Independent Books

Having loved the characters in Patricia Scanlan's CITY GIRL, I was anxious to continue their adventures with CITY WOMAN. This is one sequel that does not disappoint and continues to pull at your heartstrings as the resourceful Devlin, the insecure Caroline, and the fun-loving Maggie move through their 20's and encounter life-altering events.

Devlin continues to build her empire of exclusive health spas while spurning the advances of handsome Luke Reilly. What is Devlin running from and can anyone save her from her own inner agonies? Will she be able to stand tall when her past life hits the tabloids?

Caroline comes to grips with her failed marriage and embarks on a whole new life in romantic Abu Dhabi, but will she need her crutch of alcohol to sustain the good times? Can she come to terms with Richard's new life and create one for herself?

Maggie reaches the height of popularity with her astounding new writing career while her marriage suffers from infidelity and thoughtless acts. Will she resolve her problems with Terry or opt for the carefree life with Adam who offers her the emotional support she so desperately craves?

Whatever decisions these Irish girls make, you will be with them from Dublin to London and beyond as they face life's twists and turns and get by with a lot of help from their friends.

Ultimately, the "war on terror" is not about democrat vs. republican dichotomies. No such dichotomy exists in that both generally favor the current policy and only differ in degree. What is reall at stake is freedom and how it suffers in time of war. Mr. Vidal's cutting wit and biting sarcasm will help you to laugh nervously thinking about what our country has lost and the direction it may be headed. It is a sobering yet entertaining forum of like-minded thinkers on the topic of where this war may be leading us. It is important that all Americans educate themselves in these matters or risk losing what we fought so hard to win. In this concise selection of thoughts on the topic, you will find a good start. At times it may make you angry, but it will also make you think.

Baby Boomers still have worries about their own adult children, they help take care of grandchildren, and now they must face up to the aging of their parents. Boomers can feel like triple-generation-parents even as they age into retirement themselves. Boomers need help! The Unexpected Caregiver: How Boomers Can Keep Mom & Dad Active, Safe and Independent has arrived at just the right time. Read it quickly, searching for advice that matches your particular issues and questions, or read it through slowly grasping the all-important frame of mind and ideas for maintaining a sense of independence by older parents - either way is helpful.

Kari Berit tells it like it is; with humor, respect and wisdom. She is savvy about family challenges that can arise in the care of aging parents and is a fountain of knowledge about creative activities that work. She uses many practical lessons for the seasoned caregiver as well as for the newcomer to the possibility of parenting one's parents. For example, there are several sections on healthy activities include up-to-date material on scrapbooking, mentoring, traveling and writing family histories. The four chapters on end-of-life issues are written with great sensitivity for spiritual issues and with a sense of reality about the different expectations, often unspoken, among family members.

The Unexpected Caregiver: How Boomers Can Keep Mom & Dad Active, Safe and Independent tackles head on what is perhaps the most important yet misunderstood dimension of taking on a caregiving role with ones parents - enabling aging parents to retain a sense of control over their own lives. As need for assistance grows with age, finding ways to keep one's parents in the loop of influence and bi-directional support increasingly calls for resourceful decisions about how to relate to one's parents and to others who provide care and support for your parents. The Unexpected Caregiver has inventive suggestions for how to make that happen.

Not only is The Unexpected Caregiver a helpful guide providing important and workable steps for making a difference in the lives of aging parents, but it is also an emotionally upbeat gift for Boomers. It can reduce Boomer's anxieties over how to handle this new, perhaps unexpected experience of caregiving for their parents. Because of that, Boomers will appreciate any person who hands them a copy of The Unexpected Caregiver to read. It is an especially valuable gift when provided by family members, financial planners, insurance companies, retirement centers... the list goes on.

Bruce B. Roberts, Ph.D.,
Professor Emeritus of Psychology, St. Olaf College
Co-author, I Remember When: Activity Ideas to Help People Reminisce

This is a book by a brilliant author, black in a system of racism/white supremacy, born into the worst racist decades of our country, so he profoundly figured out how to think/behave/feel logically to counter the racist code.

At first I didn't understand the way he meant many statements in the book, such as that whites are smarter than blacks. But that statement is not about general intelligence, of course -- he means that whites are 'smarter' about racism, since they practice it.

At first I didn't understand so much of what he says. And I felt defensive as a white person. My understanding has come like violets come in the spring, growing roots in my subconscious then appearing to me suddenly in flashes of understanding and insight. There is a depth that has kept me reading the book and studying it. There is a need for white people to put equal effort into writing about how we can end racism/white supremacy for good, many voices needed to join those of Tim Wise and other committed authors.

Mr. Fuller gives an antidote to and ways to cope with the victimhood of racism. Because non-whites are victims of white supremacy, he is saying, don't just accept victimhood. He maps out how to counter racism and white supremacy in all areas of activity.

When white people harm non-white people, the wrongdoers -- the white people -- must undo that harm. Justice requires that the wrongdoer make amends. In this book, without waiting for white people to end white supremacy/racism, Mr. Fuller outlines steps that victims of racism can take to decode the language and actions of white supremacy and not to further fall victim to it by their own response.

Mr. Fuller helps people see that following the logic, and following one's gut, about racism/white supremacy, go a long way in understanding why things happen.

The problems blacks face today are the result of the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, global white supremacy, etc. No white person can call himself anti-racist unless he analyzes every part of his life and behavior to understand how he might be supporting the global system of white supremacy.

Mr. Fuller has analyzed what black people can do in every part of their lives and behaviors, to counter the system, to use codification to logically counter white supremacy's code.

His mind, his commitment, are honest, are brilliant, and every white person who is not putting in equal commitment should be ashamed that he/she is not working as hard as this author to end completely, white supremacy/racim in this global village.

Mr. Fuller says, "I'm still learning." I'm still learning too, as a white person, and will write a better review the more I learn.

I don't agree with all of his ideas. He welcomes questioning and disagreement, unlike some people who demand followers without disagreement, like some leaders in our country right now. He doesn't expect anyone to agree with all of his ideas, that's why he uses the word "independent" in the title.

This logical mind lends itself to help us, both black and white. Returning help for hurt is the legacy of black people in this world. Mr. Fuller selflessly contributes help for hurt, adds to understanding, and he also helps people on a personal individual level, as many can attest.

This is a page-turner! A big city cop returns to his roots in the Texas Panhandle and winds up as the top law enforcement officer in the county. There are murders galore, romance and ........One Eye. If you've never owned a one-eyed dog you just may want to after reading Up From The Past - be careful what he eats, though - you'll know what I mean after just a few pages. Anyway, I won't give away the plot but, trust me, you're going to be surprised at the twists and turns as one strange death follows another and, the ending is as strange as it gets.
Through all this the authors paints a vivid picture of small town life withs its sexy diner waitress, love under the elms, and the usual (and unusual) characters you would expect to find. Texas Panhandle history is woven into this novel as well as an unnerving blizzard which, evidently, is not an uncommon occurance in this part of the world.
All in all, this is a novel I highly recommend and, btw, you won't forget One Eye.

This book lays out in some detail the contributions of early amateur astonomers. This book is an excellent source for information on a very interesting subject that almost every can enjoy because of its shear excitment. It is like the gold rush in America where everyone made an attempt at fame. This book digs deep aiming at the bottom of the iceberg where often most research looks only at the tip of the iceberg. You come to understand exactly the situation faced by "earlier eyes". It is a wonderful book on a subject that draws you closer by its clear presentation and well defined thought. It is a true testament to a modern genius and rennassiance man...

Enjoy!!

An outstanding analysis of a little-known businessman instrumental in the sporting goods industry. Hamilton effectively shows how Lannom built Worth into a leader among baseball and softball manufacturers. Well-researched and lively.

Julia Annas has produced a remarkable volume intended as a reader for introductory ancient philosophy classes. I'm using it in my class right now, and I'm finding it to be exactly what I was looking for.

An upper level ancient philosophy course should be more directed toward examining the whole of a philosopher's thought, and reading longer works in context with the entire philosopher's outlook is ideal in that environment. In an introductory course, however, students are taking philosophy for the first time, and the ancient philosophers are merely a means to learning philosophy for the first time. Focusing on issues is thus more important than getting the whole of a philosopher's thought down in every way.

This book presents six topics, with ancient philosophers' writings on the topics organized as a conversation. In any given topic, you usually find Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, and Epicurus, with some representation by the pre-Socratics, the Sophists, the Skeptics, the Neo-Platonists, and even Augustine and Boethius to round out topics not discussed as much by the ancients. You also will find those whose work is not widely recognized as philosophy but has a bearing on philosophy, including Homer, the Hippocratic school, an excerpt from one of the Maccabean books, and a short snippet of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. The most prominent ancient Greek and Roman philosophers dominate, however, since this book is about them.

The six topics are (1) Fate and Freedom (which includes divine foreknowledge and the fixity of the future), (2) Reason and Emotion, (3) Knowledge, Belief, and Skepticism (including relativism), (4) Metaphysical Questions (including paradoxes, the Forms, cause/explanation, and time), (5) How Should You Live?, and (6) Society and the State.

Annas comments after the readings, sometimes on a few readings at once and sometimes on each reading. Her comments are suggestive of possible interpretations of difficult texts and potential criticisms of arguments, and often they simply pull together themes throughout the works of a philosopher or throughout the unit among different philosophers. Most of the time they're helpful to introductory students without simply summarizing the readings and allowing them not to read the text itself. Much in the comments is for further thought, though some is just to bring out things that may not be clear.

As with any project like this, one might make different choices about which topics and readings to include and what to say in the comments, but Annas is one of the most prominent scholars of ancient philosophy today, and reading what she considers to be the most important material for an introductory course in ancient philosophy is certainly going to give someone a good understanding of what there is, even if another expert might have preferred other things included instead or in addition.

Overall, I highly recommend this book for those first approaching ancient philosophy, and I consider it an excellent textbook for an intro ancient philosophy course. I'm glad she put this together.

This book concisely yet completely covers most of the more confusing topics I was unclear on when I decided to become an independant contractor. In particular, the book excels in describing the various types of corporations a contractor can incorporate as, their benefits and pitfalls, and related tax information. The best part of the book IMHO is the thorough treatment it gives to actual contracts and what specific clauses mean, what to watch out for, and how to write your own contract. Excellent examples are given for many professions. In summary, this book is the best collection, in one volume, that I have seen to date on these topics.

This book will take you step by step through everything you need to know and do in order to fight alongside the KNLA guerrillas in Burma.
What to bring. Where to stay. How to carry yourself.
The author has been in over eleven wars and 70 countries, and knows his way around a battlefield.
He can get you out onto the front lines, but from there it's up to you.
So, if you ever wanted to find out what you were made of, or just want to get involved in a good cause, then this book is for you.
Or you could just continue to read Soldier of Fortune magazine on the toilet.