F Books

This book is a keeper. I could not put it down!!! My friends have all wanted to borrow it and I have had a hard time getting it back from them. This book is easy to follow and easy to look up the different signs and they're compatibility with other signs. It's the "Linda Goodman's" Love signs for this millenium. Yes this is an astrology book, yet there is good deal of honest psychological advice to help deal with relationship issues that may appear in the subjects life. Everyone has some sort of strength or weakness to bring to a relationship, this book brings these issues to light, whithout judgement. This book could possibly help to heal problems that an individual may have had for years with realtionships. I highly recommend it even if the reader knows nothing of astrology.

I had to buy more copies for my friends in order to get my copy back!
A great reference book that's highly respectful for all signs. Learning about myself can sometimes be challenging yet Phyllis makes it rewarding and something I want to share. Give it to all your friends and relatives, especially the ones you want to relate with better.

The prose style of this book is a delight - natural, contemporary, alive. The information is actually more subtle than it may appear on the surface. Not many astrology books step so frankly and easily into the bedroom, nor are they nearly as clear about how we interact there. There's a joyousness and zest for life underlying all the author writes that makes you want to read the next page, and leaves you feeling good about yourself and your partner.

I brought this book home and my husband and I started reading it together. We found the information very insightful and frankly, right on. We enjoyed giggling at the truths and liked how it opened up an opportunity for us to talk about our relationship. Phyllis is a gifted writer, whose style makes you feel like your hanging out with an old friend. I highly recommend it for anyone in a relationship, or anyone wanting to find a new one.

This is a fun, playful, and insightful book. It gave me a better understanding of relationships and intimacy. It's great for people who already have a significant relationship as well as those who are looking for one. It will spice up your life!

I bought this volume of stories simply to get a copy of Fitzgerald's "May Day" which I'd read in one of my college texts and then could not find for years. I have always felt that "May Day" would make a superb film--and the screenwriter could lift most of the dialogue right out of the story. It is that good and simple and dramatic. Actually every one of the stories in this collection is first rate. Here is Fitzgerald, only in his 20's, writing of American aspirations before, during and after World War I. And no one wrote about this subject better than he did. The characters are rich and complex, all of them dissatisfied with the bones that life has thrown them, all of them desiring what others have. The reader sees their foibles and loves them anyway. These are not perfect people. They are real people in a time of trouble--fighting, most of them, simply to stay afloat in a world changing faster than anyone would have thought possible. I cannot recommend these brilliant stories highly enough. There is also a brief life and appreciation of Fitzgerald in this lovely Scribner edition.

The literary voice of the ninteen-twenties' "Jazz Age," F. Scott Fitzgerald was out of step with the grimmer thirties. Facing his wife's insanity, increasing alcoholism, and his own obsolesence as a writer, the stories collected here show Fitzgerald facing his demons in bracingly honest prose. If "Crazy Sunday" and the other tales of the adventures of Pat Hobby, down-and-out screenwriter, feel a bit like autobiographical wallow, and "Family In The Wind," about a doctor in the midst of a country tornado, is an interesting if uncharacteristic journey into Steinbeck country, it's the title story of the collection that's worth the price of admission.
Charlie Wales is an ex-broker, returned to Paris after all the good times have gone, with only the goal of regaining custody of his daughter after the death of his wife. A thinly veiled take on Fitzgerald's own troubled relations with daughter Scottie after wife Zelda's madness, it's at once a suspenseful, moving, and lyrical story. All his powers are at work here, as if he knew this was his last shot at literary immortality, and he was just about right.

The Book of Revelations in the New Testament is the most likely source from which F. Scott Fitzgerald draws his "Babylon Revisited". In Revelations, Babylon the Great (also an ancient Near Eastern city of materialism and sexual excess) is the `mother of whores' and the source of all evil in the Roman Empire. She is said to have been defeated by God and judged for her excessive sin. Upon her destruction, the saints rejoice while the merchants and hedonistic pleasure seekers morn. Symbolism abounds in this revision of the timeless tale and the choice of Fitzgerald's title could not be more appropriate.

Charlie himself is the regeneration of Babylon. During the economic boom of the 20's, Charlie and his wife lived life to its fullest and most shallow degree. They partied until sunup. They squandered wealth. We even get the impression that there was a significant amount of infidelity existing on both sides. As with Babylon, Charlie is punished: The stock market crash in 1929 liberates him of a fortune, "his child [is] taken from his control, [and] his wife escaped to a grave in Vermont."

As with Babylon, Charlie's fall had its rejoicers and mourners. Marion, his wife's bereaved sister, saw Charlie's fall as an opportunity to gain control of his child, and with sincere intentions rid her family of the sinner. Though she doesn't expressly rejoice in her brother-in-laws demise, she does blame him for her sister's death and understands why his life has turned out askew. Duncan and Lorraine, on the other hand, mourned the loss of their sinister partner in indulgence.

This story is complete with all of the historic reference and symbolism that has come to define F. Scott Fitzgerald. What a fantastic, unbelievably creative writer. It's amazing how timeless his writings are, and "Babylon Revisited" is the perfect example of that fact. It really makes you think about your own life.

The king of the 1920's Lit World wrote short stories for big money in Scribner's Magazine, Collier's, Esquire, and Saturday Evening Post. His first novel made him famous, This Side of Paradise, but his subsequent novels including The Great Gatsby sold meagerly. Zelda and Scott went through dough like drunken sailors, so Scott wrote short stories for a quick buck. This group of stories is among his best and though some or all were written commercially, Scott's talent was so huge that they rival his chief competitor's: Hemingway, Parker, Anderson, and Larder in charm and precision.

Above all, Fitzgerald is charming. The drunken rich boys of May Day are close to the authors experience and poignantly revealing. Scott was the son of a failed businessman. His mother's family was well to do and Scott associated with rich beauties that seemed always just beyond a snow covered golf course as in Winter Dreams. His experience with his future wife, Zelda Sear, an Alabama debutante is cloaked in fantasy in Ice Palace. Surely newlyweds are surprised to find they have married strangers. In that there is no secret, but Fitzgerald gives his bride a hysterical nightmare in a St Paul carnival ice maze. The reader loves Sally Carrol and is genuinely caught up in her dilemma of Minnesota in-laws and a suddenly stern husband.

Fitzgerald was a dreamer and The Diamond As Big As the Ritz is a parable about a family so rich, and so self-centered in their luxuries, they murder their guests less the secret of the their wealth be known. In an era where a million dollars could buy a country, Fitzgerald's fascination with success and the rich permeates his work.

F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of our greatest writers. He is best known today for his many wonderful novels, especially The Great Gatsby. As time has passed, his marvelous magazine stories have faded from sight . . . even though those were more widely read than his novels when they were written.

In Babylon Revisited: And Other Stories you will deepen your understanding of the novels . . . and of their author in these often semi-autobiographical tales. The best stories have as much impact as any of the novels in a spare exposition that adds to their power.

Each story deals with the same general theme: We live on hope which is based on illusions about reality. When faced with reality, we happily escape into new hopes based on different illusions. We are sort of like Peter Pan: We don't want to grow up.

The theme comes across with startling persuasiveness as Fitzgerald unpeels the many forms of hopeful illusions that will seem familiar to every reader.

The stories build chronologically across the backdrop of the United States after World War I in the 20's and 30's. That shift in authorship times also inadvertently adds the drama of seeing how the psychology of the young and educated changed as American went from mindless boom to seemingly unending bust.

Fitzgerald has a rich imagination to makes his world open up for readers so that you can feel both the physical sensations and the emotions of the characters . . . and become the characters while you are reading.

The stories themselves have that delightful quality of exaggeration that makes his points indelible.

The Ice Palace explores a Southern beauty's pursuit of an advantageous marriage in the frozen tundra of Minnesota in winter. May Day recounts the pursuit of pleasure and accomplishment by those of various social classes and beliefs. The Diamond as Big as the Ritz is a wild tale of a mythical place and the consequences of unlimited wealth. Winter Dreams deals with the painful consequences of acting on the illusions of romantic love. Absolution is an amazing story about how we can carelessly end up being untrue to God and ourselves. The Rich Boy considers how being rich and powerful can get in the way of being close to others. The Freshest Boy looks at being an awkward teenage boy and how he came to make peace with the world. Babylon Revisited shows how our mistakes can come home to roost after we believe we are invulnerable. Crazy Sunday is an astonishing look at the psychology of how we connect to one another through others. The Long Way Out is about a woman who suffers from a mental collapse and is now ready to return to her husband . . . when fate steps in.

My favorite stories in the book are May Day, The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, The Freshest Boy, Babylon Revisited and Crazy Sunday.

If you haven't read these stories before, you have a great treat ahead of you. If you can find a copy of George Guidall's narration for Recorded Books, your pleasure will be even greater.

This is the diary of a woman's journey through 15 years of marriage and subsequent divorce. They met in a Christian Bible college and at the age of 21 were married. Her story is one of being the obedient wife in a fundamentalist religious household. That meant giving up her rights to independence, any free time to pursue her interests, and any space to allow her personal growth. It is a story about how the simple words "I do" can result in the loss of a huge portion of one's adult life, if made to the wrong person. For Rebecca these years were filled with committment, heartache, despair, and pain. They started on the night of her honeymoon and lasted many years after the marriage was over. It is the story of how the quest to find yourself under these circumstances is a long and dangerous one. And it is the story of the courageous journey of one woman who refused to give up on herself under all odds.

Rebecca, I love your extraordinary writing and am moved beyond words by your testimony. To confess so much, to bare your soul to the world as you have done, is an act of courage that no one else I know personally possesses. Thank you for sharing your journal and your difficult, heart-breaking lessons to us all.

It is almost unbelievable how much emotion and turbulence you have been carrying, and the "Looking Back" epilogue was a relief for me to reach. Life always presents challenges - this is why we keep living, after all! - but wisdom and grace (as yours) will prevail.

You told your story with piercing beauty yet truth. Where did you summon the idea to organize the book as you have: snapshots from the marriage, separation, divorce and recovery; arranged in non-chronological but meaningful order like poetry? How lovingly you wrote about your ex-husband, yet how understandably you explained your bewilderment, the affairs, and finally the resolution.

Your life has been a difficult, exacting teacher. The readers of your book will be grateful, loving students!

Rebecca, thank you for sharing a difficult and painful period of your life. By offering something so personal, you will help many who are struggling within relationships and need to know they are not alone in not understanding why "it" is not working. Your resilience and determination to persevere and learn from your relationships is to be commended. I applaud your honesty with subjects that many would declare off limits, particularly in the world of evangelical churches. Many people will benefit from reading about your process and seeing that there can be a "happy ending".

Rebecca Carroll's candid and moving memoir shows how painfully difficult it can be to find a resolution when love proves to be not enough to sustain a marriage. Not willing to suffer forever in a relationship that lacked true intimacy, Rebecca was also not able to tear herself away easily from the commitment she had made to her husband.

This book will be helpful to someone trying to decide whether to stay or go, or trying to cope with the long recovery time of disentangling oneself from a formerly wholehearted relationship. And it will be of interest to anyone critical of the emotional damage inflicted by some fundamentalist religions.

Some will find it a profound mirror for their own doubts, fears and conflicted longings.

This is daringly honest story of marriage and divorce. Sensually written, it was joyful learning of Rebecca's discovery of fulfillment. Enthralling book.

My husband and I have listened to Baxter for years and I resently purchased a book and a CD for his birthday .The order was easy to get thru Amazon , the price was good and the merchandise was delivered on time. Thanks Amazon, Jean

My son in-law LOVES this book. It was a gift to him from myself and my husband. He can't get enough of this author and absolutely LOVES these books.

A few years ago I awoke to National Public Radio's Morning Edition and to the voice of some easy going, homespun cowboy reading a poem that had me in stitches by the third verse. As I read "Cactus Trails..." I could hear Black's easy voice utter each word. While his departure from veterinary medicine is a loss to that community, it is a clear gain for easy going, common sense, sanity seeking people caught in the cross hairs of our cell phone, pager, eEVERYTHING society. Thanks to Baxter Black's commentary and writings we have an excuse to slow down a bit each day and get in touch with the basics. Will Rogers would love this guy!

Back to basics, the way life IS in America, without all of the Political poles, lies, and propiganda as spread by the media. should be classed as "Must Read"

My husband can't put this book down! Baxter Black's clean and side-splitting "talk" is entertaining for all audiences. My mother, my husband, and my best friend have all loved this book.

Wow, I just finished Skip Atwater's book and I must say it was an incredible read about a remarkable time in our nation's history. The evolution of the program which utlimately became known as 'Stargate' is an incredible journey. One that wouldn't let me put the book down.

I recently had the pleasure to see Skip speak recently about his work on HemiSync technology and was very impressed with his scientific approach towards the subject. He is an incredible speaker as well and is an intriguing individual.

His book showed to me the other side of Skip, one that places trust in 'guidance' that we recieve throughout our lives, leading us ever closer to our destinies. It was truly a great read, and I have taken his message to heart, to live my life through guidance knowing that the path we seek will utlimately materialize because guidance is always with us.

This perceptive man who had all kinds of "coincidences" since youth, can teach us alot about life in other dimensions while still in this physical body, government involvement in early "psychic" programs like STARGATE that Skip was involved in working closely with Stanford Research International and the prime scientists there on the subject. And what an interesting, down to earth description of all the things he went thru being in that "whacko" group in the military. And then learn about his intense sought-out involvement with the private Monroe Institute after military retirement. He gives us clear guidelines of how to gear up our perception so that we can engage BOTH parts of our brain, not just one, analytical, side, and participate in this exciting adventure of flying thru the dimensional universe AND ACTUALLY PARTICIPATING IN what all-encompassing life is all about!! It's nice to see "macho" guys interested in this "soft" stuff and guiding us into the new age of exploration, tolerance, and opening us up to the possibilities to "save our current world by saving ourselves from ignorance", etc. Just the greatest book for a balance of all that is hopeful in the world here today!! Even has a cd-rom included containing, amongst several other exciting things, the original audio recording (with transcript) of the remote viewing of Mars performed by his friend, Joe McMoneagle, remote viewer 001!!! Most importantly, his spiritual connection with the Oneness in the Universe is fabulous!! Even working with loved ones: (p.197): "I had come to know thru out-of-body experience and spiritual insight that what we call DEATH is but a transition from one realm to another. I see birth and death as doorways. . . So I see death not as a tragedy but as a welcome release from the confines of the physical body. Nonetheless, a few days after my sister's death, I sensed a whisper of soft-spoken authority from within. It was a call to action, understated but of profound, compelling strength. I was told to use the skills that I had mastered in the Lifelife program at the Institute to help my sister." What a great book, with a fitting title!!

I just finished reading Captain of My Ship, Master of My Soul. It is a wonderful book. But the facts behind the story are mind bending. I had the great opportunity to attend a forum last fall in Fort Collins, Colorado, where Skip was one of the speakers. The forum, four days long with numerous presentations, was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and Skip, one of the speakers, was one of the very best. I bought his book at this event and obtained his autograph, imagine my surprise when I opened the book for the first time three days ago (6 months after the forum) and found a personal observation about me along with the autograph. This only enhances my perception that Skip is a warm and friendly individual besides having unusual abilities and way above normal intellect.

This charachter trait also comes through in this book which details his extraordinary experiences throughout his life, during his army career, including the Stargate program, and with his ongoing work with hemi-sync at the Monroe Institute.

I am deeply interested in all facets of the paranormal/metaphysical and this book is a great source for factual data which is not forthcoming from most other mainstream scientific sources. Skip is one of the few exceptions. I found the data regarding remote viewing exceptional but my interest is really geared to an interest in hemi-sync and what the potentials are for me to utilize this program in a search for spirtual growth, for a deeper understanding of the levels of consciousness, and potentially an awareness of the other realms of the universe. If you too are looking for these opportunites, you will start finding some answers in this excellent book.

F. Holmes "Skip" Atwater began the remote-viewing military program that is known as STARGATE. His book, "Captain of My Ship, Master of My Soul" is a really interesting combination of autobiography, remote-viewing training manual, his involvement with Bob Monroe and the Monroe Institute and a presentation of his spiritual belief system based on his out of body experiences.
If you want some detailed instructions on how to do remote-viewing or are just interested in Atwater's spiritual out of body experiences, this book is a must read. I highly recommend it.

This is the incredibly interesting autobiography of Skip Atwater, originator of the U.S. military ESP remote viewing (ESP) program (renamed STARGATE when the program was declassified in 1995).

I usually found my 45-minute daily commute an exhausting, irritating routine, but in reading this book on the subway to and from work, the time flew by, and I wished the commute had been actually longer.

I wish I had read this book before I attended the remote viewing conference in Virginia Beach last Fall at the A.R.E. I would have been more prepared for what I experienced there.

Great book, Skip.

Regards -- The woman who had lunch with your publisher on the veranda at the A.R.E. while all the army helicopters hovered overhead and Ingo Swann did the walk around. !

I really enjoyed reading this book. Although it involves a relationship between two men, the dynamics could very well apply to any relationship. It is very well written. I highly recommend it.

This book is very well written. The characters are rich and their reactions are real. Specializing in psychology, I may be too critical of the characterizations of the mental disorders brought out in ths book. Chemistry is a haunting, sophisticated and satifying work. This is an exceptional book that generates real emotion - it's not to be missed - it makes you want to known what's going to happen to the characters from beginning to end.

Discovering a new excellent writer is one of the joys of reading that reigns at the top of the reasons why we read books. CHEMISTRY is a novel by Lewis DeSimone that is at once intelligent, informed, eloquent, erotic, thought provoking, profound, sensitive - and important. With this his first novel he steps solidly onto the platform of important contemporary American writers. Waiting for his next opus will be haunting.

'Chemistry is about reactions, two elements coming together and creating something new...Everything connected, everything eventually a part of something else. Two elements come together, and neither is ever the same again.' Explaining the title chosen for his novel about love and relationships and the idiosyncrasies of living in the universe comes as novel's close, an epitaph of sorts to DeSimone's story of two men coming together coincidentally in a happenstance that seems so random and developing an acknowledgement of a chemistry that binds them into a journey in which each discovers not only the nature of the other, but also the nature of themselves.

Neal is a young artistic male who moves from Boston to San Francisco when his love for a bisexual cellist named Adam comes to an end. His sole contact is Martin, an older, wiser man whose sister was a close friend to Neal in Boston. Martin slowly introduces Neal to the beauties of San Francisco including a handsome twenty-seven year old Zach who spills joy and dancing from his apparent open earthiness. Neal is cautious but gradually is enchanted by the physicality of Zach and they bond. But as they approach longevity changes occur in Zach's personality and mental illness clouds their world. Zach attempts suicide and is admitted to a mental hospital: Neal is ever supportive, living between the crevices of Zach's psyclothymic personality. Martin supportive, urging Neal to care for himself, but Martin has dark secrets of an agonized past he doesn't easily share. Many events occur including one that contains the HIV specter, and Neal's role as caretaker for Zach's damaged soul gradually mutates. 'Words gave everything shape - a framework without which it would all be a hopeless jumble, untranslatable.'

As Neal confronts his own pains he realizes 'Half-lives are chemistry's clock. You can tell how old something is by how much of it is left'...'But eventually, you run out of half-lives. Eventually there's nothing left.' And coming into contact with his own mortality gives Neal a new outlook, one that is enhanced by light, by music, by memories well sifted, by living.

CHEMISTRY is a love story, one told with some of the finest erotic writing being written today: so rare it is that same-sex novels embrace sensuous moments with such passion yet retain such dignity and eloquence of style. DeSimone writes about music, about literature, about art, about altered mental states - all with such an informed stance that he must be read slowly to gather all the knowledge and beauty of expression he offers. This is not a novel to be read in bits and spurts, but instead a novel to be savored over time...and then look forward to reading again. Welcome to the pantheon, Lewis DeSimone! This is a novel as fine as any novel about gay love as is out there - and it is so much more. It deserves a very wide audience: it is superior writing. Grady Harp, February 07

DeSimone, Lewis. "Chemistry". Harrington Park Press, 2006

Love and Mental Illness

Amos Lassen and Literary Pride

If you like emotion and melodrama this is a book for you. "Chemistry" by Lewis DeSimone is a love story that is bittersweet and lovely. Dealing with attraction and repulsion here is a book that you will not want to close the cover of.
Ask yourself this question, "What happens when the person you love wakes up as a completely different person"? Zach and Neal fell in love at first sight; it was a chemical attraction. Yet the catalyst that set off the romance changes as they become better acquainted. Here is a novel that deals with identity and yet by chemical means that identity can be changed. Set in the time of Prozac and AIDS we meet characters that will haunt us after the covers are closed. The passion of Neal and Zach is torn apart by mental illness; at their first meeting they are inexplicably drawn to one another but as one falls victim to an illness, the other realizes that he must grow and rebuild himself. What hits so hard here is that as we read the book, our own lives come into play and as the characters search for their identity, the reader likewise searches for his. No matter how well you know yourself, "Chemistry" will give you things to think about.
The story of two men desperately trying to find out how to love each other is extremely moving and highly emotional. DeSimone has written in such beautiful language that there were times I felt my heart begin to break as I read the trials of the lovers.
Neal is an intellectual who exerts a great deal of self control. He is the victim of an unhappy past and the idea of a loving relationship is ideal for him. He has met the guy who he thinks is the man of his dreams only to learn that his new lover suffers from a severe mental illness. His involvement into an affair with Zach can bring him to the point of codependence, something that his own controlled personality abhors.
Zach is beautiful, a true free spirit, sexy and sexual. His childhood was unhappy and abusive and his adult life has been an attempt to forget his past. As he descends into clinical depression his life becomes nightmarish for both him and his lover.
When the men meet the chemical attraction is so strong that it is almost explosive. But as time goes by and Zach loses himself in his disease and his problems, it is up to Neal to be the strong one and watch both his lover and his love for him deteriorate. As explained by Neal, "Chemistry is about reactions"...the merging of two elements which come together to create "something new...two elements come together and neither is the same again". When the two elements are two men who are lovers, the experience can be disastrous on both of them.
What first appears to be a novel of everyday romance soon tears at the reader as he watches the two men interact. Here is sensuousness, and eroticism and brutal honesty. The questions that the book poses about the nature of identity and attraction are very real and very hard issues with which to deal, DeSimone does so with tact, style and grace.
And as he does this, he makes us witness to the inner thoughts and feelings of his characters.
The book is disturbing but positively so. I can honestly Say that the identification I felt with the characters was real and that when I finished reading I was very sad that Neal and Zach were no longer a part of my life. I was wrong in that assumption. I finished the book on Tuesday and today is Thursday and they are still with me. I am prone to think they will be with me for a very long time.

Chemistry blew me away. I read a lot of contemporary gay fiction, and I would rank this among my favorites, with Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty, Matthew Stalder's Alan Stein, and Andrew Holleran's In September, the Light Changes. There's a lot to admire technically--the grace of the sentences, the tight thematic structure, the effortless plot. But what's stayed with me the most is the wisdom, the human and humane understanding that reverberates throughout the work. Like the best books, I finished Chemistry feeling that I learned something more about what it means to live, to lose, to desire, to fear, to hope...

I have read numerous books about asthma in children, but this book is by far the best. The information is presented in a clear, understandable way, but is not so simplified as to be unhelpful. The book is full of good tips and pertinent information; it's like spending an hour or two talking with an asthma specialist. The book has what I found to be invaluable information about how to monitor asthma in children who are too young to use peak flow meters. A system called "asthma signs" is used and is a wonderful way to identify problems and monitor asthma in young children.
There is a also a very helpful section on traveling with a child who has asthma.
If I were to recommend only one book on asthma in children, this would be the book.

Last weekend my seven year old son had an asthma attack with no warning, his first ever. Our doctor treated him competently and he is now recovering nicely, but the information we were given -- and all the drugs and instructions -- were a bit overwhelming. My first response was to try to find some good books on asthma in children, and I was lucky enough to find this one. It explains everything you need to know about asthma in easy-to-understand language. I learned many important facts about the biology of asthma, the drugs my son is taking, long-term care and management of asthma, and -- perhaps most importantly -- the questions I should be asking his doctor. The book is well illustrated, including pictures of all the different kinds of inhalers and spacers, how to properly administer different medications, etc. (particularly useful for newcomers to the world of asthma). I also really liked all the information and sample forms showing how to keep an "asthma diary" of your child's symptoms and treatment. The first-person stories of how other parents have dealt with their children's asthma were helpful, especially for putting things into perspective. In summary, this book really helped me to understand what we are facing, and I now feel much better able to deal with it. I have other asthma books on order, but I doubt I'll need them -- it is hard to imagine how any other book on asthma in children could top this one.

Dr. Plaut was coming to a town near me to speak shortly after my daughter was hospitalized for the third time. One of the nurses handed me a flyer and recommended I go hear him. I bought his book before I went. This book was a lifesaver. I first read it nearly 10 years ago (spring 1992) and my daughter has not been hospitalized since! Dr. Plaut gives the average parent the confidence to handle this illness without falling apart and without having to decipher the medical-ese being spoken by the doctors in charge of their child.

This book became my single source for reference about asthma. Till I found this book, I was reading anything and everything that I could find on the net about asthma. My 3 year old had an asthma episode as a result of a viral infection. She has an excellent pediatrician and we chose to care for her at home. I got great comfort in knowing that the things we did intuitively were the recommended things in this book. It helps to have a good doctor. It also helps to have this book as a friend. While I was freaking out that my daughter had asthma, this book helped me calm down cos I realized that it could be worse. My heart goes out to all the children who suffer. If you are a parent of a young child with asthma, read this book. It will help you understand what asthma is all about in plain words and give you an idea of what you can do to make your child's life more comfortable by learning to identify the symptoms and manage your child's asthma better. Make sure you have a good doctor, too!!

I came across Plaut's book in the aftermath of my 9 year old son's first and life threatening asthma episode just 6 weeks ago. Since then my son's condition has been stabilized with some wonderful medical help. But nothing has been better in understanding the disease, the treatment, and the myriad of medications recommended for it, than Tom Plaut's book. It is now my asthma bible. No one affected by asmtha in any way should miss it!

Great book, read it everyday. Us Coasties sometimes forget the basics. Read it well and read it often.

I took this book and showed it to my recruiter and he said that it's weight in gold, and that after I was done reading it I woul be ahead of everybody else.

It teaches about ROTC and the uniforms during your hopefull coast guard career. It also teaches all the necessary tools you need to be in the coast guard.

I am in the Coast Guard myself and when I was in boot camp they even handed out copies of this book to us to learn what we needed to know about the USCG. It covers everything from a brief history to customs and courtesies and to Maritime Law Enforcement. It talks about the different knots we use and how to properly tie the knot. There's history on the USCG's uniforms and the different ships we use to the different jobs that we offer. It's a great book for all and I even find myself at times referring to it whenever I need to know something! So I recommend it for anyone who is entering the Coast Guard, looking to up their seamanship skills or just want a refresher!

I was issued one of these in boot camp back in 79. As a American Legion Commander now, I needed to know how to properly handle a weapon while marching and doing drills. Darn I wish I had of keep it. But I ordered the latest edition and see it is still the great manual it always was and still has the commands and the examples of how to do proper manual of arms.

I grew up in NC and my grandfather was an avid fisherman. I am learning saltwater pier and surf fishing now and I need something to give some basics, and some specifics about this avocation. This book explains so much about things I have seen my entire life and been curious about but didn't think to ask. I am sending a copy to my sister and mother as well. I think anyone that is going fishing along the coast of the Carolinas must get this book!

This book is about where one can coastal fish in the Carolinas and for what kind of species at different times of the year. I found it to be a very useful guide to plan future surf fishing trips. The author does not give a lot of specifics about rigging tackle. I think Eric Burnley's Surf Fishing the Atlantic Coast provides that information a little better. I plan to keep Goldstein's book in my truck when I am in the Carolinas, and I certainly will look to buy future, updated editions.

This book has lots of great information about fishing in the Carolinas. There is good information on different types of fish and locations and techniques for catching them.

It's pretty cool when the author mentions pier owners, bait and tackle owners, etc. by name. This book is really a must read for folks wanting to fish the Carolina coast!

Highly recommended.

If you're like me most fishing books are way too vague. Titles Like "Surf Fishing" or worse "Fishing the Atlanic" try to be a little help to everyone. This book is a lot of help for a few.

The book reads like a conversation with and old fisherman on a pier or in a tackle shop. The author covers all the bases like where to shop, what to buy, how to rig it up, where to go, how to cast, where to cast, how to set the hook, where to put the catch, how to cook it, etc. This is not the modern "magazine article" style of book, it's an old school how to catch fish book.

Something to consider...
The book is mostly text and some basic B/W images and illustrations. You must be prepared to do some reading before you go fishing. This is not a skim fast and go fishing today book.

If you live in the area or plan to visit, it is a great resource.

I'd have to say this is one of my favorite books on fishing and one of the most complete books on fishing a particular area that I've ever read...even right down to information on exactly where to fish for each species. This book is well written, easy to understand, and well suited to anyone trying to learn how to fish (or how to fish better) from surf, jetty, or pier. Highly recommended.

I have just about every kids yoga book out there. This was a great addition to my library however it is way too expensive!?? I am not sure it is worth $40 although it is a great book.

this book is filled with great ideas and tons of yoga info. i also love Jodi...the author!

I just started teaching toddlers and everything in the book works so well. I have learned so much and my kids are having so much fun! This book is very comprehensive. Jody is passionate about her work with kids! She is a real pro and her work with music and movement is a delight!

Although the title put me off at first normally these kind of books are great in their simple concise explanations so I ordered it anyway.

I have to say it's an excellent book, I normally teach adults yoga and am just branching out into teaching children. However I am finding that I can take information from this book to use in beginners adult classes too as its simple, down to earth, no nonsense explanations of yoga make it a lot easier for students (at whatever age) to understand.

An absolute must if you would like to teach yoga to children.

I thought this book was excellent--I'm using it with my four-year-old, who has learned all 5 yanas and is able to recite them. She loves doing the poses and it really changes her mood when she's grumpy. I only wish there were better pictures. Sometimes it is hard to follow the diirections with no pictures.