S Books

Just finished reading "All for the Union", and it's well worth the effort. A quicker, light read -but highly interesting and lives up to its buzz.

I won't repeat the very good commentary in previous Amazon book reviews, but I will offer these observations:
- As this diary is a day-to-day account by a front line Union officer, I'm surprised at how much idle time there was- especially during the winter months (ala Revolutionary War).

- It's amazing that units in the same corps can be so frequently rotated in & out of the front line battle. During the siege of Petersburg, the rotating (and advancing / retreating) was frequent. My thought when reading the book was that the high-level Generals better know what they are doing, as the unit leaders closer to the front probably DON'T have much visibility into "big picture" plans and tactics.

- Glad I never have to rely upon foraging off the land, and eating hard tack and other nasty field provisions. Tough folks, these soldiers. Especially my people, the Irish, who suffered bad injuries when playing horse games on their days off..

Enjoy this very good Civil War book!

Anyone who is interested in the Civil War has to read this book. All for the Union is the diary of Elisha Hunt Rhodes and covers the four years that he spent in the Union army. Entry by entry, the reader can watch Rhodes go from an enthusiastic young man, to hard, weary soldier. Appalled by the death and destruction early in the book, by the end, laying down to sleep between the dead and dying barely justifies a comment. A wonderful read.

If you are interested in more than big names and big battles this book is well worth reading. Elisha Hunt Rhodes shares his experiences from his enlistment as a boy having never been away from home until his mustering out as a man having earned the rank of Col. He writes in an honest straight forward manner about every aspect of daily life. His strong belief in duty, sense of right and wrong and his ever important sense of humor show in everything he writes. He's an optimist that made it through the war with all these attributes intact. Thankfully for us he kept this diary so that we can understand a little more about life during the Civil War.

Whie the Army of the Potomac suffered the usual soldier hardships we also have to realize these soldiers suffered some very bad generals in comparison to the Army of the Tennessee. We see the participants sense of this in the memoir. It is best placed in the heirarchy of the Civil War memoirs it must be placed beside Sam Watkins's "Co. Aytch." High praoise indeed.

We have works on the Civil War written by generals (e.g., the memoirs of Ulysses Grant and James Longstreet) and other officers (E. P. Alexander, Moxley Sorrell). However, equally valuable is the view from the bottom, by the foot soldiers. From the Confederate side, the paradigm example is Sam Watkins, "Company Aytch". From the Union side, Elisha Hunt Rhodes fills the bill. He rose through the ranks, and his diaries and letters provide a first-hand, ground-level view of the war in the east. As the Introduction by one of his descendants notes (Page xv): "He participated in every campaign of the Army of the Potomac from Bull Run to Appomattox with rapid promotions up to the rank of colonel in 1865."

Incidents are described plainly and with an eye from the front. On pages 15 and following, he describes the march to Bull Run, the state of the troops, the weariness experienced on that march. Then, the battle itself and aftermath are described in an economical manner. Here and after, his observations of fellow soldiers and officers is most useful, giving the reader a sense of what he was perceiving.

On pages 106 and following is his description of his regiment's (2nd Rhode Island) and his corps' (VI Corps under General John Sedgwick) march to and role at Gettysburg. While the corps arrived late, its uniting with the rest of the Army of the Potomac was a great morale boost for the Union forces, as this Corps was the largest in the northern army, bringing it to full strength at this bloody conflict.

Then, his description of the bloody battle at the Wilderness, where he took the measure of Grant, after vicious fighting. In his diary on May 7th, 1864, he noted (page 138): "If we were under any other General except Grant I should expect a retreat, but Grant is not that kind of soldier, and we feel that we can trust him." In that phrase, he captures nicely the bulldog tenacity of Grant as a General, and identifying what was different from him compared with other commanders of the Army of the Potomac.

His rendering the campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, where General Phil Sheridan jousted with Jubal Early's forces is is insightful. He speaks of the classic surprise assault on the Union position while Sheridan was off consulting with Washington. The surprise attack rolled up the Union lines for a time, although the VI Corps held pretty well. His description of Sheridan's role is interesting, as his simple coda for this indicates (page 185): "Hurrah for Sheridan!"

And, finally, these lines (page 221): "Glory to God in the highest. Peace on earth, good will to men! Thank God Lee has surrendered and the war will end soon." Thus, his response at Appomattox Court House.

As with Sam Watkins' observations, so, too, with Rhodes'. These observers provide a valuable and insightful perspective on the war from the ground level. Well recommended for those interested in the soldier's view of the Civil War.

I've been having back pain in the morning for the last few months after some furniture moving. I stopped at Borders for a coffee and picked this up to read (ok, I'm shameless). After about an hour with the book, I developed a game plan for dealing with the backache which I learned is of a very common garden type. It might be too early to declare victory but I woke this morning with almost no pain after sleeping in the prescribed position with a heating pad and taking a few NSAIDS before bed.

I have family members that opted for surgery years ago and it ruined their lives - possibly even led to a death of a cousin from OD of narcotics. I wish that they had had this book to read. A lot has changed in medicine and it seems like the author has much more modern thinking than most of the medical profession that still seems bent on drugs and surgery first.

This book is laying on the floor next to my bed. Why? I do the exercises every morning, and refer to the chapter to make sure I don't miss any. I do most of the exercises on the floor, so that's where the book lives. It is a part of my life now.

I've suffered from low-grade back pain for years, and learned a lot from this book. I especially like the integrated mind-body approach, the solid, realistic information about the mechanics of the spine, and the practical advice for care and recovery.

I've spoken with a chiropractor and an MD about my back problems, and the advice they gave me is identical to the advice in this book -- and the book was far less expensive.

Unless you were injured, your back took years to get into its current condition, and it will take a while to improve. This book is a first-rate map of the road to recovery.

This books covers a lot of territory but I did not find it particularly helpful. It feels like it has a lot of filler material to get it to "book length", without focusing in on the most useful information. Also, it completely ignores the neck, apparently assuming that all problems are lower-back problems.

Save your money on Back Pain Remedies for Dummies or just check it out of the library and skim it; in my opinion it is not worth the space it takes up on my book shelf.

Overall, a very informative book, as everyone else says. My only reservation - be careful doing the exercises in the book. The author also has a warning about this - he says "at no point during your back exercise program, should you feel that you are straining...to the point of significantly increasing your pain."

I tried doing a lot of the exercises in the book, and it did add to my pain, so I then got a referral to a physical therapist, who then worked with me, showing me the 9 exercises that were best for me - using the big exercise ball. Those exercises (and perhaps the glucosamine that I take) have gotten me back to where I can again play badminton once a week, and no longer have the serious back pain I had before. (The book does mention, of course, the possibility of getting help from a physical therapist.) I'd recommend the book - just don't increase your pain by overdoing the exercises - as the author warns, in that chapter.

i love this book! its so easy to understand, and it really put my mind at ease on alot of pain issues.it covers so many topics that you dont usually read about, such as: the pros and cons of back surgery, who to seek help from, exercises, getting back to work and the feelings associated with it,etc. a definite must read!

It was refreshing to read some non-mainstream news reports from Iraq. I wanted to see more contact with our troops and their comments and I was disappointed that his reporting wasn't more recent but suffice it to say, Jamail did a great job reporting what he saw. The risks he took to get some of his stories left me a little shaky. I'd certainly read some more of his writing.

"Lying in bed near Rana was Hanna, fourteen years old. She had a gash on her right leg from the bullet of a U.S. soldier. Her family had been traveling in a taxi in Baghdad past a U.S. patrol that very morning, when a soldier opened fire on the car. Her father's shirt was spotted with blood from a head injury from when the taxi crashed." (page 236)

This is Jamail's eye-witness account from an Iraqi hospital and an example of the really good journalism that puts the reader inside the Iraqi experience. Understanding what civilians are subjected to under the occupation helps explain why the resistance against the U.S. is so popular. This book's relentless exposure of war crimes is a scathing contrast to the establishment media. Jamail should be on national network shows to share the truth with America about what we sent our troops into harm's way to do to another people.

This is a "slice of life" report on the reality of what is really happening in Iraq. It is nice to read a report that doesn't depend on the control by the neocons that is part of an embedded journalist's story. He was the first author to bring to me the news (since confirmed by Congressional hearings) that the Iraq "parliament has for over two year voted against our occupation of their sovereign country, wants us to set a date to leave, would help us to leave, believes that we are causing the problem, and refuses to give our country their oil. Se Congessional hearings on U N mandate for occupation of Iraq. M L G

I am placing an order for this book once I am done writing this 'review'...so, no I have not yet read it...but I have been reading Dahr's reports for the last 3+ years - you can subscribe to his dispatches at his website - and have found his work to be a hugely grounding element in my thoughts and feelings of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq.
I had the pleasure of meeting Dahr in NYC in 2005 at one of his presentations on his trips to the country. I asked him how he ever came to the incredibly corageous decision to go to Iraq and he told me that he felt that if he *didn't* go, didn't do something, his head was going to explode. To be so motivated to actually put himself in a war zone is the kind of sincerity and passion that is sorely needed in the journalism of our time.
Dahr Jamail is one of my heroes.

Thank you Dahr for heeding the call to take you to the places few Americans allow themselves to go. This book is a true testament of the degree of devastation and misinformation we in the US are at times oblivious to. This book is a must read. Thank you for your life and for your calling.

I gave this book as a birthday present to my boyfriend, who is a lover of vintage robots. He was thrilled with the book! Lots of great pictures and interesting bits of information. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys in robots or vintage toys, either as a serious collector or just someone with a general interest.

As the author of ZAP! Ray Gun Classics, I've looked at a LOT of books on vintage space toys and in my opinion this is the very best one. The diversity of items, production values, factual information and other comments are all superb. I return to this book whenever I need a space toy "nostalgia fix" and I always seem to find something new. No vintage space toy collection should be without it.

More than merely a definitive catalogue of the subject, Blast Off is a socio-historical journey. Toys offer provide the prism through which the authors examine fascinating sociological phenomenon. Make no mistake this is the definitive book for this topic, but it becomes a tour de force by examining the history, economics, and sociology implied by these fascinating products from our recent past.

More than merely a definitive catalogue of the subject, Blast Off is a socio-historical journey. Toys offer provide the prism through which the authors examine fascinating sociological phenomenon. Make no mistake this is the definitive book for this topic, but it becomes a tour de force by examining the history, economics, and sociology implied by these fascinating products from our recent past.

Blast Off! is a fun and fascinating read for any fan of science fiction, space toys, or comic books. It's a beautiful coffee table-sized book with sexy images of robots, ray guns, and toys of all types that make you feel nostalgic even if you don't remember these toys from the first time around.

This book offers a history of "in the know" type stories about specific toys and the personalities who created and purchased them. There's the Buck Rogers XZ-31 rocket pistol that led Macy's and Gimbels into their most vicious price war ever, dropping prices by the hour to support the most successful toy promotion the world had ever seen. And there's the collector Bob Lesser who pays double the sticker price to win dealer loyalty. And there's a never-been-published story of the untimely death of Flash Gordon creator Alex Raymond. Plus the authors offer insight into how toys have affected history, entertainment, and the space program.

If you're a fan of Buck Rogers like I am, you should also check out Blast Off! author S. Mark Young's interviews with Erin Grey in Filmfax (Oct/Nov 2002 and Feb/Mar 2003) for a sensitive rendering of a sensational story.

This book has helped me in my treatment choices. I love the lay out and the real world information. Not scary just the facts no hearts and flowers. I have only just begun my battle with breast cancer. But this book lives in my bag that goes with me every where, doctor visits and just out to lunch. I find myself reaching for it to clarify info from doctors and to help friend and family to understand my treatment and options.
This is a must read for breast cancer families.

When I was diagnosed in 2005, I was absolutely overwhelmed with fear, information, and decisions. This book is the only one I found that made sense to me. It is clear, concise, and very encouraging. Dr. Link's approach is from a place of genuine respect and regard, and he knows exactly what survivors need to know right away. Reading this book really helped me make the best treatment decisions for myself, with the best information available. The book teaches survivors (who for the most part are not medical professionals, but will unfortunately have to get to that level pretty quickly) how to read pathology reports, and helps you formulate the questions you need to have answered to make your choices. I recommend it to everyone I know who is newly diagnosed.

Very good basic guide for one suffering from breast cancer, one problem was that it was 8 years outdated. Would have been better had it been updated, new treatments are always being discovered. It was a good overview, though.

A book for those who are newly diagnosed with cancer. The book describes in detail the different stages of breast cancer. It also discusses how individuals should see doctors for a second opinion. Another great part about the book is the differences in opinion about how to manage breast cancer, and the different paths to take.

I bought this book when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. The first advice it gives was a breath of fresh air in the middle of a maelstrom. It simply said "you have time." It also gives great advice on second opinions. Besides this first advice the book is filled with general information written in easy to understand english. Some of the info applies some of it doesn't, everyones cancer is different. I greatly recomend this book to all those of us faced with this challenge. It provides you with the information doctors usually don't take the time to give you. A must read before your next doctors visit. One caveat: if you are looking for a feel good read this is not it... this is a serious book of medical information.

At 40, Madame Wu discovers what love is and what it is not as she invites a young village foundling into her home as 2nd wife. She is composed and beautiful and intimidating, but discovers that love is finding your true self. Beautifully written and a story that keeps me intrigued until the last page.

I love Pearl Buck's books. She is so adept at taking the reader right into a foreign world and making it understandable. One begins to see how we are all really the same underneath our outward appearances and social customs. In this book, wealtlhy Madame Wu changes the course of her entire family's lives because of her strong desires to ultimately satisfy self. At first, her actions appear to be somewhat self-sacrificing in a certain way. Some readers may find her attitudes and actions quite modern, but there are far-reaching consequences to those actions and one wonders how selfless those actions really are in the end. I found the surprise turn in Madame Wu's relationship/feelings for the exiled priest to be a bit far-fetched for a wealthy Chinese woman of her time, but life can take odd twists and turns. To me this book is a moral tale of actions and consequences. I do not belive she or her family were better off in the end in spite of her taking over the care of the priest's orphans. Very interesting reading...food for thought.

The movie was good but it doesn't follow the book and the book is much better.

I would have never picked this book up if it weren't for my book club. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down till I was finished with this book. It is a very moving and thoughtful book ~~ opening my eyes to something else that I would have never thought of reading.

This book is about Madame Wu, who decided to retire from married life at the age of 40. She suggested a concubine for her husband as she believes very strongly that his needs need to be met ~~ just not by her. Her excuse is that she didn't want to bear any more children, but that is just a public excuse, one she offered to everyone who asked. The truth is, she didn't love her husband and wanted to retire from that part of her marriage. Needless to say, it unsettled the entire family ~~ even the concubine was unsettled. It reverberated throughout the entire book till the very end, when everyone seems to have moved onto their own problems.

This is a book on a busy wealthy Chinese family. It is about traditions and ideas, non-traditions, love and finding purpose in life. It is about family relationships between father, son, mother, son, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, friendships, and even between mistress and servant.

Madame Wu never thought she'd find peace and happiness till one of her sons' instructors came along. He was a Jesuit priest and they struck up a friendship based on conversations (which she remembered after his death). He literally changed her life and thought process. From being a woman who always did what she was told, she was liberated to being a free-thinking woman who strove to find peace in her soul.

It is a book that I would recommend to all readers ~~ and it is definitely a book for a book club to discuss! It is a timeless classic novel ~~ and definitely a great introduction to an author that I have heard about but never have read. I can't wait to read her other books!

3-30-07

Wow. I find Pearl Buck to be an author that really holds my attention, and write about complex characters that I don't really always like, but in the end, because of the author's writing and vision, I come to see them as really complex human beings.

This book, in particular, I think is really spiritual. I really wish that I had a book group to discuss this book with. At the beginning, I didn't really care for or understand the main character, Madame Wu. She decides after her 40th birthday party, that her husband can have a concubine and that she can turn inward. In the beginning, this is really quite a difficult concept for me, but in a way, it's also very liberating. It's a form of birth control for her, and also a way to keep her husband satisfied. In the end, Pearl Buck, as an author, really shows this woman to be very multidimensional, and I feel, quite spiritual and not so superficial as I think she starts out to be.

In the background, there are daughter in laws who are more liberated than Madam Wu, and the chafe at the idea of a concubine. They are too modern for that and would not stand for having a concubine in the house. Some of this is quite historical fand relates gently to the communist revolution. Also it is showing generational differences and lack of understanding between generations. In the end, Madame Wu, I feel , is far more liberated than her daughter in laws, no matter how modern they are.

There is also a DVD of this story, and I think the DVD cover is on the book cover that I read. If it shows a white man in an embrace with a Chinese woman, as if they were about to kiss, I want to warn you that this Hollywood image is not really the book at all. And in fact, that picture does not occur in the book either. Really, that image is an abomination of the book.

I do know, by reading Pearl Buck, why she is a Nobel prize winner in writing. For me, it's this. She helps you to see characters (people) that you might really hate or disagree with in real life as real, very multifacted people. And though I might not always come to agree or fully care about her characteres, through her writing, I will learn to understand and respect them more than I would have if I had not read the book. And more than that, Buck weaves in real history and fact and makes is very interesting.

Please read her books. You won't be disappointed.

Citrix MetaFrame XP: Advanced Technical Design Guide, Second Edition was a decent general read. In depth technical detail seemed to be lacking and was replaced by repetitive best practice lectures. However, I enjoyed the authors side comments and general personality that was interwoven into the reading. Overall the book is informative and well written.

We had 2 other books on Citrix Metaframe but the books didn't give us much detail so we started looking for a better resource. I found this book and recommended it to my Network Adminsitrator. I thought I won't get much from it because I don't work with Citrix everyday but when time permits, I read the book and 70% of the time I got the answers from this book.

Not a book for beginners. This is written for engineers and people who already have a good grasp of the basics of Terminal Servers and Citrix. No "how to" install in this book, but rather how to design, implement, identify and resolve your own problems, with a lot of real-life examples.

The style of the book (way it is written) makes a pleasant change from the usual technical books, as it addresses you like you know what you're talking about. You will come out with a clear understading of the issues you're facing and how to resolve them.

This book is self-published, which makes it all the more remarkable.

The book covers up to Windows 2000 and Mataframe XP FR2. I'm keen to see when the next edition comes out, and hpoefully it will concentrate on Windows 2003 + Metaframe 3.0

I had a real tough time searching the Internet and all other places to get some real stuff on Citrix and my search ended with "this" book by "Brain" Madden.

Citrix will notice a sizeable improvement in their sales if they include this book with their product. Everything is explained clearly with visuals and no filler material.

One of the best Tech Books to hit the market in recent times.

In my opinion, this book is the ONLY interesting published book about Citrix until now. I have read most of the available books about Citrix and Terminal Services and this is the only one I would buy again.

If you are a Citrix Certified Administrator, you will find this book very helpful. Personally speaking, I prefer it to most of the Citrix official documentation.

Take into account that it is a book for people who already has a deep knowledge about Citrix. It is not a guide for begginers. It gives you hints to improve your own Citrix project methodology.

Amazon guys, let me suggest this, please: If you are looking for a step-by-step begginers guide, have a look at Methodology in a Box (freely available at http://www.dabcc.com)

This a great collection of poems from the past! If you enjoy whimsy, this is for you!

with eliot, a maximum of content is achieved through a FORM worked with a
care and conciousness not seen perhaps since the greeks. he understood,
as he once wrote, that the novel form ended with flaubert. in the centuries after picasso and stravinsky there is no place for anything in
literature which makes people remain sitting, whithout standing and perhaps dancing. the same thing could be said about pound, very different though very twin.

The Eliot of despair, the Eliot of 'Prufrock' and 'Wasteland' is contended with and overcome by the Eliot of the 'Quartets'. The message of modern mankind's meaninglessness, the broken fragments ( of Tradition) shored against his ruin is replaced by the vision of sacred turning, a Christian vision of redemption. Eliot is a writer whose work and life break down into these two distinct periods each of which has its champions in defining what is best in him.
As one raised on 'April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land' and 'Let us go then you and I when the evening is spread out against the sky, like a patient etherized upon a table' the most memorable lines are certainly of the first phase where it ends not with a bang but with a whimper.
Yet my admiration for the hypnotic power of Eliot's memorable lines is strongly qualified by my knowledge of his 'Burbank with a Baedaker, and Bluestein with a Cigar' with his all too fashionable literary anti- Semitism. Of course Eliot was not preaching death camps and extermination but he did connect his work to the tradition of Christian Anti- Semitism.
Thus I have always had difficulty being comfortable with my 'enjoying of Eliot's poetry. And I have never been able to sympathetically read 'The Quartets.' They have always seemed to me to be too impersonal characterless and abstract.
Eliot who for most of the century strode the English Departments as if he were a colossus did noble work in reviving interest in 'The Metaphysicals' but somehow failed in my mind to write a poetry humanly rich in the deepest sense.

When you think of the best poets ever, T.S. Eliot is one of those that comes to mind. His work is well crafted, intelligent, beautifully written, and has a flow to it that few poets can match. And this is a fine collection for the Eliot lover or for the reader unfamiliar with Eliot. It's divided into several sections. The first section is his Prufrock section, poems from 1917, which contains probably his finest poems: "Prufrock", "Preludes" "Rhapsody on a Windy Night", "Hysteria", among others. Then there is the Poems 1920 section which also contains many fine poems ("Sweeney Erect" and "The Hippopotamus" being my favorites). Then follows his masterpiece The Wasteland. Then The Hollow Men which is followed by the wonderful Ash Wednesday. Then the Ariel Poems (which contains "Journey of the Magi"). Then there are two unfinished poems, "Sweeney Agonistes" and "Coriolan" which I thought were weak. Maybe they would have been great had he ever finished them. Then there is a section called minor poems followed by the mediocre "Choruses from 'The Rock.' And then there is what I consider to be his true masterpiece, "Four Quartets." And the book finishes with some occasional verses, one of which is a sweet and touching poem to his wife. This is a great collection of poems.

Yep, this is a great collection of Eliot's works. I initially found out about Eliot throught the Movie 'Apocalypse Now' in which Brando is heard reciting the poem 'The Hollow Men'. The poem sounded so good I hunted it down and came across this little book.

My favourite poems would have to be 'The Hollow Men', 'Love song of Prufrock', 'Ash Wednesday' and 'Rannoch, by Glencoe (perfectly captured, drive through Rannoch and you'll see ;-)

Yep, definetly worth a read.

This is an amazing story of a kid who overcomes a lot to become Mayor of Cleveland. You will get into this book fast!! I still don't agree with his politics, but I respect him more now.

--Gerard Zemek, husband of author of "My Funny Dad, Harry"

I want to add my kudos to the other well written reviews of this book. Congressman Dennis Kucinich tells the story of the first 22 years of his life. He details his experiences with abject poverty, moving 21 times in 17 years, alcoholic parents, and living briefly in an orphanage. Through his industry, determination and intelligence, he was able to overcome these obstacles. His story inspires me to make the most out of my life, too.

The Courage to Survive by Dennis J. Kucinich is a wonderful story. Even though I am not very interested in politics or political figures, I thoroughly enjoyed this autobiography by Dennis Kucinich, former Mayor of Cleveland. It is a fast read because it's so well written and fascinating. He shares how his family lived in poverty and struggled along. He had health problems but still had a desire to help other people. Parts were sad while other parts were cute and humorous. It gave me insight into how the poor live and a new respect for Dennis Kucinich. It also showed how people can make a positive difference in someone's life.

--Karen Arlettaz Zemek, author of "My Funny Dad, Harry"

Kucinich has an interesting book. You'll read stories you wouldn't expect to hear from a political figure. He's very detailed about his beginnings.

The only thing I would have liked to have seen more of include his time in office and how he's addressed the Republican regime.

AMAZING is right.

Dennis Kucinich's book has something for everyone. People often tell me it's America's ultimate failure that we judge presidential candidates on who is "likeable" and who "isn't." But, I'll say it right now: I LIKE Dennis Kucinich.

It's very easy to relate to his story, which makes it all the more effective. The story behind the politician is what every person should know-- and now they can. Hearing of someone's accomplishments in office is one thing, but seeing how that person got there is just as important- it says a LOT!

Thank you, Phoenix for publishing this motivational book. And proving politicians are real people too!

"A Cup of Christmas Tea" is a classic! It is the tender story (told in rhyme by Tom Hegg) of a young man who dreaded visiting a loved aunt after she suffered a stroke and became disabled. But he did visit her and the story is rich with emotion - and reality. A VERY special story that will touch your heart.

As I sat at my computer, I glanced over at my bookcase and reached for a book. It was a Cup Of Christmas Tea. I began reading out loud and soon started crying. Several times I had to stop and wipe away tears. It takes you back to when holidays were simple and pure and about the people you love.
As I finished the book and wiped away my final tears, I decided that I will make our Chanukah celebration something special for my grandsons.

Symbolized by sharing a cup of tea with an elderly aunt and reminiscing about Christmases past - this is a heart warming poem reminding us to slow down during the holidays and enjoy our time with family and friends.

A friend recommended this book to me several years ago, and when I read it, I was moved to tears. Since that time, I have given countless copies to friends and family because I want to share the message that I received from it with everyone I know. The text is brief, but very descriptive, so I could picture in my mind the events that the authors were describing. The message that I received is that monetary gifts are not as important as the gift of time that we spend with others; so often we set out to do things for others because we feel obligated, and in the end are more blessed than the person who was the object of our attention. This is truly a wonderful Christmas story to read again and again!

I think of this book as an adult "christmas book". I have had a copy for some years and purchased this one to accompany a Spode Christmas "tea pot and cup for one" I gave to my mother. The 25th Anniversary Edition is a celebration of a book that will never go out of style and is a perennial reminder of gracious traditions and feelings that are the heart's treasures.