Long Books

Looking for some seafaring, treasure hunting adventure? Take `Where Gold Lies' for a reading journey that involves memorable characters such as Long John Silver and fellow hero, Richard Brown. It is story telling at its best, filled with true sailor surviving genius that will keep you in suspense right until the final words have been read. It all begins with the finding of a map that leads to buried treasure and from this, the adventure begins to unfold.

Upon reading this gripping tale I was moved and could not stop reading until I had reached the end, for I felt as though our hero, Richard Brown were indeed a survivor just like some of us would be if we were faced with situations in which we lacked the essentials, and just like some of us survivors have prevailed, so did he, for he knew how to survive.

Let Eric George's knowledge and imagination of things seaworthy whisk you away to places such as the tropics and faraway England as a young girl learns all she can about her link to the past, her great, great grandfather.

When Jim Hawkins, the cabin boy, told (through Robert Louis Stevenson) the story of his adventures on Treasure Island, he only gave one side of the story. Now relive the same events as Long John Silver's crew saw them. When Flint the pirate dies, he leaves his crew a chart of Treasure Island showing where his plunder is buried. But Dick Brown, a young pirate, and the rest of Flint's crew wake up the next morning to find that the mate, old Billy Bones, has stolen the chart and disappeared. Led by Long John, Dick Brown and the other pirates chase Billy Bones across the Atlantic to England, to Bristol, to the West Country. At first the pirates despair when they learn that Jim Hawkins, the Squire, and Dr Livesey have the chart and are preparing to sail for Treasure Island. Then Long John and Dick hit on a crafty plan and soon have signed themselves and their bloodthirsty mates on as the Squire's crew. After a series of hair-raising adventures and twists of fate on Treasure Island, all but three of the pirates are killed; Dick and a friend escape into the jungle, while Long John Silver saves his life by taking Jim Hawkins hostage. Wandering through the jungle, Dick and his friend discover the hidden cache where Flint had hidden a fortune in silver. The pair would be wealthy beyond their wildest dreams, except for one problem. They are marooned on the island. How they escape years later, forced to leave the treasure behind, how Dick finds Long John, now a wealthy plantation owner with a wife and daughter, how Dick falls in love with Long John's daughter, how the four set sail for Treasure Island never dreaming that the danger and terrors experienced during that first voyage will be as nothing to those that lie ahead, is only the beginning of this epic sequel to one of the world's most beloved tales.

Like many people, I was skeptical about this book. How could I truly learn to swim better from reading a book. But after reading this and practising the techniques I am a believer. I am a triathlete, albeit a 50 year old slow triathlete. But I began as a swimmer, so I am very comfortable there. I am not fast, but love the water. But this book has made me a better swimmer. It's in the economy of stroke. This book will teach you a way of swimming that's more like yoga or TM than those swimmers you see flailing their arms and being out of breath. This won't happen overnight, but as the author says, if you practise at this long enough you will get better.

This is the best book you can buy on swimming. Period. In fact, most triathlon training books refer the reader to Terry Laughlins Total Immersion (TI) program, which is explained most clearly in this book. (Don't buy the out-dated book entitled "Total Immersion." I've read it; it's good; but it doesn't fully reflect the author's most recent ideas on swimming drills.)

When you buy the book, you should also order the video "Fishlike Freestyle," which shows all the drills beautifully executed by top-notch swimmers. (In fact, the "models" in the video make the drills look TOO easy.)

If you read the book, follow the program, and execute the drills according to the video, you'll become an excellent swimmer. It might take you several months or even a year or two, but eventually you'll do it. Personally, I'm still working at it--slowly--but a friend of mine went from being a terrible swimmer to being a beautiful, smooth, fast fishlike triathlete in the water by following the Total Immersion program. Several other of my triathlete friends have used the Total Immersion program with excellent success. You can spot these swimmers for the grace and fluidity as they glide effortlessly through the water.

If you're serious about swimming or triathlon, this book is a must buy.

I'm happy to see this book back in print. It was one of my daughter's favorite books to read when she was young, and she returned to it regularly. Now, she suggests it as a gift for young relatives. I particularly appreciate the fact that the book includes stories about men and women, as well as people of different races and ethnicities, who all played important roles in the history of Texas and the US.

twenty texans helped me millions with the research i was doing for english on john avery lomax. it helped my friends as well! i also liked reading interesting info about our other historic figures.

This is a beautiful book with lots of decorating ideas and recipes. It will inspire you to get ready for Christmas.

Well, it finally was released. I was so excited to see that this book was on the way and I certainly haven't been disappointed. I just love all the decorating ideas in this book - my husband grabbed it and off he went to the store to buy the stuff it recommends. Sure was beautiful when he was done. This book makes decorating elegantly so very beautiful for the holidays, and it just gives you so many nice ideas. But, the RECIPES! Yikes! Better buy those elastic waisted pants because you'll need them after these awesome dishes. You know it's bad when you want to start with the first recipe and just make everything else afterwards. That's how it is with this book. It's really that good! You won't be disappointed with this book. I just love it!

It could have happened! Don't think of this as a "western". Think of it as an epic because that's what it is--a fast-paced, hard-hitting tale of adventure, love, heartbreaks, and sacrifices. It is the true west in the pioneer spirit and "can do" and "will do" regardless of what may come. The characters are alive and fascinating.

Five years after the end of the American Civil War Jefferson Pickett has the courage to visit the woman he inadvertently made a widow. He fought for the Confederate Army, her husband for the Union and the dying man asked him to take his gold watch to his wife and tell her he cared.

On arrival at the ranch, north of San Antonio in Texas,the Widow, Clara, gives him no time to explain his presence, but launches into a job offer of taking her and the women who have found refuge with her on a cattle drive to Abilene. It is the only way she can save the ranch from the rapacious demands of neighbor Medder.

An encounter with Medder fires up Jeff's quixotic nature and he agrees to boss the cattle drive. He, thirteen women and one lad set off to herd about 2,500 steers across Texas and on to Kansas on the Chisholm Trail. All of the women, with the exception of one are themselves widows and have dramas and traumas in their pasts. Their stories are gently teased out in the narrative, whilst they strive to equip themselves not only to become effective cowboys, but also to defend against Indians, marauding thieves, rapists and the wildlife. The indigenous species being rattlesnakes, scorpions, lethal water snakes and extremes of weather. The perils of the journey draw the women closer together and Jeff realises he will never see a woman again as being 'weak'. He also falls deeply in love.

Jones has a deft way of creating his characters with economy and a gift for description of scenery. There are no extraneous words, each is chosen with care and polished into place leading the reader into humour, pathos and sympathy with the ambitions of the cattle drive. It is without doubt, one of the best-structured novels I have read in some time. In addition, the research is impeccable.

A few years ago this reviewer was in Newton, on the Chisholm Trail. With a friend I stood in the middle of a railway crossing and she said, "Now, if you start walking that way, the nearest place to get some of your English tea is a thousand miles away." I looked at the flat plains stretching to infinity and wondered. Later, we were at a strip mall when dusk fell and the car park was full. No one was shopping, we were all looking at the sky, the long sky, and one of the most awe inspiring and beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. It filled the whole of the horizon and more, the vastness, the sense of space was overwhelming. What for me was so striking, was most must have been accustomed to this splendour, yet it still stopped them in their tracks. That is the Chisholm Trail.

The cattle drive was over a thousand miles, moving from one state to others. Here in UK if we travel the same distance, we could be in Gilbralter or Central Russia. True in the nineteenth century as today, with humanity, towns and cities in between. Between South Texas and Abilene, with the then tiny Fort Worth and minute settlements in between, there were barely a few hundred people. Self-reliance and neighbourliness was essential for mutual survival.

This Jones captures along with the basic decency of ordinary folk in contrast to the casual villainy and depravity flourishing where there is no law, in an endless wilderness.

Thoroughly recommended, with a guarantee you will not be disappointed. I hope we'll be seeing more of Jefferson Pickett, Lolita, Hank Pickett, Clara and Auntie. DIONE DOVER, BOOK REVIEWER...

I am a special ed. teacher, grades K through 4, and this book is an absolutely wonderful resource in teaching my students how to get along, cooperate, and be kind to one another. It's really a complete character education program, and the kids think it's fun. I love the way kind words appear with increasing frequency in their vocabularies. I am sure it would also be an excellent resource for regular education classrooms, and for parents with 2 or more children (it's really designed for a group setting).

The book consists of ten chapters, one devoted to each value: cooperation, courage, friendship, honesty, kindness, loyalty, respect, self-control, sharing, and tolerance. Each chapter includes an introduction to the values, a list of suggestions for families to help them reinforce the value at home, a "script" to explain the value to children, a fingerplay, a story with thought-provoking questions, three activities or games, community connections, and a reading list. The approach is based on parents, teachers, and communities working together to help children become value-able people!

I am the author and would love to hear your feedback.

Review: Values-Driven Change: Strategies and Tools for Long-Term Success by Ken Hultman, Ph.D.

As a consultant in the field of organizational development and change, I look for books that are accessible and practical, yet have a solid theoretical foundation. Dr. Hultman's, volume offers a perfect balance of solid scholarship and utility.

His exposition of "values in organizations" is, to my mind, extraordinary for its clarity, precision, depth and passion. It bears the mark of a scholar who has distilled the essence of his discipline.

Both the seasoned consultant and the novice will benefit from this theoretical background in at least two ways. The most obvious benefit is that it will lead to a more informed, conscious and skillful use of the real-world tested tools and instruments, so generously supplied in this volume. Second, his explanation alerts the newcomer and reminds the veteran practitioner of the centrality of values in the conceptualization and planning of any OD process. Lest you forget, dismiss values at your peril!

Without missing a beat, the author shifts from exposition to a user-friendly "how-to" style in describing the deployment of tools and instruments. I found especially helpful his hierarchical presentation and application of these devices, according the practitioner's focus upon "personal," "team," "organizational," and "multi-level" needs and objectives. In the aggregate, the instruments reflect a comprehensive and integrated approach to values clarification and transformation.

Values Driven Change is a valuable addition to the literature on "values in organizations." It is an excellent text for undergraduate and graduate students in various disciplines and a welcome addition to the consultant's library where it will be found at the desk in use, rather than on the shelf.

"As every Human Resources professional is well-aware the alignment of an organizations policies, procedures, systems and structures with business strategy is critical but not sufficient. Ken Hultman provides tools, techniques and methods for addressing the alignment of values.

Consultants, HR professionals, and managers will find practical approaches for discussions grounded in reality and directly relevant to work of individuals, groups, teams, and the entire organization. Additionally, Ken has identified the myriad of values-based issues that impede organizational change and offers clear and cogent tools for recognizing and embracing the resistance."

Leslie Yandle, SPHR

This beautifully illustrated book, written by a friend, makes a very nice gift for toddlers.

The delightful rhyming text of this sweet story will enchant young listeners. Children will enjoy following the adventures of the little ducking. The illustrations are beautiful, and even toddlers will enjoy searching the scenes for the critters mentioned in the text. The story ends with the duckings snuggling down for the night, a nice transition for getting children to snuggle down too.

John Leibold offers the reader vignettes of bootcamp, basic training and battle. At age 17 the author, afraid that World War II would end before he could test himself in battle, enlisted in the Marine Corps. Now, fifty-some years later, these telling scenes are described in a detached manner that lends credibility and allows the reader to become an observer. We watch as a young man becomes totally assimilated into the Marine Corps. Whether describing the daily routine, a drill officer humiliating a fellow recruit, or the battle for Iwo Jima, the result is most effective. I have read other accounts of military training and battle but none have been so insightful or so memorable as this book. Mr. Leibold waited a long time to put pen to paper but the intervening years don't intrude on the story, they only enrich it. Highly recommended for a wide audience.

I devoured this book because I've always wondered how young men and women in the military react on a personal level to going through basic training, entering combat, and returning home after a tour of duty in wartime. Mr. Liebold combines his youthful exuberance with a maturing conscience in this excellent book to give the reader insights into the mindset of a young soldier. He does so with discrimination and compassion. His is a poignant account of the psyche's survival under physical and emotional duress, told in the stories from the time he even considers enlisting to his arrival back home after discharge. For all of you with children, grandchildren, and friends currently in the Middle East, this book is a must-read.

"Using the competitive world of long-distance swimming as a springboard, this intriguing novel probes the nature of strength, intimacy, and commitment. Water Dancer is the story of a world-class swimming instructor who returns to swimming after a self-imposed hiatus due to the death of his only child. Out of Print & hard to find..."--© zebraz

This first novel by Jenifer Levin has been a favorite of mine for almost 20 years. It's not a typical story, but the surface tale of a long distance swimmer training for a difficult swim is only the center of several underlying journeys. At its core, it's about transformation and breakthroughs. The style is very fluid and visually rich; and because it's a first novel, it's very free and courageous, and still my favorite Levin book (of the 3 I've read).