Owens Books

Consider this small book as a gift to anyone you know who wants more joy in their marriage. It is a great "operating manual" which is very easy to read and fun. Each chapter is only 1-3 pages long and contains a usable suggestion.

The book draws on the authors own experience of divorce and long lasting remarriage, in addition to years of counseling couples.

It would make a great wedding present, too!

This book helped me look further into the mind of steve owen. What made him the way he was and how he ticked. And his relationship with Mel. It was a great book in the series. Im looking forward to the next one..

The Feds are embarrassed when they audit the books of the First national Bank of Contrary, West Virginia as $750,000 is missing. They would like to go after bank President J. Burton Caldwell, a favorite of Wall St. but he died recently, which is the only reason federal bank examiners got to look at the books. The Federal Deposit Insurance Company knows they must pay back investors so they decide to auction the bank's only assets, the items in Caldwell's Museum of Fakes and Frauds.

At the auction, all sorts of fakes go to the highest bidder, but only one item brings in any money, a woman who buys several items. Not long afterward, that same lady dies in a car crash at nearby Devil's Hairpin. Soon afterward the museum curator Victoria Gallagher vanishes. Raleigh County Sheriff Thad Reader asks divorced failure analyst Owen Allison to look at the car accident scene; Owen concludes a homicide occurred. Soon he and other winning bidders are under attack by an unknown assailant for an unknown reason as all he bought was a cheap box of baseball cards for sixteen years old orphan Jeb Stuart Hobbes.

As with the four previous appearances Owen is a terrific lead character, the support cast is solid and realistically portrayed, especially the locals, and the mystery subplots tie together quite nicely in this fine police procedural investigation. However, the novel is owned by the fascinating Museum of Fakes and Frauds with each chapter opening with a fun paragraph on a particular hoax. John Billheimer entertains mystery fans with this lighthearted salute to Pt Barnum.

Harriet Klausner

Cannot say enough about this particular WH40K novel. Written almost completely from the perspective of the Chaos Marines. Too often we see only the viewpoint of the Emerperor's forces in their quest to rid Chaos from the galaxy. Here we are treated (and it is a treat) to the ambitions and workings of a chapter of Chaos Marines as they seige one of the Emperor's planets.
Characters are interesting, the "battle prose" is simply excellent and the story has a rightfully epic "feel" to it.
Warhammer 40K fans should read this tome as a rare insight into the mind of the "enemy." We seldom get to examine the mindset of the dark forces.
I read this all in two days and was amazed at what a great story had unfolded before me.
I hope they reprint it for the fans who missed it the first time around.

The Story of a Single Woman is an autobiographical account of famed Japanese Author Chiyo Uno's life from birth until her mid 30's. Written in her 70's through fictional character, Kazue, also in her 70's, she reflects on her early life as someone who can look back with the clear eyes and the wisdom of age.

Kazue is born in a small country town in southern Japan. Her father is a strict man who came from a wealthy family and became persona non grata in the family due to his lifestyle of debauchery. Her mother has died when she was just a baby and her step mother accepts her and loves her as her own. At the age of 13, just before her father dies, she is given away in marriage to her cousin, who is only 16 at the time. Not understanding what is going on, she runs away and goes back home.

Kazue has decided that she will never marry and it's within this mind set that she deals with her passionate nature through out her life. Although she has decided that she will not marry, she still has a burning desire to know what love is between a man and a woman and at the age of 18 looses her virginity in a rape that she could have avoided, but surrendered to, due to this desire.

She is working as a teacher and not long after her first sexual experience she has an affair with her co-worker, starting the first of many scandalous affairs that she would become famous for. She's rather outrageous; she wears white face powder to cover her dark skin color and frequently wears her hair and clothes in styles that shock the locals. While living with the brother of the cousin she was originally betrothed to, and whom she refers to as brother even though they are a couple, she wins a writing contest. That starts her on a new career, which throws her into the bohemian world of famous artists, writers, and intellectuals in pre-WWII Tokyo.

Told in an unapologetic and unsentimental, but reflective voice, most of the book is an account of her relationships, affairs, and even one night stands and how she felt about them. She seems to have floated like a leaf on water having one affair after another because her heart suddenly pulls her in another direction. Several times she just walks away from her life only to start a new one without looking back or thinking about whom she is hurting or how her actions are going to affect her own future.

However, she does seem to except the consequences within stride, neither blaming herself or others for what transpires from her actions, even when her actions cause others to turn their backs on her. She also matter-of-factly accepts that as a woman her actions will be judged more harshly than if she were a man, yet understands that her nature will not let her be any different and she never holds back.

What is really beautiful about this book and Chiyo Uno's story is that she was a person who lived her truth, right or wrong, often to the scorn of society and the detriment of her reputation until later in life, when she is honored as a national treasure. At a time when Japanese women were expected to be quiet, refined, and subservient, she flaunts her affairs and life style without shame, almost with childlike naiveté, not really noticing how she is being perceived. Although in her biography it is written that she married several times, in this book there is no mention of marriage as an adult, just only that she lived with her lovers.

Women like her, in Japan and the west, were the forerunners to women of today having the right to live their lives as they see fit and I read this book with great admiration for her. If you are a woman who as lived your life to follow your heart or passion for something at all costs, you will find a kindred spirit in Chiyo Uno and her work.

I find it unfortunate that she never received the international acclaim that some of her more famous contemporary male counterparts, Kawabata, Yoshikawa, and Mishima, did. In my opinion, she stands right up there in the ranks of her European and American counterparts: Henry Miller, Anais Nin, and D.H. Lawrence, not only in her prose, but her impact on social mores as well.

At one time this 1900ish book was considered THE classic tale of a college man's growing up at school. It's now forgotten, but not for good reason. Read it with just a teensy bit of sympathy for a different era...and you'll find that Johnson has a liberal perceptive appreciation for human nature...which really hasn't changed that much over time.

The book recounts Dink Stover, a star prep school ballplayer, and his struggle between conforming to expectations of the in crowd and doing what he thinks right. This is much more than a simple choice as Johnson shows well how Stover is impelled to rebel, but also drawn by desire for fame and even love towards conforming.

The book is also just great fun. Everything from the drinking antics to the football heroics is enjoyable to read.

WARNING: This book can be read without reading THE VARMINT (part of THE LAWRENCEVILLE STORIES) first, but you'll miss a perspective on Dink that will endear him more to you if you do so (he has some tough times in prep school as well). So I advise to read TLS first. Then SAY.

Want inside all the secrets of the mystics? Then read this book. I couldn't put it down - I was constantly making notes and bookmarks. Very thorough and thought provoking.

I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up a copy of Terrell Owens's Finding Fitness. I presumed that it was yet another celebrity/athlete cashing in on fame while delivering little in the way of any useful information. Thankfully, I was wrong.
Finding Fitness presents a holistic approach towards fitness--and, no, not in a funky "New Age" sort of way. Rather, Owens believes that the key to lasting fitness and ultimate satisfaction begins with the mind and not the body. He states what is missing from so many books merely detailing routines: exercise and good eating must be rewarding for you or you simply will not do it.
To that end, he has included different motivational tools for the reader to utilize (though motivation must ultimately come from the user, of course).
Owens goes over nutrition and debunks some widely held preconceptions believed by novices and log-time fitness enthusiasts alike. (For example, you CAN eat within three hours of bedtime and still not explode like a cow.) More intriguingly, he provides a glimpse at his eating habits, day-by-day, meal-by-meal to show you how a finely tuned professional athlete doesn't starve himself but does not gorge either. Moreover, a template is provided for the common man or woman looking for guidance. I say template because Owens is a firm believer in adapting regimens to one's body so there is a sort of freedom there.
With all that said, the exercise regimens are the true highlight of the book. Variety is not a problem at all. There are a myriad of programs to follow, from beginner to advanced, with several different exercises for each fitness level using free weights, body weight, or strength bands or cables. Owens's trainer, Buddy Primm, does a fantastic job in explaining exactly how to do each move from start to finish and pointing out fine points to be mindful of. Even better than the detailed instructions are the dozens upon dozens of photographs illustrating each exercise beginning to end. I found this highly helpful when pulling off the trickier moves, such as the roundhouse kicks with strength bands. Oh, did I mention that the book contains sport-specific programs as well? So you can dominate in martial arts, golf, baseball, football, tennis and more. I know that I've added power to my kicks!
I honestly can say that, despite over a decade of shuffling through dozens fitness programs, many of these moves are new to me.
As for the negatives, some that aren't sports fans, specifically of football, might not be interested to hear about some of T.O.'s personal career highlights that are interspersed throughout the book. Nor will they care to see pictures or x-rays of some of the many injuries that he's suffered throughout the course of his career--although I have to admit I've never seen a broken collarbone before. He also includes personal photos that some might feel are out of place or merely filler. (I found it inspiring to see how a guy that was skinnier than I was in high school could build himself up into an impressive physical specimen.)
With that said, Terrell Owens is never preachy or condescending when it comes to fitness. He is truly enthusiastic about the subject and it comes through well. What he constantly reiterates is that fitness is a personal goal and not a competition. Good health, mental and physical accomplishment is all that truly matter. You have to find YOUR ideal of fitness.

I must admit I didn't read any of the fitness advice. I just saw the cover at the bookstore and went Whoa! I have long admired Mr. Owens' physique and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I bought the book just for the pictures alone! I'm sure the advice is great but I've been wanting some T.O. pics and this book has em.

This is a very good book. From the early pioneering days on dirt roads to the fantastic late sixties and early seventies when Elford, Siffert, Redman etc were battling in the Porsche, Ferrari/Alfa duels. There is a nice balance of narrative and technical content and an awful lot of information packed into these pages. Good photographs compliment the text.

I have been a fan of the Houston Comets and I am glad that there is someone with the common sense to write about them!!!!! Good Job. This book is about how leadership is important in teamwork. Good Job Mr. Owens. Good Luck Comets. The only champions of the WNBA!