While I'm very pleased the author, Joseph Trombello, survived the flight, I was disappointed with his book and the flight's account. I wanted to read more about the initial explosion in the engine, the anxiety of the people on the plane, the knowing they were going to likely crash. It seemed that part of the story was rushed in the first two chapters, and the rest of the book was about his meeting with other survivors and what they had to eat at these meetings. I would not recommend this book to someone looking for crash or investigation details. Trombello does do an adequate job of relating how crash survivors like himself struggle with their emotions years after the ordeal.

An amazing book by an amazing guy. Joe Trombello writes from the heart as he tells his compelling story of how he survived the crash of United Airlines flight 232. I'm an avid reader and a keen aviation enthusiast, and this book tells a story that captivates every reader who has a heart - it is full of feeling, emotion, and compassion.

Joe tells what he endured during and after the initial crash, the injuries he received (which included a broken neck), and how he dealt with the emotions that followed the accident. Co-founder of the Chicago support group for the survivors of flight 232 in the Chicagoland area, Joe describes the meetings that were held in detail, covering everything from what was discussed to what was eaten (an Italian-American, Joe is very fond of food!). I have had the great honour of meeting Joe Trombello on two occassions in recent years, and consider him a personal friend.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading true stories that touch the heart. This book really touched my heart - let it touch yours as well.

I have studied the Flight 232 disaster for sometime. This was a good book. I feel for Joe -- too bad his family wasn't more supportive. But, you know, unless you've actually been through a critical incident such as this, you really don't know how to help others who have.

I read this book because it takes place in a geographical area in which I am interested, the Palo Alto/East Palo region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Unfortunately, there is little local flavor in the book, and what is included is just as often inaccurate as correct. One character takes the BART system down the Peninsula when going home from San Francisco; this is fantasy, pure and simple. There also are discussions of "mergers" between affluent Palo Alto and struggling East Palo Alto, an eventuality that is not only politically unlikely but hindered by the fact that these two cities are located in different counties.

Aside from this, what Green essentially provides here is a portrait of a number of desperate young African American Stanford students and their sometimes shadowy worlds. There isn't much plot here, but the character portrayals are interesting enough to make the book worth reading.

I think NOT! However, it could happen if all the craziness that takes place in this novel were to indeed take place if the wealthy folks of Palo Alto started an effort to push out the poor folk of East Palo Alto. A good read.

Ambition can be a dangerous thing. And these five young, black, beautiful, and upwardly mobile graduates of Stanford University are certainly ambitious.

There is Steve, the politician with the white wife and the dark secret; Frankie who drives a mercedes, and supports a crippling cocaine habit; Daze, who is beautiful, and terribly selfish. Then there is Karyn. There was a time when she had everything. But she killed her father.

And Gina. Poor Gina. She loved the world too much and it didn't love her back. So she let it destory her. For all of them there was champagne and strawberries. And the fear of looking back...This story is one wild and exciting read!

If anyone really wants to know about the "myths of mormonism", why not just ask a Mormon? I have found that they are very open and honest about their faith. I have yet to meet one, in fact, that is the caniving, secretive, tragically misinformed and misled fanatical cultists that books such as these portray. On the contrary, they are remarkably well-versed, well-educated, and very knowledgable people. And even more interesting to me... I have yet to notice a Mormon publication that picks apart or bashes another faith. It is a shame that there are so many making a profit off of such slander.

Ethan Smith does a credibly principled job of pointing out many clearly glaring inconsistencies and contradictions between (a) Mormon doctrines and the Bible, and (b) present official Mormon doctrines and past official Mormon doctrines. He does this fairly, honestly and logically.

But note: 1. A clearer and crisper job at the same task is done by Sharon Armstrong in her book, For Any Latter-day Saint: One Investigator's Unanswered Questions. 2. Though Smith is a valiant LDS contradiction illuminator, he does not in fairness point his light at any of dozens of equally glaring inconsistencies and contradictions in (a) the Bible itself, and (b) between the Bible and many accepted current non-Mormon Christian teachings. So his principled argument against contradictions is inconsistently applied and, therefore to that extent, ironically unprincipled. A much better job than Smith's at applying facts and principle consistently is done by Burke (a professor of ancient Christian history) in Who Wrote the New Testament?

All that said, Smith's book is still a valuable introduction to the depth of contradiction in Mormonism.

This book is a wowser. The perfect best that is much better than those books by Dr. Quinn, such as the one on fairy tales and mormonism, which I believe. An asset to any libray opn Moronism.

The Joshua series was suggested to me by a friend, so I bought the book. Joshua and the City is the only one I've read thus far and I must admit that I don't know if I'm willing to read any more. The premis of the book is fantastic...Christ on Earth...it could make a great story...however, the writing is terrible. The way these inner city kids talk is not very convincing, they talk with more proper English than I do...and I've found several editing mistakes throughout the book. Great story...very poor writing and editing.

I fully enjoyed the movie Joshua which led me to buy this book on tape. I am glad I have it. It only cost me a few bucks; but now, these were my disappointments: I thought the movie Joshua had a too propagandic ending and thought that it should have been cut. The book was far worse, and actually on occasion out right interrupted the story line to tell the reader what was right and what was wrong about religion and life in a sermon style. Okay so that was my first big disappointment. Second was: this spun a whole fairy tale world around Joshua that was so outrages I couldn't even believe it for a fairy tale. But I still did and still do enjoy the book just be ware of some propaganda.

This is also a great and well orth reading book in the Joshua series. This and the original are my favorites in the series. I very highly recommend it.

The author seems to be a very kind and open person from what I gathered from the book, however thinking the author a good person doesn't make the book a good one. In fact the information detailed in the write up, right here on amazon, was the only information that was actually helpful to me. The writer seems to use the book almost as a journal. 95% of the book details the authors personal situations, which to a reader such as myself, who has no personal knowledge of the writer or his family or friends, is simply tedious. There is little if any information on how to tap into your subconscious mind and explore the psychic realm.

If you are looking for information on how to explore and tap into your psychic sense, then this book is not for you. If you are interested in hearing about one man's stories of the supernatural, then this is it.

I found this book to be a good read. The author does a great job of pulling the reader into his life experiences, whether paychic or not. In fact, I found his input on the grief process extremely poignant. He just about "says it all" in that regard, beautifully, and his writing touched me deeply. Mr. Mullen's inspiration no doubt flows from being a sensitive soul who truly desires to enrich the lives of others by sharing from his own, very personal stories. And I was reminded - to be human is to be psychic. I'll be purrchasing his next book!Valeria Bleistein

Are you a die-hard non-believer in psychic abilities and the paranormal? Or do you sometimes wonder about unusual and unexplainable things that just seem to happen now and then? Have you, in fact, ever wondered if you might have an untapped psychic aspect to your personality?

In PSYCHIC SECRETS, Joseph B. Mullen shares his personal and poignant account of growing up in a psychic family as he takes the reader on a journey that leads to the development of his own psychic abilities.

While Mr. Mullen's PSYCHIC SECRETS documents his path to achieving his personal spirituality, it is also a wonderful introduction to the psychic realms of the universe - a jumping off point for those who wish to learn more and explore their own psychic sides. Because it is through this inspiring account of Mr. Mullen's search to find himself as he learns to strike a balance between everyday living and the paranormal, that he reveals the psychic secrets and life lessons that form the backbone of this wonderful work.

If you enjoy real-life stories and sensible advice that you won't find anywhere else, then I highly recommend that you read PSYCHIC SECRETS.

And, whether you're a believer or not, you'll be entertained by Mr. Mullen's tales of the paranormal. Skeptics will find themselves wondering about things that have happened in their own lives, and believers will find themselves wanting to hone their own psychic talents.

I particularly liked Mr. Mullen's psychic instructions and concise tips for tapping into the reader's own psychic abilities. His unique approach to "retrospective dream analysis" quotes at length from his own personal dream journal, and the examples Mr. Mullen has chosen make for fascinating reading.

It is an entertaining way for the average person to learn how to make sense of his or her own "crazy" dreams. And, as Mr. Mullen points out, it is often our craziest dreams that are trying to tell us something about the future!

This book covers subjects important to ourselves and to our society. However, it does so with a thin covering of scholarship, a poor level of critical argument, and a smug certainty in carefully selected facts to support a personal belief system. The strongest lines of evidence are unsupported annectotes and overstatement of examples as fact. My favorite is his discussion on "remote viewing", where one person tries to send an image to a "receiver" sitting somewhere (and somewhen) else. He argues that the rather common "misses" are actually hits beheld from another viewpoint (e.g. you are sending to me an image a public park fountain and I receive an image of a person sitting on a nearby bench reading a book). He also supports Targ's comment that reception of future images (images received that are not yet sent) are easier because the signal to noise ratio is better. I am certain that I can see the look on your face right now....
This book appeals to individuals with a desire to believe uncritically. It sounds good, and I expect he has been on Oprah many times. If you like a description of our potential for mental spoon-bending mixed with bad neuroanatomy, spiced with some small common sense regarding some actual problems in our society, this book is for you. If you want well-reasoned guidance, look elsewhere.

4 billion years of evolution always waiting in the wings,hmmm. High Play folks, You create a frame of reference to outstrip that reference to thrust further in to unlimitedness. If you get in a jam or confused use the intelligence of your heart to dissolve the situation so something new can arise. Let's play let creation do the dancing.

Never have I read a book that was more purposeful, real, and paradigm challenging than this. Pearce's thoeries of evolution, existence and the potential of humanity are revolutionary and he backs up his points with footnotes on every page. This man has done his research and he is very knowledgable on multiple subjects including science and psychology. I will say that he writes on a highter intellectual level than most, so if you slept through your English classes in school you might want to consider bringing a dictionary along for the ride. Definitely one of the best books I've ever read.

I picked this up at the library after reading Queenan's My Goodness (2000), a very funny book in which he pretends to seek redemption for his many journalistic sins.

Anyway, I was talking to Joe Queenan the other day and ventured the opinion that he is the undisputed king of snide remarks and deprecating asides. He responded, "I am the king," a line he stole from a mattress retailer out of L.A. He repeats that line to himself aloud every once in a while because he likes the way it sounds. "I am the king." There is a certain quick tempo to the "am" as though he is realizing as he says it that he is indeed the king.

Queenan is actually an entertainment biz critic who came up the hard way, a man who has mastered the fine art of the gratuitous put down and the non sequitur character assassination. He is a kind of like a low rent George Sanders from All About Eve (1950)--a film I know he saw as a kid because I can see his unconscious self still striving to emulate the Sanders character because, after all, the guy's girl of the evening was Marilyn Monroe in her cinematic debut. Ah, how the unrealized dreams of our youth do so guide our wayward path! Although he tries to keep hidden which babes he really likes in the movies, usually insulting one and all, especially the young and fetching ones (slyly kissing it up to his nonexistent female readership), it can be seen that he goes for those blond bombshells, but apparently doesn't want somebody, perhaps his wife, to know.

Our hero, for all that, does have a certain brassy felicity with words that commands attention, the same way a loud highschool band outside your bedroom window might. And the indefatigable choir boy from the mean streets of Philly really has seen more movies, especially bad ones, than I could ever sit through, and so has picked up a little bit of the art of cinema, enough anyway to qualify as a couch potato afficionado. Reading his rude lectures to semi-admired directors and his haranguing of actors he doesn't approve of (that appears to be ALL actors with the exception of David Bowie (yes!)and perhaps John Gielgud on a good day, and certainly NOT, e.g., Olivier, whom he refers to as "Lord Larry"), reminds me of a beer league basketballer critiquing the state college coach's substitution patterns. You have to sort carefully through all the snide remarks and deprecating asides to sift out a kernel of evidence that Queenan actually liked something he saw. My lord, what a life, to spend a significant part of your waking hours watching films you hate. But apparently somebody has to do it. Occasionally in a campy aside on a very bad film, Queenan will pretend to like something. He's like the tough kid who can't allow that he likes anything other than blood and guts for fear of losing face and looking like a wuss.

Anyway, this collection of his work ("essays" is what he calls them) from mostly Movieline Magazine and Rolling Stone in the early nineties will afford one a few chuckles and some real delight if he is lambasting one of your bêtes noires. Otherwise you might find that our boy grates rather annoyingly on the nerves. But, hey, that was the idea.

Some of you may have seen my earlier review of his newer book, Confessions of a Cineplex Heckler. That was a very funny, vicious look at Hollywood and the movie business. This is an earlier book, collecting essays from the early 1990s written for Movieline, Rolling Stone, and one article for the Washington Post, and contains many of the same elements. However, while Heckler was chock full of hilarity, insults, wisecracks and the like, this one doesn't have as many of these. Instead, there are some very fine articles analyzing movies and the careers of certain stars (Jessica Lange, Sean Young, Keanu Reeves, for example). Thus, while I found Heckler much more entertaining than this book, I found this one much more interesting.

That's not to say there aren't hilarious articles dealing with the categorization of movies by various odds and ends included in them (such as the opening essay, which deals with older men falling love and having sexual relations with jailbait in the movies). Some of the funniest articles I've read from Queenan are in this book, such as his attempt to "be Mickey Rourke for a day." In this article, he details how he went four days without bathing, dressed up all in black, and determined to travel throughout New York acting like Mickey Rourke, doing and saying things that he has said in his movies or in interviews. This includes trying to find a prostitute who will fondle a blond woman like the prostitute Rourke makes do this to Kim Basinger in 9 ½ Weeks, smoking tons of cigarettes, and repeatedly telling complete strangers that "sometimes, you just gotta roll the potato." He also swears a lot.

The funniest article in the book has to be his list of 25 of the most senseless movies ever made. These are not movies that are just plain stupid, because usually even stupid movies are easy to follow. No, these are movies that make no sense whatsoever. Included in this list is Joe vs the Volcano, The Night Porter, The Two Jakes, and King David. He goes on to describe just why these movies have made the list. In this essay, he reaches the heights of vicious humour and commentary as he savages these films. Even if you disagree with him (as my wife does on a couple of them), you will still find this article worth reading and laughing at.

Other categorization essays include bad clerics in movies, musicians in movies (and why they usually are terrible), the first installment of "Don't Try This at Home" (where he tries various things that happen in movies and see if they are even remotely realistic), and a complete castigation of the use of bad accents in movies. These articles vary between wonderful and passable, with most being toward the former. "Don't Try This at Home" is the only one that is a letdown. Queenan's at his funniest when he lists movies by category and shows why it is a bad thing that they are in this category.

I was quite surprised, however, to find some truly introspective articles in this book as well. No, Queenan doesn't let his trademark wit leave him, but these articles are tempered by some true compliments and compassion. These articles were written before most of Hollywood started avoiding him, so there are some articles with actual interviews. Queenan uses these interviews as starting points to analyze the careers of the actor or actress in question, and he does a surprisingly fair job of it. The article on Sean Young is very fair to her, even though it does tend to emphasize the fact that she was taking high school algebra lessons right before the interview. Even so, he sounds quite impressed that she'd be willing to do this. Other interviews with Keanu Reeves and Jessica Lange, while perhaps showing them in not the best light, are extremely complimentary of their work, even in bad films. I found these articles very interesting and I'm glad I read them. They showed me a side of the stars that you normally don't see (and that is probably why nobody will talk to him anymore).

He is a bit less compassionate when he is analyzing a career without the input of the celebrity in question, such as when he questions Barbra Streisand's move away from light comedies to the pretentious and disastrous movies she's made since. He also has a brilliant analysis of Alfred Hitchcock movies (or at least brilliant-sounding, since I have never seen one of his movies) and how they represent some of Hitchcock's true feelings about things. It's very insightful, and will take the reader past the surface of his films and dig deep into how these movies reflected his own neuroses. I found it fascinating. Even in these articles, though, he finds some good things to say about the subjects, and that's what made them even more interesting.

The only real misses in this book are the shorter articles. I don't know if it's because Queenan needs time to really delve into his subject to make it interesting, or if he just needs time to get himself going, but the shorter articles inevitably fall flat. Thankfully, that shortness makes them easy to digest before moving on to the meatier, far better essays.

The book is still sprinkled with vulgar language and some of the articles are on the sharp side, so if you don't like biting humour and quite a few f-words, this book probably isn't for you. But if you don't mind that stuff and you like movies, this book is definitely worth reading. You may not always agree with Joe Queenan, but you will definitely enjoy the ride.

Just blew threw this is 2 days, one of those 'couldn't put it down' books. Rarely do I laugh, or even chuckle but Mr. Q provided 2 days worth of jollies. Interesting to see how some of these movie moguls have progressed (or degressed) in the few years since the books has been published. If you too feel insulted by what Hollywood offers us as 'entertainment' get this book. Enjoy!!

This is a terrible book and someone needs to tell the king that he doesn't have any clothes on. Dillow has rewritten the Bible. He is so committed to eternal security in the outset of his study, that this is no study at all, but a terrible display of theological bias and unfounded exegesis. The author cannot allow Scripture to speak as clearly as it does. He has done great harm to straightforward passages of Scripture in making them fit his grid--eternal security at all cost. The author cleverly argues against many unbiblical views. In a nutshell, his view is: Calvinists are wrong when they apply warning passages to nonChristians and when they expect works added to faith for assurance; Arminians are wrong because they believe true believers can lose their salvation; His own view focuses all the works and warnings to believers in regard to heavenly rewards and none to the area of justification.

But this just ain't so.

The Reign of the Servant Kings clears up an endless amount of confusion. Dillow rejects both Calvinist and Armenian views of eternal security and points to Scripture to show that you can indeed know you are saved. Through reading this book, the Word of God sings to me with clarity and purpose in a way it has never before. It was a shock to learn of the overwhelming amount of scripture that is obviously mishandled for the purpose of the pet doctrines of some. Through Dr. Dillow's insights, the security and significance of the believer become tangible, and the Lord is greatly magnified. Read this book immediately and pass it to your brothers and sisters in Christ. It will be an eternal blessing to yourself and to those you love. Do not hesitate, it is well worth your time.

I recently finished reading this book and I found to be incredibly wonderful and refreshing. This book hits upon many areas of theology and the Christian life. His exegesis frees the gospel from the fetters of works that some reformers (though with good intentions) have tacked on to it in the doctrine of perseverence of the saints. Further he leaves no stone unturned in attempting to show that eternal security ("once saved, always saved") has been the bedrock of the gospel from day one. He tackles the tough passages with a clear explanation of his exegetical justifications. The most helpful part of this book, though, is his application of these doctrines to one's life. This book outlines the glorious future in store for those who overcome, and the chastening for those who shrink away. It provides the motivation for living the normal Christian life... The motivation to become one of Christ's metochoi (read the book!) provides the eternal perspective to run well and finish strong. Thank you, Dr. Dillow. This is a truly inspiring work...

Most of the other reviewers have said this book is NOT easy to read. I am another one of those readers. I want to be more specific WHY this book is so difficult to read. This book is supposed to be for layman. However the author uses terminology that would go over the layman's head. At the same time he skims and glosses over the details. So it sounds technical but it's not! What's worse, the readability of this book suffers from the use of tedious sentence structure and from unnecessarily high-caliber word selection like: atavistic, quixotic and salubrious.

I was disappointed in this book for more reasons than the readability problem. Chapters 3 through 7 cover the basics of starting a business. First of all these chapters don't belong in this book. As it is chapters 3 through 7 skim over topics that each belong in their own separate and adequately detailed book. Even if this book had been titled, "The Complete Guide to Starting a Business" it would have failed miserably because the level of detail is so totally inadequate.

This book is supposed to be about Venture Capital and that's all it should have discussed from beginning to end. This book is 160 pages long and yet the author only starts to get into venture capital at page 80. Again readability suffers, the detail isn't there, the line of thought is disjointed and the layman would be lost in the technical terms.

I think this book needs to be completely rewritten and revised. I have no doubt the author knows what he's talking about and that he has valuable knowledge to share. However, in it's current form, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. There's little in this book for either the layman or the seasoned professional.

A book that I would recommend to advanced readers is "Structuring Venture Capital, Private Equity, and Entrepreneurial Transactions : 2001" -- by Jack S. Levin. It covers tax and accounting issues in great detail and the readability is superb.

Given the overall complexity of the topic, I thought that this was an especially quick read. At the same time, it touched upon enough sub-topics and did so with sufficient detail to get a good overview of how VC approach new businesses. I did not think that this was the authoritative statement on any given point, but a solid primer. To the extent you need to know more about a topic, you should be well armed to research it further.

I encounted the book through a senior capstone course at a local MBA program. I was lecturing on a topic and saw the book on the syllabus.

Fundamentals of Venture Capital by Joseph W. Bartlett is a solid overview of the legalities you need to know to seek venture capital. I say overview and not introduction, however, because I bet that after the first few chapters, the average layman will find portions of the book a bit technical. Although the book was intended for entrepreneurs, it is probably most useful to young practitioners in the private placement field, including lawyers, investment bankers and investors who want to understand the legal framework under which private placements are raised in the United States. The entrepreneur might droop just where Bartlett hits his stride--in his succinct discussion of Rule 144, Regulation D and other regulations and guidelines relevant to venture capital and other private placements.

The entrepreneur will find the book particularly useful when Bartlett describes the basic corporate structure; the types of securities and their legal implications, and the important considerations when drafting a business plan or prospectus. The book succeeds best when Bartlett draws upon his experience as a partner of the law firm Morrison Forster to outline the motivations of the venture capital firm, the startup and other participants in negotiations. The chapter on valuation is cursory, but there are other books to which the entrepreneur or practitioner can turn for fuller discussion. Thus Fundamentals of Venture Capital might not be the last book that you pick up to learn about venture capital, but especially if you want to learn about the legal issues, it is not a bad place to start.

Although well written, this study guide is not on par with the others in the QUE series. I found four mistakes in the first ten lessons. For example, you would use Control+'(Apostrophe) to have Access repeat the data from the previous record's field, not Control+;.

Topics are not well organized as there are often references to areas that will be covered later in the lesson or indeed later in the book. The lack of a section covering macros is a definite drawback for those preparing for the MOUS exam and I agree with one of the previous reviewers complaints about the CD files being read-only.

Fine as a general reference and "How To", but as an exam prep I would pass.

This book does an excellent job of explaining most of the exam requirements; however, there are a few suprises. You need a good working knowledge of Access or you need to search through other Access books for info on switchboards and macros before you attempt the exam. Good luck!

This book is a nice, concise summary of MOST of the material you'll see on the exam (I passed it on the first try with just this book) - however, this book totally ignores "Macros", and there are at least three questions on the exam about them. My advice: read the book, study macros on your own, and you'll do fine !!