Long Books

This is one of my first expedition kayaking books, bought back in '93. Many of the facts presented there still stick with me. The newest edition is the best yet. Dowd's writing is accurate, interesting, and necessary for a sport that is so much fun but has a dearth of writers able to translate that fun into print. Really makes one want to go kayak! Highly recommended.

This is a great book! I read it as a beginner, and will hold onto it as a reference. Anyone who kayaks should know the info in this book. Written with enthusiasm for the sport, it is not at all a dry read.(Pun intended.)

I am not an avid reader, and I usually lose interest in a book and place it on the shelf mid way through if the author doesn't keep my interest. John Dowd had not only captivated my interest, but made it hard for me to put it down. Some of the best and informative information about Sea Kayaking that I have read yet. It should be a "Must Read" for any person involved in the sport of Sea Kayaking, beginner to novice. 5 Star Rating above all others!!!

Dowd has a way of sounding like your dad and the tone of the book is very relaxed and easy to follow. It claims to be pitched at intermediate kayakers starting out on expeditions yet basic skills like bracing, sculling and rolling are included. Even the most basic things that are left out are assumed by their absence and that keeps the book from being patronising in an overly wordy `beginners guide' type way.

He gives a very informative overview of the sport and its locations from polar kayaking to the tropics. He also gives a reassuring overview of a sea kayak's `sea worthiness' (dependent on the paddler) explaining some hurricane force winds he has personally endured in a kayak. He also discusses at length the issue of kayaking alone and concludes that one can kayak safely alone, in fact he even suggests kayaking in numbers can give a false sense of security.

Dowd discusses buying a kayak and refreshingly advises `keep in my mind your original image - how you saw yourself with your boat' which I found to be excellent advice.

This book is a very good introduction to sea kayaking and an interesting read. It is also a bible-like source of information. As Paul Theroux said on the jacket "quiet simply the best book available on this wonderful sport"

This is a fabulous book on sea kayaking. I loved reading it because of the very useful information and mix of serious and humorous writing styles. A must read - and you'll want to read it several times to soak up all the great information. Highly recommended for any kayaker. His exploits are impressive and inspiring.

Jack Stack has become well-known in some circles as the poster boy of open book management. He and his colleagues at SRC (Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation) have built a company and set of business practices (Great Game of Business) around the concept of sharing numbers with your employees. Yes, it's more than just sharing numbers, it's empowering the employees to be true team members, enabling them to take personal and collective actions to influence the numbers and to share in the profits.

Open book management is a great concept that has made a significant difference for a lot of companies, and even the U. S. Coast Guard. Stack presented the concept in his 1992 book, "The Great Game of Business" (Currency Doubleday). That book was a valuable how-to package.

"A Stake in the Outcome" is more of the story of the transformation of a remanufacturing plant owned by a large corporation into a thriving independent business. In the midst of the text, the reader will find some advice, some brief case studies of other companies, and some experience descriptions that may be instructive. But, when it all shakes out, this is the story of the growth of a business. It's an historical review with plenty of detail. It's Jack Stack's story.

If you're looking for an instruction book of how to build an employee-centered open book management company, this isn't it. If you're looking for an instructive report of what one company went through, from the leader's perspective, this book fits that description. It's Jack Stack's book, even though Bo Burlingham, an editor-at-large of Inc. Magazine, is shown as co-author. Burlingham's photo doesn't appear on the dust jacket, just Stack's.

Reading the book is like listening to Stack telling his story, with the emotion, the ego, the pride, and the rough-and-tumble. It would be interesting to hear this story shared by others. You can gain that experience by visiting SRC in Springfield, Missouri, but you can't get it from this book.

I found the Great Game of Business to be uninformative.
However, A Stake in the Outcome made up for it! If you've ever considered becoming an entrepreneur, READ THIS BOOK!

While this book does go into details about the author's amazing success with his company, SRC, the advice is tailored to senior executives who are in the position of founding or leading young companies. The author candidly admits that personal experience in leading a company is the only real way to learn, because each company has its own unique challenges, and because situations look quite different in the heat of a tense moment, rather than in the comfort of a book. Nonetheless, this book does give the reader plenty of areas to think more about, and tells a great story in the process.

What could Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham come up with to match the excitement of The Great Game of Business? Perhaps nothing, but they've come pretty close with A Stake in the Outcome, a continuation of the remarkable story of SRC and its traiblazing initiatives in Open Book Management, employee ownership and organization-wide involvement. The first portion of the book is a recounting of the earliest days of SRC, a story that will be very familiar to readers of the earlier Stack book. But the reading quickly becomes compelling as he continues the story and builds the irrefutable case for equity ownership throughout an organization. Jack Stack is a consummate teacher: experienced, entertaining, inspiring and entirely logical. In this work, he demonstrates once again that "he knows his numbers." For fans and pratitioners of Open Book Management, or those intrigued by the potential behind employee ownership, this is an important new book.

A lot of "business management" books are all fluff; not here.

There is not one wasted word in this wonderful book, which should be mandatory reading in every business in America.

Inadvertantly, Stack addressed the issue of a "culture of ownership" just in time to face a generational shift in the work force.

"Theory X" worked for the veterans of WWII; "Theory Y" worked, to a degree, for the Baby Boomers.

"Generation X," and "Generation Y," see the cultural climate of business in an entirely different light; yet, they must find a voice in working with American business, for the good of all.

Incredibly distrustful of authority, and poorly served by the education system they have left, something new is needed to bring order out of the chaos of their perceptions.

If you are looking for silver bullets, look no further than Stack's books (and Ricardo Semler's "Maverick").

In "The Great Game of Business," Stack discussed the restructuring of Sprinfield Remanfacturing, starting with a debt/equity ratio of 89 to 1.

Success brought a new, painful awareness of two basic issues: one, growth leads to conflict arising, and must be resolved; and two, businesses do not scale very well.

A larger business requires a qualitatively different framework to resolve conflicts in; the price of the necessary knowledge is very high, indeed.

Good news!

Stack and the people at SRC Holdings Corporation - the name should give you a hint of the magnitude of change required - have done the heavy lifting for you!

The best accompaniment you can have as you try to apply his principles is a good primer on economic value added (EVA) accounting.

Incidentally, Chapter 10, "Crossing the Great Divide," includes a great story about "The Secret of the Chinese Firecracker Factory," where the issue of scaling the business model is addressed following an insight gained from the manufacturing process of Chinese firecrackers.

The same insight was expressed in Chapter 15 of "Maverick," by Ricardo Semler. Called "Divide and Prosper," Semler addresses the issue of the appropriate scale and structure of the business in the same light as Stack. Semler also addressed a good many of the issues Stack faced from an invaluable perspective, particularly management structure (see Chapter 21 of "Maverick.")

Stack has given one and all an invaluable guide to The Next Step after Open Books; keep it close to hand, give it to all of your people, and let people who wonder about "who moved their cheese," keep wondering!

As a child of the 50's and 60's, I grew up just outside of Queens NY. My parents found a truly magical hamlet on the east end of Long Island, near Sag Harbor and we spent 14 summers there - encompassing some of the best times of my life.

Imagine my surprise when I picked up Summer At Sea Shell Harbor and started to read about my boyhood summers. I was transported back in time - to malt shakes at the malt shack; hanging out at night by the 'general store' or "The Sugar Shack"; convertible cruising; spending the days at the beach or one of our speed boats; and discovering new girls from other than my home town and trying to learn how to deal with them. I literally could not put the book down until the end. This book truly captured the emotions and feelings of those times.

But you don't have to have lived the story to enjoy it. This is a great read for anyone of any age. While depicting a magical time, there is a plot and character development and relationships that literally draw you from one chapter to the next.

I truly hope that someone has the sense to make a movie from this great book. I think it would be a huge success if true to the book.

This would be fantastic as a film. When will Hollywood realize we baby-boomers are movie watchers? What a great film it would make.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a fast and easy read. The writing reminded me of my teenage (other) life. Memories of summer vacations in The Hamptons, partying with friends and young love. Great!

You don't have to have grown up in New York or spent summers in the Hamptons to remember the experiences and feelings that come back so vividly reading "Summer in Sea Shell Harbor". Wherever your're from, growing up takes you on an emotional roller coaster that drags you on at around age 13 or 14 and drops you off sometime later, maybe 19 or 20, somewhat beat-up and bruised, but relieved to still be standing. Whatever else adolescence is, it is a time of intense feelings and fragile egos; friends are at the center of our lives; good times and bad times; trying to sort through it all and figure things out. Richard Dunne has done a great job nudging our memories, taking us along with these very real characters who are a lot like our friends growing up; and their predicaments are similar to ones we can recall. A great read on a universal theme and one that we don't really ever forget. A book for all ages! An excellent, enjoyable read.

"Summer at Sea Shell Harbor" deserves a place on every bookshelf in America. The first, and most important reason for purposes of this review, is that it's a great read. Richard Dunne's beautiful story, set in the summer of 1959, is as much an ode to teenage angst and coming-of-age as it is a revealing look at how our country's own innocence has disappeared over the years.

The novel's strength lies in Dunne's portrayal of late 1950's America in an honest way, through the eyes of seventeen year-old Richie Donnelly, without the pretense that today's youth is somehow living in a bleaker, more paranoid world (the truth may be that today's youth ARE living in a bleaker, more paranoid world, but Dunne shrewdly lets the story progress without so much as a hint that he's seen America unfold over the last half-century). This approach is what makes the story great for all ages. Whereas a film like "Stand By Me," which also captures the spirit of that era, relied on an adult narrator to tell its story in flashback - thereby attaching a certain level of nostalgia to its main character during the film - that is not the approach here. We are treated to a story set in the summer of '59 that effectively captures the period without asking the reader to remember it (which is perfect for me since I wasn't born until '67), and it succeeds wonderfully in educating and enlightening us along the way.

The characters are strong and well-developed, and the story itself engaging and entertaining. I can't remember reading a book that so often made me long for the days of my own youth and at the same time allowed me a deeper appreciation for the youth of my parents. I enjoyed it despite not being from Brooklyn or Long Island and despite being too young to appreciate the nuances of the time. I even bought a copy for my Mom.

Personally, I think with the right people involved this would make an outstanding film.

if you have ever been frustated because your life seem devoid of purpose, then this is the book for you! Bishop Long clearly outlines the role that the Church should be playing as Ambassadors for the KIngdom of God, and declare in no uncertain terms that God indeed has a purpose for all of our lives that is connected to his agenda for these times. this book will serve as a motivating tool to move you from the position of being "overtaken", to the position of "taking over". A must read for people of all faiths".

Thanks be unto God for anointing Bishop Long to go where no preacher of God's word has dared to go to lift and expose the veil of christian mediocrity. He writes in the spirit of Martin Luther King,Jr. by challenging the Church to change. This book brings conviction and challenge to ensure that our children and grand-children can live the optimum Christian life. The "Great Commission" comes alive in the book. Bishop Long's book transcends all faiths.

Most churches are not operating based on biblical principals but on mans principles. That is not what God intended. Read this book and discover how to get your church and your personal christian walk in order before the next millennium. God isnt playing games with us anymore. It's time for us saints to come from behind the four walls of the church and do what God has called us to do. True ministry. Satan has had his way with our children, the generations to come, for too long. I cannot urge you enough, this is a MUST READ.

Bishop Eddie Long really came to the forefront when he wrote this book. God's anointing was all in this book. I thank God that there are still real men of God on the Battlefield. We need the unadultreated truth. God's word has been sugar-coated too long! Thank you Bishop for letting God lead you in the way he did regarding his church or lack of it.

"Taking Over" challenges the body of Christ to move forward with God into the next millennium, or get left behind in erroneous traditions.

Praise God for Bishop Long's boldness, transparency, and obedience to pen what thus said the Lord.

A brutal, in-depth assessment of the repercussions of tickling ducks. Highly recommended as a stern warning to those foolish enough to consider pursuing such dangerous folly.

My son is two and loved the Stop Kissing Me! book from the same author, (Ethan Long) so I bought this one expecting the same response. He was expecting a button to press so he could hear a sound relating to the story. To our chagrin this book doesn't have the sound button. The book spends most of it's time on the shelf and the "Stop Kissing Me!" book still gets a lot of attention.
We both like the illustration, the characters expressions really help tell the story. Looking forward to the next book. Ethan please add a sound button.

Ethan Long's wonderful illustrations of an adamant duck demanding that you not tickle him under his wing, on his tummy, and on his feet are beautifully expressive, zany, and fun to look at.
The humor is pitched perfectly at toddlers, and even this 36 year-old reviewer had to crack a smile the first time I glanced through the durable cardboard pages of this wonderful little book.

The script of this book has the duck talking to your child and asking, er, begging, not to be tickled. He keeps pointing to a specific body part (tummy, foot, underarm) and asking to not tickle there. Then, since obviously your child will want to tickle him, the following page shows him laughing hilariously. Each of the featured body parts has a texture to it making it extra enticing to tickle the duck.

This book is so much fun. Our toddler loves it and laughs right along with the duck. Tickle the Duck is a delightful interactive book that your child is sure to want to read over and over again.

The Duck in question has ducky, feathery protruberances available for tickling through strategically-placed holes in the heavy cardboard pages. Thus, when the Duck adamantly demands that your toddler NOT tickle it, the temptation should prove to be simply too great to NOT reach out and give the down (more feathery in some places, softer in others) a little tug. At this, the Duck laughs, increasingly to the point of tickle-xaustion, as we call it in our house, begging to be relieved of the torture in progressively stronger terms. Never fear: when the Duck makes a quick recovery from tickle-xaustion, it reconsiders and deigns, perhaps, to allow you a brief tickle once again.

With all the pathos of "Hug", the real-life verisimilitude of "Everybody Poops", and the roller-coaster ride of emotion of "Maisy's Train", this new entry in the tot-blockbuster potboiler pile is sure to please many a kiddie and perhaps their adult confreres: we have tested it on a two-year old and a forty-two year old to good effect, although it must be pointed out that our interactivity did in fact cause the 42-year-old to beg to stop being tickled without then asking again to be tickled. Not so with the two-year old.

We just hope there's a books on tape or a large print version available soon we can give to Grandma and Grandpa by way of repaying the favor.

I'm not a big fan of NYC.

After reading, and re-reading, this book, I wish I could go there and check out the place as it is in the story. Ms. Harvey makes the world and the city seem magical. She adds a bit of philosophy, a large amount of love, and a kernel of Joy, along with the inevitable violence required in a story containing the Angel of Vengeance, into a wonderful story which can only be considered a Romance in the best sense of the genre. The book contains chocolate, pierogi, coffee, Chinese New Year, children, art, gypsies, fear of Falling, a smidge of suspense, and a smidge of (implied) sex, among other attributes.

It's a fun book, a superb read, and is light enough to be enjoyable both when you're just awakened and when you're ready to do some thinking. Strongly recommended.

Sara M. Harvey has a very unique writing style. Although character dialogues are sometimes hard to understand or follow, this story otherwise flows smoothly and is a sweet tale. This book is one that is meant to be read slowly as the pace is slow itself. Still I was highly anticipating the end of the tale from the frist page... and since I am so impatient, the pace seemed much slower than it really is... but don't misunderstand, this is not a bad thing.

This is a story of the angel of Joy and the angel of Vengence who have both come to Earth to spend a year and a day as humans. This trip is a mission that they are both on, not a vacation, and the meaning of this visitation slowly unfolds and we, the readers, find out little by little along the way. Vengence is every bit the epitomy of his name... angry and vengeful... most of the time. Joy is rather giddy and seems to annoy Vengence for the most part. Along the way, they both realize how much they really need each other and an understanding and love grows between them as they both try to complete their missions with no clues as to how to go about doing it... this they must figure out themselves. We read about their "adventures" which really consist of their daily lives as we would live, only with a little bit of magic in-between.

This story takes place in the heart of New York, and describes the setting and town with cunning detail. The two angels take us to coffe shops, Pagan festivals, churches, museum, Times Square, and minute magic. The magic is finding out what it is like to be human, going from depression, to low self-esteem, to love and jealousy. Their moods actually seem to alter the lives of the world around them, especially in their locality. They soon begin to realize that their mission is about saving themselves by saving the world, through sacrifice of our mortal demons, and acceptance of the many blessings that many of us fail to realize we have.. those of our friendships and family. I couldn't begin to describe in enough detail the wornderful plot of this story as the depth is found by reading the surface of the tale. Not many writes can do this.

I rated this four stars because though I generally hate romance novels with a passion, (unless it is a byproduct of the major part of the storyline...) this novel had sooo much meaning for me and actually changed the way I look at many things in life. NO romance novel can manage to interest me at all, yet here is one that truly brought a little bit of the Angel of Joy into my life after dealing with my Vengeful Angel for so long. Also as I described earlier, this book does have some flaws, but kudos to the author for her imagination.

This story is actually from a series that I have yet to find for myself, and this particular book has been impossible to find anywhere else except for Amazon and the author's website. Enjoy this sweet tale and the ebbing and flowing of the characters' emotions. It really is a beautiful story with a tear-jerker ending.

A Year and a Day - Sara M. Harvey


I finished 'A Year and a Day' and I am in love with the book. Not quite a romance book and not at all a chick lit book, but so much more. The novel is a story of two angels, Joy and Vengeance who are on assignment in New York City. Assignment is the wrong word, they are on more of a vacation from being angels. Each has an assignment, Vengeance is told to protect and guard the easily wounded Joy. Joy also has an assignment, but telling you her assignment would be a spoiler. Vengeance spends most of the book trying to figure out what assignment is so important that he must spend a year in New York City, a place he dislikes, watching over an angel that he finds most annoying.

There is so much I love about this book, how I thought it would be fluff, and how it surprised me by how deep it is. How Joy wants to look plain, so people see the beauty within. Yet, when she changes her mind and gets a makeover to be beautiful, people do not notice the inner beauty. She learns a lesson and returns to her own beautiful self. They make friends, experience life, and Vengeance learns a little bit about the humans he has interacted with, but never touched all his days.

The book takes place in New York City, and in a way, the city becomes a character as well. Things happen here that could happen no where else, and I do not just mean the Chocolate expo! If you live in or love New York City, or even if like me, you consider it a nice place that makes me miss Boston so much, you will love this city. She drops names, not to show she knows the city, but to allow her to tell her story without overwhelming you with description.

I took this book with me yesterday when I went to Mass General Hospital for my weekly treatments. I totally forgot I had a tube in my left arm, I totally forgot where I was, and the stress of the moment. She took me into NYC, and brought me along with her characters.

The book might be a bit hard to find, for her publisher is small, and I think going out of business soon. The writer Sara M. Harvey deserves more attention than she is getting, and I hope to read a second book and a third. Next time, can your angels go to Boston?

I am on my way through this book for the second time, and I love it just as much as the first time! All the descriptions are so rich, I want to go to the places, eat the food, wear the clothes and definitely meet the people.
I love every character for different reasons, and most of them remind me of friends.
It is the mark of a lovely author to capture a person so completely in their world that you want to go live in it!
Sci-fi readers will love this book, fantasy readers will love this book, romance readers will love this book, anyone studying religion, mythology, chocolate, costumes, art or New York will love this book....

This book was fantastic! I read a lot of books (I have over 3,000 in my personal collection) and this one kept me riveted the entire time. In fact, I couldn't go to sleep until I finished it! I was about to reread it again but it's disappeared, which means one of the other readers in my house has whisked it away... probably to read and reread and...

"Be Prepared" is the only guide to provide a comprehensive and accessible map for coping with the maze of financial, legal, tax, and practical issues. It was refreshing to just discover that a financial planner somewhere "out there" had taken the diagnosis and progression of chronic illness into consideration. Many books from planners are written with a "what if you get an illness" or "after you owe thousands in medical bills" viewpoint. This is a great book for understanding the basics when you have a chronic illness but are not yet owing over a hundred thousand dollars in medical bills.

I highly recommend it to all of those with chronic illness that my organization serves through HopeKeepers Magazine--telling them it's WELL worth the expense.

It is easy to access and understand and includes over three hundred tips, with guidance on these and other topics:

How to obtain, keep, and maximize use of your health insurance coverage. * How to maximize your income and manage your debts. * How to make new uses of assets, such as turning life insurance into cash and using credit as a nest egg. * How to assess work issues, including the legal protections relating to your current job or a new one. * How to prepare for disability, make it work for you, and return to work without compromising your benefits. * How to minimize your taxes. * How to tailor your investment and retirement strategy to meet the needs of your condition. * How to choose and use the best professional services, including doctors, home care, hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies, and hospices. * How to find, evaluate, and finance promising new drugs and treatments.

This book was full of helpful information. I read it for my stepmother, who has terminal cancer. There is tons of information in the book, and it was super easy to pick through it and read the parts that were relevant to us. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has limited time in this world.

Before I start my review let me just say I read the previous reviews for this book and I don't understand the ranting of Betty Burk's review. It is very clear that she has not read this book and is on some personal vendetta against the gay culture. It's amazing how she speaks out about name calling from "bullies" on the internet but has no problem with singling out young gay men as being "evil." I hope Betty is judged as she judges others.

At age 34, I was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer that has metasized to my liver. At the time of my surgery to remove a large tumor from my colon, my oncologist gave me a 50% chance of living another two years.

Today, I've survived over a year and a half of chemotherapy and still going strong. My wife discovered this book one day at our oncology clinic at a time where we where struggling with a lifetime cap on my health insurance and monthly bills from the hospital that would burn up the cap in a year.

This book, though a little bit dated with the recent drug plans offered by Medicare, covers pretty much everything you should be thinking about when dealing with a life challenging condition. From dealing with your employer, your rights as a person with a disability, to private insurance and disability, and of course your options for long term care, social security, Medicare and Medicaid. It also encourages you as well as gives you hints on how you can take action as your own advocate.

I highly recommend anyone facing a life challenging illness or disability to read at least the first chapter of this book. The chapters are well listed and you can skip very easily to the places you are most interested in. I'd also encourage family members to read it as well.

Overall, it's a wealth of information written in "grandma's english" which makes it very easy to understand. I thank David Landay for providing us with this great resource.

Be Prepared seems to have been written for people with AIDS and cancer, but its recommendations apply to anyone facing health problems and any kind of financial difficulty. The author guides you through getting disability, maintaining health insurance, getting other benefits that may be available to you and getting all your papers and affairs in order.

These steps help you keep control of your life when health problems could otherwise overwhelm you. As Landay says, "preparing for the worst allows you to expect the best." I followed his recommendations in coping with multiple sclerosis and applied some of them in my book The Art of Getting Well.

It's not always the easiest read; it's long and packed with info and resources. But I consider it a vital reference; I don't know of an equal one on the topic.

David Spero RN www.davidsperoRN.com

Be Prepared is an incredible compilation of useful and practical information for anyone dealing with serious illness. When my mother was diagnosed with Liver Disease, I had no idea where to turn to get answers to a number of our questions regarding insurance and financial matters - our family attorney didn't even have all the information compiled here. I am grateful that a friend gave me a copy of Be Prepared... Not only did it provide me with the tools to evaluate our situation realistically, it also pointed me in the right direction to deal with issues that hadn't even crossed our minds. I highly recommend Be Prepared to anyone facing the challenges of a serious illness.

I co-lead a Bible study group which is using this book right now. Honestly, we haven't totally finished it yet, but so far, this is a great book. It is easy to read so it doesn't mean an overwhelming amount of homework for the group. The study questions in the back do not simply ask you to "fill in the blank" from what you have already read. The questions suppliment the reading. The author intertwines her writing with scripture and quotes from a poll of husbands. Many contemporary wives will see themselves in this book. In the end, this book is more about a wife's relationship with God than about a wife's relationship with her husband. This book can change your life and improve your marriage.

I love this book.

This book did a good job describing what men want and giving suggestions of how to give it to them. I've read much of the same stuff before, but this was a well-written book on the topic and I'm going to keep it in my library for another read-through.

However, if you were to buy just one book on the subject of improving your relationship with your husband (which is why I bought this), I'd recommend "For Women Only" by Shaunti Feldhahn. She not only covers most of the topics in this book but she goes much more in-depth so you can really understand what men mean when they say that they want respect or whatever.

My daughter introduced me to this great resource for marriage. I read it. I studied it. I wasn't disappointed and you won't be either. Discover 7 life-changing principles to meet the relational challenges of marriage, and have fun doing it!

Sharon Jaynes does an excellent job of presenting information about what men really want in a marriage. She did a simple survey with hundreds of men and shares her discoveries in this book.

What I enjoyed was that she gave stories of various women who either excelled in one of the seven qualities or was an example of what not to do. Although she occasionally gave a list of "25 ways to show respect" for example, I didn't feel overwhelmed by a to do list. I think Jaynes communicates in a manner that stresses the importance of the relationship with your husband.

Sharon Jaynes made a simple statement near the end of the book that could save a lot of marriages. She wrote, "It all goes back to why we want to become the woman of his dreams. Is it to give or to get?" Just keeping or re-gaining the perspective that it is possible for me to be the woman of my husband's dreams and experience the joy of a vibrant relationship with the man I married is liberating. He didn't choose me to compete with, but rather to complete him.

Of course we all believe that we have the single best dog in the world, but as the images in this wonderful book show, there have been and will always be children (and adults) who believe that their dog is truly the best. You can't help but get drawn into the lives of the children who are photographed a century and a half ago in beautiful sepia images with their beloved pet. Though I do not consider myself a true "dog person" I have the deepest affection for the dog I spent my childhood with and indeed was photographed with her in much the same fashion, although in color. This book brought back those memories of childhood and having a true best four-legged friend rushing back to me. I picked up off of the shelf and could not put it down.

What a great little book. I loved the photography and the history. Wonderful book for dog lovers and history lovers.

Ms. Long's daughter is in my class and so I got the oppurtunity to look at the book at length. The photographs are smile-inducing and original. Who can resist photographs of children with their dogs? But before you think its all about cute overload, let me say that the most interesting aspect of the book is actually the well researched text. It goes into the delination of breeds and their uses without being overly verbose or scientific. A lot of the photographs have inscriptions on the back and those long forgotten letters are included. This is the true selling point of the book because it give you insight into the lives of these people and the their lives with their loved ones (both human and animal). A worthy buy for not only dog lovers but lovers of social history.

I came across this book while looking for a gift for a friend. I wasn't thinking to get a dog book, but after seeing the pictures and the interesting facts about the various breeds, I knew instantly this was the book to get. It makes a great gift for anyone who owns a dog or for someone who wants to experience the loving bond that children have with their dogs. Who can resist!

I got this book on the recommendation of a friend who also loves dogs and was not disappointed. The pictures are amazing! I also learned a few things about the backround of some breeds I wasn't aware of and other tidbits like how to tell boys and girls apart in those vintage photos when they are all wearing "dresses". This book will stay permanently on my coffee table for visitors to see. I highly recommend it to anyone with a love of dogs, kids and history.

must buy for the beginner reader!
My son is 5 and NOW can read all of the Bob books. He really loves them and we don't have to "make" him read them. I highly recommend the entire Bob Book collection.

The Bob Books series have been great for my homeschooled five year old. He has gone from just knowing his basic letter sounds to reading or attempting to read most everything he can get his hands on in about four months. These books were great for practice and building his confidence. I highly recommend the series.

I love the BOB books and so do my kids. It gives them great confidence. I now have all 5 sets and can use them over and over again with each child.

My son is learning to read- these books are a great way for him to gain the confidence to keep learning. The words and pictures are simple and easy to recognize.

We homeschool our boys, and we could never do it without the Bob Books. I love this one with the Long vowels, because the only Bob Books we had were for 3 letter words. Great addition to our collection.