California Books

I tried every way shape and form to lose weight. I thought I'd give it a try.

This is the way weight loss should be approached - by a real person with real emotions. Carole is so honest that you can't help but laugh in recognition of your own foibles. But she found a path to fitness and the rest of us can do it too. Better yet, our whole communities can become supports for health. Highly recommend!!!!!!

This book offers a lot of information for any reader who has struggled with their weight. Its filled with great ideas, and a whole host of professionals to give you motivation to loose weight the right way, the healthy way. Carol Carson's story of her transformation is one we all should read and use it for motivation to get fit and stay fit.

Carole Carson took our already wonderful community and made it even more wonderful! She has struggled with issues many of us have had throughout our lives. Her book has humor, helpful suggestions, and examples of people challenging themselves. Not to mention a map on how to loose weight and stay fit.
A must read for people interested in being fit.

Susan Michalski

I actually met Carole Carson and THEN read her book. Believe me, seeing the "after" first had a great impact on me. I never could have imagined the "before" Carole. She went from a pleasantly round grandmotherly type to a toned, energetic, athletic and strikingly attractive woman who looks like she could take on the world! Oh, did I mention that I met her on a tennis court in the Hawaiian Islands? My group was so impressed with her play, confidence and effervesence. Imagine my surprise when I read her book. After only a few chapters, I decided, "I want that!" Her ideas are easy to implement and I love hearing, "Are you thinner--you look great!" Better yet, I have new-found energy and confidence. Her story can be your story. You'll laugh out loud as you read how an entire town jumps on board as Carole motivates them to healthy living.

FADE IN...You network, network and network some more. Just keep smiling as you get S%$@!. The book really is excellent and a must read before taking the leap to LA. As part of the rules, I really shouldn't be letting you know about it. The book will not tell you how to get that luck break, but it will save you some pain along the way. I would also suggest Hollywood 101: The Film Industry for a excellent break down of the various jobs that are need to make a movie. FADE OUT

When I bought this book, I was prepared to read the words of someone who had watched Swimming With Sharks and The Player one too many times. However, this is not a book that teaches you how to be a player. This is a book that teaches you how to get noticed. You can tell that "Anonymous" knows his or her stuff about how to set yourself apart in Hollywood-- by playing by the right rules. There are insightful tips in this book that it would take three years worth of meetings to realize yourself. It is like the Hollywood version of Strunk & White's Elements of Style. Don't leave the east coast without it.

I am a writer and found this book to have helpful information in it for me. It is geared towards the film industry but is a good read with some good information if you are a writer, actor or in the entertainment industry or want to be.

This book not only specifically applies to how one should comport themselves in "the Biz", but has lessons that apply to all industries across the board. A must-read for all who choose to succeed. Buy it! You won't waste your money.

The Hollywood Rules - this book has a special aura about it. It encourages you to understand your talent and how it will most likely be perceived and handled by those in power who can enhance/create your career in movies. It brings Hollywood to your living room for some brief moments, making you believe that you can find the way to whatever you're striving for. And not only that - it shows you the way, providing that you are prepared to work hard, play by the rules, break the rules, and dream on until you make it [...]

This book is FILLED with wonderful information about our brains. It is required reading for my graduate class,and I know it will be one I pull off the shelf to use again and again. Fascinating stuff that can be useful for teachers.

This book was required reading for a seminar. It is very easy to read, but it also contains a lot of good information. I was particularly taken with the Practitioner's Corner at the end of each chapter with suggestions for using the information provided within the chapter inside the classroom.

Excellent resource for lay person. Written in a very understandable, practical style with good illustrations and examples. Great aide for educators who want to better understand how their students learn. Also teaches you something about yourself!

Dr. Sousa has an unbelievable way in teaching us about the brain ;the learning brain! His book is very user friendly with instant applications available after each chapter. This is his 3rd Ed. so you know he keeps on top of the everchanging findings in brain research and learning. I highly recommend that this book be in every house. Don't wait for teachers and college professors to introduce the way your brain learns...get going yourself! Teach others how the brain learns best!
Barbara McKenna, MEd.
Private Educational Consultant, VA

good book, i pass ATSW in one try after i study this book, provide almost everything you need for the ATSW.

This book was a little wordy, even for someone who has incorporated a for-profit before. But the information is very consistent, and the forms provided and website references make this a very handy book to start with. Just make sure you want the right kind of 501(c)(3) that this book is written for first (public benefit), or he continually reinforces that this book is not right for you!

I find this really helpful and well written and organized as a book. The CD ROM with the forms are really helpful too (though I found an editing error in one of the forms..but nothing too major...just a spelling mistake (a typing error), that's all). I'm quite ready and less confused now that I have read this book. It also helps me to stop and think more about my organizational plan and such, so that it'll fit with the regulations about incorporation of non profit and the tax exempt status.

I was looking through the books on non-profit formation in a local bookstore, in downtown Palo Alto and ran into this title: my jaw dropped at the fact that there was such a perfect title for my needs. Not only was the book appropriately titled but the content helped me and my wife through the unfamiliar steps we had to take in order to incorporate our non-profit, Diabetes Hands Foundation, in California.

I recommend, along with it, The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide for Managers and Boards and Managing a Nonprofit Organization in the Twenty-First Century. These three titles have been at the heart of the non-profit-related instruction we have picked up on in the past couple of months.

This is an excellent manual which answers all of the procedural and operating questions anyone could have about this topic. I heartily recommend it.

I am in the process of forming a nonprofit organization to benefit people with brain injury. An attorney friend suggested that I purchase this book which gives guidelines for setting up a nonprofit organization in California. Being a novice in the field of start up companies I have found this book to be without exception easy to understand and follow and gives you samples of forms and detailed explanations on how to file them with your local, state, and federal government. I would recommend this book to anyone who is in the process of beginning a nonprofit even if you have previous experience. It gave me the assurance that forms would be filed properly and the advise on writing the bylaws to the company.

This is a must have for anyone who owns or is considering getting a Lodge (Tipi). The experienced Lodge owner or the Newbie will find a wealth of information here. It is everything I heard it would be and more.

I have read the Laubin book a number of times and have decided to get into tipi building as a result. The stories and history that the Laubins present in this unique and very personal book are moving and very revealing of a couple who shared a rather loving adventure through life with their constant life deep in the history and life of native Americans and their culture. Well worth reading. Recommend this title and "Make your own tipi" by James E. Jones if you can get a copy of that rare title.

Some of the best information available on tipi living. When they were still living, we used to visit the Laubins at their cabin home beneath the Grand Tetons. A day spent in their company was worth a book in itself. A walk through the pages of western Native American history.

Abit outdated, but provides insight into some pioneers of the 1950's. Definately worth the read if you are into the subject of Plains Indian lifestyle.

Enough said, you want to know anything about Tipis, how to build one, etc, this is THE book.

"Inner Drives: How to Write and Create Characters Using the Eight Classic Centers of Motivation, " is a great course on human behavior applicable to creating vidid realistic characters with the personality to lead your story. It is adapted to screenwriting but is about story in practically any genre. Learn about your behavior while learning about character creation and his/her effective deployment throughout your story.

Inner Drives: How to Write and Create Characters Using the Eight Classic Centers of Motivation

Within a few minutes of reading Inner Drives, I intinctively knew it was going to give me unlimited potential to improve my process forever, both in acting and screenwriting. That was over a year ago and I still read and reread it everyday. An old soul trapped inside me has been set free to create the art I need to show the world. If you have a burning desire to contribute stories that inspire caring, sharing, and growth--BUT ARE LOST AND FRUSTRATED-- Inner Drives will give you an amazing base to start working from. Pamela Jaye Smith's perceptions are like food for the brain and she's tailored the learning process to allow any reader's process to thrive in the mix.
If you're an actor lost in finding a process that works for you, this book will hone your imagination razor sharp and rescue your passion for the craft. Acting classes stress the importance of homework but what does that mean? Where do you start? What is homework? Does creating character biographies seem like guesswork? Do you say your lines a million times in your room hoping for magic to pop out? If so, I urge you to read and reread Inner Drives. Use it like a workbook and watch what starts coming out. Centering your characters using the Chakras will open up a whole new creative world you did not know existed.
If you're a screenwriter who's stuck staring at a blank page, take some time out and start reading Inner Drives. Soak up the Chakras centres, swim in the duality of Sliding Scales, and play with the Pairs of Centres. Feed your imagination to find out what motivates your characters and how you need to test them. Pamela Jaye Smith gives you a map to find the hidden treasures in your storytelling. Mythological archytypes resonate deep within the human chord allowing rich characters, both flawed and fantastic, to show up on the page.

Sean O'Brian,
Actor, Screenwriter
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1694574/

And I thought I knew about acting. You know nothing until you apply this book. You can forget the first two chapters. Go back and read them later for a "wow" crash course in philosophy. Just accept that the chakra system works as viable structure (and how) start at chapter three and apply to your craft. Ms. Smith knows her stuff. I get so excited with this stuff.

So many books on the acting craft never get down to the fact that you are an actor helping tell a story; a story that you tell with other people onstage and offstage. This book will show you you where you fit in to the ensemble and what you need to do so your character is true to life. Like Michael Shurtleff's "Audition," it takes a subjective art form, acting, and makes it objective. You get to view your work from outside yourself, and where to apply everything else you have learned. Not until now have I found anything that helped me do that. I have tried Inner Drives and am having a blast. You will be making choices that people will want to see and keep coming back to you for more. You will never read or act a script the same way again.

Plus, it's a damn good read about movies.

I don't understand why the consensus rating is 5/5. I found this book extremely wordy and it reads like a history book. If you want dozens of pages on the historical aspects of (insert your favorite chakra here), then this book is for you. If you want to see the same movies quoted and re-quoted over and over as examples of (insert your favorite chakra here), then this book is for you. If your idea of fun is combing through over one hundred pages dripping with hippy-isms looking for the "meat" you can use, then this book is for you. However, if you want a book that gives you a fair amount of background on a subject, fresh movie examples, and then leaves you with concrete ideas and examples of how to leverage the content matter to improve your characters and stories, then this book is not for you.

Notice how many times I repeat "this book is for you" and you'll get the idea of how this books reads. I am disappointed, especially given the 5/5 rating. It's more a 2/5 in my opinion, I got almost nothing useful out of it.

Wow. This is a great screenwriting book -- but it's so much more. Not only does it give you a better understanding of character, but it gives you a better understanding of human nature!

Pamela Jaye Smith has written one of the most intelligent, thought-provoking, and in-depth explanations and explorations on the key motivational centers of human beings. You won't ust learn how to build better characters, you'll discover how to develop your own character. No kidding. This is not just a manual for better writing -- it's a manual for better living!

Buy it. Devour it. Apply it. And read it again...and again...

Lifeboat Sailors by Dennis Noble, a retired Coast Guard Senior Chief, is reading life as it is in the Coast Guard's world of Search and Rescue. I was stationed in Port Angeles for over 10 years and visited the Small boat Stations he talks about. As an Enlisted man with over 15 years, I have many friends at those stations and Dr. Noble tells it like it is. Of course this book was written pre-911 but still with all the growth for the Coast Guard and larger focus on Homeland Security, the Small Boat stations have had little change or given any more assets, but definitely have more patrol requirements. Dr. Noble's ideas and problems still remain. Search and Rescue has again taken back seat, this time to Homeland Security instead of Law Enforcement of the 80's. His prologue and epilogue tell the story of the tragic events of February 12 of 1997, when the 44 foot Motor Life Boat 44363 rolled and lost 3 of its four person crew. Dr. Noble happened to be a Station Quillayute River that night and provides us a first hand account of the events. It is a sobering tale surrounding his plight of the Lifeboat sailors in this excellent book. A must for Coasties new and old.

I was stationed at Station Willapa Bay , Washington from 1974 to 1977. The first time out on a 44ft MLB we had 25ft breakers to play with. What a ride. Spent time at the MLB School at Cape Disappoinment. Had the time of my life with the small boats.

Great book. A must read if you what to know about the Coast Guard search and rescue. All of Dennis books are great..........

This book offered a rare and informative insight into the world of US Coast Guard lifeboat stations and the sailors that man them. It gave great first hand insights into the day to day operations of a lifeboat station and a very informative history of the stations from the early days of the lifesaving service to the modern lifeboat station. A great read and a must for anyone in or wanting to be in the US Coast Guard!!!!!!

I was very impressed at this very well written book. Mr. Noble is retired from the Coast Guard and is very knowledgeable about the traditions and history of the finest life saving service in the world.

Mr. Noble is able to show both sides, good and bad, of the Coast Guard small boat stations.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Coast Guard history as well as someone wanting to join the Coast Guard.

Although the book was a nice, easy read, I was involved to the point where I couldn't put it down and wanted to know more about the Coast Guard. These men and women of the small lifeboat stations are true heroes. Thanks to Dennis Noble for telling their history and story. I was inspired so much by the desire to become a part of such an amazing tradition and responsibility that I visited my Coast Guard recruiter to join.

This cookbook has some really great recipes. My new daughter-in-law is from California, and I am making a big hit finding recipes she is used to that appeal to our whole family, as well.

I bought this because I wore out my old copy that I was given when I worked selling the Times door to door in my teens. I was able to check it out at the library from time to time but then it disappeared. What a relief to find it on [...]. I couldn't wait to get to those favorite recipes again! Some of them were so great I had them memorized like the recipe for turkey that I've used every Thanksgiving for the last twenty years, gaining the reputation of having the juciest turkey anyone's ever tasted. I love that some of the recipes came from famous restaurants or even celebrities. My family can now enjoy their old favorites again that I stopped making when my original cookbook fell apart and was lost.

As a mother of four daughters, I would call this a legacy cookbook. My personal favorites are the Ribs Diablo (to die for...sweet and just a little spicy), banana bread recipe, Chicken Dijonnaise...I could go on and on.) I have found copies of this at Orange County swap meets occasionally, and have given them all away. If you have a chance to get a copy of this cookbook, snatch it up. Nothing I have tried in this cookbook has ever been a disappointment.

I use the California Cookbook at least once a month, mostly for recipes that are a little too West Coast-centric for Joy and the other oldies, but too old-fashioned or boring for Epicurious. Browsing through this collection of 650+ recipes from the paper's archives, it doesn't take long to stumble across dishes from one-time celebrities -- Mahalia Jackson, Lawrence Welk, Polly Bergen -- and popular restaurants of yore. (Remember The Velvet Turtle? The Hungry Tiger?) Each recipe has a little piece of marginalia that introduces its source, adding a bit of backstory and flair

A friend gave me this cookbook and it quickly became the source of some family favorites. I lost all of my cookbooks in a house fire in 2002 and this was the one cookbook I missed the most. My family LOVED the Lasagna pg.167 and the Chicken Enchiladas pg.215 and no one was happy with any other recipe I tried. I've already received the replacement I found on Amazon.com and I'm thrilled. For only 85 cents plus shipping my family and I are celebrating!

This book successfully captures the unique nature of the man, Tony Mazzocchi, a tireless crusader, organizer with a mission. Leopold should be applauded for writing in such an engaging manner, and for successfully portraying a man with such vision that some have likened him to Thomas Jefferson in regards to his impact on the shape of the country today. His short-sighted contemporaries in labor should take note.

The Man Who Hated Work and Loved Labor, The Life and Times of Tony Mazzocchi manages to combine, in extremely readable text and organization, a history of the labor movement -- and related social and political conditions -- for much of the 20th century and into the 21st. With a sense of humor, Leopold conveys Mazzocchi's own charisma and inspiration.

A lively and engaging portrait of a labor organizer and activist, "The Man Who Hated Work and Loved Labor" is an inspirational story and object lesson of how much effect one committed person can have in bringing together coalitions for progressive change. From his fight to regulate health and safety issues to linking labor to environmental concerns and civil rights, Tony Mazzocchi was a tireless crusader for those struggling against corporate greed and corruption. This is a truly fascinating historical account of one of labor's foremost champions.

Well written and inspirational. Tony Mazzocchi recognized the natural alliance between the labor and environmental movements, and that the labor movement will only be successful when it takes an expansive role in society. He rejected the short-sighted and narrow views of many of his contemporaries.

Andrew Lewinter
Labor Lawyer, Eugene, Oregon

Blend insights into a CIA-connected labor union, an assassination attempt, and espionage and you have the story of one Tony Mazzocchi, a labor leader whose struggles to reveal toxic exposure of thousands of workers led to a fight that resulted in passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Any college-level holding strong in labor relations history or health issues in the workplace needs this survey of an early safety advocate.

The first chapter hooked me, and I didn't want to put it down! All the readers on my Christmas list will be getting a copy of'A Moving Target.' Looking forward to this author's next book!

I read this book on a cross country flight and finished it. I usually don't finish books that fast but this one moved so quickly I couldn't believe I had read 292 pages. Starr's use of technology was seamlessly woven into the story without slowing down the pacing. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Glenn in Orange County California

Picked the book due to the name of the author, one that we share.
Was a good choice. Fast action, no boring details like some philosophical or scientific over explanations, does leave you wanting more, a pleasure to read, and keeps you guessing until the end.
I am looking forward to David Starr's next book.

A friend of mine suggested I pick up this book. Never heard of the author, but was pleasantly surprised by the plot and different twists. I thought it had a little Koontz flair to it as well - a light touch of humor along with some imagination along the way.

The challenges and decisions made by Nick, the main character, are both realistic and intriguing. First chapter grabs you and keeps you glued until you find out the answers.

My son of fifteen also grabbed and surprisingly enjoyed it. He couldn't put it down. He doesn't read much either. I don't know if this guy has more books out but haven't found anything else. I'd love to read more...

Took this book on the plane, recommended by a friend. Couldn't put it down!!! The first chapter grabs you and then you are hooked. I hardly minded that my flight was delayed - Hope there are more books to come from this author!!