History Books

This is an amazing epic that has kept me reading and reading. I have been spellbound by all her books I have read and am continuing to read the rest. I hope she continues to create such tales that make you a part of them, draw you in to the stories. I first read Sacred Ground and was hooked, from there Blessing Stone and have continued. All amazing!

It is one of those books that has to be read again years later, as I am doing. If you want a good summer beach read or a cold winter's night read, then pick this one up. This is a good read any time of the year.

I liked the book very muy, although it is too long. The last 100 pages could have been left out, in my opinion. Please notice that there are some rather explicit erotic scenes in de book.

I found this book at a book fair in Washington D.C. and the only reason I bought it was because I needed 10 books in order to have one free. I do not regret my desicion. "Green City In The Sun" is an epic story of the birth of a nation: Kenya. With very likable characters, the story evolves around the Trevetons, a family divided by their ambitions. Only one obstacle will make their dreams dificult to fulfill: Mama Wachera who places a curse on the British family and becomes the spiritual leader of her people, the Kikuyu. Like in a Greek tragedy,all the members of the Treverton family die one by one, except Dr. Grace Treverton who dies of old age, and Debora who comes back to Kenya by Mama Wachera request to her deathbed. Beautiful story, intense plot and very charismatic characters makes this novel a masterpiece of fiction literature.

This is Barbara Wood's best novel. While some of her other novels tend to be formulaic, and sometimes seem awfully familiar, Green City is all original. A great, long read.

Great book to help you understand why you are the way you are.
Really helped me a lot.

I have read this book twice and given it to many friends and the responses are always the same. We need to understand the priciples is this book and apply them in our lives. None of us are exempt at some time or other in our lives from the issues discussed.

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It pointed out to me that I've been looking at myself through different mirrors, and I haven't been seeing myself the way God sees me. Instead of placing more guilt on ourselves, David Seamand identifies the lies and misperceptions that we've been taught over the years and encourages us to break free from the bondage of those misperceptions. This is a book that every Christian should read.

This book has been a tremendous help to me and I have given several copies to friends. easy to read and identify with.

As a pastor and spiritual director, I've been using this book as a regular give-away to believers when it becomes obvious that they are stuck - some old wound is yet hindering them from normal spiritual growth in Christ. Having ministered among Native People for several years, as well as those dealing with addictions (even as Christians), I found the truths and principles Dr. Seamands expounds on very beneficial in truly helping people heal from their past emotional wounds, and the memories of them, and then be able to progress in spiritual development. I believe our churches have many folks sitting in the pews, Sunday after Sunday, with serious pain from their past adversely affecting their present ability to relate freely to Christ, or to others in relationships. Until we understand this, and how Christ can work through us as "ministers" by his healing grace to nullify the effects of debilitating memories, we will continue to see believers spiritually 'stuck', stagnated in their growth.
Dr. Seamand's book HEALING OF MEMORIES (now titled, REDEEMING THE PAST: RECOVERING FROM MEMORIES THAT CAUSE OUR PAIN), builds on HEALING DAMAGED EMOTIONS by going, in detail, into the process of ministering healing to those with painful, debilitating memories. Every pastor who counsels should understand how to help believers in this way!

This book was given as a gift to a Carson fan. It was very well received and we felt we had given the perfect gift.

For those of us who grew up with Johnny Carson it's hard to believe that it has been fifteen years since Johnny last came out from behind "The Tonight Show" curtain and even harder to accept the fact that he is no longer with us. But we're in luck in one way....this wonderful book, compiled by Stephen Cox, brings Johnny back to life in the most comprehensive and nostalgic way. It's a walk down Memory Lane and it is nothing short of wonderful.

From the inception of "The Tonight Show" and its early years before Johnny, Cox takes us through every segment of the thirty-year run we all enjoyed. There are comedians, of course, memorable moments, the monologue and my favorite...Joan Embery and her wildlife companions from the San Diego Zoo. Who of my generation can forget the wedding of Tiny Tim and "Miss Vicki" or the Ed Ames tomahawk throw? (the latter being a perennial favorite of the Carson annual retrospectives)

What is such an added bonus to the book are the dozens of photos that grace its pages. "Here's Johnny!" is a terrific look back at a man who made the nation laugh for three decades and who will always be remembered as the best at what he did. Thank you, Johnny!

If you want to know about Johnny Carson and the things that went on behind the scenes at the Tonight Show, you need to get this book!!! It was great and the photos were wonderful.

Excellent read. For any fan of Johnny Carson and the glory days of the Tonight Show, this is the book for you. It makes you feel like you're actually watching the show again. Enjoyed it thoroughly!

Johnny Carson was the late night entertainer of my youth and there will never be anyone to compare - although Conan is great in his own right(that will be another review sometime). This book really takes you back. While I do not know all the "for-sure details"(and some things could be slightly off in this book since I don't keep track of that so much), there is enough substance here to take you right back to watching Johnny in your parents' living room! Like the "Clapper Caper" with Jack Webb. LOVED IT!

I have purchased and gifted this book over 20 times; mostly to young adult leaders. The central theme is that each and every one of us has leadership potential. Our job as adult leaders who work with youth is to make sure young adults are given the opportunity to grow as positive, productive citizens. The Jesuit model Lowney presents in this book was the perfect model 450 years ago and is just as relevant, if not more so, today. The examples of Jesuits and their accomplishments are very compelling. A wonderful read for anyone who thinks one person can't make a difference. This will change their mind.

I first read this book about a year ago when participating in a class on understanding the Jesuit heritage of my place of work. I re-read it on the plane a couple of days ago returning from an overseas location where we recently established a program. The first time around I thought it was wonderful; re-reading it, I found it both wonderful and also profoundly relevant to our new enterprise.

Lowney takes as his thesis the idea that the same precepts that have animated the success of the Jesuit order can likewise inspire personal and business accomplishment. I have to say he has me convinced. He boils down concepts - like Cura Personalis, Magis, and Ad majorem dei gloriam - that will be familiar to those who attended Jesuit schools to what he describes as the four integrated "pillars" of leadership: Self-awareness, Ingenuity, Love and Heroism. He then uses the history of the Jesuit order to demonstrate how, through application of the four pillars, the Society of Jesus grew from a motley band of 10 likeminded University students of different nationalities, with no agenda beyond doing work "to help souls," to become arguably the most successful and influential Catholic religious order.

Lowney's work is not without controversy, especially his contention that the Jesuit's' leadership lessons can be replicated minus their overtly religious agenda. No doubt the order's founder, Inigo (Latinized to Ignatius) of Loyola - for whom doing it "for the glory of God" was all that mattered - would disapprove. However secular research would suggest that the 16th century Basque had some very profound insights that have application beyond turning back the tide of the Reformation and making converts worldwide. I have to say I find Ignatius to be an intensely attractive character, not least because he advocated active engagement in the world, not withdrawal from it. Here's a guy who for most his life just can't get it quite right - and who along the way experiences some incredible reverses - but who never stops trying to perfect his muddled thinking. He just keeps plugging away until it starts to become clear. And it turns out that it's his very lack of success that leads to his deepest insight: that an intensive regimen of active self-reflection will help him make better decisions.

What resonated with me during my most recent reading was how the Jesuit order faced the daunting task of preserving their purpose in remote lands among peoples with unfamiliar traditions - the same challenge facing my organization. Lowney provides many examples of how the Jesuits succeeded at that task. The training that the novice Jesuit undergoes involves frank self-examination, the letting go of attachments (the concept of "indifference" or the freedom to choose any course of action unencumbered by ingrained habits and prejudices), while learning, through active and repeated self-reflection, to validate one's own instincts to action. This creates a confident, prepared and self-reliant individual, eager to embrace life's challenges. In addition, the Jesuits teach a methodology for self-reflection - the Spiritual Exercises and the Examen - that can be used (the Examen everyday) to reinforce their initial training. Their selection process is tough - they take only the best and most purposeful. Those who are selected are encouraged to innovate and shown how love adds passion and purpose to the pursuit of heroic ambitions. The result, says Lowney, is an organization that can adapt easily to radically different circumstances while preserving it's core values (the same "preserve the core, stimulate progress" that Built to Last author Jim Collins sees as the hallmark of companies of enduring greatness).

At times during my visit to our new overseas location I found myself wondering if our task was just too daunting, the culture just too alien, to hope to transplant our unique brand. After reading how the Jesuits managed it, I feel more confident than ever that my organization can do likewise and should do likewise - not shrinking from full-out engagement - through the innovative application of our fundamental values to this new environment. Thanks Chris, and Inigo, for the reinvigorating lesson!

An excellent book on leadership development. It contains a lot of information and skills that are essential for leaders at all levels. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve self-development and self-awareness. Parents can utilize this book on their children's personal development.

Author Chris Lowney turned in his Jesuit name badge on a Friday. On Monday, he clocked in at J.P. Morgan. Named a managing director of this huge investment banking firm while still in his 30s, he held senior positions with them in New York, Tokyo, Singapore and London.

Bemused and amused by the proliferation of leadership lesson books (Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun, to name just one), Lowney responded. "I was intrigued by what sixteenth-century priests might teach us twenty-first century sophisticates about leadership and about coping with complex, changing environments." He adds, "What often passes for leadership today is a shallow substitution of technique for substance."

I know. I know. I recommend a "must-read" book often. But, this one really is a five-star must-read. "Obedience issues in an uninterrupted life of heroic deeds and heroic virtues," writes Lowney. When's the last time you rubbed shoulders with a truly heroic leader?

The Company of Jesus (the Jesuits) was founded in 1540 by "ten men with no capital and no business plan." Yet within a generation, they built the world's most influential company of its kind. In 10 years, with no experience, they launched 30 colleges. "Instead of talking about leadership, they lived it." Founder Ignatius Loyola trained every recruit to lead. Jesuits believe that self-leadership emanates from four unique values: 1) self-awareness, 2) ingenuity, 3) love, and 4) heroism.

If you salivate at the chance to lead people through complexity, build global teams, control out-of-control growth, mediate turf battles, cultivate wealthy donors, and enforce rigorous hiring standards--you'll feast on this gourmet book. Chris Lowney's real world experience keeps it honest. His delicious and dry wit embarrassed me multiple times last week while reading on airplane trips. The laugh-out-loud moments were frequent!

The subtitle of this book is "Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company that Changed the World." Indeed, we can learn a lot from the practices of the Jesuits. Even though they were and continue to be theological competitors with those of an evangelical faith, the Jesuits provide a leadership model that is in contrast to many Protestant organizations.

The Jesuits rose to worldwide influence within a generation from their "no great leader" organizational practice. Whereas evangelicalism is often built around singular personalities and monolithic structures formed to achieve one man's vision, the Jesuits attempted to build all of their recruits into great leaders who, in turn, swarmed the world. That is the singular refreshing lesson that evangelicals can gain from the study of this book.

However, what is disturbing about the book is the inability of its author, or the Jesuits whom he cites, to grasp the biblical message of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone. With a works-based salvation the Jesuits were - and still are - about moralizing the world with biblical principles rather than affording individuals the New Testament teaching of the free gift of new life in Christ - and the power to live the Christian life - by receiving Christ as Lord and Savior through faith alone.

High Spirits is an excellent book, and Dianne Salerni has an incisive ability to get into the characters' minds. Her characters were actual people, true, but she has a way of taking them out of the past and sitting them right down next to us, making it feel as if we are seeing their story firsthand.

High Spirits actually seems to be two books in one. The first half is the history of the Fox sisters and how they became famous spiritualists, believed to be able to communicate with the dead. As their fame grows, so too does their infamy, and they must deal with nonbelievers and detractors, some of whom are willing to resort to violence. This lends itself to some harrowing, suspenseful moments.

The second part of the book is a romance, as Maggie Fox falls in love with a man who loves her in return, but is unable to find the courage to make his feelings public. Meanwhile, he demands that she give up her life of spirit rapping, which angers her family to no end as it is their sole means of support. Torn between betraying her family or losing the man she loves, a man who makes these demands yet is unwilling to commit, Maggie rides an emotional rollercoaster. We sit by her side at all times, through the constant ups and downs, not knowing how the ride will end.

It is an enjoyable ride, nonetheless, and one well worth taking.

Some movies bring tears to my eyes; books seldom do.

High Spirits starts with the haunting of Hydesville in 1848. It follows the real life adventures of two sisters, Maggie and Kate Fox. Maggie starts the story by telling us that she began the `deception' when she was too young to know right from wrong. Kate, the younger of the two, regrets her sister's use of that word. To Kate, the dead are real, and the spirits talk to her.

I have well over a hundred books sitting on bookshelves in my study. Some of them I've already started. Since I lost interest in most of them, the bookmarks are still waiting between early pages for me to return. Many of the books I buy end up neglected orphans in need of foster parents.

Books on the best seller lists seldom satisfy me, because they are shallow or seem like a story I've already read. It's almost as if most of them were chosen by those politically correct people we know are out there monitoring what we say and think and learn--people very much like a `few' of the characters in High Spirits.

However, when I find a novel worth reading, it's like walking into an undiscovered country. High Spirits was one of those.

High Spirits is about the lives of the Fox family and two sisters that are devoted to each other. Kate and Maggie are credited with starting the spiritualist movement as a prank. When I first picked up High Spirits, I thought I was going to be reading about ghosts and romance.

To my surprise and satisfaction, I soon discovered that High Spirits offers much more. High Spirits turned out to be a story told on many levels. At times I found myself chuckling. At other times I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat wondering if one of the characters I liked was about to suffer a horrible fate.

High Spirits is also about a dysfunctional but loving and loyal family surviving in a cruel world. On a more personal note, they are like us. It is easy to identify with them. When danger looms from skeptics that threaten Maggie's life, her older sister Leah Fox rescues her in a daring and risky escape that leaves Maggie in heart-pounding terror. Just thinking about myself in the same situation under the same circumstances had me breaking out in a cold sweat, and I'm a combat veteran that served in Vietnam. Maggie was a young girl.

The romance in High Spirits arrives later in the story. Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, the most widely celebrated American adventurer of the day, eventually walks on stage and fall "madly" in love with Maggie. What turns out to be a complex relationship stands equal to Romeo and Juliet; Tristan & Isolde, and Tony and Maria of West Side Story. That's as far as I'll go. My lips are now zipped shut. Hollywood, pay attention. Stories like this are rare, and Maggie and Elisha were real people.

In High Spirits, the harsh lines that separate the privileged and powerful from the working class show that dysfunctional people come from all levels of society. However, those at the top have the power to do more damage. What they are capable of doing to hurt others is more like a tidal wave washing over distant shores and leaving nothing but destruction and misery in its wake. When Elisha's mother interferes with his love for Maggie, horrible consequences are set in motion.

Although High Spirits reveals that most of us are human at heart, a few inhuman monsters populate our world and wreck havoc wherever they can for selfish, egotistical reasons.

If you are looking for adventure, romance, heartbreak, a bit of history, and a story that will touch you, I recommend this novel. Reading High Spirits will be a journey of discovery that might squeeze out a tear or two like it did for me.

High Spirits is the story of Maggie and Kate Fox from Hydesville, New York, early members of the Spiritualist movement. Their first foray into the realm of Spiritualism was accidental--a prank played upon an annoying relation. However, the contrivance was so successful "that they extended the prank to include parents and their neighbors until deception became their way of life." The two young sisters, barely in their teens and guided by their business savvy older sister, succeeded in convincing people that they were able to communicate with spirits who had passed to the other side by rapping noises created by the cracking sounds of their knees, ankles, and toes. The girls, especially Kate, came to see their séances as a way of providing comfort to grieving relatives by reassuring them that their loved ones were at peace in the afterlife.

The story focuses on the middle sister, Maggie, who falls in love with the explorer, Elisha Kent Kane, who is aware that the Fox sisters' claim to communicate with the dead is a hoax. Before leaving on a rescue mission to the Arctic, Kane extracts a pledge from Maggie that she must give up her rapping, dangling the promise of a wedding before her. She agrees and keeps her eyes on the horizon waiting for her explorer to return.

Dianne Salerni is masterful in recreating the environment of the 1840s that allowed Spiritualism to flourish. Her detailed portraits of the Fox sisters allow modern readers to understand how these young women were able to pull the wool over the eyes of so many, including author James Fenimore Cooper, editor Horace Greeley, and the tragic wife of President Franklin Pierce who had seen her only surviving child crushed in a train accident. Her understanding of the time in which the Fox sisters lived as well as in-depth knowledge of this slice of American history enables her to write this engrossing and compelling story.

There is little I can say about Dianne Salerni's High Spirits that has not already been adequately stated by other reviewers on this page. Although this is Ms. Salerni's first novel, this is not her first book. She has previously published three short teaching manuals of an academic nature, and her experience as a schoolteacher and writer shines from the text of High Spirits. As the well-known curmudgeon of the iUniverse, I can unabashedly say that POD books would not suffer a bad reputation if they all read as fluidly and seamlessly as does High Spirits. The typos are few and the editing is tight. You will feel as if you know The Fox Sisters personally as you turn the final page.

High Spirits: A Tale of Ghostly Rapping and Romance is a novelistic treatment of a real incident from American history, the story of the Fox sisters, whose childish pranks of communicating with the departed were taken seriously first by family members, then neighbors, and then the community, ultimately growing into a genuine phenomenon. The resulting movement, known as spiritualism, became quite the rage from the 1840s until after the Civil War. Traces of it are not unknown today.

By the time they reached young womanhood Maggie and Kate Fox had achieved near-celebrity status. The proceeds from their appearances financed their blue collar family and allowed them access to the highest circles of society in New York City, Philadelphia, and so forth. Maggie, in particular, developed a relationship with Elisha Kane, an adventurer and explorer whose exploits earned him his own corner in history and fiction.

For this reader, however, the history is not ultimately the point of the book. The story is a rewarding and entertaining study of two sisters, their family, and their acquaintances, as they grow and develop and mature (or fail to). The author has done a splendid and totally convincing job of filling out their lives and personalities and putting real flesh on the bare bones of history. The romantic relationship between Maggie Fox and Elisha Kane is especially well depicted, for example. Good historical fiction is capable of putting us not only in other minds but in other eras, and High Spirits does this beautifully. One can read all the history one wants of the position of women in Victorian society but this book can show us what it actually felt like.

In addition the story is masterfully written and edited. All in all this is a first-class novel.

Having served with a Battalion of Marines back in my Naval Service days, I was unable to put down Major Seth Folsom's book on the Highway War. My impression of the Marine Officers with whom I served, their dedication to duty and to their men, left a lasting impression on me. Major Folsom's story reaffirms that admiration. What is so noteworthy is the maturing of a combat Marine who emerged as a competent professional able to meet any challenge under extreme stress and pressure to complete the assigned mission. First to use LAV's in combat, his unit encountered many imponderables and maitenance problems while continuing to move forward in the face of unknown enemy resistence. He never once failed to give credit to his Marines who fought under his command and alongside him. Their desire to stay in touch and close to him after returning from Iraq is evidence of the high regard they have for him. No higher acolade can be give than to have your enlisted troops want to serve with you again as they said in the book. Major Folsom represents the finest we have in the future core of military leaders. We need more of his kind if we are to maintain the freedom we enjoy.

I have read the previous comments of others both pro and con. I have known Major Folsom's father for many years. Quite obviously, the acorn fell close to the tree. His father is one of the most outstanding officers with whom I have had the privilege to associate. From reading this book, I feel confident that Major Folsom has inherited all of his father's outstanding qualities.

Two matters were brought to light in reading this excellent documentation of his tour. First, I wish that I had the presence of mind to record a daily record of my tour as a squadron commander in RVN. Second, I commend Major Folsom for his honest evaluation of his accomplishments and his revelation of what he considered his failings.

There are many who can understand the stress of combat because they have been there. The ground troops, perhaps more than any, face the true cruelty of the close-in combat environment. POWs, more than anyone, experience a different type of stress. No one can truly express the stress unless he or she have been there. There are far too many who critique the events without having ever experienced being there. Folsom has.

Major Folsom's forthright analysis of his tour should be required reading for every newly commissioned officer of any branch. Folsom recently departed and is presently in-country on his second tour. I wish him and those men with him God-speed and shall look forward to a critique of this tour. May I add that I would be more than willing to serve with this officer anytime, any place as I have with his father.

Years ago Marine artist Col Charles Waterhouse drew a cartoon of a grizzled Marine Gunny, complete with cigar, pulling on a Santa outfit as he prepares to entertain young children, as compared to his normal demeanor of an intimidating Gunny. Maj Seth Folsom's book details a similar transformation, as he grows from a nervous young officer facing his first combat to that of a skilled and articulate officer and husband.

A Captain at the time, Folsom is a blunt and honest writer who discusses his fears and concerns of what he is about to encounter in Iraq. The likely-hood is that many Marines and soldiers, both officers and enlisted, can identify with his worry of how he will fare in his first combat: Can he hack it? How well will he perform? Will he make any mistakes that might cost the lives of his Marines? The difference between them and Folsom is his frankness in discussing these concerns.

Folsom uses the story of his role as company commander to tell the story of Delta Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion as they participated in the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. From breaching the berms into Iraq, to watching and waiting as his fellow Marines fought at An-Nasiriyah, to the fighting on the way to Baghdad and beyond, Folsom pulls no punches and spares no feelings in his descriptions of leading 130 Marines into combat. The invasion in March 2003 was the beginning of an unusual war against a non-traditional enemy, and Folsom has to find his balance as an officer when dealing with both his superiors and the Marines under him while learning how to lead Marines in combat. Sand, stink, rain, lack of sanitation, fatigue, grime, and nerves are just some of issues with which he dealt even before he and his men even encountered the enemy. Folsom covers the military actions from 21 March 2003 through the April 2003 capture of Baghdad, and he accurately recounts the stress, excitement, and confusion of those historic days.

With the book written from the notes and recollection of his wartime journal, this is a fascinating memoir revealing are his feelings as he dealt with his Marines, and how he matured as an officer and as a human being. Many readers, especially his fellow officers will find much to critique in his rough and abrasive leadership style, and his dislike of the media is at odds with Marine Corps policy. But it is Folsom's same bluntness that lets him write so revealingly - and perhaps these same readers can use his vignettes as an `after-action report' in order to guide themselves in similar circumstances.

In perhaps a reflection of the asymmetrical nature of this war, Folsom recounts participating in briefings with the generals and colonels leading the invasion, and later singing with his men as they blast rock & roll music at rock concert levels. Perhaps one unexpected bonus of war in the wired age is that we readers can share in our warrior's thoughts and experiences while they are still fresh, and as such, Maj Folsom's book is both an exciting read and highly recommended.

I couldn't wait to read this book and when I finally got my copy, it wasn't all I thought it would be. Basically you follow the life of a young marine LAV Company Commander during OIF. He comes across many times as a whiner and someone I wouldn't want to work for. I felt sorry for his Marines many times when they had to deal with him and his emotional outbursts. I really saw nothing different from this book than any of the other books like this based on OIF. I could have passed on it.

You may hate this war and our current President for getting us involved in it, but after reading this book you can only respect and honor those doing the fighting .Folsom's thoughtful leadership and concern for his men, his belief in the Marine Corps and The Mission turned my head around.
The more liberal you are , the more you need to read this book.

THIS IS ANOTHER GOOD BOOK BY JAMES ROBERT PARRISH. THIS IS ABOUT THE BIGGEST SPILTS IN HOLLYWOOD HISTORY. AMONG THEM ARE BEN AND JLO, JOE AND MARILYN AND MIA AND WOODY. HE GIVES US A BRIEF BIO OF EACH PERSON AND HOW THEY MET. FROM THERE WE ARE TOLD WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE TOGETHER AND WHY EACH COUPLE SEPARATED OR DIVORCED. THEN WE ARE TOLD WHAT HAPPEND TO EACH PERSON AFTER THE BREAKUP. I LIKED THIS BOOK AND IT IS BOTH INTERESTING AND FUN. I HAVE READ SEVERAL OF HIS BOOKS AND LIKED THEM ALL. I RECOMMEND IT FOR ALL GOSSIP AND NOSEY PEOPLE. (LIKE MYSELF)

If you're weary of the stream of pabulum from the glossy tabloids, you need to get a couple of James Parish's books on the wilder and seamier side of Hollywood life as a counteragent. He's been doing this for close to four decades now, with dozens and dozens of books to his credit (as of this writing, I'm expecting two of his compendia on actresses in the mail and am making arrangements to get four more), and his experience and close attention to research show through here and in the other books in his current series (e.g., The Hollywood Book of Death, The Hollywood Book of Scandals). He avoids the extremes, as other researchers have mentioned, of either glamorizing his subjects to excess or painting them in villainously black hues, but instead presents them, sympathetically but truthfully, in their all-too-human complexity. I've started looking for the name James Robert Parish on a Hollywood book when I want the facts (not to mention a good selection of pictures - every story in this book is illustrated with at least one nice B&W photo, many of them not often seen elsewhere), and you should too.

James Robert Parish, the chronicler of all things Hollywood, turns his writing skill to "breakups Hollywood-style" in The Hollywood Book of Breakups. As with all of Parish's books, it's a fun read. His introduction begins with a quote from Sandra Zober Nimoy, Leonard's ex-wife, and her first sentence is a doozie: "It's a pretty mean town." Sad, but true. You'll recognize all the names in the book, and it's likely you might think you know all the stories of the breakups written about here. I doubt it, though. Parish always manages to spring a surprise or two. For example, did you know that Sonny Bono was once married to Susie Coelho, host of HGTV's Landscaper's Challenge? His format for each breakup is quite nice. It begins with general information, then a SHE section, a HE section, and THEY section, and concludes with an AFTERWARD. Lots of pertinent information - and juicy, truthful gossip - in every section. Parish is a good writer, and his words flow along seamlessly, making the book both fun, and easy to read. No only do I recommend the book for reading, it makes an excellent gift for anyone who like film stars or is addicted to "what went on behind the scenes" gossip.

What a guilty pleasure! Concisely written, carefully researched, The Hollywood Book of Breakups is a speed read of celebrity couplings gone wrong. Parish doesn't glamorize or trash his subjects, he makes the stars seem all too human. A fresh take on Hollywood divorce, and a crash course in the many, many ways that relationships can burn up and flame out.

James Robert Parish has always had the ability to cut right through the froo-froo icing and get right to cake. That's why so many of his books are on my shelf. With this one, I have to start a new shelf. He packs in a lot of information: mini bios of all the players, what brought them together and the circumstances that drove them apart. He brings each era alive, mentioning timely rumors and headlines, but delivers only the facts, dispelling media speculation in exchange for - get this - the real story! And the variety of couples, from Stanwyck and Taylor, Burton and Taylor, Brad and Jen or Liza and David Gest represents 75 years of Tinsletown romance gone awry.

I, too, write books about Hollywood (Dishing Hollywood, Hollywood Haunted). Our books are often paired; I am very complemented by that because James Parish is really great at what he does.

This series of books is an outstanding history of the reorganization of Soka Gakkai International after World War II in Japan. It provides a great insight into the rebuilding of Japan, and the struggle many endured to rebuild the SGI and their lives. Recommend to all SGI members.

This book (series) chronicles the history of the Nichiren Buddhist laity, Soka Gakkai,from 1960 to the present. It's a collection of the personal struggles and victories of the pioneers of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism in America. No matter how many times I read it, it never fails to inspire me with hope and courage. The SGI motto "No matter what, never give up!" echos from every page.

As a foreigner living in a foreign land, I can understand from my own life how the Japanese war brides who introduced Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism to the USA felt. President Ikeda gave them four tasks to perform and they were:

1.) learn to speak English 2.) learn to drive a car 3.) buy a car 4.) become US citizens.

Impossible dreams for these women. By taking US citizenship they'd lose their Japanese citizenship and could never go home. English was very difficult to learn. Buying a car for a newly wed military couple, often with young children, was also seemingly out of reach.

Though their deep faith they made they impossible possible. Please do read the entire series. It will become one of your favorites as it has become mine.

As a practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism and a relatively new member of the Soka Gakkai International, this book was a great surprise to me. I knew that the book was a history of how the Soka Gakkai was reinvigorated by Josei Toda after WWII. But I had no idea that the struggle was so great. I am learning every day more about Buddhism by reading how the characters in the books use their faith to overcome their own struggles (karma) and become enlightened people. Maybe the expert on snake oil does not practice Buddhism so the story does not make much sense. I look forward to reading "The New Human Revolution."

As a novel in which the protagonist, Josei Toda, discovers a deeper meaning to Buddhism while imprisoned by a militarist government during WWII may not connect with every reader. I read this novel approx. 30 years ago as I was learning about Buddhist practice and philosophy. It provided an excellent medium through which I learned the application of Buddhism in a practical setting, rather than simply as abstract concepts. I have continued my Buddhist practice and this novel was a key to keeping focused on the primary goal of enlightenment, a.k.a Human Revolution. Why another reviewer dismisses this as "snake oil" is odd. This Buddhism is a simple practice which requires no belief to undertake. An interested party, as I was, may begin without spending a penny, as I did. It is certainly not focused on trying people to spend large sums on ever continuing seminars and such. This school of Buddhism does alarm some people, as the novel illustrates, because other "mass movements" of the time were facist and not humanist. Furthermore, any new movement is seen as a threat to established institiutions. The Soka Gakkai, which this novel explores, is now recognized by a plethora of peace organizations as a beneficent organization.

The concept of human revolution is based on the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin, that enables people to elevate their life conditions to the highest through their buddhist practice, thus revolutionize them from within.

But, the true greatness of the Daishonin's Buddhism lies in making the practice possible and available to anybody, and through giving each member of the world the opportunity to continuously change him/herself for the better, the world peace can be achieved. The idea itself is revolutionary, I believe, that it goes totally the opposite of what has been done historically to achieve peace, which is to make the change at the top to force the changes downward to people (in many cases with lots of sacrificing and suffering).

The SGI, whose president is the author of The Human Revolution and The New Human Revolution series, practices the Daishonin's Buddhism; therefore, its ideal is to make each individual happy and to promote peace throughout the world. The New Human Revolution can be read in many ways, but I would recommend to pay a little more attention, when you read it, to the fact that the Buddhist ideal is put into practice and actually happening.

As a SGI member, I am proud to be a part of this endeavor and recommend anybody to check it out.

that when I saw this book I HAD to buy it. The photos of Hyannis, the Cape in general and the ocean -- not to mention the yummy recipes -- are reason alone to buy the book, but the recipes are well presented and easy to follow, as well. And the insider stories Connolly shares are "must-reads" for any Kennedy-phile.

My boyfriend and I checked this book out from the library so often that I finally bought him a copy! The all of the recipes that I've tried have been quite good, though many in the book are quite heavy. Some of the dishes have become staples, especially the delicious meatloaf. The highlight of the book is the Kennedy trivia and family photos, not to mention the lovely food photos (the desserts are pure eye candy!).

This book contains recipes and recollections of a great American family, the Kennedy's. It contains the family's favorite, Meat Loaf. I made this on 4-27-07 and it was incredibly delicious! The Lobster Stew is a rich stew which is quick to make and elegant at the same time. The Honey-Pecan Sweet Potatoes are so good, you'll want to slap someone! You will also enjoy the family fotos included in the book and the little stories that go with them.

Interesting collection of recipes & anecdotes, spoiled for me by the overly servile tone of the authors. Actual recipes that I've tried are delicious, easy to follow & easy to cook. Wonderful photography. Well worth buying

I love the Kennedy family and I love New England. This is the best cookbook I have ever read. The photos are amazing, and the stories are wonderful. Everytime I read the book it makes me hungry for authentic New England seafood. It also makes me wish I lived in New England.

The Circle trilogy consists of the books Black, and Red, and White, and is followed up by Showdown, and House (co-authored by Frank Peretti), and Saint, and Skin. And a new book to be out either later this year or next year, titled Sinner. And the Lost Books consist of Chosen, and Infidel, and (coming out in May Renegade and Chaos.

Yes, Ted Dekker has been quite busy creating his history of Other Earth.

While the Lost Books are marketed in the Youth Fiction genre, it was of course well-known to Dekker and his publisher, Thomas Nelson, that millions of Circle fans of all ages would flock to bookstands to pick up the latest installments. In fact, by marketing the Lost Books as Youth Fiction, Dekker and Nelson stand to pick up even more readers than before, as the appeal of The Circle spreads to younger readers.

I, for one, have been captivated by Dekker's Circle trilogy, as well as many of his other works. A quick browse through my review list will turn up almost every book written by Ted Dekker. But you didn't come here for that, did you? You came here to learn more about Infidel.

I was at first a little confused as to whom the title referred. According to Dictionary.com, the number one definition of the word infidel is "a person who does not accept a particular faith." The several Dekker books surrounding Other Earth are filled with people who don't accept the faith of the Forest Dwellers. It was hard for me, in Infidel, to determine just which character was the infidel. I'm still not altogether sure.

And while I understand that weaving a story takes considerable character development and that several threads of the plot line must be laid in order to get to the culmination, I found Infidel to be a very interesting work, but just not quite up to the standard that other Dekker books have set.

Infidel is, no doubt, critical to understanding the history of Other Earth, and I can't imagine reading the next two books in the chronicles without first reading Infidel, but I just wasn't grabbed by it like I was the original Circle trilogy, or most of Dekker's other works. I found Infidel to be more about laying the foundation for coming installments than furthering the story.

What makes the whole thing even more interesting is the marketing ploy that Dekker and publisher Nelson have developed in order to drive the hype behind the stories. There's a massive online search for the Lost Books of History, with multiple sites and characters created for the sole purpose of guiding readers through the search for the ultimate discovery -- the last Lost Book of History -- and the ultimate prize -- a brand new Chevy Cobalt.

I have, of course, registered for the search, but I haven't been very active in it. I found on the first day that I could easily spend hours of my day just digging and digging through the clues online in search for the Lost Book. As much as the search intrigues me, I just don't have that kind of time on my hands.

But what I do have time for is reading the next Dekker book when it comes out. Adam hits bookstores next month.

In the meantime, Infidel is definitely worth the read, but only if you've read the rest of the epic first.

I preread this book for my son. It is a great adventure. Poopoo to all the nitpickers. I got behind the characters and enjoyed the adventures.

I have read Black, Red and White, so after that I had to continue reading the lost books. Infidel was a great treat, I love how it combines the first books. I have started reading Renegade yesterday, it just keep getting better and better. Ted Dekker is a brillant author, I love how are this books are tying together. I read all the Left Behind books, and they were great, and I would place this series right up there at the top. If you start reading one, you will want to read them all, believe me.

In this second installment of Ted Dekker's action-fantasy series, The Lost Books, all four main characters --- Johnis, Silvie, Billos and Darsal --- are immediately thrust back into active combat after their celebratory evening. Johnis can't get his mind off the fact that the recovered ring signifies that his mother is still alive. But just how is she living? As a slave? Is she a Horde now? Under what conditions will he find her? Obsessed by this newfound knowledge, Johnis and Silvie sneak out of the city, taking their lives into their own hands and following Johnis's heart instead of his head.

Clearly, Johnis wants to rescue his mother, but there is opposition from both inside his ranks and outside. And complications. The power of the book is also another mystery and a compelling one; when someone touches the book after spilling his blood, something otherworldly and intense takes place. But where does this power come from? Is it a tool of Elyon or of Teelah?

After battling their way into the enemy city with the help of a small Horde girl, Johnis and Silvie do find his mother, but they also become victim to a bigger plot and are trapped. Johnis is given an ultimatum --- either agree to help the Horde find and abduct Thomas Hunter, or they will kill both his mother and Silvie. Johnis's heart is wrenched in two as he tries to wriggle his way out of this no-win situation.

Martyn, the Horde general, outlines the entire scheme to Johnis right down to the lies he would tell to lure Thomas into the trap. With more bravado than he feels, Johnis approaches Thomas and sets the ambush. A forest guard warrior turned traitor, Justin of Southern, with whom the Horde knows Thomas cannot resist meeting, is the bait. Johnis spins a story that Thomas is to meet with Justin in Red Valley as soon as possible. The Horde knows Thomas's interest will be piqued and they're right; plying him with lie after lie, Johnis lures the commander into the desert before abandoning him without horse or water. Riding away, convicted and ashamed, Johnis tries to convince himself that he had just acted on behalf of his mother and Silvie. But thoughts of a stunned Thomas stranded without aid won't leave his mind.

Thankfully, despite his many and frequent mistakes, others step in and assist Johnis, offering both real help and needed mercy before the final stage is set. As the "chosen" one, Johnis learns a great deal about following his heart, using his head, and listening to the counsel of his fellow warriors and friends. With lightning speed action, Ted Dekker delivers another energizing tale that will have readers of this series impatient for its next compelling segment. But as they wait, the multi-leveled plot and theological repercussions will keep fans mulling the storyline over and over.

--- Reviewed by Michele Howe

A great read, and quick. Get the whole series, it's that good. You don't have to read prequels first (The Circle Trilogy), and I appreciate that!
But, hey! you will probably want to read them after you're done, (Ted Dekker makes you curious enough) to enhance your understanding of one character, Thomas' prior history. We did! :)