F Books

This book is a well-written chronological account of Kennedy's presidency. Minimized is the personal gossip and inuendo while highlighted is the decision-making style of JFK and his entourage as events unfold. You get a sense of what it's like being thrust into the vortex of events for which no president is totally prepared. The writer attempts to reveal President Kennedy as both more and less than the Camelot charisma would have you believe. Thoroughly enjoyable and informative must-read addition.

President Kennedy did not have the easiest presidency imaginable: big issues abroad including Cuba, Vietnam, Berlin, the nuclear arms race and test ban treaties with Russia and the highly contradictory issue of integration at home were all begging for his attention and often at the same time. This biography gives a good insight into the way decisions were taken and that there is a lot of on-the-job learning involved. It is in a sense shocking to read that the way a superpower is run is not that much different from the way an average manager runs his group of a few people.

I found it slightly disappointing that this biography deals exclusively with the presidency of Kennedy, not his formative years as a student, a soldier and a senator. But all in all a revealing insight into the presidency of a man who, after his assassination, become a posthumous hero.

Jackie Kennedy is said to have given copies of this book to her children with the advice, "If you want to know your father, he is in this book." Reeves was said to be surprised at her endorsement and commented. "I wasn't terribly flattering to Jackie in the book."
Well worth the read.

As the leading civilian authority on the U.S. Secret Service (and President Kennedy's interaction with the agency), I was much interested in this book by Richard Reeves. I am a big fan of Mr. Reeves---in addition to a great book on Richard Nixon, he is a great writer and speaker. You can't go wrong in purchasing this fine book. vince palamara

After reading this book, I feel that I come out understanding the Kennedy presidency in better terms. While Sorenson and Schlesinger wrote impeccable accounts on the admininstration, they are somewhat distorted, and make Kennedy out to be a hero. This well-written and higly researched account, I feel to be the definintive account of the administration. It shows the flaws of President Kennedy, and the true personality of the man in the White House, his battle with Addison's disease. Kennedy was a very inexperienced leader at the beginning of his presidency, and I don't feel that it really dawned on him until the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

This detailed account covers his meetings with Premier Krushchev, how he dealt with South Vietnam, and the apparent sickness that came upon him after learning of the death of Ngo Din Diem. You also see that Kennedy was very much a womanizer, almost to the point of obsession it seems. This book deserves much attention, and for anybody who has never read about President Kennedy, an excellent start.

I ordered this book for myself after having read a borrowed original first edition hard cover from a friend.
The story is wonderful and inspiring, and I wanted to own this book. This soft cover reissue version is O.K.,
but the photo reproductions in it are shamefully bad. I'll continue to search for an original copy ...

I read this book in middle school YEARS ago, well, ok, I wore this book out in middle school. When I saw it on Amazon I had to get it! What an amazing, inspirational story. Anyone with an interest in flying or history will find this a fantastic read!

An excellent and accurate story of a historical figure, Douglas Bader. It was interesting to read and thoroughly enjoyable.

This was one of the first war ace biographies I've ever read, back when I was fourteen.

It's a pleasure to see it published again, to replace my old copy.

Of course, Mr. Brickhill seems to be a huge fan of Bader, but who in England is not, even those who realize that Bader had a difficult temper, but a difficult temper that was responsibels for getting back in a warplane in war tiem RAF without both legs!

Good read, a classic.

I read this book when I was 9 yrs. old and now that I read it again I think that this is one of those books that I will keep and read over and over.
This is a riveting story that makes you feel like you are there experiencing the events yourself.

No other writer combines a knowledge of cuisine, history, and social place with such lyricism and panache. If you want some obscure recipe in its unadulterated, early 20th century form, it is here. If you want an account of life under the hardships of war, described through the gastronomic difficulties of rationing and scarcity, look no further. But if you want all that and a style that is as beautiful in its choice of word and phrase as it is in its theme and moral, then you have arrived at the caviar of culinary insight. Fisher is so much more than a food writer and it is often easy to forget that you are reading the work of a author who is perhaps best known as merely the translator of Brillat-Savarin's masterwork, "The Physiology of Taste".

There a is haunting, autobiographical element to this work. The Art of Eating is actually a collection of Fisher's best pieces and so the anthology is divided into the books and arranged chronologically. Yes, there are recipes but I enjoy the personal stories best. Recollections of a meal in Lyon with a friend and a drunken waiter are so much more than embellishments of past adventure. They are windows to a world which has vanished; a time when food meant so much more to culture than a quirky jingle about cheeseburgers. Even if you are not a self-professed foodie this is a fantastic read and I recommend it to anyone who finds beauty and romance in a well-written story.

This is an excellent volume and great value for money as it comprises several of Fisher's best-known texts.

Even in paperback this is a thick and heavy book, which is a compilation of several of MKF Fisher's individual works offering different aspects of her thoughts on food in terms of origin, recipes, culinary preparation, and history. In addition, it divulges her own observations on the whole dining experience that we as humans go through in terms of customs, etiquette, ambience, socializing and so forth. But what makes this book stellar is the eloquent, imaginative, and sometimes even haunting style of Ms. Fisher's writing. She expresses her own thoughts and oftentimes outspoken opinions, mixing them with historical facts, tempting recipes, and home-cooked tales. With such a satisfying horn of plenty within the confines of two book covers, it is easy to understand why she still reigns as the queen of prose inspired by food and dining. I wish I had her ability to master in writing such joi de vivre and enthusiasm for food, eating, and drinking, which after all are such basic elements to our very existence.

The section I enjoyed most of all was "The Gastronomical Me", a biography-cum-travelogue in which she poignantly narrates her experiences by rendering them so lifelike that you can smell the smells and taste the tastes. She includes food episodes of her early years in California while growing up and later attending boarding school; in Dijon, France where the kitchens in restaurants and her apartments beckon you to partake of the offerings; in Switzerland where you visually can grasp the mountains and streams along train-rides she describes through the Alps to Italy; and finally in a small Mexican town, where she surpasses even the writing prowess demonstrated in her previous stories, by telling the most poignant tales.

An interesting sidelight is that this book not only covers food. You gather early on that she is far from a teetotaler since alcoholic drinks and drinking at mealtimes too are frequent topics, from sipping wines and champagnes and glasses of Pernod on ocean liners to mixing water with bourbon, which she keeps in a flask during a long, propeller-driven, airplane flight to Mexico.

The other sections I liked were the beginning (Serve It Forth) and Consider the Oyster. It amazed me that one person could write a whole expose covering around a hundred pages about only the oyster: the various types, methods of preparations, and culinary history. Plus she gives her own personal memories and anecdotes too. You name it, she said it about oysters--recipes included.

I did not care as much for How to Cook a Wolf, as I could not relate to either the off-color humor or to some of the topics she presented. (Sorry, but sweetbreads, halves of calf heads, and brains were not appetizing subjects.) Also, I gave up finishing the book. I started to read "An Alphabet for Gourmets", the last section, but got as far as "D" and couldn't force myself to read through the rest of the alphabet. It seems to me by the time in her life when she wrote this section she had become rather cynical and bitter, to the extent that everything she wrote sounded condescending. This section was such a let-down, a depressant to me after coming off the high of "The Gastronomical Me". Although I exaggerate, she seemed to repeatedly state something to the effect that she preferred to dine alone on crackers and milk rather than face gourmet meals with uncultivated people (with untrained palettes) who were unsavvy as to the proper way food should be eaten in the first place and incapable of appreciating what they shoved in their faces in the second. Anyway, other readers may disagree with me, but this last section lacks the consistency, and more important, the vibrancy and pep of her flowing, off-the-wall style that grows on you in the other sections.

Although I was a little disheartened at the end, her brilliance that shone through in the other sections more than outweighed the few negatives. I can recommend this book to everyone, especially to people who are interested in food as a literary subject in its own right instead of something that we simply cook and eat. Of course, foodies and cooks alike should appreciate it. And though it does have some very good recipes as added bonuses, this should not be considered a cookbook; instead, this book's function is to serve up delicious tidbits for our minds and imaginations to savor and enjoy.

I thought this book was interesting. Our book group also read "The Omnivore's Dilemina". She brings a post WWII perspective to food.
The tomato soup cake was OK.

We had our meeting and each made something from the book. The author had an interesting life and has written many other books so it was a good discussion.

"The Art of Eating" recountss the tale from post World War I to World War II France in gastronomic terms. This is a collection of several books. "Serve It Forth," first published in 1937, is a history of gastronomy. In "Consider the Oyster" written in 1941, Fisher finds her voice. "How to Cook a Wolf" published in 1942, when wartime shortages were at their worst includes recipes for stretching the smallest of ingredients to meet nutritional needs and the needs of the spirit. "The Gastronomical Me" is this reader's favorite, which recounts Fischer's life in France. If you have any interest in good food, well-written memoirs or French culture, you really must read this book. It defines the word "classic."

Think about your daily physical exercise regimen. Now compare that to the mental exercise routine you use in your journey to become a life-long learner. Come up a little short? The Daily Drucker will help.

In my book, Mastering The Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Non-profit, "The Drucker Bucket" honors Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, who was welcomed to his heavenly home in 2005, just a few days shy of his 96th birthday. His seminal book, Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, runs 839 pages. Here's the Drucker Bucket core competency:

"We are privileged to be leaders and managers and we steward that privilege by being lifelong learners and practitioners in the art of management. We don't just give lip service to management--we are disciplined students of great leadership and management thinkers like Peter Drucker, Ken Blanchard and others."

I encourage my clients to read at least one book by Peter Drucker every year. If you're in management, why would you not want to learn from the management guru? To dip your toe in the Drucker Bucket, read The Daily Drucker.

Bestselling author Bob Buford, who graciously wrote the foreword to my book, mentions Drucker in the foreword, "Peter always said, `The purpose of management is not to make the Church more businesslike, but more Church-like." Drucker was a gift to all of us. This is the perfect book.

I think one has to be mature enough to understand, at least on some level, and appreciate the wisdoms of Mr. Drucker collected in this compact and very intense book, but once you get them, you become a different person.

This book offers excellent insight into Drucker's writings on business philosophy. For those who have never read Drucker at all, this book is a great starting point, as it encapsulates much of his writing into a single volume. The book is of particular value to anyone working in a service-related company, especially in a society where knowledge is one of the most powerful assets managers are required to protect and preserve.

An entry from January 7th reads: "Knowledge workers own the means of production...the organization needs them more than they need the organization..." The action point listed is, "Attract and retain the highest producing knowledge workers by treating them and their knowledge as the organization's most valuable assets."

The information provided in this book, when put into practice, will help any manager become more efficient and reflective about how her/his actions fit into the bigger picture. The foreword, by Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, is also very worth reading and gives a little-seen and inspirational glimpse of Drucker.

The book was in good condition and was delivered on time. It is a great read!!

Every morning when you get to your office, you boot up your computer and you wait - conservatively - 2 minutes. During those 2 minutes, you should be reading that day's entry in the "Daily Drucker." Whether the Topic of the Month is "decision-making," "leadership" or "organizational behavior," Drucker's signature style will clear your head and give you a "swing thought" for the rest of the day. A daily dose of Drucker will remind you how you "should" run your business day, in order to be effective, rather than running things the way they really "are."
If you make his insights your own, you will learn about yourself and your organization. Eventually, you will reach your goals.
Unlike other books, this one does not contain a sustained argument, so it doesn't become dull. And, many of the quotes might be regarded as some of Drucker's most user-friendly. Plus, each quote is capped off with an "action item" by the editor, Maciarello, who does an admirable job in teasing out some of the implications of Drucker's writing.
P.S. This is the perfect gift to give an executive.

As of this writing, only 2 people gave this book anything less than 5 stars, which just shows some people won't be satisfied with anything. Everything about this book is great - the information is current and comprehensive, the tone is funny without being insensitive, every situation is discussed. You probably won't need to read the whole book, since it covers every kind of situation. I'm looking at a hysterectomy for cancer in the near future, and I am so glad I found this book ahead of time. Dr. Streicher, if you ever read this - thank you.

It really is a complete guide. I am 26 and facing a hysterectomy and this book answered every question that I had. It helped to educate me on what's going to happen during surgery, recovery and the long term. I am a lot less afraid to have this procedure.

Very informative and thorough guide to ALL aspects of a hysterectomy - reasons for needing one, choosing the type of surgery, what will happen during surgery, recovery time-table, & post-surgical issues. Written by a gynecologist who consulted colleagues, themselves experts in sub-specialties, when she needed to. The book is crammed with information and written in a conversational tone that is sprinkled with humorous tidbits.

I am in a high risk cancer group, and had a prophylactic hysterectomy resulting in surgical menopause. Unfortunately I found this book at the library AFTER my surgery. I read the entire book anyway, because I wanted to be fully educated on what I had gone through and what was ahead of me.

I had an excellent surgeon at a teaching hospital, but this book would have been a great resource 6 weeks ago! Kudos to the author, and I hope it gets revised as new HRT treatments and studies are released.

I think this is the best book (easy to read no-nonsense, authoritative) on hysterectomy. This doctor had good, sane advice. I underlined lots of it.

After you read this, for the "sister to sister" book about what REALLY goes down once you decide to have a hysterectomy, get the Hyster Sisters book or visit their website: www.hystersisters.com

The combo platter of these two books should help you like it's helped me.

I'm in the process of planning for a hysterectomy. I read this book BEFORE I interviewed surgeons. It was an extremely helpful resource for me to understand the various procedures to perform a hysterectomy, to learn about the decisions I need to make, and to fully understand the pros/cons and risks. As a result, my time in the doctors' offices has been much more valuable because I was better prepared. I highly recommend this book!

This book really draws the reader into the mystery of sainthood. But, it does it in such a real and simple way. Therese was real and simple. It's actually possible to see oneself in her. This was an amazing experience for me.

In Everything Is Grace, Joe Schmidt elegantly helped me to fall in love
with Therese. Therese showed me how to walk in the heart of love. The
gifts of surrender and gratitude have become for me a daily offering.
Bearing serenely those behaviors that are displeasing to me has become
a daily challenge. Joe Schmidt helped convince me that Therese's "Little
Way" is the only way. Joe Schmidt's clarity, precision, and ease of reading were highlights for me in Everything is Grace. I continue to
highly recommend this book to others.

Review by Rita Schmitz, CSJ

I have read several books on the life of St. Therese and enjoyed them all. This one, however, is much more than the story of a sweet, young girl. This one makes real the grit and determination of a woman bent on knowing and loving Jesus within her world. She awakens my spirit to do the same. The author has shared not only the facts of Therese's life but has also shared deep insights into the life of this woman of faith.

Joseph Schmidt, FSC has written a new and refreshingly insightful book on Therese of Lisieux, using her original and unedited documents. She becomes more accessible to us little ones and that was the intention of her Little Way.
Steven Vesely, S.T.
Secretary General
Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity

Therese's words (the author uses italic print to indicate direct quotes) and thoughts as presented in this narrative of her life experiences have encouraged me to reflect on, and pray my own life experiences. I would recommend this book along with the author's 2008 revision of his earlier work entitled "Praying Our Experiences".

This is a great cheat sheet that you can slip in your pocket. It is spill proof and can save your as*

This is a definate must have for the student nurse. I LOVE this thing! It also closely follows what I've learned as a first year.

EXCELLENT--I bought my daugther one for nursing and she loves it..going to buy myself one when i start nursing in june..

Love this item. It fits perfectly in my lab coat or scrubs pocket. It is a handy item and has so much useful info.

This is a must for any nursing major undergoing clinicals, and even for RNs that have already passed the NCLEX. It's helped me so many times and I'm sure it will help a lot of future nurses as well. It even includes a short but sufficient English-Spanish dictionary/phrasebook for those in areas highly populated with Hispanics. Highly recommended!

..is how much FUN it is to read. This man wrote with such clarity and wit, I wish I had known about him much sooner, like in high school!

This is the ultimate apologetics guide. Or the ultimate personal spiritual guide. Read it even if you think you understand Catholicism. Among other things you will realize why God cannot be anything but a Trinity.

You may think you know your faith but you will still learn from Frank Sheed. He teaches: why we study theology, the Trinity,the nature of man, the sin of our origin,redemption,grace,virtue,gifts, Eucharist and Mass and so much more. He goes deeper than any teacher I ever had even at classses at seminary adult education classes. Give this book your full attention, take your time; take notes too. Make this book your New Year's resolution to learn more about your faith. You will not regret it.

I would strongly recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn more about the Catholic faith. It had answers to everything you would have a question about!

This is the best of class in Roman Catholic theology introductions. It provides a systematic overview providing the big-picture view one might miss short of reading the entire catechism. A good, solid, sound introduction that will be ideal for RCIA students and long-time Catholics alike. Included is a solid introduction providing the reasons to study theology and the rewards that come with it. Beginning with the seemingly simple assertion that God is spirit, Mr. Sheed carries us through the implications of that assertion through to the doctrines of the last things giving us all we need to form a coherent and solid foundation on which to build further. Indispensible and still the best of its kind.

I wish every catholic would read this book. I think that not only would they understand their faith better, they would be able to explain it better AND be more motivated to live it. Simple, simple, simple little short read with HUGE substance. Nothing has helped me grasp the trinity, heaven, grace, original sin, etc. like this book. It is my favorite of all favorite books--EVER!

Get this work into your library. It is by far the most critical work on this subject you will ever read! A MUST HAVE.

This is book primarily deals with the history of the development of the Canon. It was quite interesting to read the history of various books and letters of the Old and New Testament and to realize how most Christians take for granted their acceptance as Holy Scripture. It was fascinating to discover that books like Hebrews and the Apocalypse had difficulty in finding their place in today's Bible,and why others such as the Shepher of Hermas were rejected. Reasons for the acceptance of letters and oppositions to others varied upon authorship, content, usage, and most of all inspiration.

Not surprisingly was that the need for a canon arose from the ubiquitous nature of heresies abounding in this era. Specifically one of the earliest heresies mentioned is the movement started by Marcion. Marcion's belief that solely the teachings and writings of the Apostle Paul is what made up the true faith led to the first collection of the New Testament epistles being collected together to form a body of doctrine. Later on many of the Gnostic gospels and sects were another impetus which drove the Catholic Church to canonicity of its collected documents and to determine what was to be standard for what was Apostolic and inspired.

Prof. Bruce follows the topic of canonicity into the Renaissance and the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation. It was interesting to discover that with the revival of Classical Greek and Hebrew, that European theologians began to question the canonicity of the books contained in the Vulgate and the accuracy of that one-time prevalent translation. One example of how this controversy is carried over into current modern apologetics is how the Roman Catholic Church criticizes Martin Luther for questioning and suggesting that James and Hebrews be rejected from the Canon. However what Prof. Bruce points out is that for many in his day, Luther practiced what many in the church were doing in their re-examination and criticism of the canon.

Also from the Reformation is Luther's position of the Canon within Canon. Although I do not completely agree with Luther on this point, I do agree with the importance of studying Scripture with the view of placing the Gospel of Christ as the central theme of the Canon.

The closing chapters are very valuable regarding the criteria for canonicity in early church history and the criteria for the church today as well. I found especially intriguing the proposition of anyone finding one of St. Paul's lost letters to the Corinthian church and would they be added to the books of the New Testament? Please read the book to find the answer. I hope this unanswered question will entice you to read this work. However, in my review,I know that I am not doing justice in my appreciation for this book and what it has taught me.

Final Note: I would not recommend this book without some prior knowledge of the Ante-Nicene and the Nicene Church Fathers as their opinions about the canonicity are frequently presented. The reader should be familiar with the church fathers mentioned and their significance and contribution to the Christian faith in the early history of the church. Although one will benefit from the text without it, such knowledge would enhance the reader's understanding of the reasons and the importance of Prof. Bruce citing these individuals.

The book The Canon of Scripture, by F. F. Bruce, is a thorough scholarly treatment of the history of the Holy Bible as found in its present form: Old and New Testaments, 66 books constituting the authoritative writings of the Christian church. It is formal in style and thoughtful in content. It is nearly exhaustive, presenting ideas from a broad multitude of sources, yet manages to remain an engaging and fascinating read. Throughout, Bruce manages to be fair to the facts of history while remaining true to the convictions of the Christian faith.

Bruce's Canon of Scripture is the most thorough, scholarly, and readable account of the canon that I've come across. This book was recommended to me as a great place for a layperson (like myself) to read the story of how our Bible came into existence.

Bruce provides a detailed account of how Christ, the apostles, and early Church fathers interpreted and used the canon. He also discusses heretics like Marcion and soundly dismisses their claims. For Christians who trust the Bible as an inspired document, this book will be encouraging, as Bruce shows how the orthodox canon and orthodox interpretation have persisted throughout church history.

Although Bruce's prose isn't overly scholarly, his sense of story -- the way he structures this book -- is less than arresting. I found myself reading this book in chunks, skimming some sections and skipping others altogether. I imagine few people would enjoy devouring this book straight through. That said, this work is superior to a simple reference book, as Bruce provides a great deal of detail and appeals to a number of primary and secondary sources. Until a better book comes along, this one's essential for Christian households.

I bought this book because it was recommended as the most authoritative history of the New Testament canon in English. The book is scholarly and thorough. The author is an academic. The book reflects that for better and worse. The information is excellent and well documented. The writing style is often dry. It is best read in small segments.

Bill Breer

Excellent book for the experienced alpinist! After reading this, I begin to rethink some of my approaches to mountaineering.. tweaking my load, my rack, and food.

For beginners, please read this book with a pinch of salt. Mark is writing from the perspective of an experienced climber and his suggestions are meant for those who have a certain minimum level of experience on the mountains. His advice is good, but beginners may not survive well with some of his more extreme methods.

For those looking to take the next step in mountaineering, this is a MUST READ.

Learn from the best on how to climb hard, fast and high. Personal anecdotes and ideas to help you get to the top and make the most of your time in the alpine. Also read KISS OR KILL by the same author.

Twight tells it like it is without the BS.

This book is a work of art..a running narrative about physique, mental preparation, simple gear choices, food energy strategy and mistakes not to make. Delightful prose describing some unrepeated adventures is mixed with simple, quick 'n dirty advice. This is not a conservative, completely comprehensive guide to repeating some of Mark's famous routes; rather it is guide to teaching yourself and others how to ever get in & out, up & down so quickly that you make it!

I am not a climber, so I am certainly not qualified to talk about big portions of this book. I bought this books because it came highly recommended by a couple friend's of mine in the know. The sections about mindset and training are worth the price of this book alone. Mark Twight writes in a clear, concise and no nonsense way. You might not agree with something he says but you can't argue that whatever he presents is logical and well thought out. I recommend this book to anyone who's job, hobby or live style requires extreme amounts of focus and will power to succeed. Its money well spent and you won't regret it.

This book was a gift. The person was thrilled & said so far it is excellent! She is VERY HAPPY!!!! She likes this author.