W Books

My son loves the Happy Baby series! I can't say enough good things about these books. It's hard to find a book that will have my toddler sitting down for a few minutes and sitting quietly reading, but these books do it.

We bought Happy Words to help with his vocabulary, and it didn't take long to see his interest grow in wanting to know the names for things around the house. I know he enjoys the book because he pulls it out nearly every day for me to read it, even more, he's starting pointing to certain pictures asking me to repeat the names, so I know he's learning and taking it in. This book has about 13 full spread pages each with a familiar scene for a toddler- getting dressed, eating a meal, going on a walk, taking a bath, facial expressions etc. What I like most is that these scenes and words included are pertinent to a toddler, they're not just about whatever, but things a toddler needs to know the names of. Last but not least, did I mention my son loves this book??

So, if you're a mom of an infant/toddler or buying these as a gift for one, these are a SURE BET. They are also reasonably priced in my opinion. Other books in this series we own and enjoy are the Colors and ABC's. We'll definitely be buying more too as time goes on. Way to go Roger Priddy!!

I've been on a mission to find a book that meets the following criteria for my 9 month old son:
- Must be a board book (because he chews everything!)
- Mustn't be too long (32 pages maximum because we're dealing with a short attention span here)
- Mustn't be too big (so my son can easily pick up and play with the book)
- Must contain photographs of familiar objects and other babies (because all of his other books only have illustrated pictures of animals for some reason!)

"Happy Baby: Words" fit all of the above criteria perfectly and my son loves it to death. He can actually turn the pages himself and he gets so excited seeing all the baby photographs inside.

Great book!

perfect for identifying objects. bright and cheery, so babies and toddlers love to look at the pages.

I read this to my little one and it has helped increase her vocabulary. She loves pointing to the pictures and saying the words. She is also able to associate the pictures to what she sees in her day to day activities.

Our copy has been through two children. Both of my kids love the bright and clear pictures. We are teaching my son sign language and this book is great for teaching simple words and signs! A well loved book!

I am a Civil War reenactor, and this book has been an excellent source of ideas for first person scenarios and ideas for living history. It is an insightful, unique record of the soldier's life for living historians or students of history. I would highly recommend this engaging book.

This is the best book on the life of the Civil War soldier. The other reviews attest to this, so here is something different.
Charles W. Reed, the illustrator, was ALSO a Civil War veteran.
He served in the Ninth Massachusetts Battery and won the Medal of Honor at Gettysburg for saving his commanding officer, Captain
John Bigelow, who had been seriously wounded in the fight at the
Trostle Farm on 2 July 1863.
My favorite chapter was the one on the army mule.
Buy, read & enjoy this book!

Hardtack and Coffee provides an excellent picture of Army life in the mid-nineteenth century. The sketches illustrate the text superbly. This is a useful handbook for students and teachers as well as an intriguing introduction to the Civil War.

This engaging book fills the void that other Civil War histories leave, and that is an understanding of the everyday experiences of the foot soldier. "Hardtack and Coffee or the Unwritten Story of Army Life" by John D. Billings is an exhaustive and fascinating look back at the flesh, bones, and blood of those lines and arrows on the maps of Civil War battle strategies.

The book is filled with anecdotes, observations, and songs arising from the era. (I very much appreciated the introduction which details the election of 1860 and started the whole terrible tragedy that ensued over the next half decade.) The generous amount of illustration truly helps evoke the period. "Hardtack and Coffee" is a perfect companion to Bell Irvin Wiley's "Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union" and "The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy". And it is a perfect part of anyone's Civil War/American History library.

Rocco Dormarunno, author of THE FIVE POINTS

I'm one of those men with the "Civil War Itch" who can't get enough reading, can't get enough time on the battlefields. This book is hands-down one of my favorites in my extensive collection, re-read several times and dog-eared. It's something I always put in my bag for air-travel reading, because you can pick it up and put it down when you need to...the author and the illustrator both were participants in the Conflict, so you know it's accurate. The content is educational but not stuffy, since it was written to explain to soldiers' families what exactly Union Army life was like...and the humor still carries through to this day. After you've read the historical studies or walked a battlefield, THIS is the book you want to read to put yourself in the shoes of the everyday soldier--and it's easy to do with the author's skills. For me, the best chuckles are the chapters "Jonahs and Beats", and "The Army Mule". A must-read for those wanting more than just a general's biography or an order of battle.

This inspiring book provides workable suggestions and practical examples on how to apply the power of thought to overcome problems and illness. The first part deals with the author's own discovery of universal law and gives examples of how others were helped. Part Two contains all the methods of harnessing universal laws and includes: - How to give a healing prayer treatment; Five different methods for setting the creative process in motion; Blueprint of parent (error) thoughts and the (corrective) master thoughts to overcome them. There are helpful summaries at the end of each chapter and at the end, a guide-list for overcoming specific problems. A very good read and a valuable reference work that should be on every healer's shelf.

Feeling down and out? Think that the world is against you? Frederick Bailes has this quick self-help tip for you: It's not how you feel that matters, but what you do. You may have thought it went the other way around, I did. I'd tell myself, "I'll get up earlier, when I have more energy. I'll return phone calls, when I'm not so moody. "

All the while, such thoughts weakened me. Bailes colors this entire book with stories that hit to the heart of how humans destroy themselves and all the while blame their suffering on an impartial reality. I will not divulge story examples here because it would soften the profound psychological impact that Bailes' words have on the reader.

I read "Hidden Problems for Human Problems" aiming to lift my spirits. Mission accomplished.

What can I say, this book by Frederick Bailes is FABULOUS! When I read about his description of 'parent thought' vs 'master thought', i said to myself "Wow! Why hasnt anyone written about this before!". Where has this book been, in all these years I was trying to find the correct method to treat my false beliefs! As a hint, there are only 7 False Core Belief that most people have that caused ALL their problems. Defeat those 7 Core False Thoughts, and you can be sure no negative thought can be 'created' by your mind anymore!

Dr Bailes healed himself of diabetes with New Thought, after reading Thomas Troward's book.

Even if you have read New THought books for years, this book is still a must! It categorises the False Beliefs of race consciousness, and teaches the True Beliefs to neutralize the false ones. Now we have all read in other New Thought books that "there is no loss" "no competition" etc, but those concepts by other authors were a little all over the place, don't you agree? They were great and knew what they were, but no one ever put them in categories (to be attacked/healed with Master Thoughts) like Bailes does!

FURTHERMORE, the author seems to be really creative and intelligent in coming up with ingenius visualization techniques (could he have been the first NLP practitioner??). Plus he teaches several verbal affirmations that make it easy for you to belief it, such as "Of course it is working even now, whether I can believe it or not".

Also recommended is Dr Bailes' Science of Mind Treatment book, which details all the mental visualization tricks he has. This guy is way ahead of his times!

It would be almost impossible to over-praise this book, which gives great practical insights into how our thought processes determine, not just how we feel, but what we actually experience.

The start-point for Bailes' teachings is instructive - and startling. As a young man, Frederick Bailes was diagnosed with diabetes, which was not only incurable but, in those pre-insulin days, untreatable as well. Indeed, he was told that he could expect to live for only about eighteen months.

Happening upon the philosophy of Thomas Troward, and having nothing to lose, Bailes decided to apply the 'thoughts determine outcomes' approach, with the dramatic result that he was eventually completely cured of diabetes, a healing proved by exhaustive medical analysis. He went on to apply the same principles in business, with great success, before embarking upon the teaching and publication of his remarkable approach to life.

Analysis of the 'thoughts determine outcomes' approach led Bailes to identify a series of negative thought-patterns, which he calls 'parent thoughts' because, unless and until tackled, they go on creating negative thought processes which adversly affect our lives. Such 'parent thoughts', described and detailed in this book, include fear, iritation, loss and inadequacy. Throughout his career, Bailes applied these processes, resulting in many seemingly-miraculous healings, many of which are described here. But the benefits of this process are by no means confined to matters of health.

This book is both inspirational and practical, and can be life-changing, too. A superb insight into how the world works, and how to improve your life and experiences.

Frederick Bailes was WAY ahead of his time writing way back in the 1950's. He presents truths about healing and having a richer life and creating pure desired results that are exceptional. These ideas/truths might be considered so deeply hidden to most people that they would most likely never find them without a CONSIDERABLE amount of time, effort and commitment to search them out and find them. Even then it might be decades of searching before they're found.

If you want to find out why things are the way they are in your life..and most importantly what you can do to change them EASILY..read this book.

Mr. Bailes most notably helps his readers understand that things are NOT hopeless no matter how dark or grim one's life has been. A GREAT life filled with success and happiness and love for yourself and others as well CAN be yours!

Follow his great lesson from the law of life which states.."learn or suffer". Surely great suffering can be avoided in life on all fronts by reading this book. Read, enjoy, and prosper!

This is an extremely well written and thoroughly researched book. As usual, John Davies writes in a style which holds your interest while exploring a wide (sometimes vast) area of historical subject matters. Other countries should be so lucky to have such interesting, competent and even-handed scholars writing their histories. Highly recommnded.

Even in the great 'Celtic revival' of the past generation, where the cultures of the Celtic fringes of Britain and continental Europe have re-exerted themselves in various political and non-political ways, the Welsh revival has been late in coming, and a little less forceful in affect and event.

Perhaps history is to blame here -- the Welsh have been only marginally protected by geography; the mountainous area was difficult terrain to conquer, but the supply lines to those mountains were relatively easy to maintain and sustain, unlike the trek to the northern reaches of Scotland or crossing the sea into Ireland, areas that (however much English history might want to contradict this statement) never were completely conquered and subdued, remaining under the hegemony but outside the total control of Londinium/London from Roman times to the recent past. Wales was never so fortunate. Indeed, it is a miracle that the Welsh survive. The Scots lost land, language and independence, but retained administrative and legal systems separations that preserved many aspects of nationhood. The Irish never completely lost independence. The Welsh, however, lost everything of nationhood, and barely sustained an independent culture. Thus, when the 'nations' of the British Isles began to re-exert their independent interpretations of history, the Welsh were among the last.

However, sometimes the last shall be first. In terms of quality of writing and interpretation, the volume by John Davies, `A History of Wales', is indeed in a class of its own in terms of Welsh history. Dafydd Elis Thomas read into the `Hansard' (the British Parliamentary equivalent of the `Congressional Record') that this is 'the greatest of book of Welsh history ever written'.

It was, in fact, originally published in Welsh, under the title of `Haynes Cymru' in 1990. From the Ice Age to the 1980s miners strikes and efforts to reassert a national identity, Davies traces in some detail a history of Wales from a Welsh perspective, inextricably tangled with English and continental history, but nonetheless deserving of its own perspective as one of the last major surviving Celtic groups.

`A number of factors, the increasing prominence of the European dimension in particular, have caused the devolution issue to return to the political agenda.... From 1911 to 1981 the number of Welsh speakers declined census by census. In 1991, however, those claiming a knowledge of the language were marginally more numerous than had been the case in 1981, and the increase among the younger age groups was especially remarkable.'

Davies confesses that he contemplated writing a different book in English, as this was meant to be a Welsh book, and he would have envisioned a different book had his first thought been in English. However, given the demand of non-Welsh readers to read the same history treatment as those who do read Welsh, Davies consented to a translation rather than a re-write.

The time frames are not the same as those of standard British histories, which tend to follow the broad sweep of royal affairs. While there is some parallel of necessity, the time factors and dates here have far more interest to the direct concerns of Wales than to the rest of Britain.

The reader should also be prepared for an array of names, of both persons and places, that are very confusing to the average reader of English -- Gwydir, Llangeitho, Aberffraw, Catraeth, Llantwit, Penmynydd and Llyn Cerrig Bach. However, it is worth the effort to learn these names and places. Particularly in America, where so many people have Welsh ancestry (the Jones now outnumber the Smiths in America as the greatest number of people by last name, and Jones is a Welsh name by and large), this is part of the collective history of America, too.

Well written, well researched (Davies was educated in Wales and at Cambridge, taught Welsh history at University College in Wales), this is perhaps the currently-accepted definitive history of Wales available today.

Well written and well researched. It is an exhaustive history that will not exhaust you. I am reading it for general interest and find it hard to put down.

John Davies covers a lot of territory (in terms of time, if not in space) in his "A History of Wales", originally published (1990) in Welsh as "Hanes Cymru". This will probably stand as the definitive general history of this fascinating country for years to come.

Beginning with the earliest evidence for human occupation of Wales, Davies brings us up to the end of the 1980s. Each of his ten chapters covers a particular time period, and each chapter title features three place names that represent, and figure into, the theme of that chapter/period. Davies touches on nearly every aspect of Welsh history--the political, the social, and the cultural. If some themes garner less attention than others, that is to be expected in a survey of this kind. One theme, of course, dominates this volume (as it should), and that is the relationship between the Welsh and their much more populous English neighbors to the east. That the Welsh were able to resist English domination for so long is miraculous; despite eventual English hegemony, the Welsh have managed to preserve their language, while over the past century there has been a revival of Welsh culture.

The writing is clear and concise, a testament to Davies' skill as both writer and translator. Davies has included a wealth of maps and graphs to illustrate many of his themes. If I have one complaint about "A History of Wales" it is the complete absence of photographs and other illustrations that would have benefited Davies' narrative immensely. That being said, however, this is a fine introduction to a part of the British Isles that we in the US hear very little about. Four and a half stars.

While Scotland and the medieval periods is my area of history, I often have need to know what is going on in England, Ireland and Wales, to fully understand what is going on in the 'big picture'. The history of Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland did not happen individual vacuums, you so need to know all their histories to fully comprehend external pressures as well as the inner problems of each nation. So I have found this a wonderful work for reference on Wales.

It covers the history of the country from the dawn of time to 20th Century. So if you wish to know about Ffynnon Beuno or the Rebecca Wars, this is your book.

Excellent reference for Historical writers.

Very informative book on the mechanics of getting to the moon in the 1960s; also,contains some very good photos.

This book is pitched at the slightly more technical level. So if you're the type of person who likes expanded description, who has a pilot's licence maybe or likes flight simulators, or has mechanical curiosity then you'll find more here on those matters than in the biographical/anecdotal books.
It really is a very satisfying book.

I have over 200 books on the early space program and the race to the moon but this book is by far the best and most detailed I have ever read on just how it was done. I couldn't put it down. If you ever wanted to know, for example, what every abort mode meant during launch or why and how the crew made certain burns during the flight, get this book! It takes the reader from liftoff through splashdown explaining in fantastic detail every step of these wonderful voyages. This book is not a techno-geek's only book. It explains to the common man in the street everything from transfer orbits to gimbal lock. Get this book! I guarentee, even if you thought you knew a lot about it, you'll be amazed at what it took to fly to the moon.

First of all, I second all the wonderful things that folks have said about this book in the other reviews. It beautifully fills in the gaps as to what was actually going on, and explains in relatively simple terms how the systems work. An engineer or space enthusiast won't have any problems with the terminology. A less educated reader might be somewhat less able to understand - but then again, they're probably not the target audience, anyway. As someone who spent his teenage years watching Apollo live, I'm very happy to have the book in my collection.

There are a few quirks that stuck out at me:
(1) The book literally stinks. I don't know what kind of paper and ink combination they used, but the book smells AWFUL. There's something in it that I'm allergic to. It makes me sneeze if it's within 18 inches of my face, so I have to hold it at arms length to read it without my eyes watering and my nose running. I hate to mention that, but it's enough of an issue to be more than just annoying. I have never had that problem with any other book.

(2) Most of the black and white photos are reproduced very darkly. Some of them are so dark that it's difficult to tell what we are supposed to be seeing in the photo.

(3) The author says up front that he will insist on using metric instead of English units because that's the way the rest of the world measures things. As someone who has memorized all the pertinent dimensions of the Apollo from his youth, it's very disconcerting for me to see them expressed solely in different units. In some cases, the author's writing around the units makes this even more bizarre to my American sensibilities. For example, we would say the F-1 engine produced 1.5 million pounds of thrust. On page 19, the author says the F-1 "produced a force that could balance 680 tonnes of mass." I only recall him using the word "thrust" once in the book - the rest of the time, he speaks of balance tonnes of mass.

(4) The editing was a little sloppy. Perhaps the book was not intended to be read sequentially, but there are examples when entire paragraphs are reproduced almost verbatim in several chapters. One section has a footnote that refers the reader to the previous chapter - the one we just read - for a discussion of a concept. The author also introduces verbatim transcripts of transmissions from actual missions to illustrate points about systems that he is discussing. However, he tends to include more of the conversation than is pertinent to the issue in question. It's as if someone is showing you film clips that go on a little longer than they should, past the punch line.

These are relatively minor quibbles, though. Again, I believe this is an excellent book than any fan of the Apollo era will want to have in his or her library.

A page-turner for those interested in the mechanics of spaceflight. Even though it records the events of nearly forty years ago, it is still hard to believe that men put their faith in such frail craft; the chances of safely returning from the voyage to the moon were put at no more than 50/50.

What struck me most about this book was the depth of research, and the revelatory nature of some of the material. For example, while I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about the mechanics of Apollo, having eagerly consumed anything and everything I could get my hands on since I was a kid watching it on TV, I was surprised to find out the accuracy required to safely enter lunar orbit. This book reveals that an SPS burn even 2 seconds short or longer than planned could result in either a crash into the Moon or slingshot into solar orbit. And that, once in orbit around the Moon, the time between loss-of-signal and re-aquisition was pre-calculated to the second, and their calculation was invariably right on the money. All this in the era of the slide-rule.

If you have even a passing interest in the technical detail of Man's greatest accomplishment, get this book. Guaranteed to please the hard-core space fan.

We have a lot of Little Critter books in this house. They're short, they're funny, they're topical, and they're cheap.

This book is a very realistic portrayal of how children remember things, or forget things... or remember what they should do but decide not to do it anyway :)

Like, Little Critter forgets to feed the dog, but not the fish - the fish just didn't look hungry! (In the illustration, we can see the fish eagerly eating all the food Little Critter is giving it.) He didn't forget to take his boots off - he's going back out in the rain! He won't forget to put away his toys - oops, maybe he *did* forget.

Pretty funny stuff, if my nieces are any indication.

My daughter loves this line of books and I love reading them to her. She is picking up on the words. She is also learning the lessons within the book. When I read the book to her, I will apply the situation to her life and ask her what she should or shouldn't do. Regardless of how she answers, we continue on to see how the story ends. Then, I apply that to her as well. It also makes reading fun. She almost always picks one of the lil critter books to read at bedtime.

My son is 8 yrs old and loves this series of books. The reading is fairly easy and the stories short so it keeps his interest. We read them as bed time stories and they are perfect. We own several of this series and we like them all.

My little guy is five, and we've been reading this book since he was three. Usually he likes to read long books, and has little interest in what he calls "short stories". This book is short; it only takes a few minutes to read. Mercer Mayer books have a special exemption, however - he loves the stories and this is one of his very favourites.

In the beginning of Mayer's book, our hero looks straight at the reader, slightly lifts both arms, and states: "Sometimes I remember, sometimes I just forget." For example he (or she?-it's difficult to tell the gender in this "Little Critter" book) puts his dishes in the sink, but forgets to put away the milk. Humorous twists on the `I remembered this, but forgot this' motif lift this book above the ordinary. For example: "I didn't forget to feed the goldfish, he just didn't look hungry," and, after a bath, "I didn't use soap, but I didn't forget to. I just don't like to." His mother is alternately tired, frustrated, and amused, and the clever story ends on a warm note. This is a sweet and simple story that manages to cover many familiar situations with honesty and empathy for all involved. Watch for the little mouse friend on every page!

My 6 year old is a beginning reader! He is so enjoying this book. He will read it and then read it again. It is a perfect read for him and his facination with bugs!

I acquired this book for my 2-year-old who is fascinated by bugs, especially butterflies. The text is coherent and written in a way a early reader would talk. Some of the Step 1 type books do not impress me, but this one does.

This is a great book for young readers who are just connecting the idea of words having meaning. They are predictable & have good picture context clues. My son loves it & recognized the author from another favorite bedtime story.

Few words per page. Children can reread this story without having yet the ability to decode. Provides early readers with success. Appropriate for English Language Learners of all ages.

This book is a great first book. In fact, it is the first book my son read. *sniff* I'm so proud. :-)

The sentences are short and the pictures hint at what the words may be. I would recommend this to all parents who are helping their children learn to read.

In my newspaper days, recorded in my reporter's notebooks was every story's genesis. Almost daily I set out from the newsroom, notebook in hand, ready to write stories of cross-pulling preacher-bikers, social club ladies, native plant gardeners, and an ex Hanoi Hilton POW, all people and experiences I thought I might one day weave into my grapplings with fiction.

A stack of weathered, worn notebooks, an image that evokes stories ready to be told. It's the image on the cover of In Fact: The Best of Creative Nonfiction, a selection of 25 essays from the first 10 years of the literary magazine Creative Nonfiction founded by Lee Gutkind, the "Godfather behind creative nonfiction."

Each piece in the collection is representative of the genre, a sort of nebulously-monikered genre that encompasses almost every form of nonfiction: personal essay, traditional reflective essays, and New Journalism or literary journalism, reportage that largely relies on narrative to get its information and ideas across.

These pieces, each in their own way, seem to capture the spirit of the journal Gutkind founded, which he reports in his introduction to the collection is a mix of "good old-fashioned reporting -- facts, plus story and reflection or contemplation." Like journalists -- and some as Mark Bowden are journalists -- practitioners of creative nonfiction take out their notebooks and collect interviews and gather other documentation and report their stories, but they immerse themselves in the worlds of meth addicts who stumble upon a cache of money, as Bowden does, or report and reflect upon their experience of becoming a father, as Phillip Lopate does.

These essays are not works of confessional "navel gazers," as Gutkind reports James Wolcott infamously quipped in Vanity Fair magazine. They are explorations into the world, engaging the reader, as writers always have, seeking out, as Gutkind himself has sought as a writer, "other lifestyles, other professions, and the patchwork of prejudices and kindness that make some people different from others." The pieces take us deeper into the world to discover the play of language, as Diane Ackerman does, or provide insight into the workings of the brain and mind and whether there is a separation between the concept of the "mind" and the physical brain, as Floyd Skloot does.In Fact: The Best of Creative Nonfiction

The diversity of themes in this collection provide a great deal of satisfaction while you're reading. I found almost all the stories incredibly compelling and they all touched upon an aspect of life that I haven't thought about in a while. I'm currently disabled and I haven't been able to go to school as I'd planned, but I'm going back next year, and I feel that this book is an excellent tool for preparing me for critiques, analysation, and the challenging environment that Cornell is going to offer.

IN FACT is an anthology of personal narrative stories. The stories are well-written and powerful for the first reading. The story about celestial navigation is my favorite.

But after reflection, the stories seem histrionic and melodramatic. Take the celestial navigation story for example. The writer packages the navigation as life & death magic that snatches the lost sailor away from boat killing rocks and shoals in the nick of time, but he had a GPS (satellite) locator in his pocket. The thrill isnt real. He was never in peril.

I dont care for Annie Dillard's commentary about the state of publishing. It may be true that young girls in New York City decide what all of us read, but enough good stuff gets into print inspite of them. Annie comes across as a bit of a wet blanket.

The stories are well-written and interesting, but the drama is inflated.

In Fact: The Best of Creative Nonfiction is a triumphant statement about Lee Gutkind's original goals in 1993 for Creative Nonfiction, the journal. This collection of essays shows the depth explored in the journal in its first 11 years, and could also be considered a history of the genre's current incarnation.

Beginning with Annie Dillard's introduction, a collection of pearls of wisdom for young writers, In Fact takes readers on a sometimes-jolting ride through the creation and development of both the journal and the emerging genre. These essays explore the issue of exclusion from society, either because of one's personal actions ("Shunned" - Meredith Hall) the color of one's skin ("Looking at Emmett Till" - John Edgar Wideman), and the state of one's mind ("Three Spheres" - Lauren Slater, "Gray Area: Thinking with a Damaged Brain" - Floyd Skoot). The environment takes center stage in essays about endangered species and hunting ("Prayer Dogs" - Terry Tempest Williams, "Killing Wolves" - Sherry Simpson), and scientific matters are explored with a personal twist ("Adventures in Celestial Navigation" - Philip Gerard, "Chimera" - Gerald N. Callahan).

Families are typically considered the cornerstone of society, and their dynamics and histories are explored here as well ("An Album Quilt" - John McPhee, "Dinner at Uncle Boris's" - Charles Simic, "Being Brians" - Brian Doyle, "Leaving Babylon: A Walk Through the Jewish Divorce Ceremony" - Judyth Har-Even, "Joe Stopped By" - Andrei Codrescu, "In the Woods" - Leslie Rubinkowski, "Mixed-Blood Stew" - Jewell Parker Rhodes, "Why I Ride" - Jana Richman, "Delivering Lily" - Phillip Lopate).

Showing Gutkind's contention that creative nonfiction is related to journalism, at least in the goal of reportage, social issues often found in the news, and accounts related to former "front-page" material are represented as well ("The Brown Study" - Richard Rodriguez, "Finders Keepers: The Story of Joey Coyle" - Mark Bowden, "Notes from a Difficult Case" - Ruthann Robson, "Sa'm Pèdi" - Madison Smartt Bell, "Going Native" - Francine Prose). Finally, literature, and the writing process are explored ("Language at Play" - Diane Ackerman).

These terse classifications would suffice for general indices of these works, but they each have their own depth beyond the general subjects they explore. James Wolcott's theory (mentioned in Gutkind's Introduction) about the nature of creative nonfiction being too personal is decidedly false; these works offer much more than overly personal prose. Wolcott's declaration that Gutkind is "the Godfather behind creative nonfiction" is perhaps his only accurate comment made on the subject. In Fact: The Best of Creative Nonfiction is an excellent cross-section of both the journal and the genre. It is a necessary volume for any writer, and for any reader who enjoys real stories.

This volume is a brilliant collection of extremely well written short stories. The subject matter varies with the author and the selected works are engaging. I enjoy creative non-fiction and find this collection is an excellent example of the genre. It also offers information about the authors and mentions the workshops, colleges and universities they attended. Many of the writers currently teach creative non-fiction writing at university level programs throughout the United States.

This book is great resource for a student leader, either for quotes, or to actually inspire you as the title suggests. Student leaders can use this book...I thought it was so great that I bought Inspiration for Greeks too. Also, I have spoken with one of the Authors...They know what they are doing. GREAT BOOK!!!

"Inspiration for Student Leaders" as with all of the books in the series, continues on giving the variety that I look for and enjoy and never stops sparking me with inspiration. The "personal stories" - the quotes - the struggles shown...and - "the short and sweet" style, help to make this book fun and a breeze to read. When you pick it up, you want to read from cover to cover without putting it down. What I mean by "short and sweet style" is that the stories and messages in this book are - in length - short...but their impact is profound. Some of us know how it is to be in college - to be bombarded by text books and novels - to have to write papers and read over notes. By the end of all that, who wants to read for enjoyment? Just like the other books in the series, "Inspiration for Student Leaders" gives us stories about real people, "famous people" as well as people we've never heard of. They common thread to them all is that they have faced similar situations as our student leaders are seeing today. These stories show how they've dealt with them - and what they've learned along the way - all in a "little package". I also like the creativity that is shown. For example, I'll use LESSONS FROM THE PLAYGROUND. I've never looked at monkey bars or hopscotch in such a light as to what leaders learn, do, and endure. WOW! It just amazes me how practical these books are. They don't use big, "million dollar words" - but put concepts and issues in terms and examples that students will enjoy reading...and can understand. Not only that, but with each story I, myself, as a Student Services Professional was inspired to go above and beyond what I'm doing with my career!

This book is phenomenal! A collection of stories, poems, quotes, and real experiences for student leaders. The book has many applications to leadership studies and personal motivation and inspiration.

As one of the co-authors, I'm extremely proud of the finished product. In addition to getting a great resourse for your library, every purchase of this book gives a $1 donation to the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) Educational Foundation - NACA provides scholarships for college students across the US.

While there are certainly MANY books on leadership and developing student leaders there are few that offer stories of inspiration and hope that allow the reader to draw his/her own conclusions. This book presents examples of all types of leadership and leaders from the celebrated to the unknown. Each story highlights the every day opportunities to achieve and learn. There is potential for trainers to use the stories as reflection for group exercises or to motivate campus organizations. There are stories to reflect on each students personal responsibility within an organization and the many rewards of participation in campus life. It's a great book for the new leader and a reminder to the seasoned veteran of the importance of each action and choice we make-and how profoundly we can positively change the campus community and each other.

Inspiration for Student Leaders is a concise, intelligent read, ideal for both students and professional staff who work with student leaders. Stories, poems, quick quotes and other works combine to make this publication live up to its goal of inspiring student leaders. Student Activities professional should give this book to incoming student leaders to help them broaden their perspectives on leadership. Established student leaders whose energy may be waning, can draw encouragement from the passages written by other students. This book should be on the resource shelf in every Student Union in America.

This book was in very good condition, and I would buy again from this seller.

The Lord has blessed everyone through Gayle Irwin as the Spirit of Jesus is displayed for us to view between the paper covers of this book.
Bill Bracken, Pastor Calvary Stanberry

This book outlines in clear and unwavering language what it truly means to be a servant. It was very apparent that what most Christians consider being Christ-like and a servant to mankind is off the mark. Gayle Erwin will point you in the right direction without any vacillating at all. There are several occasions where Mr. Erwin is critical of even himself and how he has behaved in his walk with God.

If you consider yourself a Christian, other than the Bible, this is one of the most important books you will ever read.

I was raised in a church organization that was cultlike in its legalism. We read the same Bible as everyone else but by the time I was 7 (about when I could read it myself), it was clear to me that the God being taught and the God of the Bible were two very different people. As the child of my parents, my mind believed what I was taught but as a child of God, my heart could never accept it. Jesus is the man that Gayle Erwin wrote about and the God who had been speaking to my heart for my whole life. I just had to get my head straight. The Jesus Style was the tool God used. Most people reviewing this book remark on its depiction of true Christianity. For me, it simply saved my life. I couldn't find the real Jesus anywhere and had begun to think that maybe that person about whom I was taught as a child was the real Jesus. I was ready to turn my back on God and walk away, my life had been so painful. In the pages of this book, Gayle Erwin described the Jesus my heart had always known and of course, backed it up with scripture. I cannot explain the joy I felt to have been so affirmed. I knew I wasn't crazy. I knew the Jesus I read was different and so did Gayle Erwin. This book is in its 40 somethingth printing now. I am sure hundreds of thousands of copies have gone out. But I believe that God inspired this work of Gayle Erwin to pull this girl out of the despair that legalism causes, to put my feet back on the path and get me moving again. A couple of years ago, it was my greatest happiness to drive to hear Gayle Erwin speak. I hoped I would have a chance to talk to him. I wanted to thank him and I did. Without any God in my life, I don't know where I would have ended up. God used this man and this book at that particular time to reach me. If you are reading this, it is entirely possible that Jesus is trying to reach you too. Do what Gayle Erwin did....Listen. You have no idea how your life could change.

If you have ever wondered what it truly means to follow Jesus, or if you have ever wondered "What Would Jesus Do?" then this book is a must read.

Written in plain language, this is an easy read. I found it to be an absolute joy to read it and gained some interesting insights in to the style of our Lord and Savior.

Truly a delightful, useful book, I recomend it to everyone.