O'Neal Books

The book is a great resource for someone interested in building or renovating to create an authentic "french look". French architectural elements are categorized and many pictures of authentic elements are provided in the book. By using the book as a guide, one can choose authentic looking or actual reclaimed elements widely available as opposed to the garish alternatives on the market that are advertised as "the french look". Kudos to the author !!!

If you've read any of the Stink Squad books, than you know that Katherine O'Neal's sense of humor is great. Excellent plays on words that kids will enjoy. Slight gross-out humor will amuse the boys and the overall story will keep girls interested. Hilarious!

"Good Mornin' Glory" - Poetry Book

Author and poet Terry A. O'Neal who has been listed on "The Top One 100+ Most Admired African American Women in Literature" and is now being called a "Literary Diva" has a new book of poetry out. Terry who is originally from Stockton, CA but has adopted Elk Grove as her home, has given her words another wonderful journey in her book "Good Mornin' Glory" . It is one the finest collections of poems and reminds you of a younger Maya Angelou's work.

Most of her poems show her universal spiritual acceptance of all as a part of herself and is best reflected in one of her poems titled "my sister". Here are a few lines from it:

love your sister as you love yourself--
every shade--white, beige, brown, orange, or black
love
we all lack
I am still your sister
short of blood relation
whether you like it or not--

Her poems may speak most clearly to the soul of African American women but the spirit of her words and prose cuts much deeper and connects with all hearts. Her poetry becomes inclusive and does not exclude others but bridges their energy of sisterhood and oneness. Her poetry really needs to be read aloud and shared to experience the full impact of their emotions.

This is her crowning collection of poetry to date. It is a small book of less than 50 pages but it speaks as a much larger volume of love. This would make a great gift to any women in your life. I enjoyed it and found all that female energy in her poetry makes for one inspiring reading experience even for an old guy like me. This is a FIVE STAR book!

Reviwed by The Elk Grove Citizen Newspaper 2006

great hikes....easy to follow directions........very accurate accomodation descriptions and the extra little "highlight" section was a nice bonus... the pictures make you want to take every hike and the author picture on page 190 is incredible!

This book provides a wonderful way to introduce your youngsters to the joys of prayer and the meaning of The Lord's Prayer. As the author says in the beginning of the book, "There is nothing more important than teaching our children that God loves us and is always ready to hear our prayers." The book, as expected, includes a copy of The Lord's Prayer, but it's much more than that. The Lord's Prayer is broken down line-by-line and explained in simple terms that children can understand. For instance, the second line of the prayer, "hallowed be your name," is explained as: "Your name is special, God.Whenever I hear it,I remember how wonderful you are and how much you love me."

The book also includes a section called "The Lord's Prayer with Selected Signs," that shows simple sign language children can do as they recite the Prayer. There are also two short prayers for children, both with sign language instructions. Two songs, with words and music, and a short poem, can be found in the back of the book.

The illustrations, by Taia Morley, that are included with the Lord's Prayer text, are bright and colorful. The sign language instructions are illustrated with black and white sketches, but these pages are brightened up with orange butterflies.

What I like: I liked the whole book. It was much more than I expected, with the added sign language illustrations, songs and poem. The story was written well and the illustrations helped enhance the story line.

Overall Rating: Excellent.

Age Appeal: 3 - 6.

Christine M. Irvin- Christian Children's Book Review

This book is a great common sense approach to managing your life in a way that helps you be effective. It promotes personal responsibility for achieving your goals.

As there are no magic bullets that solve all your problems, don't expect this book to do so. It is a reminder that you are accountable for your life and a recommended process for being successful in meeting your life's goals.

I'm a big fan of Dr. O'Neils and was a student of his at the U of I. I am quite pleased he made the switch from technical / educational writings to a broader audience with a more practical application. I hope this is a trend that continues.

With this book, O'Neal takes a look-back at the International League, which is baseball's oldest currently active minor league. First known as the "Eastern League," (and several other names over its first 30 years) this league at one time or other has had teams not only in the US, but also Canada (Toronto and Montreal), Cuba (Havana), and even briefly Puerto Rico (San Juan).

He starts off at the pre-1900 beginnings of the league, then takes us through the "Great War" and how it afected the league. He describes the beginnings of a Baltimore player (known then as "Dunnie's Babe") signed by Jack Dunn, the Baltimore manager and owner who later became known simply as Babe Ruth. O'Neal also describes the 1920's dynasty ] that Dunn put together with his team, the Baltimore Orioles. These teams may possibly have been the greatest minor league dynasty in history.

He also goes on the describe another dynasty, the Newark Bears of the late 1930's to early 1940's, the effects of World War 2 and television on the league, as well as the effects of the Castro Revolution on the Havana Sugar Kings of the late 1950's. He also discusses how the league fell on hard times in the 1960's, but bounced back with a fervor in the 1980s.

Numerous sidebars throughout the book mention anecdotes and famous stories. One of my favorites was indeed the one about Fidel Castro, who would attend games in a special seat while surrounded by numerous soliders. There are also illustrations and pictures of numerous IL stadiums, and diagrams of the players and stats for several pennant winning teams in the league's history.

A very entertaining look at baseball's oldest minor league. O'Neal has done his usual marvelous job in documenting the history of the International League.

Also recommended are O'Neal's book on the Pacific Coast League, and Grand Old Minor League by Dick Dobbins.

Not many people realise the extent of these relations, from German spies roaming Ireland in WWII to German children being given a second chance in life in Ireland after the war. This book is clearly written and therefore accessible to any reader, not only historians

Bruce Wilkinson's book, "The Prayer of Jabez" presents some serious theological concerns for many Christians. Neal Snider, a retired Lutheran pastor, is among them. In an effort to critique "The Prayer of Jabez," bringing out both its positive and negative aspects, Snider creatively addresses a letter to this now-celebrated Old Testament individual to update him on the recent success about Wilkinson's book. Through this genre, Snider manages to confront the mistaken theology of "The Prayer of Jabez" while avoiding a vitriolic tone or personal attacks. The format is perfectly suited for the debate.

Aside from the book's genre/format, "A Letter to Jabez" has many positive aspects. It compliments "The Prayer of Jabez" greatly as Snider lays his book out in the same way Wilkinson does his book. Snider is complimentary where Wilkinson's theology is beneficial (he is not afraid to agree with him about many things ranging from the support of missions to the evils of pornography) but is also unafraid to point out areas where Wilkinson departs from Scriptural teachings-including the words of Jesus himself. Snider also shows himself adept at pointing out internal inconsistencies in "The Prayer of Jabez" and the false assumptions within Wilkinson's illustrations.

The negative aspects of "A Letter to Jabez" are few. It should be noted that one must actually read "The Prayer of Jabez" to understand Snider's critique. He is "cute" in explaining certain terms to Jabez (cruise ship, Reformation, etc.)-Jabez has been dead for thousands of years now-but does tend to go overboard explaining these modern terms. Finally, toward the book's end, Snider seems to lose track of who his reader is; this book is intended for lay Christians and begins to address them in a very fitting manner, but gets too bogged down in quoting Martin Luther and explaining the similar theology between modern Fundamentalism and pre-Vatican II Roman Catholicism. I don't think many of Snider's readers will follow (let alone appreciate) this pretty insightful critique.

In all, Snider's brief book is excellent. He mirrors almost exactly my own critique of "The Prayer of Jabez," (we can't both be wrong!) but presents them in a full, unique format. I highly recommend this book for all who have read Wilkinson. If it doesn't put words to your own misgivings about the book, it will at least give you a different perspective and points to ponder. Highly recommended.

The book is beautiful, well documented and has the whole gamma of information. It is also practical and has much illustration. The CD included, although I have only scanned it, seems to contain good information.