Phillips Books

The Date Night Cookbook is a compilation of stunning photos of recipes that are easy to understand. I'm not the least bit intimated in trying these recipes because they seem uncomplicated. Beautiful Meredith from The Bachelorette has transformed herself into a Culinary Artiste.

This is a wonderful cookbook -- and it's not just for date night! Great, easy-to-prepare recipes with beautiful photography. The book has a similar style to that of my favorite cookbook author, Ina Garten ... very enjoyable.

very nice photos of recipes, will make you want to try them.
also interesting update on Meredith.the recipes are clear. This is a quality book.

I have been looking for just this type of book to help me cook for my wife. She has loved every meal I have tried so far. Meredith's recipes are delicious and easy to follow. I highly recommend this book.

"Dead Easy" is my first excursion into the Atlanta of Flap Tucker and Dalliance Oglethorpe. My thinking was that I might have missed something for not having read the first four installments of their (mis)adventures. How wrong I was!
"Dead Easy" is a joy from first word to last. DePoy's characters are wittily conceived and drawn. His plot twists are delightfully innovative. His style is filled with excellent craftsmanship, humor, sparklingly clear prose, and great concern for his readers. And I loved his snappy dialogue.
"Dead Easy" is an easy read, un-put-downable, and enormously entertaining. In spite of the mystery, you'll find yourself smiling, sometimes with amusement, always with appreciation.
Give yourself a gift. Buy "Dead Easy," enjoy it as thoroughly as I have, and then look forward to the other four in the series.
I can't wait to head for my recliner and invite Phillip DePoy into my den for diverting hours of reading entertainment of the first order. If you're a fan of the detective mystery, get set to be a fan of Phillip DePoy.

At four in the morning, Atlanta's Easy nightclub owner Dalliance Oglethorpe calls her on-and-off lover Flap Tucker to rush over immediately. One of his three rules of life is to come when Dally calls. He quickly arrives and takes a strange looking package from Dally. Flap opens it to see a severed hand with a note about this being the first installment. A stunned Dally tells Flap it means nothing and to stay out of it.

Instead of having Flap, a renowned investigator, make inquiries, Dally hires Jersey Jakes, a risky proposition to say the least. Meanwhile, an obnoxious patron harangues Dally at her club. Unable to stay away or leave as he has done numerous times when the commitment level seemed imminent, Flap begins his own investigation, which takes him to their mutual hometown of Invisible, Georgia in the southern side of the state. He begins to piece together her years when he fled her for the safety of the Army, not quite understanding the danger of the final installment.

The Flap Tucker novels are becoming recognized as great stories with the latest entry bound to be considered one of the best regional mysteries of the year. Flap remains a zany Zen master filled with intelligence, humor, but also frustration this time. Dally shows the cracks in her past. The introduction of a teenage girl who appears to be a perfect intern for Flap augments the tale by further humanizing the hero. Phillip DePoy makes reading so EASY to enjoy that fans that devour DEAD EASY will seek the earlier works of a superb author.

Harriet Klausner

What happens when Nick Charles drops his martini, pours himself a glass of Cotes de Rhone and starts studying Zen? He becomes Flap Tucker, one of the most engaging detectives it has been my pleasure to find. Replacing urbane zingers with southern-fried wit, in this 5th of the delightful series, Flap learns as much about his galpal Dalliance as about a murder-by-body-parts. Disembodied hands, great "perps" like Jersey Jakes, and past lives keep you from putting this book down except to refill your wineglass.

I've loved all this series and this was one of the best. Dalliance still walks into a bar like she was on ball bearings and Flap...well...he still manages to make detecting look Zen-Easy. Pick up a great bottle of red, buy this book, and turn your phone off. It won't disappoint.

Phillip De Poy brings Flap Tucker back with a complex plot and entertaining characterization. Flap is stuck between a rock and hard place as many signs point to Dalliance (his love interest) as being intimately involved in murder. As Flap discovers more about Dally's 'past lives' he becomes more troubled. The locale (Atlanta, Georgia) is brought alive as Flap tries to make sense of the nonsensical.

Great characterization and plot creation. The best Flap Tucker yet. Don't miss it!

S.T. Joshi reigns as the No. 1 Lovecraft biographer! He details Lovecraft's life: from birth to death, every family member, every friend, proteges, what came of them, every story and poem (well almost every) he wrote, his first kiss, his marriage, the downsides and tremendous upsides to Howard, etc. Everyone has a flaw, and that Joshi details, but he fairly notes at least one honorable aspect of the worst people in Lovecraft's life. The epilogue made me weep invisible tears for him! I couldn't stand reading the last two chapters because I knew Lovecraft was inevitably bound to die! I couldn't bear it! For any, and EVERY, Lovecraft fanatic out there who wants to learn so much more about Lovecraft, this is a book to find! I feel zero regrets. I feel, though, that the editor should have caught the rather few conventional errors here and there, but completely aside from that--this is a biography totally worth reading. How many fans out there know the groundwork to Lovecraft's secret racism? The vast numbers of writers he alone inspired to become kings of the science fiction genre? His leagues of controversy that spanned across his life--from criticism, to astrology, to poetry, to literature, and to politics? Where did the Night-Gaunts ACTUALLY come from (oh yeah it's in there!)? You can feel Lovecraft's emotions through his letters in these sharp moments: when he's returning to his hometown after 2 full years away, screaming in English on his letter: "PROVIDENCE!!!!"

Howard Phillips Lovecraft was this soul that we all, in some shape or form buried in our collective unconscious, are so wonderfully obliged to feel this affinity for, whether logically racist or not. His imagination reverberates across our hearts from the feeling and tone in his letters, through Joshi's intense yet oh so subtle descriptions of what Lovecraft was trying to say and thinking throughout those moments. What it's like to lose your home at such a young and impressionable age, losing your marriage, wishing for that book to read your name on it to finally hit the book store shelves (but happens only once...), finding your favorite cat dead and writing an elegy about it, and how he must have felt when he transcended from this five-year-long hermit to become the most famous amateur journalist in America! Him and "the boys," his elite crew of writers, touring the streets of New York City all night long!

A masterpiece in its design! Joshi must have spent years researching Lovecraft's entire life! ONCE...you hit the end of that book......you are wondering where all the rest of the information is? YOU KNOW that there is some extra details out there--and you YEARN for it!--but where is it? It's THE END, and there's no other turn or corner. It's just one of those books that leaves you begging for more!!! I admit fairly, sometimes it gets a tad boring throughout the chapters, but those extreme moments in Lovecraft's life will keep you hooked. In the seas of dreams, Lovecraft sails ahead of us all...

This is the best biography of Lovecraft available, not counting the full-sized first edition which, I believe, has more material. Unless you are a true completist, you won't need the pricier first edition to appreciate HPL because this book has much of the same material. Joshi clearly has great interest in his subject (always a bonus), and he's not afraid to write about HPL's greater faults, such as his life-long, unchangeable racist opinions and his apparent indifference and immaturity in his short married life. With the greatest care, Mr. Joshi provides an in-depth look into the mind and life of H.P.Lovecraft, the dreamer and genius whose works got little recognition in his time, save for the small circle of friends and admirers who were lucky enough to be his correspondents and early readers. Those who knew Lovecraft personally knew that he was someone special; those who only know him through his works but WISH they could have know him (myself included) rely on such excellent works as this for illumination and inspiration. In all, this is a stunning work about a fascinating, under-appreciated thinker whose works--both fiction and non--should be widely studied. Highly recommended.

I highly recommend this book. Not only did I feel I was being personally introduced to Howard P. Lovecraft while reading it, I felt Joshi personally knew him. Of course he didn't, but after reading virtually everything in print (including manuscript archives by and about him), Joshi knew more about Lovecraft than most people know about their closest friends. I have never seen letters so well deployed to assemble the day to day, month to month activities and intellectual concerns of a historical figure. (Lovecraft wrote letters by the tons, and many were saved.) There is some discussion of the "weird fiction" Lovecraft wrote, with sometimes negative evaluations of its quality, but the key work gets enthusiastic and insightful brief evaluation, with further context based on the articles in the specialized journals that keep Lovecraft's critical reputation alive. Lovecraft is an acquired taste, but those of us who have acquired it owe Joshi a debt of gratitude. I never knew of Lovecraft's involvement with the amateur press organizations, or of his peripatetic travels across the east coast and parts of Canada he could easily get to. I think Joshi quite rightly attributes Lovecraft's premature death (at age 37) to a lifetime of poor nutrition, much of which was caused by near-poverty -- he never had a professional position, and lived hand to mouth on editing and rewriting of others' work, as well as meager pay for some publications (many of which weren't issued till after his death). His racism is discussed as a personal failing that doesn't undercut the author's other achievements. If that doesn't wash with you, I don't recommend the book. Otherwise, this is the go-to biography of one of the most unusual authors America has ever produced. My one quibble is that no pictures are provided, but they are available elsewhere.

"A Dreamer and A Visionary: H.P. Lovecraft in His Time" is one of the latest offerings from top Lovecraft scholar, S.T. Joshi. This is not an entirely new book, but a heavily edited and condensed version of his monumental 1996 biography "H.P. Lovecraft: A Life" published by Necronomicon Press.

For those persons who a) are new to Lovecraft and want to know more or b) are unable to obtain a copy of the sadly out of print
"H.P. Lovecraft: A Life", "A Dreamer and A Visionary" is well worth the price. Even those who own "H.P. Lovecraft: A Life" will
find this to be a nice companion volume.

Unlike many previous Lovecraft biographies, Joshi's works present a fair look at Lovecraft, warts and all, neither judging or lionizing him. "A Dreamer and A Visionary", like "Lord of A Visible World" and the annotated editions, is a most welcome addition to any Lovecraft library.

When I first got the book I felt a bit disapointed since it lacked a lot of text, I felt "man, I wish he'd talk about things like how to maintain good balance, good posture, etc."... but overtime, through the exercises and going for really slow up, I've realized that as I practice the exrecises in front of a mirror, I learn how to balance myslef properly through trial and error
All I can say is, after just 9 of the 16-note exercises, I'm double peddling away at songs I nevedr thought possible before! Just as long as you really take your time to learn each exercise properly... you will gain a lot!

This book will definitely help you build up your chops with your feet, in addition to potentially helping you uncover some problems with hand/feet independence. This book is worth it in terms of both money and time invested.

I have been playing drums since 1979 but only in the last year have I gone double bass. Some say you can't teach an old dog new tricks or it is really difficult to re-wire your brain to use the 'other' foot, but the way this book is written is perfect. It starts with simple activities that you need to master in order to move on. I highly recommend it.

For my fellow lefty drummers, he doesn't use L and R but he uses B.D.1 and B.D.2 which is refreshing.

Thank you Joe!

Joe does one of the greatest jobs of using double bass drum playing. He doesn't over do it in this book. The book gets you using your feet in all areas of drumming. Fills, Patterns and Rhythms. It helps you develop you brain to use you feet as equal. You will not just be some double bass trash metal drummer after this book. You learn how to use you feet equal with your hands in fills and other techniques around the set.

Phillip Depoy can write as many of these stories as he wants to and I will always be ready for the next one. He writes Southern characters like nobody else - not even Grisham can capture the flavor of the South like Depoy. His books are charming, witty and a pleasure to read and the more I read the stronger the images of Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock form in my mind's eye when I think of Flap and Dally. I'm about done with 123 and ready for 4 Phillip - hope you're writin' it! You readin' these son?

This book is a real page-turner. It's the characters that keep me looking for the next Flap Tucker book. You don't need to be a mystery buff to enjoy this series. The writing is elegant and the characters interesting and well-developed.

I read the first of the Flap Tucker series, EASY, and was on Amazon minutes after the last page ordering another in the series, EASY AS ONE, TWO, THREE. I really like this good ol' boy with a feng shui brainpan. These are readable, clever mysteries in the style of Lawrence Block. The only problem is...after number 4, you're Tucker'd out. We need more of this great series.

Flap Tucker is an easy going guy, who has been there, done that, and has no interest in stirring the pot. For the past few months, he has refused to leave his house. He finally goes outside when his best friend Dalliance Oglethorpe, owner of the Easy's night club, asks him to accompany her to a North Georgia mountain town to see her newborn niece.

When they arrive, the two visitors join the search for a missing little girl. Flap, a private detective who uses Zen to help him on an investigation, begins questioning the townsfolk and follows the threads of his hunches. He soon finds a town loaded down with a lot of secrets and plenty of individuals with much to account for as he meditates in one last effort to locate the child.

There seems to be a feel to Phillip DePoy's Southern mysteries rarely seen in other novelist's works. EASY AS ONE TWO THREE is a spectacular psychological suspense blended inside a well-plotted who-done-it. The Flap Tucker novels are getting better and better as readers begin to understand the hero's mindset and his relationship to Dally. This series is clearly one of the most entertaining regional mysteries on the market today.

Harriet Klausner

As an entreprenuer and consultant I found this book fascinating. It is so up-to-date with a theme we all are familiar with and most of us try to win over: uncertainty. Two factors make of this book a practical working tool: its writing flows, examples are fitting; it's a kind of flow that gets you thinking and relate the topics to issues you are working on. Good job Dr.Clampitt! A few years back I found attending your courses mind opening, this book takes the concepts to the next level: practice.

With bookshelves full of books written by instant management
McGurus selling their own flavors of the month,"Embracing Uncertainty" is a breath of fresh air. This book actually makes sense. It deals with the real world not theoretical models. If you enjoy reading academic mumbo-jumbo, this book is not for you.The old axiom:"the only sure things in life are taxes and death" should be changed.It should read:"the only sure things in life are taxes,death and uncertainty." You can cheat on your taxes, cheat death for a while, but you cannot avoid uncertainty. Embrace it!

The dynamic combination of real-world business examples along with research produces a powerful book. Clampitt and DeKoch's study of over 1,000 employees revealing that those who work for organizations that embrace uncertainty have more job satisfaction and are more committed to their organization is a powerful testament to the importance of this subject.
But, they go beyond just acknowledging uncertainty; they offer concrete ways to enhance leadership skills.

Of particular mention is the portion of the book dedicated to communicating about uncertainty. The authors convinced me that at times it may be just as important to talk about what you do NOT know as it is to discuss what you DO know.

"I am absolutely thrilled with the book! With the onset of 9/11 my world has changed dramatically. As a business and community leader it has been very difficult to create a vision based on the ever-changing scenarios. This book has changed all that. It has set my mind at rest and has opened up a new vista of management confidence and direction in this "uncertain" time."
Jeff Korenak
GM
Saturn of Green Bay
Bergstrom Automotive

Gave this to a Kindergarten friend (my daughter's choice) as a birthday gift. Wonderful, whimsical illustrations, sweet story.

I think Emily is a very good charachter because she is very funny and cute, and just very likeable!!!
I like the book because it tells a story about a monkey that is playful and likes to do mischevious things. I like the pictures because they are very colorful and the pages are fun to flip!! I look forward to reading more adventures of Emily! I love my book, thanks Betty Lou!!!! Sophia T.

This delightful book is a must read for all mommies who are struggling with sending their own little monkeys off to mother's day out or pre-school or kindergarten, camp for the first time. the parallel is so sweet. the pages are so beautifully illustrated and are what you'd expect from the diva of french design, betty lou phillips. i love all of her books, but this one is my absolute favorite!

In this adorable book, we find a monkey named Emily who sleeps in a frilly French bedroom. She is rather mischievous and loves to swing from chandeliers, paint pictures on walls and hide.

On these pages she is found on almost every page, sometimes she is hiding between books on a shelf or playing the piano.

Sharon Watts has done an amazing job with the illustrations. This book has an added level of intrigue as some of the pages fold out. There is a lot going on behind the green curtain! The words within the pictures are often in full-color and I found the main story font was easy to read.

In this story, Madame DuBois takes care of Emily as if she was her child. We find Emily eating in bed or being carried home from a shopping trip. She also enjoys taking Emily to outdoor markets where she eats famous French doughnuts. Madame DuBois also makes sure she wears fashionable clothes.

One day, Emily goes wild and Madame DuBois takes her to the Zoo so she can be with other monkeys. She soon regrets this decision, but with some patience she learns this is best for a wild animal.

This book is filled with wonderful art, some suspense and even a good laugh on the last page. Your young children will love this book.

Betty Lou Phillips is also the author of:

Unmistakably French
Villa Décor
French Influences
Provencal Interiors

~The Rebecca Review

I had an opportunity to review this book prior to its publication; that's how I first came to know Maggie Phillips. She is a highly accomplished psychologist and psychotherapist, and in this book she expertly integrates the best of traditional practice with cutting edge therapeutic processes. She also offers useful strategies for when to choose and how to combine hypnosis, EMDR, ego-state therapy, somatic therapies, imagery, and thought field therapy. An evolved perspective on energy psychology, "Finding the Energy to Heal" is required reading for therapists who take their craft seriously. --Fred P. Gallo, Ph.D., author of Energy Psychology: Explorations at the Interface of Energy, Cognition, Behavior, and Health, Second Edition (Innovations in Psychology), Energy Tapping, and Energy Tapping for Trauma: Rapid Relief from Post-Traumatic Stress Using Energy Psychology

Maggie Phillips is a fantastic therapist and teacher. I really believe this book is not only a very suitable and pratical book for therapists who wishes to improve their neuro-emotionnal therapy practice, but the result of several years of personnal research and intelligence !

I strongly recommendthis book to all EMDR practitioners. The chapters on EMDR are from my point of view, very encompassing complete and creative. In them the author explains concepts like Positive Image Installation, or Positive Target Image, Conflict Free Image, Resource Interweave, Ego State Therapy during EMDR without Hypnosis, Renurturing Interweaves, Developmental Learning Interweaves, concepts and procedures related to the Safe Place and Safe Place Image, Temporal Resource Interweave, and many concepts and resources which I had not heard of before and can really be very useful to any EMDR Clinician. She uses and explains EMDR in a very creative way that can be very beneficial to EMDR Therapists and Clinicians. The sections on Hypnosis, TFT, Imagery, Somatic Energy Therapies, and the one of Integration of Concepts are very useful.

This is an excellent book, outstanding, thank you Maggie. For the first time I understand what this Energy Therapy business, I've been hearing about, is all about and where and when it is advantageous to use it.

This is the third or so version of the Tao Te Ching that I have read, and it expresses itself in a way that one can connect, from a western way of thinking. Brief, as are all the translations, and without a long commentary before or after; just the gist of the ancient text. I was able to identify with it, and perhaps other American readers can too.

It was my pleasure and my honor to have written the Foreword to this marvelous work. Obviously, it's almost impossible to be an enthusiastic proselytizer of the Tao without departing embarrassingly far from the way the moment one opens one's mouth. Handing a curious friend or a relative a translation (even a very good translation) of the Tao Te Ching is at best a hit or miss affair. For thirty-five years I've bemoaned the fact that someone, some Western Eastern mystic with a masterful grasp of spirit of the text and the ability to render it into straight-forward, down-to-earth English, has not done the job.
I lament no longer. I have found the English language jewel I've been seeking my entire adult life - a jewel I can share with everyone I know who insists they don't get it.
Exactly how she did it I cannot say. However, one thing is abundantly clear to me. By writing "Finding the Way" Susan Montag has demonstrated in the clearest, most comfortable manner imaginable that she has truly found the 'Way.'

"To know what a person read during his life is to know an intimate detail about him; it is to know what he had on his mind." - Susan Montag

Twenty-five years after the death of her Uncle Russ, Susan Montag found two translations of the Tao Te Ching among his books. She had always felt her uncle to be a gentle, caring soul and viewed these translations as a testament to who he was as a person. After learning more about Taoism and becoming excited that her uncle owned the these books, she decided to purchase translations of the Tao Te Ching and give them to family members. However, these translations didn't move her family as she expected.

It was then that she realized the value of creating a modern, "native tongue" translation of the Tao Te Ching. While her original intention was to give copies to her family members, it occurred to Montag that others could value her work as well-especially after her labor of love received such an enthusiastic reception among her kin.

Finding the Way: A Tao for Down-To-Earth People is a work crafted in the spirit of the Tao Te Ching. The author has incorporated metaphors that are useful in the context of the modern world. The Tao Te Ching is to Taoism what the Bible is to Christianity. Originally written by Lao Tzu (and perhaps others) around 500 BCE, this sacred book centers on the Tao (the way of the universe), showing how it manifests in the world and how we can bring ourselves into harmony with it. The Tao Te Ching is a collection of sayings, poems, and proverbs that are divided into 81 verses that deal with Tao and the nature of life.

One of my favorite passages from Montag's translation is Verse Eleven:

"When you buy a vase,
you are paying for the pretty glass
but also for the empty space inside.
If that space were filled with glass,
you could not put a flower into it.

The empty space of a door
is the useful part of the door,
and the empty space of the window
is the valuable part of the window.
People are able to use what is there
only because of what is not there."

It is often said of the Tao "the way that you can say is not the way". As such, it can be difficult to capture the essence of this mysterious way of life and state of being. However, Finding the Way: A Tao for Down-to-Earth People does a remarkable job of delivering the poetic, elusive, and beautiful nature of the Tao Te Ching. Whether you're seeking lovely poetry, sacred notions, spiritual grounding or sacred mindfulness, Susan Montag's homage to her late uncle provides all these things and much more.

Susan Montag's new translation of the Tao Te-Ching, stands out as a clear and direct rendering of the ancient wisdom. Though she has written this book for "down-to-earth people," as the subtitle suggests, scholars would do well to read this book, too. But essentially Montag has undertaken the task in order to share the ancient wisdom with a modern readership, and has admirably succeeded. The volume reflects her desire to help people ease their way of living. As Lon Milo declares in his Foreword, Montag is a Western Eastern mystic with a masterful grip of the spirit of the Tao Te-Ching.

The book is also interspersed with splendid photographs by the book's designer, Phillip Augusta, which reinforce the mood of harmony with the universe, which is at the heart of the Tao Te-Ching.

Every time I look throuigh this beautifully illustrated and written book, I find more ideas and inspiration. I am so glad to have The French Room as my own so I can refer back to the pages for details and other decorating tips. I think that it is a wonderful Christmas gift for friends who appreciate owning or dreaming about elegantly appointed homes. For those who have Betty Lou's other books, this is a must-have book for your collection.

Whether you are a francophile or not this beautiful book will give you fabulous visual ideas on changing any room in your home. I rearranged my living room to be as much like the book cover as possible and it made the room come alive!

Great photos, great cover, looks beautiful on my coffee table. Very pleasing to the eye.

Along with Charles Faudree's new Interiors, I have been anxiously awaiting Betty Lou Phillips' The French Room. I wasn't disappointed. Although not every lifestyle allows for the abundance of objets d'art or the high-end luxury fabrics on every upholstered piece, I can still appreciate the beauty and design of the rooms presented. I like the somewhat cleaner line of Ms. Phillips' interiors and those of the designers also featured. It's a shame that this is a decorating style that does not transition itself down well to the mass market, but maybe that's why it's so appealing. Lovely photographs and a wealth of anecdotal information on accomplishing the French style...whatever your budget.