K Books

In this extraordinary memoir from 1932-1934, Kitty Crockett Robertson describes her life on the North Shore of Massachusetts during the Depression, a time when she, a Harvard graduate, became a hard-working apple farmer to save the family farm in Ipswich. Her physician father had died, and Kitty, wanting to keep the farm from being sold for development, which her Boston-based brothers favored, decided to give up her job working at the Harvard Library to try to make the orchard profitable enough to save the land.

Working almost single-handedly, she spent the next two years doing all the dirty work, learning in the process that "The Depression was that time of leveling when she and her neighbors kept going on the strength they learned from each other." From her earliest days on the farm, she personally pruned trees, cleared land, repaired sprayers and tractors, gathered swarming bees into hives, hired five workers at twice the going rate (because they, too, needed to make ends meet), dealt with an arrogant banker anxious to foreclose, protected her apples at gunpoint when necessary, and then fought the weather, storms, and a December temperature drop to twenty degrees below zero in her efforts to bring the crop to market.

In the process she earned the love of her workers (who had regarded her, at first, as an idle "North Shore millionaire"), gave up everything in her personal life to devote herself completely to her task, worked up to 16 hours a day for two years during the apple and peach seasons, and gained new appreciation for the values she saw every day among her workers, the wholesaler who bought her drops and cider apples, and the purchasing agent of Harvard, who helped her make commercial connections to sell her crop.

Robertson, who became a newspaper and radio columnist in her later years, was a formidable writer who always recognized the values which unite people, regardless of their "class," and this quality pervades her personal memoir. Unfinished, because her life became too busy to finish it after 1934, it was discovered upon her death in 1979 by her daughter, and it is she who moves the story to its conclusion after 1934. Filled with personal detail and wonderful tributes to those who helped her, Robertson is never self-serving, readily admitting her weaknesses while stressing her efforts to succeed. A unique look at one farm and its history during the Depression, The Orchard is an extraordinary record of the times, written by a truly extraordinary woman. n Mary Whipple

My only complaint about this book is that it only covers two years of the author's life in detail. I hated for the book to end. I wish she had had time to write more, because she was an amazing person. Kitty's father, a doctor, raised his family in a colonial farmhouse by the ocean. Beginning in her childhood, he made Kitty learn to do a man's work in the orchard. He also gave her a series of boats to sail on the ocean. She loved the farm and the sea. She got a college education and a good job in a college museum, but gave it all up when her father died at the beginning of the depression. None of her brothers were willing to do the backbreaking labor to keep the heavily mortgaged farm working. Kitty quit her good job and immersed herself in running the orchard, which her father had always said would save the farm he loved. She lived alone except her beloved dog, with no money and little heat in the winter. Her own family seemed determined to see her fail. She found good, loyal friends though, and though her life was daunting, it was also full of the joy of nature and achievment. I can't praise this book enough.

This book was truly one of the most interesting and capturing books I have ever read. I felt like I was present in the story and now can't wait to go to Ipswich and see this old farm house.

The late Adele Robertson's story of her attempt to save her family's property by establishing a commercially viable apple orchard during the Great Depression is a true gem. Robertson, who later went on to become an award-winning columnist for the Ipswich Chronicle, writes in a clear first-person voice. At times wildly humorous and often poignant, the story is superficially about growing and selling apples. What it is really about is self-reliance and courage. It is no wonder that so many New England high schools now include this book on their reading lists -- Robertson (with the help of her daughter Betsey, who retrieved and edited the manuscript after her mother's death) has produced a riveting work that speaks to a woman's need to "make it on her own" without ever preaching about it.

The Orchard, a Memoir, is a great book. Last week I was on a long flight back to San Luis Obispo from Omaha and I had this book with me, a gift from my mom. I started reading it and totally forgot about the flight, never noticed the movie they were playing. A good number of times tears were just pouring down my face and I'd wipe them away, wondering if the people on the plane around me thought I was a bit crazy.
But I tell you, I'm crazy about this book! Honestly, I read a good deal and this is easily one of the most interesting, deepest, most powerful books I have read in years. Although true, a memoir, it reads just like a fine novel. I was so totally absorbed reading this rare gem of a find, that it was difficult to realize that the author had died some 20 years ago--she, Adele Crockett Robertson, seems so real, so full of life, so gutsy, so immediate.
Briefly, this is the story of a young girl, a smart, educated girl with a good head on her shoulders, who loses her job in the great Depression, and goes back to the family farm to try and save it from the bank. The many people in the book all come to life perfectly and there are surprises aplenty. I am a gardenwriter (author of Allergy-Free Gardening)and have farmed myself, and I appreciate what Adele went through. I would also add that this is no doubt the best picture of life during the Depression I've ever come across.
I plan to review this book every place that I can, because to my mind, this one is so good, so readable, so well worth reading, so enjoyable, so satisfying, that it completely deserves to be a best seller. Do yourself a favor and read this marvelous book!

I retired from working at a nursing home. I happened across Mrs. Wilders books while working there. I only wish I had these books before my mother passed. She didn't like living alone but wanted to be in her own home. I know she would have liked living at The Home had she not been bombarded by others about the horrible things (they imagined)that went on there (Two of these people eventually lived in a home) and probably would have lived longer than her 80 yrs. She quit taking her meds. unbeknowst to me and died of a massive heart attack.
Reading about the shennigans, shall I say, that went on at Fair Acres was similiar to a day in my 'home.' The residents/folk become family and interacted as such. They took care of each other. And we staff felt like family to them and they to us. We staff/residents were the only 'family' some had. Despite the illnesses some had there was a lot of fun too.
I tried to get in touch with Mrs. Wilder but alas, unable to do as I wanted to thank her for writing those books.
I was saddened to learn this year of her death.

Cute, funny, poignant, sad, etc.--all the adjectives you would expect to describe a book like this. Effie Wilder takes us on a tour of the retirement home and introduces us to her friends and acquaintences. Being able to take people's stories and use them to make people smile is what makes books such as this so endearing and special to read.

Baby boomers should read what's in store for us when we, too go to "prison" in an old folks home. Hopefully, we'll have a neighbor there just like Hattie. Written with humor and insight, it rang all too true to the characters I met while visiting my mother when she was an "inmate." Lot of truth to it.
Wilder's also an inspiration to fledgling authors who say they're too old to write that book they've put away time and again. Not so. Go Effie go!

I am no where near "Out To Pasture" but I found this novel to be delightful. This book has the oddest group of senior citizens you will ever run across. Filled with both serious and light situations this book will make you cry and then laugh. Effie Wilder teaches us that just because you are older your life is still full and the possibilities are endless. Way to go Effie!!

Mrs. Wilder has given all generations a delightful and easy to swallow book about aging. The main character, Hattie, is into everyone's business, but in a kindhearted way. Through her eyes the reader can see much of the pain and joy of being older. Leaving your home and moving into a retirement home is never an easy choice, but I think Hattie shows us that if done with grace, it can work out to be a fairly good life. The book is a joy to read, offers lots of laughs, a few tears, and some good hard lessons about life. I look forward to sharing this book with my "adopted" eighty-four-year-old grandmother.

NIELSEN RATINGS 1974 1975 TV SEASON

Here are the season average Nielsen ratings for the 1974-75 television season.
Only series are included in the ratings.
The number preceding the series name is the series ranking.
The network carrying the series is in parenthesis, and the average rating follows.

1. All in the Family (CBS) 30.2
2. Sanford and Son (NBC) 29.8
3. Chico and the Man (NBC) 28.6
4. The Jeffersons (CBS) 27.6
5. MASH (CBS) 27.2
6. Rhoda (CBS) 25.9
7. The Waltons (CBS) 25.7
8. Good Times (CBS) 25.6
9. Maude (CBS) 24.8
10. Hawaii Five-0 (CBS) 24.6
I I . Mary Tyler Moore (CBS) 24.0
12. Rockford Files (NBC) 23.8
13. Kojak (CBS) 23.5
14. Little House on the Prairie (NBC) 23.1
15. Police Woman (NBC) 22.9
16. SWAT (ABC) 22.6
17. Bob Newhart (CBS) 22.5
18. World of Disney (NBC) 22.2
19. Mannix (CBS) 21.7
20. Cannon (CBS)
-The Rookies (ABC)
-Sunday Mystery Movie (NBC) each 21.5
23. Streets of San Francisco (ABC)
-Cher (CBS) each 21.3
25. Paul Sand (CBS) 20.9
26. Gunsmoke
-Medical Center (both CBS) 20.7
28. Adams of Eagle Lake (ABC) 20.6
29. Carol Burnett (CBS) 20.5
30. Tony Orlando and Dawn (CBS) 20.3
31. Emergency (NBC) 20.2
32. NFL Football (ABC) 19.8
33. Barnaby Jones (CBS) 19.6
34. ABC Sunday Movie 19.1
35. NBC Monday Movie 19.0
36. Caribe (ABC) 18.9
37. NBC Saturday Movie 18.8
38. Wesnesday Movie of the Week (ABC) 18.7
39. Mac Davis (NBC)
- CBS Thursday Movie, each 18.5
41. Smothers Brothers (NBC)
-That's My Mama (ABC) each 18.3
43. World Premiere Movie (NBC) 18.0
44. The Manhunter (CBS)
-Harry 0 (ABC) each 17.8
46. Apple's Way (CBS) 17.7
47. Tuesday Movie of the Week (ABC) 17.6
48. Petrocelli (NBC)
-Happy Days (ABC) each 17.5
50. Lucas Tanner (NBC) 17.4
51. Six Million Dollar Man (ABC)
-Movin' On (NBC) each 17.1
53. Marcus Welby (ABC) 16.6
54. CBS Friday Movie 16.2
55. We'll Get By (CBS) 16.1
56. Adam-12 (NBC) 15.9
57 The Law (NBC) 15.8
58. ABC Monday Movie 15.7
59. Born Free (NBC) 15.6
60. Sons and Daughters
- Dan August (both CBS) 15.2
62. Archer (NBC)
- Baretta (ABC) each 15.1
64. Sunshine (NBC) 15.0
65. Bob Crane (NBC) 14.9
66. ABC Saturday Movie
- Planet of the Apes (CBS) each 14.8
68. Hot l Baltimore (ABC)
- Barney Miller (ABC)
- Ironside (NBC), each 14.7
71. Karen (ABC) 14.5
72. Get Christie Love (ABC) 14.3
73. Sierra (NBC) 14.1
74. Kolchak (ABC) 13.6
75. Sonny Comedy Revue (ABC) 13.2
76. Odd Couple (ABC) 13.1
77. Paper Moon (ABC) 12.5
78. Nakia (ABC) 11.9
79. Friday Comedy Special (CBS) 11.2
80. Khan (CBS) 11.1
81. Texas-Wheelers (ABC) 11.0
82. Kung Fu
- Kodiak (both ABC) each 9.9
84. The New Land (ABC) 7.9

Worldly-wise yet innocent 11-year-old girl works with her con-artist "father" during the Depression. This is a classic in the long tradition of American fiction. The author masterfully creates an authentic voice that bowls the reader over. The story verges on the sappy at times, and the "con man with a heart of gold" conceit is rubbed a bit thin by the end of the book. The author also trucks out certain phrases a few too many times. But overall it's a great story filled with vividly memorable characters.

A real gem of a satiric American novel.

If you've only seen the bittersweet comedy film Paper Moon, you're in for a treat. The novel, formerly known as Addie Pray (the "moon incident," incidentally, which gives the film its name, is NOT in the book), is about a streetwise eleven-year-old Southern girl who travels around with Moses "Long Boy" Pray, a con artist who may be her father (her "mama being fast and all"). It is Depression-era Alabama, and the two make their living selling embossed Bibles and dropping wallets and running other cons to make their living. Only once are they distracted, by a sweet-talking hoochie-coochie dancer who has Long Boy on his toes until Addie "takes care of her man." Their written adventures continue past the movie as they go into partnership with a larcenous Colonel and plan to bamboozle a rich old lady out of her fortune (with the help of the woman's mercenary nephew). But as in the rest of the book, there's a twist to this, too. Paper Moon contains rich characters and settings, and memorable events. Highly recommended.

Paper Moon is a comical, enticing, interesting, and beautifully written novel about a young girl, Addie Pray, and her father, Long Boy. That's not really his name of course, but that's what everybody calls him. Addie's mother had died when she was six and so Long Boy takes her with him to do business deals. Doing business just suits the pair, Addie gets so excited, she gets the chills. At first they have a simple strategy of selling bibles to people who have just lost some one. They go around from town to town selling bibles and pictures from or of loved ones. Their rouitine always started with Addie acting way more pathetic and younger than she really was. Long Boy's infallible ways make Addie adore and look up to him. As she gets older, she teaches tricks to Long Boy that just barely save their lives a few times. When the team decides to pick up a business deal with a millionaire, Addie has to change identities in a tedious plot to keep a crabby woman's financial amounts from her fortune-hungry nephew. Throughout the book, Addie's character transcends to a much higher level and her clever mind pulls you in. This book is written by Joe David Brown and is written in first person. I like books that are written in first person just because I feel like I can put myself in the person's shoes and really get a hold of what is happening.
I loved this book because it was intriguing and the author created such great characters that even though they are cheating people of their money, your heart travels to their side. I also picked up this book because they made a movie of it awhile back and I like to compare books to their movies. I always read the books first thought. This story is like a roller coaster with a fast pass, you don't have to wait in line for the ride. You get hooked on the first page, which I know is a feature for people who get bored easily. The dialogue that is used is old fashioned and not contemporary, more slang. It is kind of hard to follow but you get used to it, it is actually a big part of the characters overall because it determines the amount of education that person had. I also love this book because there aren't a lot of books written about this exact storyline and subject. It makes it fun to read because its an unknown story and you don't really have andything to compare it to.

This is one of the best books I've had the pleasure to read in a while. I was already familiar with the basic story, having seen the movie "Paper Moon" (which I recommend highly!). When I started reading this, I was uncertain whether I'd be able to adjust to the change in location and dialect from the movie; the movie was set in the Midwest, the book in the Southeast. My doubts were quickly put to rest just pages into the book, when I became completely engrossed in the story and Brown's easy-going writing style. I plowed through the book in a couple days and enjoyed it thoroughly!

The book follows Addie Pray, a young orphan, as she travels around Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana with Long Boy, a con artist who may or may not be her father. During their travels, the two are always devising schemes to weasel money ouf of those who can afford to lose it. First it's the famous Bible-selling trick, but it quickly becomes so much more. There are plenty of deliciously eccentric characters, exciting chases, "heartwarming" moments, and a healthy dose of laughs.

If you liked the movie, don't miss reading the book. The movie plot is drawn only from the first 90-100 pages of the book; the remaining 200 pages present Addie and Mose (a.k.a. Long Boy) in entirely "new" situations. The book is a delight from beginning to end. Highly recommended!

"The Naked Capitalist", first published in 1970, is a review and critique of a much longer book, "Tragedy and Hope", first published in 1965. While the references are inevitably dated, this book contains insights that are essential for understanding our current situation. While I wholeheartedly recommend it, it important to take into account the book's context and point of view.

This book must be understood as an attack from the right on "Tragedy and Hope" -- not the 21st century neocon right, but the old fashioned right that may be best thought of as a libertarian point of view these days. Mr. Skousen's approach is consistent with his conservative religious background (LDS) and his background in law enforcement (FBI and later Salt Lake City Chief of Police). Skousen's academic background is reflected in his exegesis of "Tragedy and Hope".

I thought his defense of J. Edgar Hoover and Joe McCarthy was thought provoking, and not to be dismissed out of hand as most left-leaning people would tend to do. By illustrating the clear link between the Eastern Establishment and Communism, the author perhaps provides a better understanding of the criticism of corporate media as "Liberal". Corporate owned media did at times cover the issue of Communists in government in a way that tended to downplay the extent to which the government, particularly the State Department, was infiltrated by Communists, which could lead a right-wing or even a neutral observer to believe that the fourth estate had Communist sympathies.

But that's only part of the story. The corporate owned media has also had a history of covering up the extent to which Fascism has infested USA finance, corporations and government. One example from the time span that Skousen focused on, but which he failed to mention, is the Fascist plot to overthrow the US government shortly after the start of FDR's first term. Jules Archer's recently re-printed book, The Plot to Seize the White House: The Shocking True Story of the Conspiracy to Overthrow FDR, tells this story persuasively. The earliest incarnation of the HUAC (House Committee on Un-American Activities), the Special Committee on Un-American Activities (1934-1937) actually investigated not only domestic Communist activities, but domestic Fascist activities as well, including the plot just mentioned. Contemporary press coverage of the Congressional hearings and the plot itself was shameful for the most part, particularly the coverage by Time magazine and the New York Times. They covered the story in a way similar to later coverage of UFO and Elvis sightings, poking fun at the very suggestion that such a plot could even exist.

While I am grateful that Skousen wrote this unique review/critique of "Tragedy and Hope", I would urge readers to take "The Naked Capitalist" as a point of departure in their study of the power elite, not the final word. The plutocrats who run things behind the scenes take on many guises, using politicians and movements across the political spectrum to further their malevolent aims. They quite obviously used both Fascism and Communism simultaneously for a time and have moved on to other totalitarian movements, such as neoconservatism and various religious movements. Focusing excessively on these movements and philosophies only serves to distract us from discovering the actual puppet masters.

I must finally express my disappointment with the inclusion of a vitriolic attack by Al Smith on FDR's New Deal policies in an appendix. Al Smith had preceded FDR both as Governor of New York, and as a Democratic presidential nominee. Smith lost the nomination in 1932 to FDR, who, unlike Smith in 1928, went on to win the election. There is the argument that while Smith had maintained his previous progressive beliefs, the Democratic Party under FDR had moved on to Socialist tendencies. (In other words, the Democratic party left him, he didn't leave the party.) However, if Skousen were to choose a disaffected Democrat to criticize the New Deal, he could not have picked a better example of a sellout, a turncoat, and perhaps even a traitor, than Al Smith. Smith was first of all a sore loser, and secondly had by that time become a 100% owned asset of the Eastern plutocrats, the very class that "The Naked Capitalist" rails against. Smith was a prominent member of the Liberty League which sponsored the Fascist plot against FDR I referred to above. I again refer to The Plot to Seize the White House: The Shocking True Story of the Conspiracy to Overthrow FDR for details.

By suggesting that Al Smith was still the brown bowler wearing "Happy Warrior" in 1936 that he had been in the 1920s disingenuous to put it mildly.

This book (The Naked Capitalist), along with the book "The Bilderburg Group", explains exactly what is going on in Government. The power of the men in the secret groups are dangerous to all Americians, and there are many in our Government at all levels. They are the Bilderburgs, Council of Foreign Relations and Trilaterial Commission, determined to make us a socialist country.

If this book were written by anyone less credible, you'd have to pass it off as conspiracy theory nonsense. But Skousen is anything but a conspiracy theory nut. He is a very well respected scholar. So what makes this book so infuriating is to realize both political parties are being swayed towards collectivism and totalitarianism through the robber-barons' self-percieved notion of good for the world and their "generous" donations to non-profits that promote this communist agenda. Thus, the Naked Capitalist reveals the wealthy elite to be promoters of exactly what would destroy not them, but the vast middle class of America. Ever notice that Karl Marx was fighting against the Bourgesie and not the aristocracy? The Bourgesie is the middle class. The rich want us middle-classers to simply revert to the equitable poverty of socialism while they continue to live luxuriously at our expense. This is a must read.

If you're curious about who really pulls the strings... you'll want to read this book. This book may not be the end to all things related to conspiracy, it is a great beginning.

A Christian Review of, "The Naked Capitalist" By W. Cleon Skousen


"A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, winks with his eyes, scrapes with his feet, points with his finger, with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord; therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing. There are six things the Lord hates, seven of which are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. A heart that devices wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and a man who sows discord among brothers." Proverbs 6:12-19 RSV

The above verse if the first thing that came to my mind once I finished reading this fine book. Skousen in "The Naked Capitalist" is really describing the events from 1913 through the 1960's that will someday lead to The New World Order. There have been so many great reviews on this book on Amazon.com that I would encourage the reader to not only read this review but the others as well. Skousen's book is a summary of Dr. Caroll Quigley's (a professor of Bill Clinton, and an insider to the New World Order boys) Book "Tragedy and Hope" in which Quigley being an insider and allowed to review the CFR's (Council On Foreign Relations) documents for two years in which he decided to write a book since he felt that there was no way we could stop this socialist empire now. Here are some of the highlights from this book that stuck out to me:

We were actually making post war plans to World War 2 a whole two years prior to entering the war (this is where we got the United Nations from).

The international bankers financed two conservative candidates to split the vote so Woodrow Wilson would be elected to office. Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Federal Reserve which is actually a private banking system. This took the power of making money away from congress and gave it to a private bank. (Does anyone recall the bible verse that says, "The borrower is slave to the lender.")

The international bankers are in Europe, the United States and setting up shop everywhere. Since they came into power they have set up communist government after communist government because it's easier to work with a dictator and get rich than it is with a free society.

These bankers will usually finance both sides of a war, and have been linked to just about every war since they took power. They also make a lot of profit, and as Skousen points out their oil plants and businesses are conveniently not hurt even though thousands upon thousands may die for their gain.

I enjoyed Skousen's ability to break down the Korean War and show how (with facts that are documented from sources in the back) Communists within the United States working in high positions of power were playing both sides. The plan was for the U.S. to fight for South Korea, oh but wait, we were supposed to lose. When our military was TOO good there were 100,000 Red Chinese waiting for them. Our military was not allowed to take our Chinese supply lines or to go in and take territory. I mean the communists in Washington had it all set up and we were supposed to lose. What right did our military have actually being good.

The CFR (Council On Foreign Relations) is a front group by the international bankers (like the Royal Institute Of International Affairs is in Europe) . This council works for the international bankers and supports socialist causes.

The builderberg group is a small group of elites that meet once a year and plan the direction of the world and it's propaganda for the next year. It is very secretive and if someone finds out your invited your invite is automatically revoked. Group made up of large corporate heads, political leaders, media elite, and the international bankers.

Tax exempt foundations are influencing public policy and directly influencing our schools. They are pushing propaganda and dumbing down our society. These foundations oddly enough are places the big corporate big wigs and international bankers can stash their money and not get taxed.

Bottom Line: I could go on and on.... Read the book it's only about 125 pages, but it is loaded with some of the most important information you could want or know about our government and the New World Order.

Larry King is humorous. I read this book in 1 day I couldn't put it down! If you want to understand prayer from a wide range of people from different faiths and beliefs then you should get this book. I read it free from the library years ago and for some reason I just thought to myself maybe I will buy it. lol....hope you enjoy this book as I did.

This book is going on eight years old as I write this review, but I suppose it will always seem timely. Larry has quite a knack for just telling it like it is. As an admitted agnostic he has no agenda in passing along this delightful collection of tales and interviews with those who [mostly] have belief in God. And mind you, this is not a book on religion. True to its title, the book relates prayers - moments - that have moved others to prayer. In some instances it is the circumstance which catches your attention, and other times it is the prayer itself that provides the power. And Larry's personal asides are even more delightful.

All in all I was always interested in reading on to the next page, person, or prayer. This is an "un-fussy" book and a wonderful read.

This book will open your mind if you are agnostic, and it may make you angry if you are set in your conventional religious beliefs. This is not a politically correct book, and King takes some risks, but it is worth a good read whether you are spiritally inclined or somewhere in the middle.

Jeffrey McAndrew
author of "Our Brown-Eyed Boy"

Mr. King delved into the foundation of Spirituality and Religion and made simple an otherwise complex and controversial issue. The book focuses on the individual and his or her communication with God, while setting aside religious beliefs. I would like to recommend to friends who are too formal about prayers and to those who maybe agnostic such as Larry King in his book.

Mr. King delved into the foundation of Spirituality and Religion and made simple an otherwise complex and controversial issue. The book focuses on the individual and his or her communication with God, while setting aside religious beliefs. I would like to recommend to friends who are too formal about prayers and to those who maybe agnostic such as Larry King in his book.

The book was used but looked brand new, came quickly and with it looking so clean, I should have no problems selling it back. Thanks!

If students plan to do well in class, this is definitely a got to have study guide for any student taking beginning Psychology.

I got this book very quickly and in great shape! I believe I did a great buy! I definately recommend buying from here.

This is a very interesting text!Chapters are a bit long & boring at times but overall great material. I just wish my professor didnt read the text word for word! Not the books fault! LOL

When asked to choose a book to use in my Introduction to Psychology class, I was somewhat unsure because there are armadas of books out there. For students, I think someone should take in price as a factor, look at what they are given in the way of student-aid and multimedia, and how good the book really happens to be. I initially chose this book because I knew someone that had used an older version of it and said that it was a good choice and, well, I couldn't be happier.

As far as the cost of the book, it really isn't bad for a new book. It keeps up with newer stuff, not really leaving you behind with outmoded material you really shouldn't learn anyhow. It also adds in newer elements to the study of the subject, allowing a student to feel out the subject without feeling like they've stepped onto the Intro bandwagon. This isn't to say that all the beginner's concepts aren't covered because they are - this is simply to say that the book takes the subjects and runs with them a lot more than most beginner material. Another thing to take into account if you are teaching a class are the number of chapters vs. the filler material. With classes becoming shorter now (many schools now have a 14 week series v. a 16 week one) the material needs to be able to sink in faster.
Happily for the students reading this, the material will do that AND the book will come with A LOT of help to making testing a positive experience.

One nice thing that comes with the book is the Concept Charts, making it east for people to see the ideas "come to life." It is easier to explain how a science goes from an idea to a modern approach by placing it in a nice graph, and the points that are added make it easier still to separate one person from another. The Chart book follows along with the book amazingly, too; I looked into it first off and saw that it took into account everything the Chapters were trying to say.

Running through the book, it covers: Evolution of Psychology, Researching, Biological Biases for Psychology, Sensation and Perception, Variations on Consciousness, Learning, Memory, Language and Thought, Intelligence and Testing, Motivation and Emotion, Development across the Life Span, Personality, Stress and Coping, Disorders, Treatment, and Social behavior. Combine this with the CD, web help, and you've got a full book of concepts.

If your teacher picked this out, MAKE SURE you get the concept charts with your book. It is good, will help you if you are going into any field dealing with psychology, and is a book that is worth keeping instead of recycling.

This the best investing book that i have read.Clearly explained and to the point.Buy this book, the advise that you get will be worth it bigtime.

But why all these good practices cannot be performed by the state itself, instead of the individuals??

I have learned so much about retirement funds! I am recommending it to my children,colleagues and friends.

What I like best about this book is that it offers specific, detailed advice about how to divide up your retirement portfolio amongst different types of assets - and explains why you should divide it that way, and how to adjust the proportions over time. The author provides historical trends and an explanation of the global stock markets so that you can understand for yourself why she offers her advice, meaning that you're not just taking her at her word. Best of all, after you read this book, you really just need to implement her advice and then rebalance your portfolio every year. I loved it and have recommended it to everyone I know.

If you have felt lost while staring at a 401K quarterly statement trying to figure out each financial term or if you avoid working on such seemingly complicated subjects such as selecting your investment choices for an IRA (Individual Retirement Account), wait because Gail MarksJarvis untangles all the mess of the financial jargon right in front of your eyes. This book goes right to the core of the problem and solves it. This book is aimed at the people who need to know how to make good choices confidently for their retirement investment plans. After reading this book you will feel empowered by knowing exactly what to do regarding investment planning and you will also save thousands of dollars following her outstanding advice.

Barnabas Sackett's life from his evasion of the Queen of England in Europe to fighting and befriending different tribes of Indians North of Jamestown and South of Plymouth. Makes a long drive seem much shorter! John Curless has a perfect voice for this story. One of Louis Lamour's best!

I discovered books on CD from a coworker. Having a one hour and ten minute commute each way makes listening to books on CD a great way to enjoy the travel time.
I found this book very well written and very well spoken. One person having to read the voice of many characters is probably not the easiest thing to do. This reading is well done. I found myself sitting in the company parking lot just to finish a chapter before facing my workday. This was my first L'Amour book on CD and it was very enjoyable.

Sackett's Land and To the Far Blue Mountains make a complete story of the life and times of the Sackett progenitor. The combination is entirely satisfactory. L'Amour had the ability to tell the story well, and he developed that ability with years of work and research. It is probably fortunate for Sackett enthusiasts that he wrote the first books in the series later in his writing career. We benefit from his seasoned skills.

As in his westerns, in this book L'Amour focuses on what he finds interesting and what he thinks the reader will like to know. For the most part, he doesn't go into the technical detail that some authors pursue, but he paints a clear picture. The reader has a feeling of being there, or the strong sense that they could be there, right along with our hero.

The Sackett family saga is the story of an American family. Like all of L'Amour's work, it is wholesome and educational. He consistently hits on themes that his readers recognize, the importance of education and critical thinking, respect for our fellow creatures and the world in which we live,loyalty to family and friends, and taking positive action to shape one's own life. All that and a fun story too, for the cost of five bucks.

Dramatically narrated by John Curless, To The Far Blue Mountains is an flawlessly recorded audiobook presentation of yet another of Louis L'Amour's classic western novels featuring the hardy endurance of the Sackett clan as they addressed the challenges of life in the Old West. To The Far Blue Mountains follows Barnabas Sackett, who is on the run with his steadfast wife Abigail and his only escape is to the west. This is a superbly written adventure story of earning a life for oneself on the frontier, surviving all manner of hazards both human and environmental, and eventually prospering despite the hostilities of nature and man alike. To The Far Blue Mountains is an enthusiastically recommended audiobook for personal and community library collections!

I picked up this book because the intro on the back cover sounded good and I've liked almost every L'amour book I've read. Its written in a first person narrative as though he was sitting across from you on the couch telling the story.

The first half of the book is terrific, following his escape from England. We learn of his thirst to be out in the wild open spaces of the newly discovered America, he is falsy accused and is running from the law collecting people to join him as he describes the new beginnings they can have in the New World. Its very tightly written (though I think his escape from prison was way too easy) and you really love the character.

Once the group got to America things changed. In an effort to show the WHOLE life of Barnabas the whole story changes, now we have 50 years of history in 100 pages. So the narrative changes from a day-by-day upbeat story where friends are joining the group to a list of significant events, usually where one of the group dies from an indian raid. It becomes a series of "we built a fort", "xxx died in an indian raid", "the fort burned down", "we went down to sea and traded our skins for supplies", "yyyy died in an indian raid", "we built another fort", etc.

I didn't like the ending either, I think the whole story basically got pretty depressing towards the end with all the group dying or leaving to go off and do other things. All the next generation were grown up and strong but we don't have the emotional connection with them that we did with the first group.

If there is one important question that will affect your entire destiny it is, "How do I hear the Voice of God?" Written in a style that it more a personal counseling session that literature, this book will bring comfort to a confused heart.

One of the most important question you can ask that will affect your entire destiny it is, "How do I hear the Voice of God?" Written in a style that it more a personal counseling session that literature, this book will bring comfort to a confused heart.

In this practical and biblical examination of the gift of prophecy, Cindy Jacobs clearly defines what prophecy is and how it works. Attention is given to both personal prophecy and corporate prophecy.

This is probably the best book for those who are new to the Prophetic. It does an excellent job of outlining the history and basics of the gift of Prophecy (and Prophetic Intercession), teaching fundamentals that are needed to operate in ministry, and to recieve prophetic words more appropriately. More important than the information it provides is the fact that it motivates you to minister prophetically, and addresses much of the fear we have when we begin to operate in that realm. This book was not only packed full of information and encouragement, but Cindy Jacobs does an excellent job of making it an effortless read. In fact, it would have been easy to read in one sitting, had I not been so engrossed in the learning that I had to put it down each chapter and think and pray about each section. Overall I greatly recommend it for beginners who are just learning, and even the more seasoned ministers that need an encouragement boost.

Even though I have not finished reading this book, I have found it to be most helpful to me in regards to my prophetic ministry. I recommend this book to anyone who desires to know and understand the prophetic.

Thank you,
Betty J. Harris

Interesting last novel in the Starbridge series by Susan Howatch. Would recommend it to anyone but particuarly to those who have read the previous five novels in series. Helps if you are an Anglican,Episcopalian or Roman Catholic. Starbridge series is both emotional and theological. Starbridge series is set in mid-twentieth century in southern England when theology was going thru some changes and allowing some more High Church thinking into general circulation, but with many battles on the subject. The series had mostly to do with Anglican clergy attempting to work out some theological/emotional conflicts.
Linda Sheean

Knowing that those likely to read this review may well already share my love for the series as a whole, I shall begin by saying that Susan's gift for characterisation, with a great honesty and much room for grace to do its work, is always superb, and here at a new peak. My general approach to her main figures in the series is to see Jonathan Darrow as someone I'd love to hear preach but might be nervous to meet (even if he tends to compress 40 years worth of direction into a week's retreat) - Neville Aysgarth as someone I'd like to shake by the shoulders - Nicholas Darrow as one I'd closet with a library of the first fifteen centuries of Christian thought before he'd be allowed out - and Charles Ashworth as the ultimate Christian intellectual with whom I'd love to share weekly four-hour lunches with the best claret on the table. In this volume, Charles is once again the key character, and the reader finds, as he himself gradually learns, that the old glittering image is still much alive and as troublesome as ever.

Watching this character struggle with bereavement and grief of all varieties, and finally face the long-hidden "demons" which lurked in shadows to affect his relationship with his children and with his old nemesis Aysgarth, is incredibly moving and insightful. Dramatic though the plot becomes, it is a marvellous work wherein a seasoned bishop comes to new self-knowledge, humility, compassion ... and, while I'll not give the ending away, ultimately a specific setting of happiness which some readers will have thought he should have snatched 30 years before.

I listened to what I wanted from a work called "Absolute Truths"-I who am desperately conservative in Christianity and most things. After Charles Ashworth's triumph in "Glittering Images," and his overall positive portrayal in the books between that and this, I didn't want to find out that the truth I thought he had found, and that Howatch suggested he had found, was a lie, another of the tragic misconceptions that Howatch regularly and regretfully demolishes in her characters ("Anti-Sex Ashworth" toppled by doubt and lust stronger than his convictions-what a depressing concept).

It wasn't. But in the interim between "Glittering Images" and "Absolute Truths," Ashworth's grip on the truth had shifted until he had become a false man holding a true thing, or, to put it another way, Ashworth had grown as much as he could during "Glittering Images," but he still had far to grow, and "Absolute Truths" pushed him farther.

Thus Howatch, as in the rest of this Starbridge series, follows a plot sequence of strength debilitating into weakness, then supernaturally resolved into strength (or truth to lies to truth, or any number of other ways may describe this spiritual falling and rising pattern). We cannot however assume that the characters will live happily ever after, that their lives are "solved," or even that the weakness resolved in the novel will never return in later years. Howatch's cruces do not involve perfect or perfectible people, but perfect moments of grace that make the rest of lives better or in some way bearable. In a sort of backhanded optimism, Ashworth writes in the midst of his revelations, "Dimly I realised that this state of companionable hell could be classified as a form of survival." At the end of "Absolute Truths," Howatch permits Ashworth an idyllically happy old age and a platform for reminiscence, a sort of sop to him and to her for six dramatically painful novels in the series, but we must not forget that after "Glittering Images" Ashworth needed "Absolute Truths" to correct him further. After receiving revelation that revolutionised his life, he needed more revelation. As such, these novels are some of the most true-to-life of any fiction I've read portraying the Christian way of living. They give hope, not for all things to turn out alright, but for all things to "intermingle," as Ashworth insists, for good-and for there to be moments, rising above the doubt and pain, in which we may see God and absolute truths as clearly as our eyes can function. We may live a long time, decades, in the strength vouchsafed by these moments. Then we may need another, as Ashworth did.

When we started out in Book #1, the narrator, Charles Ashworth, was still fairly young. In this novel, he is again the narrator but he is elderly and the bishop of Starbridge. Being this age, he can wind up everyone's story. There is his whole generation of people and their families in the Anglican Church plus his childrens' generation of people. Of all the books, I'd say this one you better read as #6 and not out of order. There are simply too many stories which are wrapped up here that won't have the same impact on you if you haven't read books 1-5. This novel has its share of worldly problems with: gay priests (2), the ghost of Jardine appearing in the cathederal, an exorcism of the cathedral, a possible embezzlement by Dean Aysgarth from cathedral funds, a suicide, death of a spouse and finding another spouse. It also has combined therapeutic-spiritual sessions again with Jon Darrow as spiritual director for both Ashworth and Aysgarth. Once I started any of the 6 books, I couldn't stop reading till the end and this one was no exception.

Although this is the last book in the Starbridge series it is actually set in time before its immediate prequel, Mystical Paths. Howatch obviously had good reasons for doing this; no other book could have rounded up the series so perfectly, and certainly it was a delight to return to Chares Ashworh as narrator, who began the whole series. This time Charles is at the evening of his life. He has been the Bishop of Salisbury for some years.. Some of those nearest and dearest to him have passed away and he has to come to terms not only with the sense of loss, doubt and lack of direction, but also with his wayward Dean, Neville Ayesgarth, who still insists on going off on a tangent in affairs of the Cathedral. As in Scandalous Risks, scandal seems only around the corner and Charles has to develop very strong spiritual muscles in order to bring matters to an outcome worthy of a Christian.
I must not forget to mention that in this novel Starbridge Cathedral itself - in the other books merely a background stat - becomes a major character, and a star player during the Grande Finale The climax of this book is not only deeply moving, it is also absolutely perfect. As is the entire series.