For many people, the name W.R. Grace is connected with lawsuits and legal nightmares. But, for a true look at the birth of this amazing enterprise, one should read "The Story of W.R.Grace". Apart from the civil actions that Grace has confronted in the past 50 years(which you will not read about in this book), the company and its fascinating founder, William R. Grace, hold a rich history and an incredible story of rags to riches.

As a young Irish boy, W.R. Grace came to America with a dream of wealth and commerce tied with a honest and sound approach to business. At a time when America's industrial revolution was booming and business pratices were not as regulated as they are today, Grace came forward with a honest and upfront approach that would change the face of America Commerce and would launch Grace into the spotlight, good and bad, for years to come. A must read for anyone in business!

S.J Dean-Patterson, Ontario, Canada

I recently received a copy of this book as a gift and am very impressed! Heather Grace's talent for both photography and poetry is well worth the purchase alone. The poems are simple yet heartfelt and thought provoking (I even got a little shiver at the end of some). Her versatility as a photographer also shines through. The only drawback is that there are not more poems and photographs. However this is understandable as it is intended to be a journal. Hopefully she has other publications?
The concept is quite unique as the book can be used to write one's own diary, journal, poems, recipes or anything else for that matter. If you are a budding author, you may even be inspired by the author's work!
I have already ordered 3 more to give away as Christmas gifts.

When the Catechism of the Catholic Church was published in the early 90's, Cardinal O'Connor devoted a year's worth of sermons to the content of the book. He worked his way through the catechism section by section, and preached about each topic in his Sunday homily at St Patrick's Cathedral in NYC. This book is a collection of those homilies.

O'Connor's strength is his clear, understandable, and engaging preaching. He does not preach as if addressing theologians or scholars (as so many bishops and cardials seem intent on doing). He preaches to the common person, addressing our concerns, interests, anxieties. He is notable for the extraordinary way in which he combines a zeal to speak the truth, and a love for people to speak it with compassion and understanding when it might be hard to hear. Most preachers excell in one and fail in the other.

He makes applications to daily living, with plenty of concrete examples. He makes church teaching, which sometimes seems so esoteric and unrealistically ideal, real and meaningful to all.

I suppose the main drawback of the homilies would be from a liturgical perspective. O'Connor's preaching on the scriptural readings of the each Sunday is often strained and sometimes non-existant because of his desire to preach on the given catechism section. Of course, a homily is supposed to be on the readings of the day. But for someone reading this book for the purpose of understanding better the catechism and its meaning to daily life, that will not matter much. Finally, I'd note that a significant portion of each homily is the cardinal reading paragraphs from the catechism itself. When most of the homilies were delivered, the catechism had not yet been published in English, so reading the sections in translation from the published French would have been of particular interest to the listeners. Today, we can just open the catechism itself, and the extensive reading would be unnecessary.

All in all, this is an interesting, engaging, and inspiring book.

Ten colorful monsters go on a picnic. While they are there, they engage in a variety of activities from playing in the sand to running from bees. The monsters are comical and engaging. The story shows the combinations of numbers that add to ten in a logical sequence. I used it as a counting book for a preschooler as well as a friendly format for addition and subtraction concepts for a first grader. The book is designed to help parents and grandparents introduce children to mathematical ideas. The book ends with five math activities by Marilyn Burns.

It is the story of the lamb being thrown into the lion's den all over again. Except this time there is a chance of love, a hint of passion. I absolutely loved this book. This was the first romance I had ever read and that was five years ago. Now I can read it over and over again and still love it. Mrs. Budley is a wonderful character and as she falls from grace, she falls with a loud thud. I can honestly recommend this for anyone: beginner, a romance-aholic, or anything in between. It is, in short, a wonderful romance.

This brief analysis of the David Peterson government and its rapid downfall is the real story of the Ontario Liberals. Almost perpetually out of power and overshadowed by the perpetual success of their federal cousins, the provincial party has always struggled to be relevant. In the 60's and 70's, Ontario's Liberals were more right wing than the Tories, and they paid for it with a string of election losses. By the 80's, they had clued into Bill Davis's success and tacked left with David Peterson...just in time for the rise of neo-conservatism. Peterson's tax-and-spend style of government, coupled with his own image of arrogance ended his adminstration after just five years. Through the 90's the Liberals struggled to cope with their terrible fall from power (they had won 95 of 130 seats in the 1987 election!). First Lyn MacLeod, then Dalton McGuinty, failed to make their party relevant to Ontarians. This book is just one chapter in the sad history of a party that never really seemed to matter.

The book explains the effects of nuclear weapons in a clear and concise manner. Some knowledge of physics is recommended.

This book is the best primer on Wesleyan sacramental theology that I've read. Dr. Staples presents Infant Baptism, The Lord's Supper, written Liturgical Prayers, etc. in compelling arguments based upon Biblical and Church historical research. Definately written on a post-graduate vocabulary level.

Very interesting, engaging, and easy-to-read study of the Catholic faith from the point of view of grace, sin, morality, scripture, and ritual (among other areas!). It was a pleasure to read this book and Burtchaell's insights are intelligent, but not uncomprehendable. I would recommend this book for anyone who wants a deeper appreciation of both the background of basic Catholic practices & teachings joined with some modern suggestions and observations (a little spice!). Philemon's Problem is also our problem. Find out why!

Throughout his career, Picasso used classic paintings as inspiration for his own work. Typically, the earlier paintings did not inspire just a single work, but a sequence of paintings, sometimes dozens of them.

This book follows the in-depth process behind the creation of some of these sequences, including those inspired by Manet's "Le déjeuner sur l'herbe" and Velasquez's "Las Meninas". Many of the paintings in each sequence are illustrated, and the commentary, though somewhat academic in tone, is quite useful.

I am not an art historian, but I found this book inspiring, especially for amateur artists like me.

First, it shows that, for Picasso, art was a process, rather than a goal. As the sequences develop, we can see him continuously reinterpreting the original, changing directions, as a way of exploring the original and his reactions to it. Many of the steps are incomplete, or inadequate in some way. I personally found this reassuring! So often, we only see the major works, and they are treated as if they had been perfectly formed, rather than the conclusion of a series of experiments. (David Hockney has mentioned that owning Picasso's catalogue raisonné made him understand Picasso in a whole new way).

Second, the whole premise of the book is that is OK to be derivative (in the best sense). Our art culture places an extreme value on originality. The idea of copying great art, and being inspired by it to develop your own variations on a theme, is currently underappreciated, even though this technique has always been used by great artists. (In art, Van Gogh comes to mind. And in music, Bach, Mozart, and of course, all jazz musicians). This book shows that this approach can indeed be useful and productive, and if Picasso used it, maybe it can get some respect!

In other words, if you are an artist, feeling pressure to create perfect, original works, relax! Don't be afraid to experiment.