United States Books

I picked this book up in a used book store. Although I am not a huge fan of his music I picked the book thinking it may be interesting. I was actually surprised to find out how good this book was to read. DMX discloses so much of his personal life in this book. He is very candid and does an excellent job telling his life story from his passion for pitbulls to his problems with drugs.

There aren't many people who possess the energy and resilience that DMX has. He connects with his audience in ways beyond belief. I met him at a recent performance, was on stage with him the whole time, and was literally blown away. He is one of the greatest performers in the industry today and should be recognized as such. I appreciate his honesty in his book and in his life. What a great man!!

I just grabbed this book out of curiosity. I knew of DMX and his music but no fan. Wow, was I impressed. To be completely honest, I figured it wouldn't be so good because frankly, how good of a story can a ghetto playa bring to the table?
Well, a very good one in fact. My favorite part of it was that he didn't restrain himself from sounding intimate. He would describe how he was living with nothing and then he had bought a little bouncy ball and that was the shiznit! lol I love that. He appreciated the small things. He still had a heart and needed love no matter how roughed up he was. I got mad respect for him and I feel his story was genuine. DMX did not try to make the projects seem cool or anything. I had a picture the entire time reading it. Dark, gloomy, dirty streets and bad vibes. I recommend this book. Seriously, just read it with an open mind. WOW.

Never could have imagined what a rough life DMX had. He has truly defied all odds!

This book offers nothing positive at all. DMX lived a negative life and he speaks negative rap. He robbed people (mostly women) as a youngster. He robbed other kids by using his dog. He stole cars. He stole for the thrill and because he wanted nice things without working for them. And he didn't care who he stole from. He stole a chain from his friend (TQ). He would offer his home made tapes for sell to people, take their money and not give them anything. He promotes violence. He spent most of his life victimizing people in and out of jail. At one point in the later chapters and in one of his raps, he implies raping men in jail. He summarizes quickly what his jail time was like, he avoids going into alot of detail about those years. He's showing you the slice of his life that he wants to show.

He spends too much time on the earliest years of his life which are uninteresting. He doesn't really cover the parts of his life that most people are interested in. He doesn't talk much about the actual business of music. He doesn't talk about how his life changed with the music business success. He doesn't talk about how he grew as a person or what he learned from his incarcerations. Did he spend his time in jail doing anything positive? Or was his jail time just fighting people and rapping about it?

I do appreciate his talent, but not his messages. There were alot of DMX songs that I used to listen to. After reading this book, I see him more vividly now. I see him as a horrible person who I would want nothing to do with. He isn't a person that should be celebrated, he should be ashamed for the life he has led.

You shouldn't buy this book. You shouldn't even borrow it. It's a waste of time to read, there are much better, more positive things that you could be doing with your life.

Although I think it may be a bit advanced for my 9 yr. old, I'm still glad I purchased this book for my most recent book club choice. A gentle book that flows easily, and the characters change for the better in wonderful ways. The one thing that bugged me was Mrs. Shaw and her smelling salts. It almost seemed to me that Polly Milton was the better 'mother' to the Shaw family. All in all, this is truly a memorable classic.

This book started off a bit slow, but if you read more than a page or two at a time, I think you will like it. This story is about a girl from the country who goes to visit her cousins in New York. Polly's cousin, Fanny, and her friends find Polly "coutrified" and "old fashioned". Everyone falls in love with her because of her quiet manner along with the fact that she dresses and acts her age. Although their are multiple hardships along the way, you couldn't have wanted the book to end any other way. I recomend that you don't read the book until you are at least 11 or 12 because some of the wording is odd because it was writtedn so long ago. Happy Reading!

Alas. In my opinion, both "An Old-Fashioned Girl" and "Eight Cousins" audio versions would benefit by having a much younger narrator. Despite her long and illustrious career in audio, Flo Gibson is now too old to bring these novels to life. They are books about young girls, and they are obviously being read by a grandmother. Rather than illustrating the timeless quality of these fine books, an elderly reader makes the books simply sound old and out-of-date. What were the publishers thinking?---CaroJ11

An Old Fashioned Girl begins with a teenage girl, Polly who visits her cousins in the city. There, she realises that they are exactly the opposite of the old fashioned girl that she is, and this causes some distress on both sides. Being a modern woman, I expected that this book would be a wonderful read but the initial chapters where Polly was a teenager were hard to take in. Alcott created what she felt to be the "perfect" teenage model in Polly, but I found myself wishing that this "perfect teenage model" would loosen up a bit and do something for herself instead of serving everybody else, which was the "proper thing to do." Ironically, Alcott herself wrote in the book "excessive virtue doesn't last long ...except with little prigs in the goody storybooks." She should have taken herself more seriously because her main character came very close to becoming exactly that! Compared to other classics like Tom Sawyer, The Secret Garden and The Railway Children, the teenagers in the book were very unrealistic, I dare say even for that time. Alcott wrote too much of what she wanted children or teenagers to be, opposed what they actually were, which can get exasperating. However, that is less than half the book, which follows into young adulthood. In here the characters become more realistic, and Polly begins to be truly affected by her poverty and to long to be different. To avoid spoilers, it morphed from an exasperating read into a very good read. Overall, the valuable lessons in the book make it good addition to any collection, especially for children.

Do you ever feel like you are tied up in our times? Worrying too much about cell phones, fashions, and the latest whatevers? This book can set you straight. It gives you a peace of mind and fills you with simple pleasures.

The stories main character, Polly, we meet at the age of 14. She has come to stay with rich friends for a while. THey do everything so differently from she. The family has two daughters. One that is two years older than Polly called Fan, who cares for fashion, balls, and beaus. The author daughter is six and she is fixed onoo having her own way about everything. THe young man in the family Tom is a trouble maker, who no matter how hard he tries can't seem to stay out of trouble very long.

Polly is a gentle, kind, loving, caring, selfless, practical, and sensible girl. SHe becomes a great service to this family, touching each of them in a special way. She moves in the same town six years later and gives piano lessons. The family needs her more than ever and she helps them all in the end. This book has heart, romance, and realness to it that we can all relate to, rich or poor, young or old. It will make you feel warm fuzzies. Read on a rainy day underneath a flanel blanket!

The junior standard-bearer for civil rights during the era of segregation recounts his rise through those times toward his own national recognition. It's an intimate and introspective offering. It's a unique perspective.
After his Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, crashes, he self-imposes exile as an "invisible man" in New York working as a grant officer for a private charity:
(p398) "New York was just too big for me. I didn't feel as if I could get my hands around it. In the South, communities seemed comprehensible, manageable, workable. You could see where things started and ended. You could get a grasp of the place and the people, as well as their problems. And you could respond to those problems with solutions that might work...."
He always has the South on his mind where there remains "a spirit instilled by the civil rights movement that is still felt and remembered today, a spirit that was not and is not felt in the same way in the North. That, I believe, is the huge difference between the legacy of the civil rights movement in the North and the South. All the great battlegrounds of the civil rights movement were in the South. That fact is cherished and remembered by the people there." (p 208).
There is confusion in "Feel Angry with Me". The chapter describes the fall of Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney. Their violent deaths in defense of the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law during Freedom Summer (1964) fixed the nation's eyes on racist brutality in Mississippi. The confusion is in character casting and mixing the ridiculous partying with his friend, actress, Shirley MacLaine and his virginity in the same chapter with the sublime. Here, especially, the book sacrifices continuity to rigid chronology.
In and out of church - and on both sides of the pulpit - his cast of characters is most colorful, including a prominent one (not MacLaine) today facing bizarre criminal charges. So many stories within the author's story could make for a better book than a strict chronology.
The author alludes to his motivation to influence the masses, (p 400) "I felt the spirit, the hand of the Lord, the power of the Bible -- all of those things -- but only when they flowed through the church and out into the streets. As long as God and His teachings were kept inside the wall of a sanctuary, as they were when I was young, the church meant next to nothing to me." Like a good, "whooping" preacher, he is, at times, poetic. It's some of his best stuff.
Congressman Lewis is no great hero, though he has a measure of both -- greatness of association to the movement he led until the times turned violent -- and heroism for holding to his sometimes politically incorrect beliefs, though not sufficiently incorrect for this reviewer. And his book is not great literature. It is his gift to us with an interest in non-violent social change.

Ever since I came to the U.S. I learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his philosophy of non-violence, I always wanted to learn more about the civil rights movement because of the way African American citizens overcame their obstacles in a non-violent way.


Walking with the wind is a memoir of the author John Lewis, the book begins at his home town where he was raised and learned the meaning of discrimination at an early age. The book describes his whole life how he was discriminated and how became involved with the movement, and how he later on became chair man of the SNCC.
The book also has a part where it only describes the life of John Lewis after the movement, what he does and what happens to all of his close friends, this is at the end of the book, but also talks about how he tries to become something important in U.S. politics.


My favorite part of the whole book is when John Lewis is watching the presidential elections of 1976, when he sees that Jimmy Carter was elected he begins to cry because like he says, he finally sees the hands that picked cotton, picking a president, he cries because he sees that all his hard work pays off, by the government counting the black vote.


The knowledge that John Lewis wants to pass down to readers is the struggle of all African American people to gain freedom and rights, he wants the new generation of people of color to know how much the old generation had to go through to gain all the freedom kids posses these days.


This book is boring, there is almost no action, it is mostly talking about politics, so do not read this book if you are not hooked by memoirs. It takes time to get into the good stuff, like for example, there are parts where the author describes the way police responded in a violent way to a non-violent protest, there are many occasions like this through out the whole book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the Civil Rights Movement. Lewis' broad range of experiences gives the reader a glimpse into nearly every facet of the 1960's part of the movement. However, it is also useful for the specific study of the Nashville student movement and the study of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee).

John Lewis' memoir tells of his pivotal role in the civil rights movement as , literally, its most prominent "fall guy." John Lewis was physically at the forefront of the major civil rights events-getting beaten, arrested, and ultimately, prevailing in the struggle to desegregate the south. He was one of the original Freedom Riders as well as the first person across the Pettis Bridge in Selma. He explains all of his actions and ethics through a mirror of highly disciplined non-violence that leaves the reader in awe of his amazing achievements. In sum, this book is a "must-read" for anyone interested in the civil rights movement.

John Lewis's powerful and moving retelling of his journey through the
Civil Rights years, much of it in leadership positions, is a walk through
important American history. His clarity of purpose, values, honed by the
beatings and jailings of those years shine through it all. This personal
insight into events we read about in history makes it real, and makes us
admire the courage and persistence of people like John Lewis. In our present
times of struggle over issues of war, environment and economic fairness,
we need both a reminder of this historical struggle and a next generation
to press us to make changes, to make a difference. A must read for anyone
concerned about our present times.

Crimmon's book was heart-wrenching to read. The story of her husband's TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and the after effects of it on her life, his life and their daughter have to be read to be understood. I can't do it justice. She keeps a good sense of humor throughout the book but there is certainly an underlying cynical and bitter tone throughout. Not that I can blame her. It's real. It's life and a it ain't pretty. Personally, after reading this I literally wanted to make all my loved ones wear helmets each day after reading about the hell that TBI can put a family through.

We read this book for book club and we all loved it. Only now I understand what my cousin and his family have gone through after he had an bicycle accident and was in a coma for three days. The writer clearly describes the pain and anguish she and her daughter went through. I admire her absolute commitment to her husband and getting him back on his feet and back to a "regular" life. This is a great and informational book to read for everybody who comes into contact with a person with brain injury.

I found this account of a severe brain injury and the bumpy road to recovery very moving. I ask will there be more to Cathy and her husband's experiences
written as a memoir at some later date? Maybe not this book was published in September 2000. Worth the read!

I read this book in four nights, right before bed. I tore through it like no other memoir before. This book, for me, was like reading my own parents' memoir. My father suffered a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) when I was four/five years old. Of course, so much of what was available to the author's husband was simply not around 45 years ago. I understand so much more why my father acted the way he did for the remaining 16 years of his life. This book is powerful. It is honest, raw, intense, lighthearted at times, funny, sad, well written and easy to read (though the subject matter is quite painful at times)... an all around excellent book. I am so glad that I read it, and plan to keep this one.

An honest telling of head injury and what family will experience.

I was shocked at what her daughter, Kelly, was exposed to - I have since read that the author now regrets this. Rehab is NO PLACE for children - or an endless stream of friends. I am sad that her husband's privacy was taken away in order to project 'normalcy' or the authors belief in emotional honesty. She should have protected her husband and her daughter. THIS is the time when you close the door to the world outside and tend to your family - as best you can.

I feel for the author. How quickly the nurses/non-doctors put forth a 'professional opinion' about brain injury. As I often say: Everybody wants to be a doctor, nobody want to go to medical school. You have to see brain injury over a long span of time, which is years and decades. A nurse who sees them admitted and discharged knows next to nothing, unless personally affected.

The beginning of the story was confusing to me because the marriage had so little intimacy. The parents were 2 ships in the night and then they had a child. This little girl was utterly alone through a waking nightmare. I hope she finds the support that she will need as she grows up.

Eventually, the author acknowledges her lack of connection to husband and child and explains herself in a way that is somewhat satisfying.

I appreciate her honesty in the discussion on disinhibition. You can count on it happening and it's real hard to explain to people - especially when you have to.

Worth reading, though disturbing in ways the author may not have intended.

I purchased this book recently. It is very large and will not fit on many book shelves. Includes a great variety of recipes including many that you would probably classify as italian, german, or of other origin. Attractive pictures, and a large number of pages devoted to the history of cooking in Louisiana. I would not call it exhaustive, but it has a nice variety of recipes. I have only tried making the gumbo so far and would say that I prefer the recipe in Paul Prudhome's Louisiana Kitchen. If you could only buy one book, I would recommend the Prudhome cookbook over this one. I found the Prudhome recipies more appealing and the book is much less costly.

This book is unbelievably impressive. After four years, I finally got my copy. This book is roughly 800 pgs. About 100+ are dedicated up front to the story of the seven nations that make up Cajun and Creole cuisine. I love this insightful info. Does it help you cook any better know, but if you like a little background info with your cookbooks, this over-achieves.

What I thoroughly enjoyed was the brief explanation of the difference between Cajun and Creole cuisines. It was only a couple of paragraphs, but I appreciated the plain English. (It's the little things that make me happy.)

The recipes, as expected, are voluminous and accommodate a range of skill sets. Each recipe has a short comment. I would've liked a little more information about the origin of the particular recipe, but I'm greedy like that. (For instance, are these Folse's recipes or a particular family's recipe, etc.) The recipes are organized into the following chapters:

-Roux, Stocks & Sauces
-Breakfast & Lunch
-Appetizers & Hors d'Oeurves
-Soups
-Salads
-Veggies
-Seafood
-Poultry
-Meat
-Wild Game
-Desserts
-Breads
-Dairy
-Beverages
-Festivals
-Plantations
-Holiday & Special Occasion Menus
-Lagniappe

Now here is why four instead of five stars: this is a definitive text (which should have earned a James Beard award), but the photography leaves a lot to be desired. There is a ton of it, but it is poorly lit. It and the graphic design of the book give the entire thing an `80s feel. This was first published in 2004! Although this is a classic reference on Southeastern Louisiana cuisine, the photography makes it feel slightly less than polished. With that said, it is still more than worth the cost of ownership.

In the past, I spoke about my love for Williams-Sonoma New Orleans: Authentic Recipes Celebrating The Foods Of the World (Williams-Sonoma Foods of the World). It is still a valid text because it is a great quick reference. The photography is drop-dead gorgeous. However, if you want comprehensive and in-depth, this encyclopedia is for you.

Thank you, John Folse, for this epic undertaking. Any other cookbook you purchase for this cuisine will simply be for collector's purposes. Trust me, you don't need anything else!

My friend had this book and from the moment I laid eyes on it, I thought "I have to have one for myself" I am addicted to it. I read it every night. I can picture the finished recipes in my head, when I read them. The best thing that I love about the book is that it brings you back into history on when, who, and how the recipe was, first, created. If you love Louisiana food and the Louisiana way of life, you will be obsessed with it. Christina Laborde, Marksville, Louisiana.

Like it says its a Encyclopedia, theres a bit of history in the front that makes for great reading. The best part is the recipe's which are varied and very good. My Wife's a great cook and has well over a 100 cookbooks already but she uses this one quite often.

This is the most impressive book yet on cajun/ creole cooking. Outstanding in every way (except perhaps the cornbread, all of which had sugar in it, and grandma would whop him over the head with her iron skillet for THAT). Can't wait to cook from this.

The recipes, history, festivals, photos, and everything else make this HUGE book indeed an encyclopedia. Impressive that the Italian and German settlers to the state were included in the history and recipe tradition as well, as they generally seem to be left out.

I Say a Prayer for Me was an excellent book. I had actually purchased it locally about 2 years ago and had not gotten around to reading it until we were deciding which book to read next in by Sisterhood Ministries group. I suggested this book, and everyone including myself, could not believe what a great book it was. To read about Stanice's life and her struggles with what God would have her to do, was true testimony of how Faith can turn your life around. After we finished the book, I ordered additional copies from Amazon and gave them to my sisters as gifts, and they also raved about how good this book was and have since purchased additional copies and given them to their friends. Great work, Stanice!!!!

The writer gives the impression that you can overcome herion addiction just by praying and becoming a member of the 700 club.

Whew, what can one say after reading this book!?! To read this woman's stories of what she experienced and to see her now; only God can create such a transformation in one's life. I laughed and I cried as I read through the chapters. Some reminded me of my own experiences. This is a MUST read! If you are in need of any type of healing, it will definitely take place in the pages of this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Her life is an inspiration. She taught me to consider God in all things no matter how small I may think it is. Her story of her California trip was great and really taught me to witness to anyone and everyone. This was my selection for my bookclub and I was the toast of the day. We all enjoyed this one.

Not only was this book written as a testimony to show how GOD navigates our lives to help us know that we are loved it also shows that with faith all things are possible. This book is not only for those with drug or alcohol addictions but it is for those of us who suffer addictions of all kinds, it is for those of us who don't believe in ourselves, for those who have experienced hurt and also dished hurt out towards others. The lord spoke to me personally thru his vessel Stanice. Thank you for allowing your loving and gentle kindness to flow from this wonderful women who has allowed you to use her. I am and will always be in loving awe of your unconditional love.

Friends in the Swiss government gave me this important review of American history and the foundational role that prayer has played in shaping and forming us as a people as well as the government of the United States of America.

James P. Moore Jr. has done an incredible job of writing this book and compiling resources from thousands of different sources on the history of prayer in America. Before writing this book, Mr. Moore looked for equivalent writings and the role and significance of prayer on American history and he could find none. So after seven years of writing this manuscript, he unearthed "a marvelous, hidden treasure chest." I agree and I would highly recommend this book as a treasured resource that I will continue to refer to in the coming years.

Mr. Moore puts prayer right at the center as he looks at history, faith, politics, literature, arts, entertainment, culture, music, sports, etc. in America. He says in his prologue on page xi, "Quite frankly, the story of American prayer is so powerful that it does not need to rely on anything but historic fact and reasonable interpretation. "

He recounts 16 periods of time in American history, primary themes and events during those times and within each, the key importance of prayer. He says it best himself in his introduction on page xxiii, " If American history can be likened to a great musical composition, prayer must be seen as an integral and powerful theme throughout the piece. At times it is softer; louder at others. It has its own rhythm, it own pulse. It is always there, fundamentally contributing to whatever melody may be playing." As Mr. Moore recounts in his introduction, G.K Chesterton's words on the vibrant spirituality and prayer life of the country, he wrote, " America is a nation with the soul of a church."

He meanders from before the early inhabitants up through the second term of George W. Bush. If you want to learn more about the past, present and the potential future of America, this book on the life of prayer is a good starting point.

Lovely book, but is the author quite certain of the attribution of the prayer poem that appears on page 312 of the book to one found in the pocket of a dead U.S. soldier in North Africa during WWII? This is actually an English translation of a rather famous Russian poem found in the pocket of a dead Russian infantryman during the Great Patriotic War (as WWII is known in Russia). The original Russian uses very powerful lyrical language that is lost in the English translation, where, for example, for purposes of achieving rhyme a colloquialism such as "calling a spade a spade" is used. Furthermore, one line in the poem is a dead giveaway that it is not American in origin. I doubt very much that an average young man in pre-WWII America had been told that God did not exist or that he had not been exposed in some way to the prayer culture that abounded in America at that time. The Communist Soviet Union, on the other hand, pursued one of the most aggressive religious persecusions known to man in the 1930s at the time when this young soldier author was growing up in an atheistic state. The reason for the poem's power lies in the fact that after years and years of indoctrination and lack of belief, the beauty of the night sky was enough for one individual to realize and recognize the connection with God he had been missing all his life. Framed in this light, the prayer poem achieves extraordinary pogniancy.

I must have been living in a cave all this time. I just stumbled upon this book and found it to be absolutely incredible. I then came to the website to see what others had to say and loved to read how much this single volume has maent to so many. Count me as one of them.



I found the author's writing style to be very inviting. I felt as though he were talking just to me rather than to some big general audience in some impersonal way. The material in this book is stunning. I loved the vignettes that were interspersed with the prayer life of America since the earliest times. Honestly, this book is just stunning.



I am an Asian-American, born and raised in Japan. I came to the United States originally to study and now am a successful businesswoman who finds herself shuttling between both countries. I found in this book the chance to understand Americans in a more intimate way. Thank you to Mr. Moore, the author, for this incredible gift to me and to so many others.


I just wish that my parents, who speak no English, could read this book. Through it they would learn why I have come to have an affection for the American people - a very different impression than the one in the world media these days.

I have been beside myself over the way our government has been behaving in the Middle East. Over dinner last night my friends echoed the same concerns and misgivings.


It was then that I told them about One Nation Under God. This is a book that I finished a few weeks ago and loved from the very start. It gave me a perspective that I really did not have about the incredible spirituality of our country since before its inception. It is masterfully written.

Coincidentally I picked up the July issue of St. Anthony's Messenger and found the same opinion, which I have attached. Thank you to James Moore for this extraordinary contribution to our country for years to come.




IF ASKED to describe the United States, would the first adjective to jump into your head be "prayerful"? After perusal of James P. Moore, Jr.'s book, it would seem that no other description is as accurate.

From the Native American inhabitants to the modern era of immigrants practicing myriad religions, we Americans have been a praying people. Moore is neither a historian nor a clergyman but a professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. He has produced an impressive study of the effects of prayer on virtually all facets of American life.

In 16 chapters, Moore thoroughly documents his text with excerpts from the writings of the individuals chronicled or those of firsthand witnesses, which necessitates 34 pages of Notes and a 15-page Index. Readers will find no legends here.

Early explorers were deeply religious and mandated how their crews would pray daily. Christopher Columbus was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order, as were his sponsors, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. In Jamestown, Virginia, in 1610 a law was passed that all residents should attend morning and evening prayer services, enumerating the punishments to be leveled for absence.

The Founding Fathers, Moore writes, used prayer as "a coalescing tool to bring together widely disparate colonies, communities, and churches." At the First Continental Convention, after the report of a British incursion in Boston, the delegates prayed "for America, for Congress, for the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and especially for the town of Boston." John Adams wrote in his diary that the prayer and emotions expressed were "as permanent, as affectionate, as sublime, as devout, as I have ever heard offered up to Heaven."

Every president has acknowledged the existence of a higher power in his inaugural address; admittedly with varying degrees of belief and, possibly, for ulterior motives. But all presidents, sooner or later, would call upon and acknowledge this power to aid in carrying the heavy burden of office.

John Carroll, the first Roman Catholic bishop in the United States, inaugurated prayers for the country's leaders to be recited after Mass on Sundays to allay suspicions that Catholics were loyal only to the pope. Carroll composed a special prayer on the occasion of President Washington's birthday in 1794. Carroll was foresighted enough to request permission of the Holy See to use English for all Mass prayers to help integrate Catholic immigrants.

Publishing in the United States began with The Bay Psalm Book; a hymnal was the first songbook. These overtly religious writings were followed by uniquely American poetry, prose, drama, art, dance and architecture executed by talented people using their expertise to praise the Almighty.

The Jazz Singer, the story of a Jewish cantor, was the first talking movie. The first American opera to be written and staged was George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, which has songs like "Oh Doctor Jesus" and "Oh Lawd, I'm on My Way."

The chapter entitled "The Dreamers: The Legacy of Slavery" alone is worth the price of the book. Dealing largely with Frederick Douglass, a slave who was able to buy his freedom and work for the release of other slaves, the narrative is spellbinding in detailing the role that prayer played individually and communally in the life of a slave.

Many unique spirituals were introduced to the country and the world in 1871 by the touring Jubilee Singers of Fisk University, and the response was overwhelming. Andrew Ward, music biographer, has said the spirituals "not only declared faith but carried news, raised protests, expressed grief, asked questions, made jokes, lubricated a slave's never-ending toil."

Many industrialists felt called upon to aid the religious cause: Andrew Carnegie purchasing 7,000 organs for churches and schools, the J.C. Penney Foundation providing funds for care of retired ministers and Church workers. Military leaders encouraged prayer and often led by personal example.

Most of us will have lived through the events recounted in the last five chapters, culminating in the second inauguration of George W. Bush, but there are still personal and often touching new insights here into the personalities behind the media reports. Yes, Moore exhibits some political favoritism, but seven years of research utilizing and reproducing primary resources on prayer from virtually every religious sect is a blockbuster publishing event. This historical compilation is as readable and accessible as a novel.

I just want to put my two cents in and let readers know what a joy this book was for me to read. Honestly, it is one of a handful of the best histories of America I have read, and I have read hundreds over my lifetime. The author interweaves spirituality and history in a very straightforward way. While endearing, it never becomes sappy or over the top in any way. I intend to see that firends and fmaily get copies as gifts. It's that good and relevant for a wide swath of people. Congratulations to the author and publisher.

It doesn't take a genius to know this is a great read! If you are curious about finding the genius in yourself and others, then this is the book for you. It is clear, concise and uses stories and situations that we can all relate to.

Alan Gregerman's book Surrounded by Geniuses was a great read! Not only did it pertain to my work life, but also to my personal life. I would recommend this book at everyone.

A fun read. Delivering compelling value is key and Dr. Gregerman has hit the nail on the head with his observations about products and services in our own neighborhood that do it daily.

A delightful and thoughtful book that reminds us to take time to look at our surroundings. The best ideas in business need not be the most complicated. A little bit of "back to basics" plus a little "thinking outside the box" can take one a long way.

Gregerman has put together a unique array of narratives from the cheetah to Lockheed's rocket science program to delineate key attitudes and mindsets toward maximizing both the potential of your business and value to your customer. I see value in this book for both non-profit and for-profit entities/professionals. Highly recommended.

A truly remarkable and instructional guide for care givers of people with dementia or alzheimers. So much of what was going on in my mother's life at this stage, began to make sense to me and I was better prepared to help her. Great book!

Nuria Fernandez
Chicago

An extremely helpful book for those who are experiencing dementia and/or Alzheimer's with a loved one. You are not alone! And all those strange things that are happening are not out of the ordinary for the condition. This book covers the basics, and provides helpful suggestions for living with, caring for, and coping with dementia and your love one.

This is an excellent book. It is written in a warm and caring manner which is easy to understand. It is full of information not just for anyone dealing with a dementia patient, but for anybody who is caring for another person, (or who may think at some point they will). It covers subjects which apply to the caring of anyone who is ill and/or elderly, even if it is not dementia. I would recommend this book to anyone, before they are faced with the illness. I wish I'd read it sooner, but better late than never. Absolutely a great book, it should be in every library. I plan to buy 2 copies for my library, I will definitely NOT donate mine. I can't say enough good things about this book.

This book, now in its 4th edition, is absolutely one of the finest books that has been written regarding Alzheimer's Disease and the process of care giving. Full of detail about the disease, this book also takes it a step further, providing very practical information on care giving, making a home / care giving setting a safe place, and, frankly, providing suggestions for periodic care giving to the care giver. Throughout the several editions, I have come to recommend, loan, give, patients and care givers this book perhaps 50 times or more, and, every time I hear the same thing - "what a helpful, fantastic book!". Published by Johns Hopkins and holding a 95% 5 star rating on Amazon, it's unbeatable. it's 600 pages long. that might, at first blush, seem like a lot to read. none of us who give care to others can set aside 10 to 60 hours (depending on your reading speed) right away to read it all and made sense of it all. Take your time. It's not a race to get through it - it's a race to understand the contents - take your time and begin to put into practice an additional suggestion each day. This book is a labor of love and is worth the price, used, new, and way more (oh no - don't tell Johns Hopkins that or they'll start charging us a lot more!!). Best of luck, and be sure to find for yourself a support group in your community or on-line.

Absolutely the definitive book for anyone dealing with dementia, alzheimers, etc. Great to give to all family members. Very thorough and easy reading.

The publicity director at Viking should be ashamed. If I had been skimming my BOMC catalogue with my usual nonchalance, I never would have noticed CITY OF THIEVES, and I would've missed one of the best books I've read this year. It should be at the top of the New York Times best-seller list.

CITY OF THIEVES starts out rather slow, with a deserter and "thief" being sent to find a dozen eggs for an NKVD colonel's daughter's wedding during the siege of Leningrad. Part of the appeal is the likeability of the two characters, seventeen-year-old chess wiz Lev Beniov and Kolya, a handsome young soldier who has been accused of deserting his army unit. They meet each other at the Crossing, a Leningrad prison.

It's the little things that make the book. Lev has a big nose and he's sensitive about it. Kolya is always writing in his journal. It's only later that we learn he's writing a novel entitled "The Courtyard Hound." He's also extremely funny. The third major character is a partisan sniper named Vika. She can shoot the eyes out of an ace of spades at a hundred meters. Of course, Lev falls in love with her almost immediately. Every good book needs a villain as well and CITY OF THIEVES is not lacking in that respect. In this instance it's Sturmbannfuhrer Abendroth who saws the feet off a prostitute who had tried to run away. He's not your one-dimensional villain either. He recognizes almost immediately that Vika is not a young boy, and that Lev, Kolya, and Vika are up to something.

Author David Benioff provides incredible detail. It's kind of hard to believe he knows this much about the siege of Leningrad. It's only in the acknowledgements that we learn he wrote the book with Harrison Salisbury's The 900 Days as his major source. Not only does Benioff know a lot about the siege of Leningrad, he also seems to be a chess expert. This is the first thriller I've read where chess plays an integral part in the climax.

I know nothing about chess and I still found the game involved to be riveting. I know one thing for sure. I'll be checking out Benioff's other novel, the 25th HOUR, which has been made into a Spike Lee movie.

Not often does a novel cover all the bases: wonderful storytelling, delicious language, well-drawn characters (both sympathetic and otherwise), and a history lesson thrown in. Difficult to watch this thoughtful tale come to an end because I was so enjoying the ride, although I actually might have preferred that the last chapter not be included--sometimes a little mystery is a good thing. On the other hand, if this really was based on the memories of the author's grandfather (as implied in the first portion of the novel), perhaps Mr. Beniov felt the rest of the story needed to be told.

Another excellent recent novel about the siege of Leningrad is "The Madonnas of Leningrad" by Debra Dean--these two will teach you more about this piece of history than you ever learned in school.

City of Thieves is a remarkable book. It is a pretty short book that has an impact beyond its page numbers.
Set in Russia during WWII during the Nazi invasion of Leningrad, the story follows a lovable Red Army soldier and a 17 year old boy who cross paths with Nazis to fulfill a strange quest. The story is by turns thoughtful as well as gruesome, heartbreaking as well as humorous.

Benioff is a gifted storyteller, with a straightforward writing style that lays it all out. The story is linear with no time jumping or other annoying literary props. The story just doesn't need them. The characters are revealed in their human imperfection with dialog that is realistic and at times very funny. The scenes are descriptive and intense. This may be a perfect novel.

Set aside some time for this book; you'll want to read it straight through to the end. A fast-moving adventure story with believable characters, it includes all of the elements that I love in a book: a backdrop of an actual time in history, excitement, danger, true friendship, love, a quest. It's a perfect book.

David Benioff's "City of Thieves" is something of a coming-of-age tale with a twist. The twist is the fact that the tale is set in the besieged city of Leningrad in January, 1941. It is a city at war surrounded by the German army. The city is under martial law but its people are starving and fighting for food and even cannibalism is the inevitable result. The two `heroes' of the story, Lev Beniov and Kolya Vlasov are each picked up by the Red Army for crimes against the state. Lev is caught looting (taking the knife from a dead German soldier). Kolya, already a soldier is picked up and accused of desertion. Both crimes are grounds for immediate execution but the two boys are thrown together and given a `secret mission' by a Red Army officer, Colonel Grechko, who agrees to release them on the condition that they steal two dozen eggs in time for his daughter's wedding. The two dozen eggs are essential to make her a wedding cake. If they fail, they will be hunted down and shot. And with that bizarre quest ringing in their ears they are let go and sent out to scour Leningrad and the surrounding countryside in a quest for enough eggs to save their lives.

I liked City of Thieves for a number of reasons. First, Benioff does an excellent job setting the story up. It begins as a narrative of his own life as a writer and then evolves into getting his grandfather Lev to tell him the story of his experience during the war. All the author knows is that "my grandfather, the knife fighter, killed two Germans before he was eighteen". The story unfolds as a narrative told to his grandson. Second, the characters of Lev and Kolya were well-drawn and engaging even if Lev and Kolya did play into a couple of stereotypes, Lev the shy, quiet, intelligent Russian of Jewish descent is scrawny, short, and horribly shy around girls and seems to be able to do no more than dream wistfully of some dreamlike romantic encounters when he gets older. Kolya is handsome, tall, athletic and an accomplished Romeo. He has, if even some of his stories are true, become quite accomplished in the art of seduction. Third, the plot is well designed and well thought out. This seemingly bizarre search for eggs takes them through the dangerous streets of Leningrad into German-occupied territory where they meet up with a local group of partisans. Each story unfolds as a self-contained vignette but each has its own climactic moment that propels the reader into the next chapter. Last, Benioff has done an excellent job in creating a historically accurate picture of Leningrad during its siege. I've read a lot of non-fiction accounts of life in Leningrad, Stalingrad, and Moscow during the early years of WWII and nothing in this novel strikes me as out of touch with life during the siege including the Colonel's request for two dozen eggs.

The outcome of the story may be thought of by some as predictable but I found the ending more than satisfying even if some of the `results' did not take me totally by surprise.

I think City of Thieves is an excellent story and well worth reading. L. Fleisig