North America Books

John D. McDermott writes well and knows an amazing amount about the wetsern indian wars. The first part of the book, background material, is hard to top. I learned several things I didn't know from it. The second part, the travel guide, can be helpful because the West if so big that not many people will know about places in every area. But there are a few mistakes in the second part, things like wrong phone numbers and maps and descriptions that might put you in the wrong part of a state. This seems to be from carelessness and not ignorance. The book is certainly worth buying, but if you are set on going to some fort or battlefield you might want to phone ahead for information and also have a good map to be on the safe side.

John McDermott has done a fantastic job with this book. The first half is a wonderful in-depth look at life on the frontier during the 1800s that goes back and forth with comparisons of the living conditions, clothing, social beliefs, etc., of Native Americans and the whites who were moving through/into the West. The second half gives a good overview of sites of historic interest, museums, battlefields and more. The one thing I found frustrating (and I can't think of a good solution McDermott could have employed) is that the "guide" section of the book does include some good history information, too: It seems that these instances were included in the second half of the book to discuss localized events that might have seemed out of place in the more generalized first half of the book.

I was introduced to this book after I had already done quite a bit of reading on the Indian Wars, and I was sorry that I had not found it earlier. It provides alot of basic information in a very readable format. I now keep this book on hand as a reference when I do any other reading on the subject. I had the privilege of meeting John McDermott this summer when he served as historian guide for a tour of the battlefields of the Sioux wars. It must have been very difficult for him to condense his vast knowlege of the Indian wars into this simplified format, but it works very well. I strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the Indian wars, or someone who would just like an introduction into that period of American history.

This is more than just a Guide to Indian Wars, it is a well written and very informative and importent piece of literature for anyone interested in the history of Native Americans.

I live in England so I doubt I will ever see most of the places mentioned in the book, but having read it, my knowledge has been increased, the little "potted" history of Army Life etc really made for interesting reading, a wonderful little book, but a big addition to my library of Native American literature.

This book provides a concise historical perspective of the Indian Wars of the West with the second section providing sites of interest based on geographical location. There is a lot of detail on the different tribes, their geographic locations and differences, their relations with the "whites", lifestyles of Native Americans, lifestyle of the soldiers, weapons of each and a review of literature, movies and TV shows on the West. Reminds me of a lot of Robert Utley mixed in with Paul Hutton's Custer Reader.

The second part organizes points of historical interest geographically and by tribal history detailing what you will see (actual structures or replica and scenery) and a mini biography of the site. This book is a great companion for touring since you can organize what you want to see easily since the sites are organized by states and region. For example, if I were in Colorado, one of my goals would be to see Brent's Fort particularly if I was there during the annual rendezvous. How great to not only see Fort Apache if you are in Arizona but also to be able to detour to Cochise's Stronghold.

I just wish the text had pictures of the tour sites or a portion of them and an index. It's a modest book of 200 pages but a walloping amount of information. It's also a great reference for further reading.

I've got it and you don't! Too bad. It's outta print. I called the publisher and they are not reissuing. Go find it used. It is worth every penny ($85 I paid) if you need or desire to ID gulls.

This book is a must have for every birdwatcher! If you have problems with indentifying gulls, this is the book to have! It anwers all my questions I have about gull distribution and indentification. Now I know how to Indentify those Ring-billed Gulls that I see in the parking lot. Also I have a better outlook on where they came from as Well!

The size and massive detail in this new book on identifying the gulls of the Northern Hemisphere is likely to deter most readers from more than a cursory leafing through its lovely paintings and photographs. But if you're curious to learn more about these common but highly varied, many-shades-of-gray birds around us, and you happen to live in a coastal area as I do, with more than a few gulls that are hard to identify during the winter, this might be a book to look into more thoroughly.

A caution though: gulls can be notoriously difficult to identify accurately, since they have so much finely detailed, age-related plumage variation. But an effort to simply knuckle-down and learn more about all this, such as this book amply provides, can pay off greatly in much greater detective-fun trying to figure out all these heretofore anonymously gray gulls sailing and prowling around us here each year. It's already helped me develop better skills in figuring out nearly all the varied groups of gulls around us here more quickly than I would have heretofore thought possible. And to more quickly decide which birds you can or cannot more accurately identify...and why.

The detailed accounts and maps of the distribution and relative abundance of various gull species have also helped me better understand where the gulls that migrate through or winter in our area are likely to have come from. And, finally, as you delve more deeply into what's known about all these gull species, and their European and Asian counterparts, it becomes obvious that the series of beautiful, comparative paintings and color photographs provided in such detail for each species in its various age-plumages, subspecies, and hybrid-forms is worth the price of the book alone.

Well....maybe not easy....but, not through any fault of this book! The book starts with a lesson on the various body parts, as you will need to know many of these in order to ascertain what gull you have sitting in front of you. A comparison of the wings comes next. Then, it goes through each gull species and all of its plumages, including the months you might expect to see them in that plumage. It ends by discussing the various hybrids. If you ever hope to get beyond referring to gulls as "gull sp.," this book will do it. When you hear other birders refer to "the gull bible," this is it!!! However, don't think that this is a field guide you might want to carry in a fanny pack...it's a heavyweight!

growing up with the knowledge that there are just a few "kinds" of gulls and realising after a while that all the gulls you knew are now called somthing compleatly different (the whole herring,yellow legged,caspian,armenian,lesser black backed,sibirian etc. complex). this is the book we were all looking for, easy to use and extremly proffesional.
another good birding book to have around.

Russell S. Smith was the Police Chief in San Angelo, Texas for years. He was an outstanding officer. There were many twists and turns in this book, it kept my interest and eyes on the printed page. He is a true detective, enjoying the chase as he traced the facts in order to find the truth.

What a great book! Author, retired Texas Police Chief Russell Smith, has a unique way of talking to the reader. This is an interesting account of the "Caveman Bandit" - in a time much like the Wild West but in the 1960's. Most certainly all those who have roots in West TX would be interested as well as Texans everywhere. As a Californian, who has never been to that part of the country, I referred to a TX map to visualize the expanse of land that the Bandit inhabited. Wow - it is really incredible to think that a human was capable of covering such an enormous territory. Also incredible is the way this man slinked in and out of businesses, houses, rugged terrain, in and out of Mexico and Texas -without detection - sometimes underneathe the noses of those who so desperately hunted him. Yes, the bandit was incredibly animal-like: digging for shelter in caves, surviving off the land, outwitting and outrunning his prey. You will have to read this book for the interesting details and to see how the story ends. Bravo Chief Smith!

Russell Smith has a way of telling a story so that you see every event, almost as if you were there when it happened. You see the rugged country and the people very vividly in your mind. You feel the suspense as the caveman bandit enters a home at night while the occupants are sleeping. You laugh as two macho teenage boys decide they will be heroes and catch the bandit one dark, cold night. I got so involved in the story, I didn't want it to end.

What a great book. I could visualize the caveman bandit, his hiding spots, the rough land, the houses and the people. Russell Smith brings the characters and the landscape to life. Chapter 1 was a great way to start the book and it hooked me. I can't wait to read his next book.

"The Gun That Wasn't There" is an interesting true story about a man who lived off the land, the ranches, and the businesses of the area he was in. The local people knew about him, had often seen him, but it wasn't unusual for "illegals" to cross their ranches so they didn't pay much attention to him until he broke into a house while the people were home and attacked them. This is a story about man against man, one wanting to be left alone to survive the way he knew best, and those who wanted to stop him.

The book includes several original photographs as well as recent photos of the area. The author paints such a vivid description of the area that you already know what is there without seeing the photographs. There are numerous endnotes that historians and genealogists will love.

John Yount is a former teacher of mine. Hardcastle is, in my opinion, his best work, a writer working at his peak. The story has an original southern voice, with unique language and not a wasted word. Few contemporary southern novels are written as well. Yount treats the subject matter of Hardcastle, coal miners, with great sensitivity and care; the characters are more real than most books you will ever pick up. Yount's other works include Wolf At The Door, The Trapper's Last Shot, Toots in Solitude, and Thief of Dreams. Read them all, but if you can only read one, purchase Hardcastle.

The setting for Hardcastle is a small mining town during the Depression. Yount brings the characters to life and does an incredible job of developing the life-long friendship between two men. The ending is surprising and emotional. It's on my list of all time favorites.

The book has been compared to The Grapes of Wrath for its portrayal of life during the depression. It should be. Yount is one of the few living American writers who can combine power and grace in his prose, all while weaving a tense, extraordinarily powerful narrative. It's a shame that his other books - The Trapper's Last Shot and Wolf at the Door - aren't in print any longer.

Raymond Carver loved this book, and after you read the first three pages, you will see why. This is a superb novel about the friendship of two men during the Depression. The men work as guards against union organizers at a Kentucky coal mine. Their dilemma is whether to turn away from the abuses of the coal miners or to join their struggle. In swiftly moving chapters that snowball into an unforgettable climax, Yount tells how the men are tested. You will be tested too.

Hardcastle is a book that was meant to be talked about, and if you're in a reading group, it would be an excellent choice. I have not read a more human and moving novel in several years. And not only that: Yount's writing crackles and sings with local color, feel, and humor. A brilliant novel!

I'd never heard of John Yount before I picked up Hardcastle, but from the first page, I knew I could be in the grip of a special writer. Hardcastle is a simple but dramatic story, a sort of morality play, set in an rough Kentucky coal mining town during the Depression. The writing is also simple, but in the best sense, the way that the novels of some of the best American writers, like Hemingway, Steinbeck, and Elmore Leanord, are written simply. Every page rings with honesty and Yount offers some startling insights. The ending is strong and haunting. I was disappointed when it was over.

With a profusion of exquisite illustrations, "Havana Before Castro" is also a suprisingly well-balanced, perceptively written historical work. While one good picture is certainly worth a thousand words,this book goes beyond the typical illustrated book genre to recapture also in text a Havana which vividly lives in the memory of those of us lucky enough to have experienced it first hand and, now, in the memory of those who read this book.

Very informative with wonderful before and after photos, I am Cuban and remember some of the places in the photos. Would highly recommend it to my friends.

great, easy read yet interesting history of Havana. Wonderful photos and fun highlights of the who's who of that era. The author did a good job of combining the two to make for a brilliant fun read

All Cubans dream of returning to Cuba someday, but sadly the Cuba of the 1950s, when Havana was truly the Paris of the Caribbean has been lost. Gone are the days when Cuba was truly an international destination with first class hotels and hundreds of bars, restaurants, and night clubs -- from sketchy little neighborhood joints to fabulous casinos. Here you could hear Olga Guillot at the Tropicana and see spectacular stage shows under the stars. As today, the streets were filled with the latest American cars; only at that time, many were fresh from Detroit assembly lines. Buildings in even the poorest sections of the city were well kept and crisply painted.

Someday, Havana may regain some of its lost luster. Until then, a new book "Havana Before Castro" takes you back in time to relive this great city at its prime. Author Peter Morruzi has put together a great collection of vintage photos in both color and black and white. The book documents life in Cuba from the beginnings of the Cuban republic to the glory days when locals and tourists packed Sloppy Joe's Bar and La Floridita -- "the cradle of the daiquiri."

In "Havana Before Castro," you'll get a taste of a dynamic city where popular nightspots abounded along the Prado, central Havana's promenade, and along Calle 23 in Havana's Vedado district. A chapter on the Havana Riviera provides stunning images on this resort casino where Cuban sculptors created beautiful pieces of art. The Riviera's lobby is itself a work of art with a breathtaking circular staircase and architectural details that present the best of 50's modern.

We especially liked the chapter on "Life as an Habanero." You can almost smell the aromas of fresh Cuban bread, strong café cubano, and fritas frying on a street corner grill, all carried along the streets of Havana by swift, sea-scented breezes.

"Havana Before Castro" is well researched and well written, providing an engaging read that goes beyond the beautiful photos. For those who remember these glory days, the book is truly a trip back in time. For those who never experienced Cuba before Castro, the book is a revelation: Havana was truly a beautiful, world-class city!

Hope and pray that it can happen again...


THREE GUYS FROM MIAMI
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Three Guys from Miami Celebrate Cuban: 100 Great Recipes for Cuban Entertaining (Three Guys from Miami)

Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban

My wife and I escaped Cuba during the early sixties. Almost certain that we might be returning within a month or two (50 years ago) we did not bring along photographs, memories, or keepsakes of any kind.
"Havana Before Castro" is the best collection of memorabilia ever to touch my hands.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. You've made my day!
Andrew J. Rodriguez, author of: "Adios, Havana" a memoir.

If you want to get your mind around Thoreau's mind and the more significant facts of his life, buy and read this book. Because the chapters are brief but meaty, and because Richardson's an accomplished prose stylist in his own right, this book is a joy to read and, I have found, is wonderful to come back to periodically, particularly when looking for a great way to spend ten to twenty extra minutes profitably.

Robert D. Richardson takes the busy-bodied world of Thoreau and places each of his accomplishments into context starting with their respective intellectual origin. In the process of doing this, Richardson constructs the world of Thoreau's Concord and creates it for us vividly and realistically. This is by far the best Thoreau bio out there and serves a perfect book-end with his Emerson bio, The Mind On Fire.

As a young man my Holy Trinity was: Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman. Emerson's essays are pure poetry; Thoreau's "Walden" and "Civil Disobedience" became a blueprint on how to live and why to write; and Whitman's life and "Leaves Of Grass" taught me about myself.

"A Life Of The Mind" filled each page with the authenticity and richness of a life well lived. Thoreau, the humanness, the naturalist, the friend and son; the poet of the unraveling, entangled soul beating within the humdrum of everyday and ordinary life, leaps from every page. I have read other biographies on Thoreau which never captured the mind and writer of "Walden". Here the man and life equalled and qualified the literature.

Richardson is more than a biographer of Thoreau; he's made from the same stock. He didn't simply tell of a man and his life, he savored, and shared in the same poetics and struggles as the man he researched. The theme of Thoreau's life was an opportunity to express his own convictions and struggles.

It was while reading an anthology of Thoreau's work that I first understood why some poets and writers must write. I came to understand how every sentence could be layered with meaning and timelessness. After reading this biography I must reread my annotated "Walden". I must sit in my backyard amongst the leaves and flowers and shapes and densities I've not paid attention to in some time.

This book remains the best biiography about Thoreau. There is much here to interest both the detail-seeking scholar and the casual reader. Richardson does an admirable job in bringing Thoreau and his ideas to the fore. I found this work very useful when editing my own volume - Profitably Soaked: Thoreau's Engagment With Water, which presents a more bodily than conceptual Thoreau.

In the concluding chapter of "Walden", Henry David Thoreau offers a parable of a great artist in the city of Kouroo "who was disposed to strive for perfection." In Thoreau's story, the artist spends eons working to carve the perfect staff. By the time the artist was satisfied, his friends had died, Kouroo was no more, the dynasty of the Candhars had ended, the polestar had changed, and "Brahma had awakened and slumbered many times". Yet, the artist saw that "for him and his work, the former lapse of time had been an illusion, and that no more time had elapsed than is required for a single scintillation from the brain of Brahma to fall on and inflame the tinder of a mortal brain. The material was pure, and his art was pure: how could the result be other than wonderful?"

This parable of the nature of the self, freedom, and high purpose, told in the language of Eastern thought, is one of many aspects of Thoreau that Robert Richardson illuminated for me in his biography, "Henry Thoreau: A Life of the Mind." (1986) Richardson's biography of Thoreau is the first of what has become an outstanding trilogy of studies of American thinkers. Its companions are "Emerson: A Mind on Fire" and, most recently, "William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism." These three biographies cast great light on intellectual and spiritual life and their continuing influence in the United States. Richardson was a professor at the University of Denver when he wrote "Thoreau". He is now an independent scholar.

Richardson's biography of Thoreau (1817 -- 1862) does not begin until its subject reaches the age of 20 and returns from Harvard to Concord, Massachusetts to teach school. Thoreau becomes friends with Ralph Waldo Emerson who encourages the younger man to keep a journal, a habit that will remain with him throughout life and which will constitue the best evidence we have of Thoreau's inner life. Richardson's study draws heavily on the Thoreau's Journal, which when completed ran about 2,000,000 words and which was the source, with Thoreau's other notebooks, for much of his published work.

Richardson aptly characterizes Thoreau as leading a "life of the mind" and his study focuses on Thoreau's intellectual development and on the books which he read. Richardson uncovers and elucidates Thoreau's broad reading over the course of his adult life. Thoreau read broadly in the ancient Greek and Roman classics, and he was greatly influenced by German writers, especially Goethe. His transcendental philosophy was heavily German in origin, as mediated by English writers such as Coleridge. Thoreau read copiously on the history of New England and Canada and on the Indians. He was a careful observer of nature, as is well known, and was influenced by Aristotle's writings on biology, as well as by the classification work of Linneaus, and Agassiz. After the publication of the "Origin of the Species", Thoreau was won over to the developmental theory of Darwin.

I was particularly struck with the influence of Hindu and Indian thought upon Thoreau. This influence is shown in the parable of Kouroo, discussed above, and throughout "Walden" and "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers". Richardson also made connections between Thoreau and writers and friends on an individual level. For example, Richardson discusses Melville's "Typee" and the influence this book had upon Thoreau in its depiction of human nature, and allegedly primitive peoples. Melville's influence appears lasting upon Thoreau. Richardson discusses Thoreau's friendship with the former Unitarian minister, Harrison Gray Otis Blake, and the letters the two men exchanged. (These letters have been compiled in a volume titled "Letters to a Spiritual Seeker.") As a final example, Richardson also discusses Thoreau's meeting, late in his life, with Whitman and how these two writers came to view each other.

Richardson's book brings home Thoreau's conviction that human nature is basically the same everywhere and throughout time. Thus, for Thoreau, persons in his time or our own, are capable of leading a life of freedom and meaning upon the making of effort. Even though Thoreau was fascinated with the Greek, Roman, and Indian past, these sources taught him that people retained the potentiality of living for themselves. Richardson emphasizes the love of wildness in Thoreau, in man, animals, and nature, just below the surface of what he regarded as some of the superficialites of civilization. In addition to Thoreau's self-sufficiency and love of freedom, Richardson emphasizes Thoreau's love of good companionship. Richardson also argues that following the publication of Walden in 1854, Thoreau's interests turned from the self-sufficiency and freedom, to a recognition of the interconnectedness of all things in nature.

The strongest effect on me of Richardson's book was in making me revisit and rethink the inspiring conclusion of "Walden". After a paragraph devoted to life and the ever-present possibility of regeneration, Thoreau concludes Walden as follows:

"I do not say that John or Jonathan will realize all this; but such is the character of that morrow which mere lapse of time can never make to dawn. The light which puts out our eyes is darkness to us. Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star."

Richardson's book inspired me and it encouraged me to want to read and reread Thoreau. Those readers who are also moved to rediscover Thoreau may want to explore the two large volumes of his works available in the Library of America.

Robin Friedman

Let me just start by saying that the previous reviewer who said that this author is better than Edward Abbey is sorely mistaken. But anyway...

Beautiful book. Wild, imaginative visual imagery. His insights into life are profound and really hit a chord with me. There are a lot of spiritual overtones in this book that hooked me from the beginning.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the natural history or native american history of the southwest canyonlonds, prairelands and honestly...just an interest in wilderness in general is enough.

Buy! Enjoy! Share! Guard with your life!

I first read this one in 1982 and have returned to it time and again. I, like a couple of other reviewers, cannot understand why this book has not recieved more attention. It is well written, funny, informative and just simply fun to read. It is a collection of tales, stories, or what have you, of the western portion of our country. The author has wonderful insight and certainly knows his subject. I cannot think of a page of this work I did not absolutely enjoy. Highly recommend this one.

I first read this book in the mid-1980s, and have been a huge fan of it ever since. It was out of print from a long time after the original publisher, North Point Press, went out of business. I am delighted that it is now available once more. It deserves to be read by anyone interested in the American West.

This is a wide-ranging book that deals with many aspect of the American West in general and the desert areas in particular. Schultheis is a gifted writer, and has a knack not only for telling a good tale but also for turning a wonderful line. He is highly attuned to the remarkable and the humorous in almost every situation, and the book is a marvelous blend of the unexpected, the reflective, and the funny.

My favorite moment might be an occasion he recounts of visiting a store in Navajo territory. While in the store, an elderly Navajo stumbles up to him and says, apropos of nothing, "Hey, I hear that Elvis died," in a tone that almost suggests the Schultheis and The King were lifelong pals. After replying, that yes, Elvis had died and that he had evidently been pretty sick, the Navajo, ignoring what Schultheis had said, continues, "Yeah, Elvis and Hitler, two of your greatest leaders, dead." (I am quoting this story from memory, so don't call me to task for specific inaccuracies.)

This is a book filled with many wonderful and marvelous moments. I would heartily urge anyone with an interest in literature about the American West or the desert to read it as soon as possible.

A cousin tipped me off to this little known masterpiece, which consists of a short, well-written series of anecdotes and tales about the West. An expert in verbal imagery, Schultheis takes you gambling at Native American pow-wow, canyon ratting in Utah, meeting a jack rabbit who lures motorcyclists to their doom, and other esoteric topics with equal aplomb.

His best tale, and the one you won't forget, is the last in order, a fictional episode during the next great Western drought, when the xerothermic climate brings disaster west of the Mississippi.

Schultheis is very readable, and each essay is thought-provoking. I predict you will enjoy this wonderful book. As the previous reviewer cautions, however, loan it out at your own risk.

Rob's imagery and cutting edge mind put him up there with the best - I like him better than the proverbial Ed Abbey (Rob's a little more cerebral). I'm an avid reader of anything to do with the desert Southwest (and West), as well as a desert rat myself, and I was hard put to find anything I'd read to date that was this good. You won't be disappointed with this book - buy an extra for your friends, because they'll "borrow" it and never return it (I've now bought 3 of them and can't find my latest copy...hmmm, now that I think of it, I suspect it went to Hawaii with a friend...)

I enjoyed this book very much. Tarleton's deductive and vainglorious writings are very informative yet do not dwell on American victories but rather American humiliation. I would not recommend it if you are not altogether serious though.

A fascinating book, plainly and well written. It took a moment or so to get used to the vernacular but it's a smooth read. I was particularly interested in Tarleton's say on what happened during the Buford Massacre because he implies (in my opinion) that the slaughter of the American troops was not ordered by him but rather, a circumstance of war and the crazed emotional upheaval that accompanies the heat of battle. The book presents an interesting view of the American War of Independence from the "other side". Well worth it.

After over 113 years of being out of print, Banastre Tarleton once again speaks (at an affordable leavel no less) of his experiences and knowledge of the battles he and his British compatriots went through. Mind you, it is a bit of a dry read as that his legal style of writing shows through the whole thing. If you ever wanted insight as to the British side of the American Revolution,here's your book!

The style of the antique font is most appealing to devotees of British Militaria. It is though one is reading the dispatches from "Bloody Bana" himself. This is the point of view never learned in America. If you enjoyed "The Patriot" you will enjoy this book. Refers in the 1st part to Major Patrick Ferguson, the inventor of the Ferguson Breechloading Flintlock rifle. The descriptions of the terrain and hardships as well as surrender terms and stores captured are thoroughly detailed.

A very detailed history of the Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution. At times a little self serving. It is enjoyable in eighteenth century text. Detailed maps.

How To Read How-To And Self-Help Books by psychologist and management consultant Janne Ruokonen is a simple and practical guide to getting the best use out of personal development books, tapes, and seminars. With informative tips for avoiding myths about self-help, cogent advice against pitfalls that block one's ability to absorb wisdom, illustrative anecdotes, "real world" solid techniques for achieving consistent improvement, How To Read How-To And Self-Help Books is very highly recommended for the non-specialist general reader and a superb addition to any personal or community library self-help reference shelf.

Self-help books are amongst the most popular of all the books sold. They are almost always at the top of the bestseller lists. Yet, how many have you bought that sit dusty on your bookshelf, testament to a failed attempt to changing a habit or gaining a new skill?

Was the problem the book or was the problem within you? Author Ruokonen lists a spectrum of ideas and advice on getting the most out of self-help and getting the results you want.

The chapters in Part Two: Why Self-Improvement Fails and How to Succeed tell a lot about what is in Ruokonen's valuable book:

Here's Why you Failed Before
Why Goals, Planning and Hard Work are Not Enough (!)
Why Knowledge Does Not Equal Learning (!!)
Learning Effectively
Avoiding the Self-Help Pitfalls
Dealing with Paradoxes and Contradictory Advice
Breaking the Barriers to Success

and from Part Three:
Putting Advice into Practice

I recommend this as a MUST-READ not only for anyone embarking on a course of self-improvement, whether through a book, a seminar or a course, but also for every Human Resource and Training professional who will be spending company funds on books, courses and seminars for employees. I will be recommending this book at my company because I think it will help us get the most from any training we do in future.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

I've read too many advice, self-study, skill devopment and self-help books to count. Some of them have been useful to me, most not.

The problem for me has been either due to achieving no measurable results or having conflicts with what I've read or tried earlier. It can be difficult to know what to trust and which things to try.

If time wasn't limited, I could of course try them all. However, like for most of us, time is pretty scarce resource for me.

What this book writes about is very useful to me. It breaks down failures and success of using advice (from books) into something that is practical and applicable in real life.

While it may not score the highest points in terms of motivational liturgy of wonderful stories, it is one of the most practical and useful books on the field that I have read.

As such, I intend to revisit it again on a regular basis. Not because the content is difficult, but because the practical advice it gives is so profound that it sometimes easy to forget and not to apply it oneself. This is especially true with some of the more conceptual books that lack almost any useful instructions on how to utilize all the information contained within.

If you read self-help books or want to get more benefits out of them, I highly recommend this one.

Self-help books are amongst the most popular of all the books sold. They are almost always at the top of the bestseller lists. Yet, how many have you bought that sit dusty on your bookshelf, testament to a failed attempt to changing a habit or gaining a new skill?

Was the problem the book or was the problem within you? Author Ruokonen lists a spectrum of ideas and advice on getting the most out of self-help and getting the results you want.

The chapters in Part Two: "Why Self-Improvement Fails and How to Succeed" tell a lot about what is in Ruokonen's valuable book:

Here's Why you Failed Before
Why Goals, Planning and Hard Work are Not Enough (!)
Why Knowledge Does Not Equal Learning (!!)
Learning Effectively
Avoiding the Self-Help Pitfalls
Daling with Pardoxes and Contradictory Advice
Breaking the Barriers to Success

and from Part Three:
Putting Advice into Practice

I recommend this as a MUST-READ not only for anyone embarking on a course of self-improvement, whether through a book, a seminar or a course, but also for every Human Resource and Training professional who will be spending company funds on books, courses and seminars for employees. I will be recommending this book at my company because I think it will help us get the most from any training we do in future.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

"If you feel that you have fallen short of getting the promised results from self-help programs, you need to know that the real problem isn't you personally or the advice you've received." -Janne Ruokonen

What do you dream about becoming? There is probably a book out there for just about anything you have ever thought about. But how do you achieve your dream? Is reading the book enough?

This is the first guide to show how you can use personal development books, tapes and seminars. Janne Ruokonen will show you how to:

1. Find and use the best personal development advice
2. Understand why you may have failed before
3. Avoid the common self-help- pitfalls
4. Make sense of gurus and their ideas and methods
5. Discover how ordinary people achieve extraordinary results

By reading this book you will see how to get the most out of the advice self-help books give. This is a realistic guide that shows you what works in real life and how you can create lasting change. Janne has come to the realization that many books fail to show the reader how to take the advice and use it to achieve maximum results.

He started collecting self-help books, interviewing people who used the books and participated in online discussion groups. He soon saw a pattern emerging. In the last section of the book, he lists page after page of books you will want to read. I've always thought a good book was one that recommends other good books!

The Contents Include:

Part One: What You Can Achieve and Whose Advice to Follow
Part Two: Why Self-Improvement Fails and How to Succeed
Part Three: From Advice to Action: Making a Lasting Change in Your Life

Janne also gives lists of what people are reading and listening to. Then he shows you how to read effectively and "actively." I like that he says you should make notes and almost "review" the book. I've found that if I review a book I really do absorb more of the content. I'm not sure I could only read two chapters per week, but many people are probably encouraged if they can read two chapters of a self-help book each week. After all, that might not be all you are reading.

Janne Ruokonen has worked as a manager and consultant. He knows how to put personal development ideas to work for himself and his staff and his career includes working at a leading personal development and sales training company.

In this book you will realize that life is far too short to learn everything on your own by trial and error. Why not learn from other people's mistakes or success?

Who would have thought you would need a self-help book to read self-help books, but it makes complete sense.

One of my main problems is that I tend to think Big and then try to take Big steps. That is why I've failed with self-help on numerous occasions. When I sat down and realized that each time I tried to get fit, I was jumping in too fast and exhausting myself from the onset, I started to realize that at time if you take smaller steps at the start, you will be able to more easily reach your final goal. You would think this would be obvious, but ambition can often blind you to reality.

I mean, you can sit and watch a workout tape all day, but if you don't get on the floor and start working out, it isn't going to get you very far. Sure, the tape is fun to watch and review, but the satisfaction comes from looking in the mirror and seeing the results you have achieved. I also found that watching movies while walking on the treadmill keeps me more interested in walking. So, everyone had to find that secret way to motivate themselves. Rewards do seem to work.

Janne says that many people go wrong because they try to just focus on the "goal" and not on the "steps" to get to that goal. He also discusses Procrastination and "The Overload Barrier."

"How to Read How-To & Self-Help Books" is a balanced approach to achieving your goals, gives you the motivation to take the steps needed to improve your life and shows you how to realize your dreams!

~The Rebecca Review

I would like to encourage the author to write more volumes on the Illinois Central. This book is a great reference for mid 20th century locomotives and rolling stock. If I may be so bold as to suggest, a volume featuring branch line activities and depots would be an excellent follow up to this fine book.

Good section on the history of the Illinois Central Railroad. Steam section was good. Orange and White was the era I grew up watching on the IC. This book is an AWESOME photographic history of a historical Railroad.

First twenty pages are brief history of I. C. railroad. Next 29 pages are mostly pictures w/ brief discriptions of steam locomotives, followed by "around the map" photos, mostly of locomotives. Latter part of book is passenger trains, surburban Chicago "electrics", work & maintenance of way rolling stock, and cabooses (cabeese?).

Having grown up along the ICRR in the 50's through 70's, it brought back many fond memories, thank you so much.

AS AN EMPLOYEE OF THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD FOR THE LAST 27 YEARS THIS WAS BY FAR THE MOST INTERESTING BOOK ON THE RAILROAD I HAVE READ. BOTH PHOTOGRAPHY AND CONTENT PUTS THIS BOOK AT THE FRONT OF THE TRAIN.