This is a non-fiction book you can actually read! It's funny, truthful, revealing, exciting and fun. Max approaches this book the way he approaches his music--with vigor and enthusiasm. The pictures have depth--you get to know Max through the photography. Would highly recommend it!

In all of the mass of literature about American entertainment, there are only a few books that give you an accurate idea of what show business is really like -- ACT ONE, by Moss Hart, THE TROUBLE WITH CINDERELLA, by Artie Shaw, ALL OF MY BEST FRIENDS, by George Burns, and the occasional passage in a star's autobiography (Sophie Tucker, Billy Rose, Little Richard).

Now, THE ROAD TO RAGTIME has joined that select company. Thanks to Max Morath and Diane Fay Skomars, we have a document that shows what real American show business is like in the late 20th Century trenches -- the one-man show, the community concerts circuit, the roadhouses and honky-tonks, radio, television, and anywhere else there's an audience ready to be entertained.

Max Morath is one of America's greatest entertainers. He's one of those magical peformers who's able to get the audience in the palm of his hand the moment he takes the stage. What's extraordinary is that he's been able to be so successful without ever compromising the integrity of his music.

He's a national treasure -- and this terrific book helps us unlock it.

-- Murray Horwitz National Public Radio

Max Morath and Diane Skomars have created a handsome book celebrating Max's career as a channeler of American popular culture. Max loves the American present as much as he loves its past. He's been stirring the melting pot for fifty years now, mixing musical styles, fact, fiction, humor, and social observation. This book is much like a Morath concert--that is, it is sweet, funny, and wise. Skomars' photographs gorgeously depict the world of "Present Max"--a world of fast food, lookalike motels, freeway signs--as he travels to take "Past Max" to audiences everywhere. A beautiful evocation of Max at work and on his way to work.

After years of caring for her mother, Susannah Pelton needs to experience life at its fullest. She's devised a list of adventures and she tackles them one by one. During a bridge jump she lands on rocks and breaks her arm, and when she moves on to her next quest--to create a lasting work of art--she becomes the wounded red bird who will heal Cherokee Ryan Whitepath's young daughter Nia from Separation Disorder, according to the hunky mosaic artist's grandmother.

Ryan reluctantly invites Susannah into his home on the pretext of providing art lessons in exchange for office work, but he's desperate to help his young daughter who shuns everyone but Susannah, who herself has experienced great loss. It's what Susannah has come for; it's another quest to complete and mark off her list. She'll only stay until Christmas. Love gets in the way, though, and Ryan must somehow convince her that life on Snowbird Mountain is the most rewarding quest of all.

Fay Robinson's final book is a tribute to her enormous talent. Her characters' realism makes this a page turner to the very end. Not only is she a consummate artist with story and words, but in Christmas on Snowbird Mountain she has superbly dealt with real life situations in a manner where they are believable yet don't overshadow the romance. Do yourself a favor and seek out all five of her books for your keeper shelf. Talent like this comes along rarely. Very Highly Recommended.

I was totally captivated with this book. The characters, description of the scenery, heritage and traditions made me feel as if I was there with Susannah and Ryan. The touching and complete love that Ryan had for his daughter was truely wonderful to read and feel. This was the first book that I have read by Fay Robinson but certainly will not be my last. I just found a new favorite writer.

Fay Robinson, my mother, passed away on Dec. 2, 2002. Christmas on Snowbird Mountain was her fifth book published. My mother, in one form or another, has been an amazing writer her whole life. She was a journalism major in college and went on to write for several newspapers when one day my late grandmother asked her "If you could do anything, what would it be?" My mother responded that "I want to be a writer. I've always wanted to write books." My grandmother asked what was stopping her (it had also been my grandmother's dream to write). Fast forward several years later, and my mother receives word that her novel A Man Like Mac has been accepted for publication. Her dream came true. And as a dedication, my mother used Fay Robinson as her pseudonym, which was my grandmother's maiden name. Fay Robinson will be terribly missed by all of us, but thankfully we can take comfort in the fact that she got to live out her dreams. I hope you enjoy her final book, Christmas on Snowbird Mountain.

In The Last Eyewitnesses, the editor, Wiktoria Sliwowska, has presented her own testimony of the destruction of Polish Jewry as well as those of her contemporaries.These have been assembled by the Association of the Children of the Holocaust in Poland. The special character of this anthology lies in the fact that these Jews, mostly in their sixties and seventies now, have come together to relate their childhood memories of the Holocaust, when childhood was denied to them. The reader becomes a witness to a unique cathartic experience. The translation of Julian and Fay Bussgang has given the English reader the opportunity to encounter these testimonies, full of the stark details which contradict everything expected from childhood. It is chilling to hear of the young who, besides being faced with constant want and privation and witness to violence and brutalization, also have to deal with an immediate and mature realization that their own lives are tenuous and threatened day by day. One individual describes his fear and panic, as he and his sister fled from their pursuers into the woods, as well as the subsequent pain and guilt for having separated from her during their attempted escape. His path led to life, while hers led to death. It is painful to read of children who are clearly aware that in their circumstances, it is dangerous to be a Jew. A new word has entered their Jewish vocabulary, "Action", a raid by Germans and their cohorts to seize Jews for death, either to be killed on the spot or taken to the death camps. One can scarcely imagine living with the ever-present fear of being discovered - afraid of one's dark Jewish appearance, living in cellars or closets, forbidden to approach a window, hiding in the woods. The sad fate of Polish Jewry is revealed in the statement of one teenage girl upon returning home after liberation: "...In my one and only little dress, without a cent to my name, I traveled to where Mama, Dorota, and the rest of the family were sent to the ghetto. Here, after arriving at my destination, I lived through the worst moment of my life. I did not anybody, not a single blessed soul." Not only did they not find many of their loved-ones or any vibrant Jewish community after the War, but they found anti-Semitism still alive, though their families were dead. These children spent at least six years trying to divest themselves of their Jewish identity. They had to change their names, sometimes several times, change their language, in many cases, and learn Catholic prayers and rituals. Many survivors have never returned to their original, Jewish names. As one sees by the names listed in the table of contents, many have never really recovered their identities as Jews. One individual expresses his confusion about whether he is a Jewish-Pole or a Polish-Jew. The histories presented here cover the entire gamut from total alienation from Jewish contacts to strenuous effort to learn about their background and Israel. As one reads the various depositions, one is amazed that any children could have lived through such inimical circumstances. One is amazed at the efforts of courage and sacrifice, love and desperation on the part of these parents to give up their children to strangers in the hope that they might live through the horrible German regime. One is also amazed at the stories of great courage on the part of many Poles in the rescue efforts described. "Antek" Cukierman, hero of the Warsaw Ghetto, has commented that one Pole could betray a hundred hiding Jews, but it took a hundred Poles to save a single Jew. These accounts verify that reality, as does Yad Vashem's recognition of many of them to be included in the ranks of the Righteous Among the Nations. The people who have come forth in the aftermath of the Holocaust to give these accounts of their personal lives and tragedies, as they struggle to define their identities, have gone on to demonstrate that there can be life after the Holocaust, but there can never be an elimination of its legacy.And this legacy will extend beyond the lives of even these and other last witnesses. Abraham Rzepkowicz, Reviewer

In The Last Eyewitnesses, the editor, Wiktoria Sliwowska, has presented her own testimony of the destruction of Polish Jewry as well as those of her contemporaries. These have been assembled by the Association of the Children of the Holocaust in Poland. The special character of this anthology lies in the fact that these Jews, mostly in their sixties and seventies now, have come together to relate their childhood memories of the Holocaust, when childhood was denied to them. The reader becomes a witness to a unique cathartic experience. The translation of Julian and Fay Bussgang has given the English reader the opportunity to encounter these testimonies, full of the stark details which contradict everything expected from childhood. Primarily, these survivors learned that in their circumstances, it was dangerous to be a Jew. These children spent at least six years of their lives trying to divest themselves of their Jewish identity. They had to change their names, sometimes several times, change their language, in many cases, and learn Catholic prayers and rituals. As one sees by the names listed in the table of contents, many have never really recovered their identities as Jews. The histories provided demonstrate that there can be life after the Holocaust, but there can never be an elimination of its legacy. And this legacy will extend beyond the lives of even these and other last witnesses.

The 65 personal histories chronicled here represent the scope and variety of experiences Polish child survivors of the Holocaust underwent. They tell of kindness and cruelty, of good luck and bad, of the survival of a complete nuclear family and the survival of one who knows only that he is, by origin, a Jew. Because this these people originally came from all over Poland, they faced persecution by not only the Nazis and their Belarussian, Lithuanian, Polish, and Ukrainian collaborators, but also from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and various other anti-Semitic, anti-Polish groups.

Most of these chronicles convey the sense of absolute aloneness and isolation their tellers must have felt. However, a number reveal connections among the group of contributors, connections that hint at the scope of the Jewish community that existed in Poland before the Nazis invaded.

The individual stories are compelling. Their cumulative effect is powerful. They bear witness to the spectrum of human capacity for good and for evil, and, above all, to the twists of fate that meant the difference between death and survival. Accounts of the lingering, ever-present effects of suffering resulting from the events of over 50 years ago serve as reminders that the past is, indeed, never really over.

Author Jennifer Reif, has not descended from a long line of Witches, nor been trained in any particular branch of the Craft, just book-taught like many in the Craft today. None-the-less, she has put together an awesome treasury of rituals and spells simple enough for every level of magickal practitioner, but complicated enough that I would recommend this for more experienced practitioners.

Novices need to develop some basic skills and knowledge before tackling some of these spells. Still, anyone with an interest in honoring deities in their many cultural guises, through ritual or spellwork, should add this truly inspired compilation to their magickal libraries.

There is a brief history of Witchcraft & Wicca in the beginning and very brief background on the author herself. The rest is devoted entirely to wonderfully diverse magickal workings. They are subdivided into groupings, such as rituals for: Strength and Power --To Athena, Warrior Goddess for inner strength and power, The Veil of Isis to awaken confidence and determination; Honorable Endings and Farewells -- Banshee Macha to end malicious gossip, To the Ancient Crone for the passing of a pet; For Prosperity and Success -- Enchantment of Sri Lakshmi for prosperity; and a Multifarious Miscellany -- including, Spiral of the Delphic Oracle to obtain the answer to a question, and the Rite of the Non-ritual for joy in the moment. I am just touching the surface of what's included in this text.

It is my goal someday to perform Reif's, knock your socks off larger group ritual, Song of the Sacred Grove, a beautiful rite invoking and honoring the magic of Celtic trees. The rituals can be one day, or more in length...the Sri Lakshmi ritual is a 3-day working.

All rituals have a level of complexity that will engage and absorb practitioner(s). Along with the body of each rite, Reif provides a supply list, altar setup instructions, ritual timing and other instructions. Words are rhythmic and truly inspired. Reif has been studying and working with nature and ancient cultures since 1983. It shows through in this work. I pray that this is not the last we hear from her.

Jennifer Reif draws on the strengths of many pantheons to create a well-rounded selection of spells and rites for personal growth, improvement, and fulfillment. The rituals are conveniently organized, explained in detail, and powerful. There is a ritual for almost every conceivable need. I will be returning to it again and again.

Just got through reading this new spell book. It's very goddess oriented, which I love. That is--most of the spells require invocation of a deity. At first, I wasn't sure I was going to like it, as I am not really into Wicca. The title is a bit misleading: Morgan Le Fay's book of Spells and Wiccan Rituals. I thought it was going to be Arthurian Wicca or something. But wow, although the Wicca stuff is there for those who want it, what the author has put together is a blend of different spells/visualizations/workings based on various dieties and energies--all very empowering--all very user friendly.

The spells themselves are tailored to practical real life situations. The supplies needed and processes required are also practical and easily attainable. No arcane toe of dog required here, just beautiful words and evocative images!

One more thing, I don't usually rave about introductions but
I've not read as succinct and informative an intro on the history of Wicca in I don't know when.

For what you get. The price is more than right. Don't overlook this delightful little book. Here's to pleasant and magickal surprises!

I have read Judy's book, seen her video, met her when she came to Milwaukee in 2001 to work with two dogs, and this year in May 2002 when she gave a wonderful presentation at the Wisconsin Humane Society talking about some of her successes which are also mentioned in her book. She did a live demonstration and as a volunteer at the facility, I received so much positive feedback from attendees. The book has helped friends of mine who recently acquired dogs and one person in particular refers to Judy's book as his "bible" when working with his dog. As a dog walker, Judy's book has helped me work with the dogs I walk at the shelter. The book is so worthwhile to every dog owner, both new and those who have had dogs, and this book should be associated on Amazon with other dog-related books (whether training or pleasure reading).
Thank you.

DOGS DESERVE DIALOGUE & Judy Moore's Video are exceptional and truly in the dog's language. Our German shepherd had been kept in a little kennel for breeding. They had two other dogs that were allowed in the house and car. We were given Jazmine at 3 1/2 years old. She hated dogs and people and was unmanagable. She was excellent in every other way. We have 11 dog books and none of that training helped us. We got Judy's book and tape and started working with her. Jazmine had to have a serious surgery and was quite ill for a month. Judy wrote us an email and asked how we were doing. We were very discouraged. With Judy's encouragement we started training again. Immediately, Jazmine picked up where we left off. She would behave responsibility with constant praise. This would have been impossible without Judy's book and tape. Judy Moore is an exceptional person, gives generous help and support, and is constantly wanting to help all animals. This is the only dog book you need for training. We suggest you get the tape as it is quite helpful. The dogs learn very quickly and without being stressed.

I own a very high spirited dog. When I first started walking him as a young puppy, we were both attacked several times by dogs that were not on leashes. Because of this, my dog has what I can only call Social anxiety. He is frightened of any new experience. Instead of cowering, he became aggressive. I have trained dogs using a variety of methods over the years, but only this book was able to help me help my dog. It inspired me to also join Judy in a weekend training session. Between the book, the video and Judy's help, my dog is able to handle his fears and even overcome some of them. It is not a quick fix, it requires a relationship with your dog. The work is gratifying and you will not believe what a wonderful dog you own!

As a L&L instructor for my school district, I have a distict affinity for the L&L philosophy. However, that does not mean I heartily recommend every tape. Four Steps to Responsibility, however, is a must have for parents who wish to prepare their kids for the real world. As a parent, it is instinctual to some degree to want to save our children from the pain and anguish that can occur during childhood: by either keeping our children from making (safe) mistakes, to rescuing them in order to make their life easier and to spare them pain. The authors do an excellent job of showing how we are stealing from our kids when we do this... The authors point out that the road to wisdom is paved with mistakes, as is the road to positive self-concept and self-esteem. Only by overcoming obstacles can the children feel confident enough to handle any challenge that comes his/her way. Only by owning the problem can the child build the decision making skills that may one day keep him/her from getting in a car driven by a drunk friend-not because he/she knows that mom and dad don't know and can't get mad, but because he/she has a clear understanding about the connection between choice and consequence. Get this tape...it is great.

The tape is very insightful as well as extremely entertaining. I couldn't wait to get back in my car to hear more. Although the concepts are quite tough (most parents want to rescue their children) it is extremely helpful and most of all - FUN. I so enjoy watching my children problem solve and make decisions - coming up with solutions I had not thought about. Most of the time, they don't make the same mistake twice when they keep the problem on their backs. I have ordered more audiobooks in the Love and Logic series and even one I am donating to my kids school.

THIS CLEARLY DEMONSRATES THE "OBLIGATION" OF PARENTS AND TEACHERS TO PREPARE KIDS FOR THE REAL WORLD BY EXPERIENCING THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTIONS INSTEAD OF ALWAYS RUNNING INTERFERENCE AND SENDING MESSAGES THAT STUNT GROWTH AND DEVELOP THE COMMON "IT'S NOT MY FAULT" ATTITUDE THAT IS SO PREVASIVE AND DESTRUCTIVE TODAY. I BELIEVE EVERY PRINCIPAL IN THE COUNTRY SHOULD HAVE THIS TAPE AND INCORPORATE ITS IDEAS AND PHILOSPHIES INTO THEIR SCHOOLS.

I read this book after an experience that I had in college. It was very easy to read and also informative. "Free of the shadows" is a great book for anyone who has experienced sexual assault. It is also a good book for family and friends to read who are trying to help a love one get through a difficult time. I loaned the copy I had to a friend, who in turn loaned it to a friend. I have been looking for a copy of this book for years! Ever bookstore that I went to told me that they couldn't order it. They said it was unavailable. I am very happy to see that this very resourceful book is still in print.

This book is fantastic. My friend was raped, and I wanted to get her a book that wouldn't scare her but would answer her questions thoroughly. This entire book is a series of VERY helpful questions and answers grouped by topic in chapters. A good book for raising self-esteem and helping get on with life. I agree that it is definately NOT scary to read, and definately one of the more gentle books to read. This is an especially helpful book in my case where my friend believes it's her fault, when it really wasn't. It helped a LOT!!

At first I thought it was overly simplistic. But I think its like that for people to be able to read it immediatly after a rape. Anyway, I think its very good. As rape tends not to be something that is openly discussed amongst even close female friends, (for me anyhow) it gives the opportunity to outline some pretty basic guidelines which- sadly just arn't discussed as freely as they should be. Very good. I thought I was pretty aware, but this reinforced and highlighted perspectives that lurk in the mind, but werent addressed. Surprisingly informative. Made me realize how far reaching the effects of the rape were and how recovery from the effects of the rape were just as important as recovering from the rape/assault itself. If you are on the recieving end of unwanted sexual attention, this is a great book. I have found that there seem to be very few books about rape, which is surprising, as I have always found rapes and assaults to be far too commonplace in this society. I think the word rape puts a lot of people off, because they think it always refers to something quite extreme or violent, but sexual assaults are often not 'OTT', but can be just as scarring. -meaning the act itself is one of violence, but the rapist will not always beat people up or yell etc,. It might be a threatening act, but be equqlly as damaging to the psyce as a more voilent rape scenario.

Fay Zadeh has done a truly marvelous job in recording everything wonderful that has happened through her life and her great many trips with Lotfi. It is an outstanding autobiography of a most unusual and talented couple who know the world and human beings so well. Her humorous but critical observations of people and their way of life are really unique, acute and amusing. We read the volume with a great deal of interest.

Fay Zadeh has written a fun and important book that gives a rare glimpse into the personal side of scientific discovery. It is at once both a thoughtful travelogue through the recent history of the information sciences and a contribution to the sociology of science itself.

An Old (and "politically incorrect") saying states that behind every successful man, there is a supporting woman. Now, we all have a pleasurable possibility to once again confirm this saying by reading this wonderful book by Fay Zadeh, the wife of Professor Lotfi Zadeh.

This book is definitely not an Ode of a proverbial Oriental wife to her Husband and Master. It is full of love and joy and support, but with this love, she portrays her husband as she sees him, never hesitating to laugh at funny situations caused, e.g., by Zadeh's absent-mindedness or his collector spirit.

With numerous countries and continents visited, reading this book is like going on a wonderful world tour (often even with useful tips for fellow travelers). The descriptions of different countries and cities are charmingly subjective: Fay never hesitates to emphasize that, e.g., in her art preferences, she describes her own view; however, whether she describes places she enjoyed or places where her stay was not exactly relaxing, her descriptions are always funny and cheerful.

The book has lots of photos, and since the travels were mainly to the conferences, the reader has an extra pleasure, in addition to seeing the younger Zadeh, of seeing, in these photos, many well-known fuzzy researchers. Anecdotal stories contributed by several colleagues form a special appendix to the book. And please do not miss the last chapter, with culinary recipes: they are real and they are delightful.

Thanks to Mo Jamshidi, who inspired this book and helped publish it; thanks to Fay for writing it, and may I wish her and Lotfi good luck and many-many more years of happy life and happy travels together.

If you plan on constructing a plot for your novel that centers around finding a missing individual, then this book offers in-depth explanations of the people involved in conducting searches. It's convenient to possess this information in one book that is informative.

It's supposed to be a reference to find the lost, abducted and escaped. But the tips could help you become a missing person!

Some of the most interesting sections include:

"How People Purposely Hide Their Whereabouts"

"The Four-Step Formula for Finding Someone"

"Profile of the Lost Family Member"

There's so much more to this book than you can imagine. You're sure to find it a nice collection to your reference library.

This is one of the highlights of the "Howdunit" series: it's not only informative and thorough, but it's great fun to read too. Besides being an experienced and successful PI, Faron is a lively writer who knows how to choose an anecdote to make a point, so the book is engrossing as well as useful. She clearly knows the business inside and out, so she covers aspects of the subject that most of us don't know exist, and her remarks on the seamier sides of the PI's job are priceless. She occasionally seems to remember that she's writing a book for mystery authors, and tosses in a few suggestions for plots or episodes that I found rather pointless, but these don't detract from the general helpfulness of the book. Her more "reference"-oriented final chapters are less entertaining, but I greatly appreciated her summaries of what kind of information is available from a particular source and how easily accessed it is: many books that purport to give information on how to find people are just unselective lists of sources without commentary. And her state-by-state breakdown of PI licensing laws and legal information was great: I'm working on a couple of mysteries set in the state where I used to live, and her guidance was very helpful. I hope Faron keeps the book updated: the Internet has transformed searching (for people or information), and some of her suggestions are already out of date. But, as a whole, this book is a terrific "checklist" of how and why people go missing and how to look for them, and well worth reading.

"Coming Home to You" by Fay Robinson is a touching and emotional story that will captivate readers. With a touch of mystery added to the romance, this book will appeal to many.
Kathryn Morgan is a successful and sought-after biographer on a mission. Ever since she met singer-songwriter James Hayes when she was 19 years old, she has wanted to write his story. Now, several years after James' tragic death in a plane crash, Kate has tracked down James' brother, Bret Hayes, a reclusive horse-breeder, in a last-ditch attempt to get a Hayes family member to assist with her book.
To Bret Hayes, Kate is the number one enemy and his worst nightmare. Not only is she beautiful, but she's extremely intelligent and incredibly determined as well, which makes her a prime candidate to uncover his family's darkest secret. Bret originally wants Kate to leave him alone, but after spending time in her company, he begins to see that he's falling in love with her. Now Bret is in a terrible situation, because the woman who holds his heart is the one person with the power to destroy him!
"Coming Home to You" is a highly original and satisfying read. The characters are richly portrayed and intriguing and the storyline will keep you turning pages. I most definitely recommend this book and I guarantee you will enjoy it!

Fay Robinson is famous for creating a story that will play with her readers' emotions. COMING HOME TO YOU is no exception. This book will quickly consume the reader and will set them on an emotional roller coaster ride. As an added bonus, this book is not only for romance readers, it provides a mystery that will keep any mystery reader guessing right until the very end.

World famous author Kathryn Morgan has idolized James Hayes, singer-songwriter, since the young age of nineteen. She credits James for believing in her abilities to succeed in life. Unfortunately her idol's life ended tragically in a plane crash. As a lasting tribute she wants to honor him by writing his autobiography. There is just one problem, no one from James family will grant her an interview. In a final effort to save her book she seeks out Bret Hayes, James mysterious brother. She feels he knows secrets that will help ensure her book is a success.

Bret Hayes leads a different life than his famous brother he simple wants to live a peacefully and breed horses on his Alabama farm. He is unprepared for Kathryn Morgan entrance into his life. Little does he know when he finds a woman trapped in his tree by his faithful dog Sallie that she will have the power to turn his entire life upside down.

With a cleverly crafted cast of characters and a story that will keep you guessing COMING HOME TO YOU is a must read. I predict it will be one of the best reads of the year 2001.

A MAN LIKE MAC was wonderful, and with her latest, COMING HOME TO YOU, Fay Robinson weaves another emotional story filled with gripping tension, heart-stopping and heart-warming moments. Her tortured hero and spunky heroine are perfectly matched. Have the tissues handy.