News and Media Books

My three-year old grandson loved the book. The story is good and the art is exceptional.

As an artist I tip my hat to William Joyce! I read in an earlier review someone saying it is done in simple watercolor but thats not watercolor unless its watercolor pencils. Such meticulous detailed work even as George ventures down the railing of the stairs he passes a depiction of "Sunday afternoon on the Island of Le Grande Jatte"! This book is a prize the story line is so cute the text is perfect for age 2-6 and the adventure and art are unforgettable. No wonder PBS made it into a show!

I loved this book. It was so cute. I thoughtit was good for every one. It was about a kid who wonders about how it would be if he was shrunken and when he was sleeping he actully shrunk. But he had to do some chores and they were the simplest things like watering the plants or feeding the goldfish turn into the biggest adventure.

I gave this book a five because a little kid name George has a dream of him being small like a "teddy bear". When he had the dream he was in his bed sleeping, his mom left a note of chores and he was doing the chores. The "scary" part in the book was when the cat sees George and thinks his is a toy and the cat tries to put his claw on him ,but George runs and hides from the cat. This book is great and I think William took a long time doing the cover and pictures and I say the book cover and pictures are really beautiful. I love this book because he had a dream that was weird that he was small and that he had to do big chores. I would recommend this book because it is a cute book for a 1st and 2nd graders I think they will love it because all of the cute pictures and the funny pictures they would love to read this book a lot of times and I would like to some day read it again because it would be so nice to read it over and over.

I will give this book George Shrinks 5 stars. I do like this book because it is action pack and it is kind of funny because a boy that small can do all his chores.I do recomend the book to people that have a sense of humor.I think this book is for all ages.

In 1991, I had the privilege of being a student at the School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth under the direction of then Col James McDonough. A man of deep reflection, he was also passionate about soldiers and ensured that everything we did as students in teh study of warfare and campaign design kept them in mind.

Now I am a university professor offering courses in US military history. Part of what I do is to expose my students to leadership and battle at the small unit level. There is no better book for that purpose concerning Vietnam than McDonough.

Every student takes something different away from this book because, unlike many assigned books, they read it. The book captures you right from the beginning. You really can't put it down. And, it contains more lessons about life and leadership than I can express here.

Knowing the author personally in 1991-1992 is special, for I saw in him then the character that had developed from his time in Vietnam. He tells it like it is, he means what he says, and he stands by his word. His book is more than just a memoir, it is therapy for a man who must live with the past, both for better and for worse.

James McDonough provides an in-depth look at infantry platoon operations in Vietnam. This is a must read for anyone who intends to pursue a military career. The book is very graphic, but also very succint and to the point. McDonough doesn't waste time with superfluous details, every word is well chosen and critical to the telling of the story. Once you begin reading, you will not want to stop. It is a quick read, and well worth the time it takes.

Platoon Leader was an excellent read, and one I would recommend for all those enjoy military reading. I would especially suggest it to all junior military leaders. Entertaining and well written, the author discusses at length his role as a leader, and what he views as good and bad leaders. The aspect of the book I enjoyed the most was it allowed the reader to see leadership, on a small-unit level, working in real-world combat conditions. Unlike many books leaders read for professional development, it shows how leadership works when employed and doesn't just philosophize about leadership principles.

"Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat," by James R. McDonough, chronicles the author's experiences as an officer in the Vietnam War from 1970-71. His platoon is charged with manning an outpost next to the village of Truong Lam.

This is a fascinating, well-written account. McDonough fills his narrative with vivid details that really made his story come alive in my mind. He doesn't flinch at describing the goriest and most horrific images of war. There are also moments of irony and bitter humor. Also noteworthy is the informative material about tactics used in Vietnam. And the author humanizes the story by touching on such "down-and-dirty" issues as the latrine his platoon used.

McDonough's story is populated with a compelling cast of characters. Particularly intriguing is his exploration of relationships among the various groups he encountered in the war zone--U.S. enlisted men, his fellow Army officers, Vietnamese military allies, enemy forces, and the many civilians caught up in the conflict.

While rich in scenes of combat, "Platoon Leader" goes beyond being just an action-packed war yarn. The book explores the ethics and morals of war. McDonough deals directly with the danger a soldier faces in becoming dehumanized by the brutality of war. He vividly portrays the struggle of a leader to remain wise and humane, yet also tough and resolute, under the most trying of circumstances. This book is both a profound meditation on wartime leadership and a powerful work of American literature.

As a junior officer I have an entire list of professional reading that I am trudging my way through, but so far McDonough has been by far the most enjoyable and has made the biggest impact on my own leadership style. Both Platoon Leader and Defense of Hill 781 are great books, but Platoon Leader is so far the best military memoir I have read. It has been over a year since I read this book, but the three things that have stuck with me are:
1. Do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason.
2. Death in a combat zone is more about just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sooner or later your luck runs out, but you have the duty to your fellow soldiers to do everything in your power to protect them.
3. The stealing of a bottle of soda from a grandmother leads slowly but inevitable to the rape of her granddaughter. If you let your soldiers steal at all you are setting the stage for what atrocities they will commit later. You must always be vigilant in your discipline.

While I do not have combat experience, I am currently serving in Iraq and know second handedly that these concepts still hold true.

Other than the leadership aspect of the book, Mcdonough is just a great story teller and is able to make the book engaging and addicting.

My son loves this book! He can recite it to us, we've read it so much. It is a cautionary tale, but not in the creepy Hansel & Gretel sort of way. It shows how "mommy ducks" can get frustrated with "little ducks" when they don't listen. Daisy is never really in danger... and I think a little anxiety is good! This book has helped my son understand that he needs to listen to Mommy & Daddy because they are always looking out for his safety. When the family is out and about, and my son acts like Daisy (innocently curious, but nevertheless, NOT listening to our cries to stay close), my husband and I say "come along Daisy" or "you must stay close Daisy." This helps my son to remember the importance of listening to Mommy & Daddy. Besides this educational benefit, it is an awesome story! One that the whole family will remember even as my son grows into a man.

a great, interactive and charming story about a little duck named daisy. your little one will enjoy it!

Daisy is a little duckling that doesn't listen. She is too busy chasing insects, playing with frogs and bouncing around. Her mom calls her plenty of times and warns her to stay near her at all times but Daisy is a defiant little duck until one day when she wanders too far. Daisy finds herself hiding from big scary things moving in the water under her and big scary birds flying over her head and the one time she really needs her mom, she isn't there. This is a book about a little defiant duck who learns her lesson. The illustrations are amazingly precious, simple yet full of life and sweetness. I very much enjoyed this story because I found the children I read it to playing with their rubber ducky in the bath, that looks like Daisy, hiding from their other toys. They were repeating lines from the story and smiling.

A beautiful cautionary tale that my 30 months old son like it so much. He felt sad when Daisy was all alone. He pretended as Daisy talking with the Frog, bouncing on the bed. He showed his smiley face when mama duck appeared at the end.

When we were out, he sometimes stay close to me when I reminded him Daisy.

I suppose, in the strictest sense of the term, that "Come Along, Daisy" could be categorized as a cautionary tale. I mean, certainly there are negative consequences for any child that refuses to heed his or her mother while traveling. Still, the book cautions without scaring. It's a remarkably tender little tale that manages to be evocative and dark without descending into morbidity. And it's just doggone sweet.

Daisy is a young duckling, still wearing her yellow feathers and trailing after her mama. While out in the swamp one day, Mama tells Daisy to heed her and to not fall behind. Daisy, however, is too distracted to listen closely to her mother. There are fish to observe and dragonflies to chase. There are lily pads to jump on (with a "bouncy, bouncy, bouncy. Bong, bong!") and frogs to observe at close proximity. Unfortunately, soon Daisy's frog hops away leaving the small helpless duckling very much alone. Things under the lily pad scare her. Things flying up in the sky scare her. And a very loud noise definitely scares her. That is, until she find out that it's just Mama Duck with her customary, "Come along, Daisy". Needless to say, Daisy learns her lesson.

This is just one of the latest in a long line of books that inform children not to get separated from their parents in public spaces. Of course, it doesn't engage in much of the way of practical advice. Mama Duck doesn't tell Daisy that if she gets lost she should stand in one place and not move. But I suppose Mama Duck is in charge of the situation the entire time in this story. In any case, this is a just a good story that tells kids to listen to their guardians when out n' about. Author Jane Simmons also doubles as an illustrator for this story, and it is here that she really stands out and shines. Simmons has a grasp of perpective and tone that just fits her story like a warm comforting glove. Painted entirely in thick beautiful paints, the book shows the slight tints of the early morning sun, the fetid marshes when Daisy is abandoned, and the eerie green cattails of an unknown swamp. Characters are rendered beautifully as well. When Daisy is happy she leaps about with toddler-like abandon. When scared, her eyes stare blankly out behind an enormous worried beak. And when she sees her mother, at long last, her entire body arches towards her, going as fast as she possibly can.

Children can handle tales of abandonment if everything turns out well in the end. "Come Along, Daisy" has the added delight of there never being a particularly dire threat to the little duckling in the first place. Even that dark image of a hawk flying above shows Mama Duck swimming placidly nearby. There is great comfort in reading about Daisy's adventures. This book is a perfect little lesson about the bond between a child and its guardian, specifically that between mother and child. A wonderful beautiful book.

When Sabrina catches a twenty-four hour virus called Spellfluenza, her powers transfer to the nearest mortal - Libby, Westbridge High's richest and snobbiest person! When Libby realizes her magical powers, she wants nothing less than global domination. Therefore, she makes a plan to steal the powers of Drell, head of the Witches' Council. Once done, Sabrina, her aunts, Salem, and a now mortal Drell must pass three tests or the universe will become one big shopping mall dedicated to Libby!

***** I was enchanted immediately! I found myself giggling aloud at some points and committing unladylike LOUD laughter at others! Don't miss out on this one! ****

I read this book two times, cause it was so good! Sabrina gets a serious case of spellfluenza, and she sneezes her powers into Libby! Well, Libby also gets Drell's powers, and now Sabrina, Hilda, Zelda, Salem and Drell have to complete three tasks in Libby's infinite shopping mall (In the Other Realm) to get to meet her and get her powers back! I recomend this book for everyone! IT'S GREAT!

Sabrina's got spellfluenza, a nasty little witch virus. Every time she sneezes her powers pop out of her and into the next person. Another sneeze & they're back again-whew! It's not bad at first-Sabrina only sneezes in pairs. But then Libby Chessler gets in the way of a solitary achoo and...uh-oh.

It doesn't take Libby long to figure out she's picked up some powerful magic. Now there's just one thing she wants...more! After all, world domination isn't out of the question!

Sabrina's challenge is clear: follow Libby on her search for bigger & better powers and stop her. But can she do it as a mere mortal?

When Sabrina catches a twenty-four hour virus called Spellfluenza, her powers transfer to the nearest mortal - Libby, Westbridge High's richest and snobbiest person! When Libby realizes her magical powers, she wants nothing less than global domination. Therefore, she makes a plan to steal the powers of Drell, head of the Witches' Council. Once done, Sabrina, her aunts, Salem, and a now mortal Drell must pass three tests or the universe will become one big shopping mall dedicated to Libby!

[5 stars]I was enchanted immediately! I found myself giggling aloud at some points and committing unladylike LOUD laughter at others! Don't miss out on this one!

Sabrina has a comen cold for witches. it makes her powers go from her to someone in the room with her until she sneezes in his presence. (No fake sneezes or with pepper) the docter say to stay home from school but Sabrina does not want to miss the try-outs! so she going to school-and gives her powers to Libby!! OH NO!!

USEFUL FOR AN INEXPERIENCED INVESTOR. PRIMARY POINT IS TO FOCUS ON THE LONG TERM AND DO NOT RESPOND TO DAY TO DAY EVENTS COVERED IN THE MEDIA. SOME USEFUL INFORMATION ON WHICH STOCKS TO BUY AND WHEN. GOOD BUYS ARE FREQUENTLY NOT THE "BEST" STOCKS BUT RATHER THE ONES GETTTING THE LEAST ATTENTION FROM ANALYSTS AND THE MEDIA.

Another great book from Bernstein. This one is more accessible than Style Investing and has some great financial planning tips/exercises. After the last 2 years in the markets many investors should reasses their tolerance and goals and Bernstein gives a nice framework to do that within.

This is an outstanding book---the best I've read in 3 years. I particularly like the discussion of risk--how the general perception of risk differs form the investors point of view. And how the investor's perception of risk can be misinterpreted by the broker or financial consultant. A great discussion of value verses growth stocks and which do better under which circumstances. I learned alot by reading this book.

This is the best book I've read in several years. It is thought provoking and backed up by data to show which stocks do well and poorly over time. Alot of the information is counter-intuitive--i.e. shows how your gut instinct is often incorrect. I particularly like the book's discussion of risk, and how the conventional view of risk differs considerably for the average investors view of risk. I plan to reread this book soon.

This readable book explains very important concepts (risk/reward, asset allocation etc.) very well. Serious long-term investors would be well advised to navigate the noise (I would suggest shutting off CNBC as a start), read Richard's book, and then create a diversified portfolio that is expected to help them fund their long-term liabilities (education, retirement etc.) while matching their true risk tolerance.

My book came promptly and in good condition, as promised. Impressive service. The book is typically fine Gomes fare.

Orthodox believers, the strictly Orthodox, don't need to go here. Or maybe you should--if you are willing to think--to do what the Bible said do, "Worship the Lord Thy God with all thy heart, MIND, and strength.

For those who want to think and aren't afraid to delve into new areas of thought in an effort to make the faith come alive, truly alive, this is a good book, a very good book. But for those who want to read more of what they already believe, for those who want to stay in the cocoon of their faith, never asking or considering the tough questions, this is not the book for you. For Job, yes; for you, no.

The premise of this book is simply this: Is the church--Christians of today--"worshiping" Jesus to the point that they ignore or forget His message, what He said do, the lives He said to lead?

Most likely Christians of today really don't want to hear what Jesus said, they would prefer to worship him as Christ and Lord without letting him really be Christ and Lord. For many Christians--I hope not most--the message of Jesus would be as scandalous today as it was when he first spoke it. It caused him to be put to death before and it would cause many church people, good, well meaning church people, to want to put him to death again today. The church might well lead the charge for his second death as the church led the charge for his first death...

It is a lot easier and a lot more comfortable to worship Jesus on a pedestal as "Christ and Lord" than it is to hear his message and lead the lives He said live.

It brings to mind words from an old country gospel song, "Sorry, I never knew you..." Most Christians "know" who Jesus is, but they don't want to really know him. It would be too difficult on their lives of comfort and ease..." It would be scandalous...

Perhaps we should remember what Jesus said about being "lukewarm...."

I have gleaned deeper comprehension of Bible themes and concepts by this book. I would say, "Buy this book!" to anyone looking for a guide to deeper comprehension of the Word.

One of the great ironies of the past 2000 years is that the message(s) of Jesus have been lost and billions of people preach Jesus while ignoring his message. Peter Gomes deals with just this issue in a masterful manner, at least in the first four chapters. His historical scholarshiop is impressive as is the breath and depth of his knowledge. Part 1 of his book needs to be read by any serious student of Christianity.

Somewhere along the line, Gomes appears to get lost (Ironically, this is not unlike the story of Christianity itself). The bulk of the rest of the book is certainly a good read, but it hardly matches the promise of the first four chapters. Indeed, while interesting and informative (who can't like an author who enjoys Steven Seagal movies?), the remainder of the book seems to ramble. Individual topics are well done (e.g., "When is the End Coming?", "Whatever Happened to Sin?", "The Fear Factor"), but at some point the book deteriorates into a series of sermons/lectures, however well written and informative.

But the lack of focus shouldn't deter serious students from reading this book.

Once again Peter Gomes has provided a combination of sound information, humor and relevance to enhance Biblical understanding for lay readers and clergy alike.

Cynthia Sue Larsen, publisher of the REALITY SHIFTERS e-zine, is not your ordinary metaphysical writer. She has a degree in quantum physics and knows the scientific underpinnings of her theories.

It is scientific fact that everyone's body is surrounded by an electromagnetic field. Larsen shows how we can use this energetic field to increase our awareness, increase our energy, find true healing, and attain what we most need in life.

The exercises, visualizations, and meditations in this book are clearly written and easy to follow. If you are seeking to be healthier in body, mind, and spirit, this book can help you achieve those goals. It is highly recommended.

I have read Cynthia Sue Larson's AURA ADVANTAGE more than once. The first time I breezed through it, and the other times, I took my time to really get into the power behind her writings. This "power" is not a magical incantation that conjures up demons from the deep. No, it is the power that is in everyone of us. However, as Ms. Larson points out in her book Aura Advantage, we have to allow ourselves the freedom to recognize our own abilities and to utilize them. I've learned by developing the power of my own aura we can achieve practically anything that we desire. As she so brilliantly explains we can use our aura to maintain good health, achieve personal wealth, protect us when in harms way, and even create a parking space "in front of the door" when the lot is full.


As Ms. Larson points out we are only limited by the limits we place upon ourselves. All I know, I can never keep my copy on the coffee table very long, before I have to use my detective powers that I learned from reading Aura Advantage to track down the culprit that "borrowed" my book.

I look forward to reading any other writings of Cynthia Sue Larson...pardon me, I have to again, go track down my copy of Aura Advantage.




John Zarr: Lecture/writer of the ETBEINGS series, an autobiographical story about his wife Margie battle with diabetes: ANGEL BULBSY, and award winning screenplay writer. All proceeds for ANGEL BULBSY goes to the JDRF www.outoftimeradio.org

Refreshing to read a well written, info packed book on the aura. For too long we have been subjected to abstruce explanations and theories about the aura. Here at last is a readable, informative and practical book that you can use immediately to effect changes in your life.
Most important of all, the exercises work. You can create the inner landscape that produces impressive changes in your life.
Duncan Sequeira
[...]

This book is great for those who may be new to auras and/or new age thought, and also for those who have a bit of knowledge as well. It gives fantastic excercises about clearing the "stuff" out of your aura and attracting the good to you. It's also written in plain English so that those who may not be familiar with the concept of an aura can pick it up quickly. I rarely write reviews, so this book HAD to be good to inspire me to tell others to get it.

I enjoyed reading Aura Advantage very much! This is a great tool for all of us. We learn how to really explore our auras in ways we haven't done before and see all the gifts and great powers our auras have. The exercises throughout this book are easy to follow and designed to produce immediate results.

Delivery was excellent and the book, as all Charlie and Lola books, is quite entertaining.

My daughter (2 1/2) loves this book. She has me read it to her every night before bed along with 2 other books. This book has remained constant along with Charlie and Lola's I am not sleepy and I will not go to bed. There is always something you missed the first or fifteenth time around when reading this book to your little one. Very well written and a lot of fun. Also just came across the Charlie and Lola website. www.charlieandlola.com (excellent)

This is a really fun book that touches on the fears of a little girl getting ready to go off for her first experience with school. We loved it.

I just cant say how much I love Charlie & Lola...I think this is my fourth purchase of this very same book! I can't stop giving them to all the little ones in our lives. My daughter adores the characters. She isnt quite two but has been reading C&L with me for about 6 months. We also love the videos. Very sweet.

This particular book was fun to read as we got our daughter ready for her first daycare experience.

My goal is to have every Charlie & Lola book and DVD made. I love the innocence and imagination I see with every turn of the page.

What child could possibly resist the charm of Charlie & Lola?

Children & parents alike will thoroughly enjoy reading this latest book of the series.

Lauren Child has created a series of books that are present & future classics.

An absolute must for bed time reading.

I have read this book and My Girl. I absolutly looove these books, and the movies are great too. I love reading the books and I won't ever set that book down, literally. Vada is such a cool girl and the book gives her a unique outsider taste to her. She is such and interesting girl and this book is the greatest book written to come for centuries!

I loved this book. It is adventourous,romantic, exciting, and partially sad. It was a 4 tissue story. The book is about a girl who is writing a report and has to find out information about her mother who died after Vada, the girl, was born. It was a great story. I think anyone that likes to search for new things and enjoys a little mushyness would enjoy this story.

A project another project, but this one is about someone she knew nothing about. Vada Sultenfuss is in English and the day is almost over. In the last few minutes of class, she was told that she had to do a project. When the teacher asked who she was going to do it on she said she would do it on her mother.When she sais that, the class was silent. The next week was spring break, so she wanted to go to L.A. to see if she could find anything out about her mother's life. After, finally persuading her dad to let her go, she was of to L.A. When, she got to the airport she was supposed to find a boy named Nick who would take her to her uncle. Lucky for her she finds him. Unlucky for her he has a bad attitude. Nevertheless, the two of them get a taxi and are off to her uncle's house. For the next five days of her search for information about her mother, nothing but misfortune cane her way. These adventures create an enjoyablebook that I think any girl who likes adventures will have trouble putting it down until the last page.

I just LOVE this book! A great sequal to the first book. It's mainly about a thirteen year old girl, Vada Sultenfuss, who has been assigned to do a project on someone she admires but never really met. Naturally, she chooses her mother, who died because of birth complications. Her dad's an undertaker, who remarried to Shelly, the lady that does the make up on the...uh, deceased people. Now Shelly's pregnant. It's not one of those fairytale stories, where Shelly's the evil wicked fairy stepmother, or anything. Really. Vada actually likes Shelly, but has mixed feelings about it. She doesn't mind there's a baby, but she feels bad about the fact that she'll have to give up her room, something her mom had chosen. Another thing is that she's afraid that Shelly might die too. In the mean time, she has her new friend Judy to think about, whose currently dating the oh-so-cool-and-totally-snott-faced...(drumroll, please)Kevin Phillips. Soon, she decides to go to L.A., her mothers bithplace, to find out more for her report. Once there, she meets up with her Uncle Phil, his girlfriend, and his almost stepson, Nick. It starts out as a bribery thing, really, with Uncle Phil paying Nick five bucks to take Vada from the airport, and ten to take her around the place. Vada finds Nick incredibly disagreeable and wonders why he tags along anyway, if he dislikes her so much. She finds out more about her mother, though usually dissapointing bits, but eventually confides in Nick pretty many things, such as her mood ring and Thomas J.They become friends, really good friends. Really, REALLY good friends. Dare I say, a little more? Then, she finds out about some guy her mother had already been married to, and begins to worry that this Jeffery Pommery guy could actually be her father. She finds out once she meets him, though, that she's wrong. Totally, completely, embarrassingly wrong. She even got to keep a vidio tape of her mother singing and acting. So, in one little Spring Vacation, she finds out about her mother, gets her ear pierced(barbaric customs, Nick calls it) and gets a sort of couisin, once Phil proposes. Not that they want to be couisins, they'd rather be... well, Vada doesn't say, but you know. Now, at the airport, she gets her first kiss. Second, actually, afterall, Thomas J. kissed her first in the first book, but that's another story. Anyway, guess who does it? Nick, of course. On her way back on the airplane, she finds a tiny box with the chandeleir earrings that she wanted, along with a note saying, "In memory of barbaric customs. Love, Nick." Intrigued by the "love" part? Too bad for you, that's basically the last we ever heard of Nick. Once home, she rushes to the hospital to find that she is now a sister. Stepsister. Whatever, you know what I'm talking about. I'm not about to tell you the end- okay, I already told you most of it, but still, it's REALLY worth reading!! Since most people will probably see how long this review is, they'll probably skip it. Well, there goes twenty minutes writing to a waste. Oh well. Just one last thing: YOU...MUST...READ...THIS...BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love this book. The minute I started reading it, I could not put it down. Tonight I am renting the movie. I can't wait! I am going to read the first My Girl next. I heard that was really good also. I'll let you know how I like it.

This is the definite cluetrain (doc searls et al)for broadcasTV news. Much the same way cluetrain sparked a marketing revolution, this does the same for broadcast journalism.
I first meet the author when she was interning for Florida Today in Cocca Beach.
Every point she makes in this book is vaild. The take on "fox fair and balanced" tells me she won't be on the O'Reilly factor anytime soon.
I found only one sort of error. FYI> Matt Lauer does have a broadcast journalism background on the local level. He came out of the same environment that former NBC correspondent and current talk show host (WBUR Boston) Robin Young did, PM Magazine at WJAR TV 10 in Providence Rhode Island. That's the only small flaw I could find in the book.
The suits at CNN don't want you to read the book. They are not happy campers and with good reason. The hollywood suits trashed the network big time, and with than came the opening for Fox news to fill. Rick Kaplan is currently doing the same thing for MSNBC that he did for CNN take it down the pike.
It's a fast read but once you start you wont' want to stop.

Finally---an insider with enough intestinal fortitude to call a sham a sham!!! One can just imagine the 6 o'clock news being primmed, powdered and perfumed with just enough tear (or smile) to make it palatibly entertaining. Ms. Anderson, with her years of experience and credibility, still believes that the American citizenry is due the news, the whole news, and nothing but the news. Reserve the spin and "holy cows" for the baseball commentators! If the media execs remain stoically entrenched in the annals of the entertainment world, then let them be reminded of the old radio classic, Dragnet, where the byline was...."the facts, Ma'am, just the facts".

Bonnie Anderson's book has brought to the light of day what I have felt has been a problem with the media for some time. Many of the newscasts are more concerned with form, not substance; how they look and not what they say. Her book is a very good read and pulls no punches in pointing out the way many in the media are more concerned with entertainment than hard news coverage. Her description of this type of coverage as "Infotainment" is right on point.

News Flash brings to the reader another big problem influencing news coverage which is how mega mergers are affecting the coverage that is being presented to the viewing public. Unfortunately the impact is not good and these large conglomerates are proving the old adage "bigger is not always better" to be very true.

From her experience at CNN as a reporter, managing director of a news division and Vice President of Recruitment and Training, Anderson offers the reader a unique perspective as to what goes on inside a large news organization. She provides an in depth look at what takes place behind closed doors when it comes to hiring, firing and staffing in today's media corporations and much of what she reveals should be quite disturbing to the viewing public. This book provides some very interesting statistics about the media and its management which I am sure most of us were never aware of.

While Anderson points out numerous things that are wrong with today's TV media and its management, she also brings out the good that the true journalist can and should do. At the end of the book she offers her thoughts on what the media can do to provide the viewing public with quality news coverage. She should be commended for taking a stand and bringing to our attention the problems and proposing solutions to get TV journalism back to the quality we need and deserve.

In light of Anderson's criticism of the TV networks and cable news channels, it will be interesting to see if any of the media will afford her the same opportunity to present her views as they did when Bernard Goldberg published his book on bias in the media. If they do not, shame on the media, again.

News Flash appears as a rising meteor against a field of weakening stars. Ms. Anderson's book takes the reader through the shenanigans of the TV news broadcasters in their unadulterated striving for place and profits while leaving behind journalistic investigation and integrity. Her words turn out to be an exciting journey of personal experience and incisive exposure.
As a long time news journalist Ms. Anderson sets a fair bar for news organization to reach. Her experiences and reporting often show just how good news organization can function. The same intimacy exposes the petty, inexcusable machinations of networks in journalistic decline.
Ms. Anderson's news flashes exposes the perfidy of CNN's executive wing in its Tailwind scandal, the staging of news as presented by NBC's Dateline story on General Motors in 1992 and the apparent homophobia of Roger Mudd given his attitude toward AIDS victims. But indeed, Ms Anderson is not a muckraker. On the contrary, hers is to excite the industry to better, to reset the standard of TV journalism. She gives as examples her own series on drought and famine in Africa bringing a change in American policy on humanitarian aid, or of CNN's initiative in covering the return of twenty-four U.S. Navy spy plane crewmen held in China. While these could be considered scoops, her admiration for her industry is best held by her words on the, "spectacular breaking news coverage of the 9/11 attacks."
Ms. Anderson words border on the requirement for broadcast journalism to return to its traditional values and to assure the public a clear and unbiased presentation of the news. Ms. Anderson carries the fight to those in the industry already sullying news broadcasts as entertainment and who have diluted their own professionalism for money, position, or simply hubris.

From her insiders view of the whole industry, Bonnie
Anderson delivers a searing indictment of our corrupt,
sensationalistic television news. She lays out fact
by fact, and name by name, just how, why, and most
importantly who is to blame for this once esteemed
institution's downward slide into the very muck it
used to deplore. For years, Noam Chomsky's theories
about the corruption of the news media have grown less
alarmist and eerily more prescient as the
infotainment age reaches its belligerent maturity.
But while Chomsky was lecturing about it, Ms. Anderson
was out in the field living it. She recounts, with a
journalist's eye for detail, all that went astray
within our large media conglomerates. The cast of
characters are all to familiar, Browkaw, Jennings,
Schwarzenegger, Striesand, O.J., Clinton, Leo,
Lewinsky, and Lettermen, as Ms. Anderson makes a
compelling case for the media's distortion from a
revered source of accurate information to an
increasingly grotesque and obvious fountain of
entertainment. "If it bleeds it leads" is the mantra
of newsrooms of our day, and may truth and rational
perspective be damned. Everything of value is
jettisoned in light of shocking and sensational video
footage about any subject, no matter how irrelevant
and trivial. No one will hear about the latest civil war in
Africa when every second of news time is dedicated to
footage of a shark attack in Florida, human interest
stories, a surfing cat, or another excessive
Hollywood wedding.