Sherman Books

As a writer Sherman was a natural. This book is a wonderful read and I've heard that it is the most important of all of the Civil War era autobiographies and I believe it. Everything that can be said of the book has been said in the many reviews, but I would just like to add my approval. Highly recommended book.

INTERESTING TO READ "SHERMANS" SIDE OF THE STORY !! GOOD READ IN CONJUCTION WITH "CITIZEN SHERMAN" BY MICHAEL FELLMAN !!!

Sherman is (perhaps arguably) the most articulate and intelligent autobiographer (and biographer) of the Civil War period. Yes, he was controversial, but that, in great part, came from the times, and the period politics, and later from the political agendas of modern politically correct historians/writers. The overriding elements in Sherman's autobiography are the matter-of-factness and the fairness with which he describes events and people in his life. With much the same exquisite Dignity as U. S. Grant in his memoiors, Sherman speaks to the reader with a clarity and honesty no decent person can help but admire. He is painstaking in relating military associations - sometimes wearily so. But his thorough and candid descriptions of events, people and places still present themselves in an entertaining manner time and time again. For the reader mature enough to accept those times without tainted sanctimonious judgement, Sherman's memoirs will be a fascinating and enlightening glimpse of the people and the soul of our country during one of our most trying eras.

There's the example of Julius Caesar, of course. And in America, there was Ulysses Grant, whose orders and dispatches were so concise and unequivocal that they were credited by his subordinates for many of his victories. Grant's Memoirs are widely recognized as a classic of autobiography, as much for their literary merit as for their content. I've had this Penguin edition of "Cump" Sherman's Memoirs on my shelf for so long that the price is about a third of the current, but I've never been tempted to read them, chiefly because of Sherman's reputation for inhumanity during his service against the trans-Mississippi Indians.
A couple days ago, however, I opened the book on a whim and started reading, and I've hardly looked at anything else since. The writing is fantastic! Utterly unadorned yet vividly descriptive. Witty, and that's a surprise! Forthright, modest, down-to-earth. As thoroughly planned as one of his campaigns, which I find may be explained in part by his frequent assignment of logistic tasks in his early military career. He knew how to move supplies and keep account of where things were.

Like any 19th C memoirist, or any Viking skald, Sherman feels obliged to trace his ancestry for a few pages, which I confess didn't immediately stir my interest. Then, however, when he begins his narrative of his military service in Florida, against the Seminoles, suddenly the saga comes to life. I learned more from this one chapter, as a primary source, about the early Americanization of Florida than from anything I've read elsewhere. I could feel the rash from the palmetto on my skin. Likewise, the two chapters on his years in California just after the invasion of Mexico, took me to Monterey, to Yerba Buena before it became San Francisco, and up the river to Sutter's Mill and the Gold Rush Country more vividly, more "virtually" in the game-boy sense of the word, than any historian's account of those years. Sherman was, in his blunt style, as fine a writer as Twain. No wonder he was so effective as a general. Good writers make good generals, as I said before. My thesis is proven; I'll be sending a sample of my reviews here on amazon to the new Commander-in-Chief in Washington next February, in hopes of an appointment in the field. I will, of course, in true 19th C fashion, remind Pres. Obama of my ardent electioneering on his behalf.

[I had no intention of reviewing this book until I finished it, but the first 112 pages have been so exciting that I wanted to share them. I plan now to add paragraphs to this report as I continue reading.]

One of the thrills of reading Sherman's account of his years in California is encountering the street names of San Francisco -- Mason, Larkin, Stockton, Ord -- incarnated as ardent young bucks, flesh-and-blood yearning for the accomplishments you know lie well in their futures. It's also intriguing - poignant, if you will - to find Sherman hunting geese or courting señoritas in company with young fellow officers whom he will be thrashing on the battlefields in another fifteen years.

* It's worth noting that Sherman was only slightly more successful during the 1850s than Grant. Despite his intrepid energy, probity, and obvious business skills, he found himself in 1858 with no significant wealth, no stable occupation, and a family of a wife and four daughters. Perhaps it wasn't so easy, after all, for a person without deep pockets to achieve success in ante-bellum America, except by luck, dishonesty, or slavery. Sherman's last job before the elction of Lincoln was as the superintendent of a "military seminary," that is, a school for the sons of planters, in Louisiana. Knowing that his moderate criticisms of the slave system would get him fired anyway, Sherman resigned as soon as Lincoln was elected. No one around him in Louisiana expressed any doubt that the preservation of slavery was the "fighting issue" behind secession.

** As Sherman left his youth behind and entered the fray of the Civil War, he shifts his tone from that of an adventurous raconteur to an earnest historian, and I've found that I need to read him differntly also, less for pleasure than for historical knowledge. I've slowed down and taken time to evaluate his reportage in comparison to what I already 'know' of Civil War historiography. Sherman's manner of constructing his narrative also changed; he began to incorporate documents - his field reports and letters, the field reports of other officers, etc. By the mid 1870's when Sherman wrote these memoirs, the true course of events and the soundest interpretation of them were already afire with controversy.
Two insights, from Sherman's perspective: 1) the elite Louisianans whom Sherman conflicted with, over the act of secession, were amazingly confident that there would be no war and that their 'peculiar institution' would thrive. They were all remarkably civil and genteel in their agreement to disagree, and Sherman departed without obstruction and with his pay in his pocket! 2) from Sherman's perspective, right at the front firing line with his green regiments, the Battle of Bull Run was a wash; either nobody won or both sides did, but neither side had the military skills to follow up and inflict a tactical victory. The war would continue until somebody on one side or the other knew how to win... and as "we" know, that would be Grant and Sherman himself.

General William T. Sherman's memoirs, first published in 1875, are primarily an account of his service in uniform during the Civil War. Sherman rallied to the Union colors early in the conflict, but had indifferent success until the searing crucible of the Battle of Shiloh, where he fought under the command of the stalwart U.S. Grant. Shiloh was a turning point. With increasing confidence as a leader, Sherman played key roles in the siege of Vicksburg and in the relief of beseiged Union forces at Chattanooga. When Grant was called east to head up all Union forces, he hand-picked Sherman as his successor in the West. Sherman would go on to take Atlanta, march to the sea at Savannah, and pillage his way through the Carolinas to hasten the end of the war.

Sherman the man, and his memoirs, stand in vivid contrast to his contemporary and close friend U.S. Grant. Where Grant was modest and reserved, Sherman comes across as all nervous energy, talking up a storm and hardly able to sit still doing it. His memoirs are reflective of his personality, passionate and argumentative in between inserted copies of key correspondence. While less polished than Grant's, they are in many ways more entertaining and certainly more revealing of Sherman's feelings and personality.

Sherman expresses an opinion on practically everything. His battles with newspaper reporters, whom he despised, date from an alleged nervious breakdown in the first year of the war. His exchange of correspondence with Confederate General John Hood over the forced evacuation of Atlanta, are a malstrom in miniature of the passions behind the war itself. Sherman is more than frank about the politics within the Union Army, and its sometimes troubled relations with civilian authority. Above all, Sherman recognized the cruelty of the war, and was unwilling to sugarcoat that reality for anyone. Sherman and Grant each understood the grim arithmetic that the Confederate Armies must be bled to death in order for the Confederacy to be defeated and were prepared to carry out that strategy.

This book is highly recommended to students of the Civil War, who will find Sherman to be an instructive and even at times entertaining guide through those portions that he personally experienced.

VEEDMEE!!!! Lord Gunny Says "Del Ray this is a darn fine tome, what are you thinking keeping my marines stuck far away from Frangeria???"

A Great story, with Great Characters on a running trek that keeps you turning the pages fast as you can read!

Lord Gunny is summoned to Dave Sherman's fantasy setting, and creates a corps of sea solders called "Marines". The story opens right up when two junior Marines land in the port city of New Bali and discover it has been overun by evil doers. They are forced to escape the city and seek aid from others. This small chore sets them on an adventure across the lands of Bostia, Skragland, and beyond. They encounter magics, mayhem, demons and destruction.

Dave Sherman's Demontech has an interesting twist on Magic. Demons are subdued, conjured, and summoned to be used in various magical tasks. Healing, Warding, Hiding, Destroying, Laboring, and more are some of the tasks they do.The way he employes them is very fun, along with the "demonspeak" they use.

"Veedmee" a demonspeak request, or even demand in some cases that the demons stop their tasks, asking to be fed before they continue.

Haft and Spinners adventures grow as they trek along avoiding the Dark Prince and his minions that are rampaging across the continent.

The Lands, the characters, the battles are all well defined and developed, you move thru the story fast and furious, left wanting.

As Lord Gunny says,"BUY THIS BOOK" you cant disobey orders!! and you wont be disappointed!

When I ran across this book, the premise behind this novel was intriguing - demon 'magic' and Marines? An odd combination so I bought it and read it in a day. I returned to the book store and purchased the other two novels in the series thereafter. An entertaining story line by an author who has obviously been where the bullets fly. I recommend this to any military Sci-Fi fan.

I love this series. I bought all three books at once and read them all in one sitting, only stopping long enough to take bathroom breaks. I want this series to continue. I think it was a lose to the readers of the world when this series was cancelled just because book three didn't sell as fast as the other two. I only picked up this series because I was waiting for the authors I follow to publish something new.
I would keep following this series if someone would figure out it's a good idea to keep publishing it.

The Demontech series is a gripping tale of two marines put in a situation where they must excel or die. Trained in the tradition of the USMC somehow in an epic fantasy setting, these marines rise to heroic proportions. Del Rey has decided not to publish further volumes in the series. If enough people try this book, they will buy the other two written and hopefully Del Rey reverses their decision.

With the Demontech series David Sherman introduces a wild twist to combat fantasy/fiction. His temperamental demons power the "high-tech" weapons in this latest combat novel series. Anyone who has ever used any type of weapon with electronics or moving parts can laughingly identify with the idiosyncracies of the various demons.

Sherman has woven a tale with all of the complexities of culture clashes, the action of a great war novel, and the inevitability of the involvement of my law (Murphy's Law) in a combat situation involving more than one person or using any weapon more complex than a battle axe (which, by the way, one of the Marines wields quite well...).

This book, and the rest of the series, is highly recommended. There is no other work quite like it!

tHIS BOOK SHOULD BE READ BY SOMEONE WHO ALREADY HAS READ MUCH ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR, iT IS CHOCK FULL OF PERSONAL INFO,BUT WILL BE CONFUSING TO THE A READER WHO IS NOT FAMILAR WITH THE CHARACTERS AND PLACES

I have been a Civil War buff all my life and thought I knew a fair amount of detail on all of the major engagements of the war. However, until I read "Sherman's March", I really didn't know anything about his post-Atlanta campaign except that he marched to Savannah. Presumably his soldiers fought battles along the way and presumably they did something after capturing Savannah but I guess my curiosity never led me to find out more. It was in the Atlanta campaign that my great great grandfather was captured so I thought I should find out what happened after that.

What the author, Burke Davis, chronicles is what exactly DID happen after the fall of Atlanta. He has put together a fascinating account of the March to the Sea (and beyond) by compiling first-hand accounts of the events of the campaign. Sherman's men found little oppostition after Atlanta but their march had a devestating effect on the South. The brutal, unforgiving thievery that his foragers and "bummers" committed led to a great loss of resources and morale for the Southern folks. What few battles there were did not register on the richter scale of war but the destruction wrought by his troops was of tsunami proportion. There is much about the various communities put to the torch (beginning with Atlanta) and focussing on Columbia, SC. There is also much to suggest that Sherman was guilty of oversight by not maintaining tight control over his troops. His attitude was that the South needed to learn the consequences of their wrongly conceived rebellion. The sooner their morale was broken, the sooner the war would end and the fewer number of soldiers would become casualties (on both sides). While the reader may find truth in Sherman's attitude, it is hard not to become enraged at the extent of the mayhem.

Davis also presents a fair amount of information of the slaves that were freed along the way and the attitude of the different Union Generals towards their emacipation. In the 21st Century it is pretty commonly felt that the Civil War was about slavery. However, a significant percentage of the Union's fighting men felt the issue of the South's secession from the Union was the cause they were fighting for, Sherman included. Nonetheless, they used the freed slaves whenever it was to their advantage and abandoned them when it wasn't.

Sherman's concept of a large army invading deep into enemy territory with no lifeline of support was a challenging concept at the time and its' success influenced military strategy thereafter. Although Davis documents that the soldiers were able to take far more than they needed, it was still an impressive campaign. There were plenty of things the men did without for roughly six months; clothing, pay, letters from home, and many other things that the Army of the Potomac took for granted.

After Savannah, their march through the Carolinas spelled the defeat of the South and Davis does a good job of detailing Sherman's significant involvement in the war's end. There was controversy surrounding that and Sherman found himself at odds with the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton. Davis concludes by giving us a brief synopsis of the rest of Sherman's life after the war.

During the first chapter I was apprehensive about Davis's style of writing but the rest of the book made me appreciate his approach to the subject. His frequent use of primary sources was helpful yet not overdone. His writing gave way to some editorial comments but, overall, I thought the book was pretty well balanced. I gave it 5 stars because, after the first chapter, I couldn't put it down and because I learned so much about an aspect of the Civil War that no one else seems to make much mention of.

Make no mistake.

A large army of servicemen, who had not seen women for extended periods of time, will and did rape - and by necessity, drunkenness and accessibility- murder civilians with total impunity. This was especially true the more removed they were from the main column, where there was virtually no supervision by senior officers.

Those civilians, although structurally a part of the southern system, were innocent. Brutalizing and killing women and children is the type of action that should and will leave a scar in the history of a nation and the history of warfare in general.

The proof of its inherent evil is that even if it may have worked for the purpose of wining the civil war- according to Sherman's rationalization- it also became the seed of what ultimately led to its inevitable conclusion: the atomic bomb.

Lets not be distracted by Sherman's brilliant character as a military man and his talent as a writer: once you purposely approved the hostile action by desensitized military veterans against innocent women and children you have mangled your legacy and left a gift of unaccountability and hopelessness for humanity.
Something we would learn much too well in the 20th century and today.

This book is easy to read! The author does not write above or below the reader. It's a great straight forward book filled with a large amount of information. The information presented will be appreciated by Civil War buffs of any level. He covers both the military and civilian angles.

Based upon civilian, military, and reporters eyewitness accounts. Davis' wonderfully written account of this mercurial Union general's march through the South moves along at a fast pace. There are those who would have us believe Sherman was just a troubled man and his military actions were inhuman; he may, in part, had these attributes, but we shouldn't disregard his compassion. His brilliance as a military leader is unquestionable; ruthless against the enemy but sensitive to the woman and children. I found myself shaking my head with sorrow through one paragraph only to switch to a chuckle on the very next. The bibliography is extensive.

Beginning with the fall of Atlanta, we follow the unrelenting aggressive slash and burn total warfare of General Sherman's Union troops, and then the final march into Raleigh. The strategy was to beat the Rebels into submission----a quicker end to the war. Although not stated in the book, I think the "march" introduced the creation of mobile warfare. Sherman to wife Ellen: "there are some very elegant people here who I knew in better days and who do not seem ashamed to call on the 'Vandal Chief'. They regard us just as the Romans did the Goths and the parallel is not unjust. Many of my men with red beards and stalwart frames look like giants". In battle was not the only way a soldier lost his life: many union troops died after a forced march back home; despicable and troubling. The finale march was a victory parade through Pennsylvania Avenue.

There are stories of rescue and caring among the carnage, such as the feeding of confederate families. Davis does a good job of showing the human side of the lives of the confederate people. Atrocities occurred on both sides; alcohol and the lax in discipline were no doubt the culprit in the burning of property. Sherman made the mistake of overextending negotiations for surrender; he was relieved, but Grant kept him on; only small changes were made in negotiations. Sherman to a friend: "General Grant is a great general. I know him well. He stood by me when I was crazy, and I stood by him when he ws drunk; and not, sir, we stand by each other always". Just a note: the free press aided the enemy then as it does so today.

"It was to be almost a century before military scholars proclaimed the general as the most original and influential of Civil War field commanders, whose concepts forecast developments in the twentieth century."

Wish you well
Scott

Chatzy presents the results of research that shows specific activities that people do that makes a difference in the way they handle and manage their personal finances.

A good read for those who think that you need to make a lot of money to be rich, or to be wise with your money.

For me, the book is about common sense.

I stumbled on to this book at my local bookstore marked down from $24.00 to $6.00. After reading it I'm surprised to say I'd be willing to pay the initial amount! The author explains financial stability (I prefer the term "stability" instead of "security"; wealthy people are secure, the less wealthy have to strive for stability) in a very lucid and rational tone. Straightforward with obvious sound advice it provided tibits of information to help each individual to define financial comfort and stability on their own terms. Thanks, Ms. Chatzky, for allowing me to not be as insecure anymore about my financial situation and about money in general!

Ms. Chatzky has done a lot of research, not only on the financial habits of Americans, but on what truly makes us happy, consulting with many leading happiness experts. No surprise -- beyond a certain income level that provides the basics, money doesn't really make us happy. In fact, stress over money -- even if we have more than enough -- can make us miserable.

She encourages us to take control of our money, which will help us take control of our lives. Many of her suggestions are simple, but practical: organize your papers, pay your bills when they come in, don't buy things you don't need, track your spending... But she frames them all in the discussion of finding happiness in your life, melding the practical with the philosophical.

It's true; this book will be more useful to people whose finances are way out of control. But I still learned a couple of things: some guidelines for portfolio composition, that I could probably track my spending more closely, and that I should do some estate planning.

If you're not sure you need this book, live one of Ms. Chatzky's mottoes and don't buy it: check it out of the library instead!

I saw Jean Chatsky on TV. Her approach to financial security was refreshing. Instead of "waiting" until you become a millionaire in order to solve all of your financial concerns, she rather teaches us that you don't have to be rich. Instead of trying to stare at the big picture, realize that the big picture is nothing more than a lot of little pictures. When you get the little pictures in order, the big picture changes. For example by observing for two weeks, where your cash in pocket goes, you can find ways to reduce annual expenses by even several thousand dollars per year. Figuring that amount of money, invested over ten years, you come up with a substantial amount of money.
By sitting down and figuring out a budget, or allotment of monies, you can help rid yourself of the irrational spending. Start to figure out what makes you incessantly spend, spend, spend. Counting your money can be fun. Instead of enjoying your new toy for only a day or two after you buy it, then on to the next buy, you rather find joy in the ongoing financial strategy that you employ.
By setting new goals and dreams, you focus your income on value pursuits, rather than buying a whole lot of junk.
This book is chock full of great advice. I'm going to work hard at the suggestions. Enjoy the freedom of knowing that your financial well being is in order.
Hey if your books all balance, even though you are not a millionaire, you can begin to enjoy life. Instead of that aching feeling in the background telling you that something is wrong. Your new value dream that replaces your nonsense spending will fulfill your need to buy.
This book will take you step by step as to how to "clean out the garage" of your personal finances. Highly recommended, and personally I think Jean Chatsky is hot, hot, hot.

The thing that sets this book apart from the average personal finance book is the fact that Chatzky really challenges you to look at WHY you care about money so much. We are becoming an increasingly materialistic society and the growing trend is to fill every void with money. Meanwhile, I think the general population is more unhappy, definitely less healthy, and losing connection with what many people describe as the "important things in life" (relationships, family, health, community) than they were 20, 30 or 40 years ago. So while the practical advice may be simple, the focus really is not a "how to" but rather a look at why and for what reasons. Many personal finance books seem to intensify ones need and desire for money by suggesting ways to "make more faster" or to "be one up on the rest of the world"; this one seems to take a step back and connects with the real reason that many people become engrossed in personal finance books: their quest for happiness. If you are well organized financially and have a good strategy in place but still don't feel comfortable financially, my recommendation would be to read this book for the "big picture" in conjuction with another (less simplistic) finance book for the details. This book really challenges you to take things in perspective. You may even finish this book and decide that it's not your investment strategy but your life strategy that needs to be reworked.

Alexie has generated some top notch writing. "Ten Little Indians" is right up there with others. He tends to do variations of the same themes, but isn't this what most present day writers do? I sort of expect it. I would be somewhat amazed if the top fiction writers of 2006 turned out something outside of their usual pattern. Read the first Grisham, Follet, Roberts, Patterson, Clancy, etc and by the time you read down each list a bit, you will think the writer had some kind of a universal outline.

At least in the case of Alexie there is value in his courage and the insight he offers. One expects the voice of a present day urban Indian, and we get it. Sherman steps to the plate. One feels the pain, frustration, and distrust. It is wrapped around pride with a beating heart.

I liked "Ten Little Indians", I read parts of it twice. I put it on the shelf to read again later.

Alexie's intelligent depictions of human nature and the Native American experience have yielded a collection of stories unlike any other. His wit is hilarious, unpredictable, and unpretentious. We laugh at all the wrong times and at all the wrong people. He has spun irony in a new direction. The characters are so well developed you think about them long after you've read the last page.

I spent the past weekend soaked in Sherman Alexie. It was a pleasure to find out about Sherman Alexie (through his interview on KUOW's Weekday program). I really loved his short story collection Ten Little Indians. The stories reflect acute, honest observation of life, specifically from an Indian point of view. He doesn't sugar coat any flaws of Indians, or for that matter any other American. The genocide of Indians provides him with enough material to draw upon and every story made me laugh, cry and in some ways touched me deeply. The characters brim with humanity and you almost feel attached to the characters. I haven't enjoyed short stories this much in a long time.

His movie Smoke Signals is equally good and worth watching. But I think his books are far better.

Here are some of my favorite lines from the book:

"If a Poet falls in a forest, and there's nobody there to hear him,does he make a metaphor or simile?"

"It's tough to be a smart girl anywhere, but it's way tough to be on the rez."

"We are people exiled by other exiles, by Puritans, Pilgrims, Protestants, and all of those other crazy white people thrown out of a crazier Europe."

"But I exist, she shouted to the world, and my very existence disproves what my conquerors believe about this world and me, but since my conquerors cannot be contradicted, I must not exist."

"After all, didn't those self-martyring terrorists believe they would be rewarded with seventy-two virgins in heaven? Political posturing aside, didn't a few thousand stupid men believe terrorism was another way to get laid? What would happen if United States offered seventy-three virgins to each terrorist if he would abstain from violence? Instead of deploying an army of pissed-off US soldiers to Afghanistan and Iraq, we could send a mercy team of patriotic virgins."

"God, I'm supposed to be some electric aboriginal warrior, but I'm really a wimpy liberal pacifist. Dear Lord, how much longer should I mourn the loss of Jerry Garcia?"

"Seattle might be the only city in the country where white people lived comfortably on a street named after Martin Luther King Jr."

"I am a Native American and therefor have ten thousand more reasons to terrorize U.S. than any of those Taliban jerk-offs, but I have chosen instead to become a American citizen, so all of you white folks should be celebrating my kindness and moral decency and awesome ability to forgive!"

"The average while male working the graveyard shift at 7-Eleven in the year 2003 is a more educated and advanced and decent human being than the average white male attending an Opera in New York City in 1876."

All the stories in this book have Spokane Indians as main characters, but the stories are really about all of humanity, with its humor, tragedy, cruelty, and redemption. Every story made me laugh at some point, and every story touched me deeply at some point. The characters have to deal with poverty, others' preconceptions, their own deeply held stereotypes, good luck, bad luck, and just life in general. One homeless man tries to find $1000 to buy back his grandmother's pow-wow regalia. Another man honors one parent's death by giving up basketball and the other's death by taking it back up in middle life. Every highly readable story grabbed me from beginning to end. This is the first book I've read by Alexie, but it won't be my last.

"but it's way tough on the rez." From The Life and Times of Estelle Walks Above.

The thing about Sherman Alexie is that he examines life from the inside out. Or maybe it's more accurate to say that he examines life from the reservation out. He has a way of pointing out these specific characteristics and challenges that one faces growing up on the reservation and beyond. But when you pay close attention to what he's saying (in such beautiful language), you find yourself relating to an emotional landscape that is universal in all of humanity no matter what race, religion, nationality blah blah blah. One is ultimately left with the impression of a genuine and credible storyteller who has experienced personal conflict, triumph, tragedy and joy within the boundaries of the reservation, then again in the vastness of life outside of the reservation and finally within the borderless limits of his own mind on a much higher and more profound level.

Don't expect any glamorized depictions of Native Americans or any other kind of American for that matter. He gives you the good with the bad in painfully honest observations and language. For example, in The Life and Times of Estelle Walks Above (my favorite story in the book), Estelle, a Spokane Indian and the narrator's mother (and a feminist, militant vegan), raises her son in a poor white neighborhood in Seattle, sends him to white schools (plus, in several humorous passages gives him some embarrassing and especially traumatic advice on women and sex) and gets herself a college education (come hell or high water). On page 139, the narrator says the following:

My mother went to college on scholarships funded by white people; she was a teaching assistant to a white professor; she borrowed money from white people who didn't have much money to lend; our white landlord let us pay half rent for a whole year and never asked for the rest; my favorite baby-sitter was a white woman with red hair.
"White people!" My mother should have sung their praises; I should sing their praises! But we didn't sing for them. Indians are not supposed to sing for white people. Does the antelope sing honor songs for the lion?

And there you have it. One of the great American writers of our times.

Claude Bristol has put in every passion to rouse the general readers from their torpor and frustration and to charge them with certain magnetism. A marvellous book on the workings of human psychology deep down in our inner mind. However things may not be so easy to attain. The power of imagination and visualization referred in the book needs to be followed up by hard labor in any human discipline. That is why God helps those who helps themselves. There is no scientific or empirically verifiable way to establish the power of mind to attain mundane things. Nevertheless, a very useful metaphysical book to lift the spirit in times of depression. Well written and deserves full credit and of tremendous value as a guide book.

Gautam Maitra

Author of " Tracing the Eagle's Orbit: Illuminating Insights into Major US Foreign Policies Since Independence.

If you are interested in the Law of Attraction you don't want to miss this book. It's one of the best in this topic.

If you need something positive and motivational about the power of your own mind, this book is it. Not much on detailed instruction and it doens't do it for you.

Read this book years ago and was amazed at the wealth of information. A must for your library of self-help or manifesting.

If you have read The Magic of Believingthen you should also have this marvelous book. Learn how to change your minds beliefs to the best ones. Hurry and get this book today.

I'm a big fan of this book, and I think it's excellent for a beginner. I've used lots of machine weights, but I'd never really used free weights before. The book has given me lots of confidence in working with free weights and pushing my workout boundaries. I like the variety in exercises provided, and I appreciate the 30 day plan that lays out a month of workouts that alternate between upper and lower body. The author makes sure every workout balances the weight exercises so that you're working a complete set of muscles.

The one downside to the book (and the reason for only four stars) is that the book does not have information for advancing further in the weight lifting. If you want to keep lifting dumbbells, it's fine, but I'd also like to move into bar weights. While I don't expect the book to cover these as well, I do wish the author had made some further recommendations for continued weight lifting.

I really thought this book pretty good for someone that was just looking to tone up and learn a few new excersises. It is noto for a workout buff that already has alot of knowledge though. It has alot of stuff in that most people would already know or do in the gym so you really wouldn't be learning anything. Overall, I did like it though becuase I was not very knowledgable on dumbell work outs and I really enjoy doing them.

I have many weight training books for women but this book is always in my gym bag and has gone with me to many gyms over the years. My copy is very loved and very used. The layout of this book is easy to follow. The first chapters concentrate on motivation and getting you prepared for weight training.

The stretching, ab and weight exercises have gray edges so you can reference them quickly and not fumble through the book. My favorite feature is her recipes. A workout recipe consists of your instructions for the day. It gives the number of the exercise and with that number you go to the gray pages to look up that exercise.

Each exercise has one to two pages dedicated to it to instruct you about how to do the exercises. The reader will be informed on form and technique. She also gives a chart of how many reps to do for beginner, intermediate and advanced.

The charts and other great features in the book are very easy to follow. Charts/features in the book include:

-Prices for different types of dumbbells (she tells you how to build your weight set for under $100)
-BMI chart
-Aerobic calorie burn
-body evaluation log (body measurements)
-daily dumbbell workout schedule
-exercise readiness questionnaire
-FAQ section.

I don't prefer machines when it comes to weight training. I want the resistance and the strength I get from the combination of me and the weights. The day by day plans are easy to follow and sometimes it doesn't even take me 30 minutes. I feel great and accomplished when I finish a recipe. I can do this at home or at the gym and don't need any fancy equipment.

I've fallen in love with the fantastic books (smart girls and muscle your way) and I've just discovered that judith has a health and fitness blog with a wealth of information. Not only that, but you can ask her questions about her books and fitness and she'll write you a personal response! Check it out at

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Get started weight training and keep at it with this great workout guide for women. Learn various exercises and be inspired to stick with it.

I liked the depth and breadth of information that is offered in this book, but it could have used some more editing. The author refers to herself in the third person throughout the book, even when recalling fond childhood memories. It comes off as forced-folksy and incredibly pretentious. It made the book very difficult to read. I found myself reading snippets of the more ridiculous passages out loud to my husband. The recipes are sometimes marked off by clear headers, and sometimes not. For example there is a challah bread recipe mixed in with a jam recipe. The technical information is mixed in with other jam recipes, making finding specific info difficult. Her publishers may have let this author have too much of a free hand in writing this cookbook. Perhaps later editions will improve. Take this book out of the library, but I don't recommend its purchase.

As an amateur home-canner, I found the book to be very helpful in regard to the theory of why jams work or why they fail. The technical info is great. From a recipe stand-point, I was a little disappointed. Most of the recipe's are something that the basic amateur home-canner will never use. If you want a simple recipe for blackberry jam, you will not find it. With some adjustment from other recipe's, you can make it work. Overall, I am glad I have the book, but it is not a "basic" jam-book.

I have taken professional courses on jam making in the past 3 years. I am amazed with how thorough the jamlady cookbook is. I was especially pleased with the knowledge on the following topics: the french plunge method, and how to make homemade apple pectin.

The second point I will comment on is her canning methods. She is one of the only authors I have read who truly understands the chemistry of canning and explains it so well!

I have just discovered cooking as my new hobby. I wanted to try to make my own jam - preserves. The Jamlady Cookbook was just what I needed to get me started. Every receipe I tried came out exactly as it should. A great book for the novice jam maker.

The book is not organized very well - sections seem to be thrown in where they don't belong (there is an Old Timers and Acid and Pectin section right in the middle of the Mangoes, Apricots, Nectarines, and Peaches section). When using the index to find things they are on the wrong page(s) in looking up Peach Butter the index lists 108, 217, 242 and 227; only 242 makes a reference to peach butter. Some recipes are very detailed others make you guess.
Another thing that bugs me about the book is that it's written in the 3rd person. She wrote the book but every other paragraph starts off with something like: Jamlady appreciates the many people, the Jamlady and the USDA recommend, Jamlady cautions buyers, Jamlady is curious....
If you are looking for a solid informative canning book try Blue Ribbon Preserves by Linda Amendt instead.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. Informative, funny, empowering, and written in a tasteful, responsible manner. I'm glad there are women authors like these who think outside the box and realize that women are taking charge and not sitting around and obsessing about whether or not he is going to call.

I thought this book was just wonderful. As a woman in her forties who went through a bad divorce, I wasn't sure it would apply to me...I thought it might just be for the hot, young girls out there. But, I figured, what the heck -- I am a single girl (or woman) again, so I may as well see what my options are now that I've got them again.

Much to my delight, this book was full of funny stories from all kinds of women. They illustrated a lot of valuable points, all while making me laugh and realize that being single really can be an opportunity to explore your sexuality if you're smart and emotionally stable enough to handle it.

I applaud this book for addressing the subject matter responsibly. There are a lot of serious issues to consider when you have casual sex and as this book points out, if you consider those and feel okay with it all, then you have as much right as any man to go out and enjoy it for what it is.

This book was just absolutely wonderful!! At parts, I laughed, and at other parts, they were serious about what the authors wanted to portray to the readers. This book is excellent for any single girl out there who just wants to have "casual sex" with the no-strings attached method. This book also explores how it isn't wrong to have casual sex, because this has changed from the early years and ways of thinking. Overall, a wonderful read!

I can't say enough good things about this book. I bought it around Valentine's Day, right around the time that my boyfriend and I broke up (of course! I never seem to have a boyfriend on that holiday!).

At the time, I was thinking about having casual sex with a friend of mine, just to get me over the breakup. After reading this book and taking some of the advice to heart, I realized that it probably wouldn't be a good idea for me to act on my impulse to go for it with my friend. That's not to say that other people shouldn't have a "friends with benefits" type of relationship, I just realized in reading this book that it probably would't be right for me and that I should put some thought into it before just going for it.

BUT, I also realized that at a certain point, casual sex might be right for me and that it could be a great thing to do if I met the right guy, found the right situation. Well, I just had the right situation come up, and I feel really good about it! Since the guy was someone I wouldn't really want to get serious with, I feel really great about it -- we had fun, but that's all it was. If I hadn't had this book, I'm not sure how I would be feeling, but this book really helped me figure out how to know when the timing is right and when it's not. When it IS right, having a one-night stand can be a nice way to have some fun while you're waiting for Mr. Right to come along.

There's a lot of other great info in the book too and lots of stories from women that remind me of situations I might have been in myself at one point or another. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one going through all these things. I learned a lot from reading the stories from other women in this book.

It's all just really good info and a fun read.

These dumb girls don't realize how much they degrade themselves all in the name of the almighty ME, and self-indulgence. Of course guys are going to applaud their "liberating" efforts to become little village bicycles--why buy the cow if the milk's for free? In the spirit of simply doing what feels good and pursuing "happiness" why not simply take it a step further? How about we develop a continuous IV drip of the morning after pill so that these girls can go on with their body-bartering transactions all the while ensuring that "no one gets hurt" in the process? Maybe we could teach them how to properly excise their genital warts in the privacy of their own home...or better yet, how about we provide girls with abortion vacuums so that they don't have to be burdened by an inconvenient trip to planned parenthood--now I think were looking at a seriously un-tapped market, all! So long as these girls keep popping anti-depressants and convincing themselves that all sluttiness is a suitable choice as long as it conforms to the will of the almighty ME, we will have broken lives, decimated fetuses, suicidal & alcoholic girls, and a slew of men who see us as nothing more than a means to an orgasm.

This book is fabulous. If you are reading this book, then obviously you must have some questions in this area. You've come to the right place (or book rather!). Being a patient of Dr. Silber's I can say that reading this book is like having the doctor talk to you live. It is like having him talk to you face to face. Answers to all your questions are inside his book, and if you are reading it for reasons of infertility, you will relate to this book 100%. I highly recommend this book to anyone being faced with fertility issues.

My husband and I are going to this doctor and after reading his book I am more sure now than ever that he will be able to help us get pregnant!!! If you have any fertility issues and you aren't seeing this doctor, read the book anyway, you will learn things you never knew!!!!

This is a very interesting book which is suitable for the general reader, however, as a medical specialist I also enjoyed reading it.

I found this book to be very detailed and informative. It really answered a lot of questions, so I wasn't calling my doctor every 10 minutes.

Dr. Silber perfectly matches science and empathy in this book. For someone who tried unsuccessfully for years to get pregnant this book was a lifesaver. It answered questions and provided information in a format that was easy to read. It's great!