First, a confession: I have not read this book cover to cover. This is more of a beautifully illustrated reference book giving the history of each Christmas Carol. It comes in a boxed set with 3 CD's (47 songs). The book has almost 100 beautiful Christmas images including Saturday Evening Post covers, Currier and Ives Lithographs, N.C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell, Grandma Moses, ...even art from private collections and the Ukrainian National Art Museum. Wow!
When I leave this book on my coffee table, visitors ask where they can buy one.
I like the fact that I can look up the words to all of those songs that I keep playing on my CD player.

We bought this book after our rugby team had two concussions during a match. This book breaks down possible injuries and gives a list of warning signs and how to stabilize injuries until you can reach a hospital. I was very impressed with the clear writing style which makes it possible for anyone to understand and apply the techniques described. I recommend this book for sports teams to keep with their medicine chest.

I can't believe that this book is not reveiwed. As a big band trumpet player for twenty five years it provided insight into not just Woody Herman,but the musicians that played on his band . That's what this book is really about. The life of being on the road with a big band. I could relate as I've been their and if you read this book you can live it to. The book is written by the alumni of the band as a kind of tribute to the man who created the band that played the blues. Its' more anecdotes then a actual biography.

Apparently William Bennett is unfamiliar with the myriad wonderful books for children written in the last thirty years. The only exception are "famous" people writing now like Barbara Bush. Why not draw on the terrific current literature? My guess is because Bennett would have to pay for that, whereas the older work is in the public domain. What a lost opportunity to speak to kids in terms they can better relate to and to introduce parents to some fine contemporary writers. Of course, this book is actually pitched to parents, not kids, so I doubt appealing to kids is actually his real aim.

We're on our second read through of this book of children's morality tales.

With poems, short homilies and stories, Bill Bennett entertains young children as life's good lessons are imparted. The accompanying illustrations are visually delightful.

Some of the stories, because of word usage, appeal to a slightly older audience than my four and five year olds, but they can appreciate most of the vignettes. A good book that helps parents in childhood instruction.

This is an excellent book to read to your young ones (4+) The stories are old yet the principles are ageless. The children will curl up and live these tales. I find myself truely enjoying this special time. When they get to six or seven I would strongly recommend moving to the Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett. The stories will sweep you and the children away. MY childrens favorite time is reading these stories. They actually ask for the book and seldom does anything else draw such smiles and "Thank You Daddys". Enjoy the experience.

As a reader from Germany interested in history I already read a number of memoirs from German submariners and technical/historical literature on the topic. So in comparing this book with the above mentioned ones my mind just forms one question: How did this bunch win their war? And the answer: Because Japanese ASW-effectiveness was near to nonexistent. Facing an adversary as Great Britain it would have been doubtful if any of the submariners in US-boats would have survived. But this author as many others lament the high losses (about 50 boats with crew; for comparision:Germany about 700 boats, 30000 of 40000 men). At least he does not boast the 'welldeserved' victory as is typical for US-authors. And he even apologizes for his sometimes jingoistic diction being result of wartime mentality. Having said this I can admit that I enjoyed reading this book,for it is an interesting and first hand insight view of US sub warfare in WW2 and a counterweight to the standard literature centered on either technic or 'big picture' history.
I can recommend this book with the above mentioned restrictions.
But do read some similar books written by German submariners for balance (but not 'iron coffins', that is biased to say the least).

Capt. Ruhe captures the essence of the submarine officer. The frustrations, hardships and ultimate glory of the silent service are powerfully captured on every page. The patrol accounts make you feel as if you were there. Ruhe details all his daily concerns, both as a junior officer, and as the Executive officer. You get a good feel for his leadership style, and those of the other wardroom officers. I only wish he had included some of their accounts of different incidents to get a broader feel for the story. The prose is easy to read and spiced with homey wartime era ancedotes and subtle humor. I Recommend it to all Navy officers, especially Submariners and any WWII history buffs

This is a good book, and I'll tell you why I think so. Ruhe, the author, kept excellent notes on his first-hand experiences. These notes provide excellent detail on both the men, machines, and tactics of the American submarines in the Pacific in WWII. The foibles of the machines and men are well-told, and with a good deal of insight.

The story is organized into 8 chapters, with each chapter relating to one of his 8 missions or tours. The first of these tours begins on a S-boat, a post WWI clunker that is affectionately referred to as a "rusty old sewer pipe". The courage and skill of the men in these decrepit old machines stuns me. And on each mission, Ruhe critically analyzes his actions, feelings, emotions...as well as the tactics used, and the decisions and personalities of his commanders.

Like all first-hand accounts, you learn quite a bit about the author as his story unfolds. And Ruhe has quite an interesting personality. One, he is brave. Two, he is honest with both his own courage and fears. Three, he is exceptionally insightful and retrospective on the tactics that worked, and the tactics that didn't work. Four, and most interestingly, he is very sensitive, perceptive, and critical of his commanding officers.

This criticism of his commanding officer, while highly astute and insightful, borders on insubordination and mutiny. And it is his unique individualism in a military system where following orders is key that makes him, and this book, special. Let me say it flat-out...he is a rebel and troublemaker in addition to being a good officer. If you were commanding a submarine, you'd both want him on board for his skill and bravery...but he is a handful. And it is this handful that makes the book especially interesting.

I give this book 5 stars, as it is on a par with what I would consider the best first-hand submarine book ever-written...Iron Coffins.

The thing I kept thinking when I read this book was -- why does Tom Clancy put his name on this? It was very obvious through the whole thing that his research assistant did all the travel, research, and probably wrote everything, too. Is Tom Clancy just a brand now, and not really an author? I wish they would explain that better.

And as other reviewers have mentioned, it seemed awfully "patched together" with no flow between the force descriptions, travelogues, and the mini novel in the back.

The book has a lot of info about the Army Special Forces ("Green Berets") and what their specific role is in realm of special forces. I definitely understand a lot more about how SF teams work, think, and act.

It was NOT one of those books I "couldn't put down" I found myself wanting to finish it and just get the info. After reading it, I understand a lot better about how the special forces operate.

The mini-novel at the back was kind of weak. It was just a quick fictionalized example of all the info in the rest of the book. That felt pretty thrown together, too.

I want to say right at the front that I am a very big fan of Clancy, both his fiction and non-fiction work. After the current war in Afghanistan started and there were descriptions that the start of the fighting was being carried out by Special Forces, I thought this book would be a great educational tool to help me better understand the new reports. The book does give a broad understanding of the different US military Special Forces groups, a run down on training, tactics and weapons, but it did not offer much punch in the writing. I also felt like many chapters were almost cut and paste jobs from the chapters before. Overall I felt that the book could have been about 30 - 50 pages shorter and said the same thing, this disappoints me because those pages could have been filled with more real life examples as to the missions these guys actually perform.
Overall this is a good effort by the Clancy team; it is not as good as the Submarine or Carrier books in this line, but a solid effort. I guess I am just expecting more from one of my favorite authors.

I am not a reader of Tom Clancy's novels. This is not one of Clancy's novels. This is a biography of the United States Army's Special Forces unit. i have done a lot of reading of numerous U.S. military elite units, but never done too much on the Army's SOF. This is a very well researches and presented book. The reader can come away from this book with a thorough understanding of how to apply for the USA SOF, the training, the specialty training, unit selection, and what they do and why they are called to do it.

There is a small biography of General Shelton, which I enjoyed because I saw so much of him after 9/11 but knew little about him. I wish he was given a little place to write in this book because I'm sure he's got lots to write considering he's the first SOF Joint Cheif Chairman. This book, I feel, leaves out much of the history of the Army's SOF history. The Army has such an interesting history I don't see how some of it was not written about. If you want a history book, you'll be upset when you get this book.

This book is an excellent tactical view of the Army's Special Forces. After reading this book the reader will fully understand that The Green Berets and other Special Forces soldiers are not what are diplicted in Hollywood. Sometimes the truth can be quite boring, but not when it comes to this topic. Unfortunately this book is obviously written by a person who has never experienced life in the Special Forces. It would have been nice to read some commentary from a man who has gone through the training, endured the harsh physicality of SF life, and who can comment on various aspects of the life in this elite group of men. Clancy has probably done as good a job that a civilian could. The novel at the end was unecessary and I didn't read much of it.

This book is well written and easy to understand. I enjoyed reading it. This is not typical Clancy, it's better.