Road Books

This book was very informative and an easy read. It covers anything and everything to do with credit. Anyone having difficulty with their credit or understanding credit should purchase this book!

Patrick Richie has written the very BEST book on understanding credit reports, and what loan institutions look for on your credit file. Very easy to read and comprehend! Also very enlightening!!!

Thank you Patrick, for your dedication to sharing this information with others!!!

I found this book to be very informative. This is a great book for ALL ages and walks of life. Everyone can benefit from reading this book. Having GOOD credit is so important and so many people do not understand the importance of that. I really feel that this book is an asset to a high school graduate. It is the perfect book to read when you are just starting to acquire credit, with all of the offers that college students get. Even if you are older and not very informed, it is a great book. I highly recommend this to anyone!!!

This is a great buy. This is the idiots guide to credit. It starts with the basics and goes from there. This is a must read for any person especially for college students and people already in deep credit.

This book is a great starting point for industry insiders and laypeople alike, easily explaining the sometimes complicated world of Credit. As a University teacher (and former debt-ridden student) I can foresee great benefits to using Mr. Ritichie's book to help students starting out succesfully navigate through the pitfalls of establishing and maintaining responsible credit practices throughout their adult lives.

I started reading this book on vacation and found it hard to put down. It was fun, informative, helpful, and a really great read. I just had to know how it all worked out for Soli and Kenn (the two primary characters in the book). The structure of the book - narrative supported by deepening exercises all tied together by the story of their journey - was excellent. If you want an introduction to modern-day shamanism that is also entertaining, this is your book!

From the very beginning, this book drew me. Utilizing an intriquing manner, the author describes the modern day role of a Shaman and connections to deeper levels of our selves. This is a must read for anyone who is interested in learning who we really are and the potential of spirtual journeys.

The brilliance of this book is in its readability--Kenn Day provides a wonderful introduction to shamanism in a very down-to-earth format. He uses the structure of a travel narrative in very clever ways--while the major story follows two characters as they travel in Europe, it also contains the stories of the deeper journeys these two characters experience along the way. I appreciated both the candour and vividness with which it was written.

Wow, what a trip! From the first page to the last, this book drew me along in a journey that, on one level, was purely entertaining, but on a deeper level, profoundly touched the other realms in which we all dwell - whether consciously or not. The information and exercises in the aptly named "Deepenings" are easily accessible to novices, as well as holding valuable information for the more advanced student. A brilliant new primer for the modern shaman.

I had the pleasure of attending a book review and signing with the author, when I purchased my copy. The story is a vivid telling of a journey through the Celtic lands. Interspered with Shamistic, meditative excercised designed to enhance one's own mental and spiritual journey as well as inclusion in the story. This is a highly reccommended read.

Reba was very influntial in my life as a teenager. Her voice and music has touched my life and heart deeply. Reading this biography moved me. She shared facts but also gave meaningful biblical teachings in the midst of telling her life story. I felt that although she was telling her story she was also reaching out through those pages to encourage those still in the midst of similiar pain and trials. Guiding someone else on a rocky Yellow Brick Road. I thoroughly enjoyed reading both her story and her teachings. I have been able to take some of the lessons she gave and used them in my own life. Although you may not share the same story, anyone who reads this will find life lessons they can use in their own lives, I did.

Wow! What an amazing mix of compelling storytelling and true theology. A friend sent me this book b/c of the title. She knows I am a huge Oz fan. I am also fromt he mining regions of KY. I was hooked on this book from word one until the end and now I wish I had more to read. The things I learned about shame, tithing and faith will stick with me forever, I am sure. I think everyone should read this book and open their lives more to the Holy Spirit.

What could this book be without a heart/brain/courage and the path home? Reba and Judy have birthed this tome in love and sweat for others to be helped and blessed by. An amalgam of events is presented here with the focus on the end results: relying on the One who can shine up your life while making your heart His home. To quote Reba many moons ago in her song 'Land of Oohs and Aahs', "He's so much more than a wizard, and He can make new creatures out of us."

The hands of time are wound back twenty years: prior to pastoring The River At Music City, before eight years of intense revival mode around the world to a time when Dony McGuire and Reba Rambo McGuire were a broken couple who let themselves, each other and all around them down. A couple who lived 'Hotel California' while residing in the midst of Christian music industry fame fell into the traps that any part of the music industry can provide.

Love shown through anointed people bring these two from trash to treasure--and Reba and Dony have allowed us to witness the transformation. As you read these pages full of 'Golden Nuggets' you will see a glimpse into a process of hope and recovery through Jesus' love for them. The end is thus far much greater than the beginning. I believe it is an anointed help for all who read it! Taste and see...

As a singer/songwriter, I was drawn to the church where Reba Rambo McGuire and Dony McGuire preach, The River at Music City. Little did I know how much our stories were similar. As I read her book, I wept, I laughed, I prayed..."Lord, change me" just as Reba had prayed at one point in her life. This book is a compassionate exploration of two very talented, very compassionate people and their lives together. They have honestly shared their failures and what it took to get back up on the horse again. Little did I know that in reading her book, I would gain the courage to believe that all that I had endured was for a purpose too. With phrases like, "Praise is God's Oxygen" ...you can't go wrong in learning from their life's story. It clearly raises compassionate restoration into the forefront. We need to be compassionate towards one another. I am so blessed that I can call them pastors and loving mentors. You have to get this book and read it. It will change how you view others. It will change how you view yourself. It will change YOU!! Perhaps you or someone else you know has suffered hellacious relationship with another person... get this book. In a world when people would rather toss out the bad with the bath water, this book tells you that sometimes the good can be saved and completely restored. Buy ten... give them out to the people you love most... let the words of the restoring power of God minister deep into your soul. They are the most honorable people I know and the most loving. When I finished the book, I knew why God had aligned my heart with theirs. Buy the book, you'll never be the same. You'll never judge anyone again.

It's not easy to give a concise review to a book to which you've contributed some of your own blood, sweat and tears ... but since I'm a professional writer, I'll try to be objective anyway. I am extremely proud of Reba and Judy - they have been incredibly vulnerable and genuine in this book, taking great risks to present some hard-hitting truths while telling a frighteningly real story. It is a shocking book ... and there are several people I intend to loan my own personal copy to read - "required reading," as it were - because I believe God speaks in this book even louder than either Reeb or Jude ever could. I'm sorry it didn't turn out the artistic way it was supposed to have been (you'll have to ask Judy what that means), but I know it is a tool that God will use, so that makes it worthwhile. If you cannot readily find "Follow The Yellow Brick Road" at your local Christian bookseller (insufficient marketing, in my opinion), ask them to order a copy for you ... or check it out online (it is published by Destiny Image). I am being absolutely sincere when I say this is a terrific book, one you definitely want to read and read again, with your Holy Spirit-tuned ear open to maximum volume. - Jeanne Halsey (unbiased sister), Blaine WA

Brian Butko has done it again! His insights and knowledge of this subject will make you feel like you are travelling with him as he goes from state to state, exploring all the different paths and alignments that were designated as the Lincoln Highway over the years. Pointing out sights, roadside attractions and businesses along the way. I personally have travelled some of the eastern portion of this historic road without knowing it at the time.

This book is an excellent reference for the entire Lincoln Highway. Some of the state-specific books may have more detail, but none are easier to follow. It is very well written- flows easily, lots of good pictures. I wish we had this one when we traveled part of it.

Ever wonder what it would have been like to have driven across the country in the early part of the 20th Century, before roads were regularly paved or well-marked? You can get a glimpse of what early travelers faced on the first transcontinental highway by reading Greetings From The Lincoln Highway by Brian Butko.

The book starts off by telling the history of the Lincoln Highway, from its inception and promotion by Carl Fisher and Henry Joy to its eventual replacement by numbered Federal highways. Most of the remainder of the book describes the route of the old highway going west from New York City to its end in San Francisco. The route is described in great detail, enough for one to use it in driving it today. Throughout the text, there are excerpts from the journals and letters of early travelers of the highway. We drivers of today can be glad we don't have to put up with the conditions they faced.

If you are a fan of the historic roadways; if you want ideas for future vacations; if you want to experience life off of the Interstates -- this book is for you.

Think Route 66 is America's oldest or first coast-to-coast road? Well, it gets more publicity, but Route 66 wasn't the first: the Lincoln Highway predates it by a dozen years, runs a third longer, and travels coast to coast. Greetings From The Lincoln Highway: America's First Coast-to-Coast Road provides a lively highway history, packing in the maps which depict the original highway and its changes from state to state, the color photos of local color and highway scenery, and of course the all-important history of the highway's past. From vintage posters and ads to restored old stations and services, Butko' Greetings From The Lincoln Highway follows the highway across the country and provides a very colorful, compelling story in the process.

Here it is. If you're looking for a terrific guide to places and people along the Lincoln Highway, past and present, you can't find a better guide than this book. Plenty of images, maps, postcards, and other memorabilia place this resource among the very best of roadside guides. Use it for historical research. Use it for trip planning. Use it for armchair tourism. Either way, you'll be glad you bought this book.

This is a very good geology book. The American west is hideously complicated, and Mr Meldahl does a great job explaining it. He develops his concepts and uses aerial and satellite photos along with diagrams to illustrate. Being young and hence having completed his education recently, he brings to the text all the latest ideas and vocabulary.

And it does look as if we are getting a solid handle on it. His discussion of the horizontal subduction of the Farallon plate, and of its extra thickness suppressing vulcanism, was particularly timely. Just yesterday I read a story on Science Daily (dot com) about an area of Alaska lacking volcanoes. The authors of the paper gathered data indicating that the plate being subducted there posessed an extra thickness and was sliding along horizontally without actually sinking. I knew exactly what they were talking about, thanks to Hard Road West!

Many such prizes exist in the text. Read this book to get up-to-date on this complicated topic.

In 1985 the PC game "Oregon Trail" became available. My daughter and I played it when she was in grade school around 1988. I learned that about 135,000 people took the Oregon Trail. Mr Meldahl tells us that a total of 400,000 people took the California Train and Oregon Train together from 1841 to 1869 when the railroads went through. That leaves around 265,000 gold rushers. Was it really the greatest mass migration in American history? (preface pp xv) An average of 300,000 vehicles passed over the George Washington bridge every day in 2002. (NYSDOT 2002) You be the judge.

But why quibble? It is the journey that interests the author, and he uses his sources well. The many first-person quotes really were good, as were the contemporary illustrations.

So let's join Keith in raising a toast. I'll open a Heineken in their honor, and his, tonight. "Hey, I liked your book, man!"

As we make our way west Mr. Meldahl enlightens us not only to the features we pass but how we ourselves came to inhabit our planet. As we absorb the latest gripping geology we imagine with regret how much this knowledge would have pleased the pioneers. I know and love many of these places and now my excitement is magnified by this narrative. The inclusion of the photo of his dog Scout is one of the author's brilliant human touches. The merging of interjected historical records, romantic and unromantic impressions of travelers then and now with broad but incisive academic detailing into an even flow of narrative is astonishing. Superb drawings, maps and photos supplement and enlighten the text. I cherish this book. John Weiler

If you like geology, you will love this. Not a quick read and all the better for it. This discussion of how the West was formed makes the travails of the travelers West in the mid-nineteenth century seem superhuman. Every other chapter enlivens the material with excerpts from emigrant diaries. These are memorable! The book is well sourced,has helpful photographs and drawings and has a glossary of geologic terms. I found it hard to put down and even inspiring.

I did not know much about geology when I started, but I knew a lot after reading this lovely mixture of history and enthusiastic, clearly explained geology. The book is also a pleasure to hold and read. Excellent [though 'auriferous' has nothing to do with iron- 'fer' [aquifer, conifer]and ferr' are different roots].But that's trivial!

This is a really good book, a great read. The author is a gifted writer and he beautifully weaves the tales of the emigrant travels to California with the landscape geology that they had to cross. I am a big reader of geology books and this is one of the best that I have read. With all due respect to Mr. Mcfee who pioneered this genre (and I have also read and enjoyed over the years), I think this book is at least as good and maybe even better. First of all, Hard Road West uses numerous pictures and diagrams to explain complicated geological principals which are invaluable for understanding the geology. And Hard Road West lets the emigrants themselves tell the story though their travel journals. Its a wonderful approach and makes the geology jump out of the page as you follow the emigrants almost step-by-step through their many travel hardships crossing the west to reach California. He is a really fun writer and I look forward to many other books by him in the future. Highly recommended.

Full of exciting tales of the road and the adventures that food can bring to the journey. This book is an absolute must! What is travel without food? Each story in this exceptional selection brings to the reader an intriguing fascination with the world and all it has to offer. Culture after culture you will be astounded by the discoveries each traveler brings to the table. This book is truly a treat for the hungry traveler and by books end, you will be satisfyingly full and content! Buy it and feast your way through the world with each turn of the page.

If you love food and travel, and who doesn't, you'll enjoy this book. I loved the compilation of stories, and how they illustrate how food adds to the experience of different places and different people. Just one warning: it will make you want to go someplace...and eat.

I love this book. I often pick up books from the Travelers Tales series and this one delivered even better than most! The articles were varied and delicious - it made me hungry to travel to far off places with these women and share a meal!

I loved the stories in Lisa Bach's book. Evocative passages that will have you reaching for your travel agent's number to experience it yourself...Or be an armchair traveler & chef, while your travel the globe, kitchen by kitchen, food stand to food stand.

This is such a wonderful book! I stumbled upon it at the bookstore and thought it had just the perfect concept. Food and travel--what else do you need? The selections here are amazing, and each piece really delivers. This is a must-have for any lover of food and adventure. Remember it the next time you need that special and unique gift for someone.

When people read a great book they want to escape from reality and go somewhere else. Author Dahris Clair invites a reader into a cozy home setting which keeps one glued in literary creativity of a story that whisks one away from stress of daily woes to enjoy a beautifully written tale. With eloquent descriptions of history and nature, The House on Slocum Road-Echoes of the Past, is an incredible journey taken with her heroine, Lottie Slocum, who comes to terms with her own life and the gifts that she has to offer. I loved Lottie and the way that this story reflects on the remarkable talent of this notable author. Dahris Clair writes with a loving spirit that captures the heart of the reader as to where one never wants the story to end. Thank goodness for authors as D.H. Clair. What a blessing it is to have her as an author in our world.
Fellow Author D'Maria Scaglione

It all started with a warning from a carnival gypsy many years ago: a little girl named Lottie Winslow has a gift; she can look into the future. As years passed, this prediction was pooh-poohed by most of the girl's family. But the prediction was true nonetheless. And many facets of this gift were revealed through mysterious happenings that occurred in and around an old family home in Sacandaga, New York.

A letter edged in black, with blood dripping from a corner. Screeching tires as a car careened out of control. Dreams and nightmares that never seemed to go away.

This is not, however, a horror story. Nor is it a story about fantasies and mental aberrtions. Far from it. This is a story of multi-generational family love and warmth as seen through Lottie's eyes, emotions and experiences. Her story includes gentle reminiscences, a persistent resilience, and the kind of resolutness that all can admire. Her life is also spiced with strange occurrences, vague impressions, and haunting visions.

Throughout this book, D. H. Clair provides sketches of the past and the present that are both authentic and colorful. Historical accounts of the Civil War era are blended with the blunt realism of everyday life today. Sensitive descriptions of the natural world are juxtaposed with the harshness of accidents and medical emergencies. The mysteries, however, are still there--in the center of it all. So, too, are the mystical, psychical parts of life that many readers have experienced in their own lives at one time or another.

All of these threads are woven together with skill and tenderness by the author. This is the kind of book that can warm you on a snowy afternoon or cool you on a sweltering August hammock day.

Russ Heitz
russheitz.com
myspace.com/russheitz

D.H. Clair's "The House on Slocum Road" has so many twists and turns you won't want to put it down for a moment in fear of losing track of the story. The author has successfully created a labyrinth of characters and a storyline that are strung together and wrapped around the novel's heroine - Lottie Winslow. You will fall in love with Lottie at the get-go, and at first you'll be impatient when the story veers away from her temporarily, but never fear, when it comes back, you're in for a ride. Ms. Clair's clever weave begins to strengthen about a fourth of the way into the book and doesn't let go of the reader till the end.

The story is jam-packed with scenes of the personal effects of the civil war between the North and South: of Lottie's family then, and of Lottie's family in the present. At first it feels as if two stories are running parallel, but in a different manner than what you would expect.

Ms. Clair has written a drama, a tragedy, a romance, a para-normal - all rolled into one, and her comedic sense shines through in Lottie's dialogue in Part Two. You will be intrigued, surprised, and will experience a satisfying read in "The House on Slocum Road." I certainly did.

I recommend it highly.

"The House on Slocum Road" is, by far, one of the best works of fiction I've read to date! The pages literally turned themselves. From the first page I was hooked & I even had trouble forcing myself to stop reading & go to bed (smile) - it is that good!

This story surrounds a woman named Lottie Slocum who, after recently being diagnosed as diabetic, begins having odd/frightening dreams - someone is beckoning her to another time, but who? and why? At the same time, she also begins having visions where she's able to see events before they happen - yet her husband (with whom she has a beautiful & close relationship with) doesn't believe her - or worse yet, he thinks she's beginning to lose her mind.

The answers to what is going on lie in Lottie's vacation home - a house that has been in her family for many, many generations. While searching for these answers, you get to follow Lottie on her journey to self-discovery & acceptance of her psychic "powers" - and what a journey it is! Through hidden journals re: her ancestor's Civil War experience & actually travelling back in time, Lottie finds her answers - & they are both shocking & wonderful at the same time. I don't want to give too much of the story away - so I'm going to leave it at that.

This is a beatifully written & researched book. In fact, there were times when I actually lost myself in the storyline - able to visualize in my mind the events as they unfolded. There are so many twists & turns that's difficult not to get caught up in this book.

Overall, I HIGHLY reccommend "The House on Slocum Road" to anyone who enjoys paranormal suspense/mystery books. It's truly an awesome read!

"The House on Slocum Road" is a must read for lovers of the esoteric. The title and cover perfetly encapsulate the mysterious aura of the supernatural and time travel.
The protagonist, i search of familial connection, is propelled backkward in time to the Civil War period. The discovery of an ancestor's chronicles including the Battles of Bull Run and Antietam, add extra deph to the story.
Obsessed with digging through her past, she is rewarded with an encounter of the ghostly kind. The image entices her to "Come home." When a violent storm assaults the old house, the protagonist seeks rfuge in her great grandmother's bed. When she awakens, it is to a different world and new people.
The author has done a creditable job of historical research of the Civil War period. Set in the Adirondacks, the story exudes warmth and gentility.
Ms. Clair cooks up a tasty mystery and ends on a positive note with the inclusion of an old amily recipe for Cinnamon Walnut Scones. Yummy!
Kathryn van Heyningen
author of "The Whitebridge Web"

Kasey Pipes does a tremendous job of bringing Eisenhower's previously scarcely commented on struggles with the changing climate of America's Civil Rights to light in a very genuine manner. The book is incredibly readable and very informative.

Pipes is able to present facts with a human touch that brings the reader into Eisenhower's inner circle, as if they were a fly on the wall in some of Ike's most pivotal and telling situations.

Ike's Final Battle
by Kasey Pipes

Mr. Pipes has written a thoroughly enjoyable and well written record of Dwight Eisenhower's approach to civil rights legislation and his exegesis of perspective in the civil rights arena. Pipes chronicles Eisenhower's internal struggles with desegregation of the military and government agencies and his fear that a revolutionary, rather than evolutionary, approach to liberty for all Americans could cause more harm than good. This is a positive revisionist history to some degree; clearly evidencing Ike's intent on aiding the plight of minorities in the US while battling the prejudices that he came of age accepting and being immersed in for the whole of his military career. Ike's slow methodical approach to all matters of civil rights is clearly on display, as was his approach to all difficult decision making. However, his unflinching adherence to the laws of our land clearly stand out. Desegregation is ordered in Little Rock, AR and local politicians refuse to accept the Supreme Court decision, Ike does not hesitate in the least. After exhausting all diplomatic efforts he clearly takes charge of the situation and sends in the 101st Airborne to aide with the enforcement of recently enacted laws. No regrets on Ike's part, no compromising his beliefs - the law is being broken and he immediately, without hesitation asserts control - in the process paving the way for desegregation enforcement to take hold throughout the land.

This is an extremely brisk read that you'll find difficult to get away from. No fluff, solid documentation and previously uncovered oral histories make this a treasure trove of new insight into Ike's personality and genuine concern over civil rights matters. Eisenhower was often derided for his lack of leadership on civil rights, an argument which merits legitimacy, however we're shown a different side in 'Final Battle' which show he was more progressive than many thought - in fact on some occasions, more progressive than the NAACP - then a truly dedicated organization and true standard bearer of civil rights advancement.

Definitely check this book out - it's worth the time and money!

Written by former Bush White House worker Kasey S. Pipes, Ike's Final Battle: the Road to Little Rock and the Challenge of Equality is the amazing and unlikely true story of how Dwight D. Eisenhower became a civil rights president. Chronicling the landmark desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, which forced a historical confrontation between state and federal authorities and set an engraved precedent that the federal government would intervene for the sake of racial justice if necessary, Ike's Final Battle meticulously recounts events in unfolding detail, with an inset section of black-and-white photographic plates. An extensive bibliography, notes, and an index round out this welcome addition to American history shelves.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! It tells President Eisenhower's story very well, and it kept my interest throughout the narrative.

Pipes' thesis, that Eisenhower went through a significant "struggle within himself" about his belief in civil rights (requiring significant social change) and majority rule (which did not support significant social change at that time), is also well argued. I especially appreciate the honesty in which the author tells Ike's story, including his strengths and weaknesses.

Also, Pipes does an excellent job of noting the number of significant Republican policy makers who were strong advocates of civil rights legislation during the 1950s and 1960s.

While I think everyone will benefit from reading this book, it especially should be read by all Republican office holders and candidates, today.

This book is a fast 300 pg. narrative on Eisenhower's nuanced positions regarding civil rights. The nuance is not whether equal rights for African Americans were right vs. wrong, but instead Eisenhower's struggle on how best to protect the rights of these Americans against the prejudice of southern conservatives who controlled the southern states and the relevant committees of the Senate.

Pipes begins with Eisenhower's experiences and contributions to the cause of equal rights in the military and ends in his retirement, with the climax happening 2/3 of the way through the book when Ike sends federal troops to Little Rock, AK to defend the right of African American students to attend a whites-only public school in spite of a bigoted governor who sends the national guard to keep them out. The book finishes with reflections on his contributions looking back from the time of Kennedy and LBJ moving the ball forward even further.

Pipes provides an incredibly fair report on President Eisenhower's policy positions and actions given the frequent opaqueness of his position depending on the situation and the company he was keeping. Many have attempted to paint Ike as a racist political opportunist or a courageous leader of the civil rights movement, with both positions given to hyperbole. Instead, Pipes portrays a man who respects majoritarian positions while realizing in his heart the wrongness of institutionalized bigotry even though Eisenhower, a man of his time, shares some prejudicial beliefs. The struggle for Eisenhower is often how to move the majority to his position without his having to depend on fiery rhetoric to change hearts and minds.

While Eisenhower was never a die-hard politico, he left the GOP with a wonderful legacy inherent in republicanism as a form of government instituted in 1787. Reading this book in 2007 shows how far the current majority of Republicans have mutated away from the principles of republicanism and Eisenhower, mostly due to the Southern Conservative Democrats who emigrated to the GOP after LBJ led the Democratic party into passing the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts.

Pipes' only flaw in the book, so minor it's not worth knocking down a star, is a weak-hearted attempt to define Eisenhower as a conservative even though all empirical evidence in the book and other studies on Eisenhower provide ample evidence that he was a moderate who "got it" regarding our founding ideal of republicanism that holds that government is obligated to defend our individual liberty rights. The examples of Eisenhower's actions in the book are a case study in republicanism, not conservatism, where Ike closely follows the examples of previous Republican presidents who used federal power to protect individual and minority rights (e.g., Madison, Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt). Conservatives by definition abhor using federal power to protect individual rights, they instead promote the ideal of "state rights" in hopes the process of "democratic conservatism" at the state level will "protect the will of the people", i.e., conservatives want to employ simple majorities leveraging state power to deny individuals and minority groups equal rights and protections.

The Life of Your Times keeps you wondering where the story line is going and how on earth it will ever mesh together. The extra added conversations are hilarious. You are intrigued with each of the characters story lines and how on earth they connect to the other people. Then all of a sudden it becomes perfectly clear and you are amazed then you did not figure the concept earlier. The surprise ending is perfect. I enjoyed this book immensely and recommend everyone read it.

Byers weaves together a story with humor and imagination. This book provides a wonderful read and has the reader constantly challenged in thought. The book can make one laugh and ponder the imponderable. All in all, this book provides a fun ride and a thoughtful probe into oneself.

With his first book, The Life of Your Time, Byers grabs the reader by the lapels and promptly heaves him into the world of Percival J. Weckbaugh, a courteous sixth-grader in a small Midwestern town. When Percival is presented with his first awareness of coincidence, he questions the concept, setting into motion a series of seemingly unrelated events. The book is bursting with adorably imperfect people (for whom the author has obvious and great affection) and the reader is drawn into their lives as each struggles with his own versions of love, regret, ambition, courage, failure, inner peace, and questions about his own place in the universe.

Volleying between humor and poignancy, the characters' paths cross and entangle with varying degrees of intensity and frequency - much the same way one might realistically observe in any small town. And though the story line plows through everything from being bullied at school to marital infidelity to suicide, the book remains optimistic, encouraging, and enriching. Byers launches the characters through potential minefields, managing to let each character navigate his own course, and draw his own conclusion about the greater forces at work and the value of living life to the fullest. Although not a particularly long book (about 150 pages), The Life of Your Time is a hearty and satisfying read. With each word carefully placed and diligently orchestrated to pack a wallop, many of the images and awakenings stay with the reader long after the story ends. Byers is an advocate to important concepts, lending his words and unique understanding to things most of us dare try to articulate. Once started, this book is hard to put down, and once finished it's hard to give up.

The texture of the writing is extraordinary, as the author effortlessly weaves the reader through coincidences, revelations, and character encounters, carefully and unobtrusively tying up loose ends along the way. The tapestry of the book is enhanced by Byers' quick and clever wit, dynamic use of puns, and fast-paced, stream-of-consciousness writing. And ever present through it all remain the shimmering golden threads of faith, hope, and God's love.

Interspersed with humor (the chapter titles are particularly witty) and insight, the author truly has his finger on the pulse of humanity's ongoing struggle with the very meaning of life. Creating a unique delivery, Steven J. Byers has assembled a superb cast, each of which could be personally identified with at some level, regardless of the characters' age or gender. In his portrayal of this quest for the ultimate answer, Byers has obviously 'put his pen where his faith is' in creating this memorable work; sending the reader a message which is clear, and with a point well taken."The Life of Your Time" is a must-read for all who are about to embark on their own journey, as well as for those that have already undertaken this endeavor.

When the book opens with the Author interviewing someone to be the Narrator of his story, you know that "The Life of Your Time" isn't going to be your ordinary book, much less a book with a religious theme. In fact, you're well engrossed with the Author's witty observations on life and the interesting "coincidences" that confront young Percival (a very polite boy) before you realize that there may be a deeper meaning to this book than you first thought. This book is easy to read (although you'll need to go back and read it a second time to find out all the details that somehow are tied together by the end of the book!) and highly entertaining. The writing style reminds me of C.S. Lewis' "Narnia Chronicles," but with very up-to-date 21st century observations on life and its meaning. A review in the American Library Association's "Book List" called "The Life of Your Time" a "tour de force" -- and I agree! I highly recommend this book to anyone who's ever wondered about whether coicidences are really coincidental or whether, just maybe, there's a more significant meaning to our lives.

This map is waterproof, wind resistant, easy to fold and easy to read. It probably has more tourist highlights on it than you'll be able to visit in one trip.

After four trips to Rome and being folded & folded & abused, there are still no rips in this map. I get a MapEasy's Guide anytime I can. Easy to read. And, no matter how long between visits, these places never move. Restaurants & hotels may change, but I mark where our favorite places to stay & eat were for future reference.
But mostly I just want to know where an attraction is and the shortest way to get there!!!!

I have 8 of these maps, for cities from Rome to NY. They helped us around in Wash, DC, find the monuments, eating, and points of interest. They are well planned and informative. We just got back from NY and it was just perfect, once again. Having used the "traditional" ones in the past and being a constant traveller, I look forward to our next trips using MapEasy.They are also small enough to fit anywhere.

I navigated my way through Rome for three months using this map. Worked splendidly! The waterproofing and heavy, foldable (and light-weight) construction is brilliant, as I was caught in more than a fair share of rain storms while using the map. Ideal for pedestrians.

My wife and I bought 2 maps for our trip to Rome this one, and the Streetwise Rome map. This one is helpful if you are trying to find places to eat that are inexpensive, but the locations aren't in the same location that it shows you. This happened to us a couple of times, also, some of the stores are closed that it has listed. It is very helpful because it has the Pantheon, Coliseum, and Piazza Navona blown up on the back side which proved to be helpful.

Overall the Streetwise is a better map because it has the names of all the blocks whereas this one misses some of the alleys (which there are a lot of). The Streetwise does have a smaller font but not terribly small like one of the other reviews states.

Also, this map would be much more helpful if it had an index of the streets and piazza's/largos which the Streetwise map does have.

Overall this map is worth the 6 bucks that I paid for it, but the 9 that I paid for the streetwise was better (more flipping the map over because it's two-sided, but better).