruel assistant. Later after much brainstorming, Matt and Sarah break in to his father's lab for some answers, but Nadine catches them. She tells them Matt's father is back in time in one of the universes of the multiverse and he can travel through time but can't come home. Nadine throws Sarah and Matt back in time to when the Algonquin and Mohawk tribes were at war with each other. They do their best to warn both tribes to be wary of the whites and what to do to preserve their culture. They want to find a way back to their own time and to extract Matt's father from wherever he is as they now know Nadine did to him what she did to them.

Time traveling fans that enjoy history will take pleasure in the appropriately named TIME MEDDLER'S because the protagonists try to change history so that the Indians aren't taken advantage of by the Dutch, English and French. Nadine is a wicked villainess whom readers will love to hate as they root for the protagonists to find a way to achieve their goals including returning to their time. Deborah Jackson is a wonderful storyteller who draws her audience into her tale.

Harriet Klausner

It's a snowy day in Ottawa's eastern suburbs. Having once again clashed with her father over leaving Toronto for "the wilderness" of the national capital, Sarah Sachs is in no mood for snow. She's in no mood for foolish surprises, either. Swirling flakes fail to hide the shock of her life - an SUV passes through a boy walking across the street toward her. This bizarre incident is but the beginning of a sequence of unexpected events. The boy, who proves rude and distant, is Sarah's neighbour and classmate. As "loners", they almost inevitably form a loose alliance. That connection will lead to an amazing adventure.

Deborah Jackson's last book, "The Ice Tomb", combined history, science and some well-drawn characters in a captivating story. Those characters, however, were all adults. Here, she follows a similar strategy, but for a younger audience. Sarah and Matt Barnes might be your youngster's classmates. Jackson captures their feelings about school, parents and the world around them with skilled perception. Sarah's folks have divorced, jolting the twelve-year-old's comfortable life. Matt's lost both of his, his father in an inexplicable way. Nathan Barnes has disappeared in time.

In pursuit of his father, Matt must deal with his cousin Nadine, who's running the house, the experiment Dr Barnes designed, and Matt's life. Fiercely protective of Dr Barnes' work, she proves the obstacle Matt and Sarah must dodge in their quest. In their efforts, the two children override caution, with unpredictable results. An eminent physicist, Nathan Barnes had developed a machine to cross time and space. Jackson here adapts current thinking among physicists that there are multiple universes, possibly accessed by tapping into something called "quantum foam". Within this foam space and time are indeterminate. You can go anywhere or anywhen. Thrust into the foam, Matt and Sarah are transported elsewhen. As city children, they must learn to cope with an entirely novel environment - and its inhabitants. How they survive and what results from their transportation makes gripping reading. They must prove flexible and innovative. Matt's relation to his father is the pivot point for the story's development, which Jackson handles with consummate skill. Even so, the conclusion of this book leads one to cry out for a sequel.

Science fiction has long held a fascination for young, inquisitive minds. What are the alternative possibilities to everyday life? Is the course of history locked in some pattern or can individuals truly have an impact on how events transpire? Jackson poses these questions admirably, showing how the young can act on their own initiative and maintain a set of effective values. These two clash with adults, with each other and with their peers. But they also learn reconciliation and cooperation between themselves and a larger community. They understand how today's actions lead to tomorrow's results, and selfish behaviour can be carried only so far. This book is valuable for many reasons and an excellent "stocking stuffer" for any young person. Adults should find it of more than passing interest.

[stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

This is simply the story of a family of turkeys, not unlike many human families you may know. Mom, Pop, The Golden Boy and of course the Runt. This is an absolutely hilarious Thanksgiving tale. The illustrations are great and the story line will keep you snickering from front to back. This is actually quite a useful book for the class room. After reading the book and finding out how runt saves the day, have the children write you a letter, as a turkey, talking you out of not having him or her for your feast. Out of a class of third and fourth graders, you get some very interesting stories. I enjoyed this one, thought it was funny and well done.

This "Thanksgiving comedy" highlights gratitude of an unusual sort--that of not ending up basted on a Thanksgiving Day platter. Which is important if you happen to be a turkey on "Wishbone Farm."

Turk's parents are proud of their big, strong son. His mother thinks he'll be a dancer. His father is sure he'll be a star athlete. No one listens to Runt when he warns that his brother "is a goner."

While his family is blissfully ignorant of the impending signs around them, Runt, small but smart, devises ways to keep them from the roasting pan.

This sassy wobble-gobble of a story is stuffed with word play, energetic drawings and imagination.

Lisa Wheeler writes some of the most delightful children's books around today. "Turk and Runt" is a gigglefest! What child can't relate to Runt, the younger brother, who just can't seem to measure up to "perfect" Turk. No-one ever listens to Runt and it nearly costs Turk his life. Read this book to your children or just read it for your own pleasure.

Laugh-out-loud funny! The kids loved it and the adults had their funny bones tickled as well. Read this one out loud to the whole family, then plan on having tacos for Thanksgiving.

This is one of the best books I have ever read on the topic of how to influence others. It was both practical and easy to read. I have used some of the techniques in both my business and my personal life and they really work. The Convince, Collaborate and Create Influencing method has helped me understand what I need to do in order to influence people in a variety of different situations. However you need to be more effective influencing others-- sales, negotiating, customer service, recruiting or managing your employees this book offers excellent ideas. I was particularly impressed with the chapter dealing with cross cultural influencing. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to advance their career.

UP: The Art of Getting What You Want
Lee E. Miller with Barbara Jackson
by Dr. Bonnie Kellen

If there is a golden skill in the era of emotional/social intelligence it is that of influencing/negotiating. If there is one person who can teach it best, it is Lee Miller.
I once heard from a Human Resource director that the biggest problem they see with their employees is that of Emotional Intelligence defined as how to communicate with ones peers, supervisors and teams. Basically, that translates to how do you get your agenda across in everyday life and get a positive response. Influencing is the foundational skill for all situations.
Accordingly most people view the world based on their own points of reference that are derived from their personal experiences. The U Perspective requires you to look at the world differently, through the eyes of others.
His Convince, Collaborate, Create method consists of a three part formula to win others over, one part psychology, one part problem solving and one part structuring your interactions for maximum impact. As Lee Miller says, people do not want you to treat them the way you want to be treated. They want to be treated the way they want to be treated.
The concepts and techniques in this book are well thought out and described in easy to understand dialogue. The book gives readers the opportunity to develop a sophisticated and constructive way of interacting with people in business and in life.
The book is informative and gives much insight. It is definitely not "the same old thing".
I recommend this title as one of the most important books you can read.

Written by experienced businessman and winner of the 2005 Seton Hall University Business School's Award for Teaching Excellence Lee E. Miller with consultant and entrepreneur Barbara Jackson, UP: Influence, Power and the U Perspective - The Art of Getting What You Want is a self-help guide to cultivating one's ability to influence people and build lasting agreements that advance mutual goals. Chapters discuss the "three C's" method of influencing others (Convince, Collaborate and Create), and the importance of understanding others' perspectives. "Since our beliefs and values are developed over time, on a subconscious level, most people simply assume that everyone sees the world the way they do. Even when we recognize that someone else sees a situation differently than we do, our first instinct usually is to try to persuade them to see things our way. The U Perspective takes the opposite approach. Its effectiveness is not rooted in the ability to convince others to change their views or adopt different values. Instead, its power comes from recognizing what others already believe and want and providing solutions based on that information." A top-notch guide, especially ideal for greasing social wheels in business circles but packed cover to cover with tips for more effective negotiation and team-building in personal circles as well.

I picked up this book because I read and loved the author's last book A Woman's Guide to Successful Negotiating. I wasn't disappointed. I started using his U Perspective approach at work and at home. I find I can get more help from my boss and my coworkers. It even works with my kids. All I can say is this book is terrific. You have to read it.

This book provides an excellent overview of the science linking sprawl and public health that will be useful to both public health professionals less familiar with planning and planners less familiar with public health. Dr. Frumkin's message is clear: urban sprawl is having a detrimental impact on many aspects of public health. However, his tone remains objective and hence more useful. Moreover, the references alone make the book a very valuable text for all professionals working in this area.

The Europeans are way ahead of our efforts to consider health issues in the urban planning process. This book provides a history and direction to address urban sprawl and understand well the health implications of reckless or solely market-driven city planning. After all, no built community will have sustainability, if its populations are at risk for chronic and acute illness.

Presented are the ingredients to make our cities safer and livable. This is a must read for City Planners, County officials, and anyone interested in cleaning up our urban communities with an eye toward social equity and environmental justice. MJY

The costs of sprawl are enormous. This book describes the costs in terms of many different types of public health measurements. If you haven 't thought about sprawl, this is a good place to start. It is chilling to think about how many physical, emotional, psychological and medical ramifications there are to the US automobile lifestyle. The price to degradation of the planet was not discussed in depth but that too would make you think about our legacy of our lifestyle to the quality of our planet for future generations. I am encouraged that the topic is being developed. The automobile lifestyle is addictive and to change it will require a paradigm shift. The shift starts with organized discussions and lucidly presented data. This book is excellent on both accounts.

A broad (though not particularly deep) guide to the public health problems associated with sprawl, including: (1) the air pollution caused by sprawl-induced auto traffic, (2) the health consequences of the reduction in walking caused by automobile dependency, (3) injuries and deaths from auto traffic, (4) water quality problems associated with suburban development, (5) the alleged intangible costs of automobile dependency (e.g. driving-induced stress, the isolation of nondrivers). None of these issues are addressed in enormous detail; for example, the book occasionally mentions pro-sprawl counterarguments, but does not fully address them. But then again, each of these topics could probably justify a separate book.