Through exceptional Norman Rockwell-style art and an enchanting story line, this nostalgic book gently reminds us to follow our dreams.

While reading a book sent by his globetrotting Aunt Frances, young Earl is electrified by a photograph of Duke Kahanamoku riding a wave. Despite the fact that he's surrounded by Illinois cornfields, and the only nearby body of water is Mr. McDougall's pond, Earl decides he must learn to surf.

Everyone thinks this impossible, except for Earl's grandfather. Grandpa says there are two kinds of people in the world. "The Mechanics," like doctors, ditch diggers, plumbers and bureaucrats, keep the planet running smoothly. And then, he tells Earl, there are the Dreamers.

"The Dreamers drive the imagination of the world to new places. They discover and reinvent our universe for the rest of us to live in. You could say the Dreamers provide the light so the Mechanics can go to work. I should think that you, Earl, are one of these Dreamers."

Surfers will be pleased by the author's ability to capture that first magic moment of being able to actually ride on water. Rogo, an avid surfer living in San Diego, dedicates the book to Kahanamoku. It is no coincidence, Rogo tells me, that Earl, like Duke, has an English title for a name.

While the publisher designates the book for all ages, it should particularly appeal to children ten and older.

The Surfrider is truely a fantasitc book. The beautiful color illustrations and storyline made it one of the best books for both myself (a long time surfer)and my 11 yr old son (future surfer). One of the best attempts a writer has made, at trying to convey to the reader, the thrill of learning to surf and finally catching that first wave! After you have enjoyed this wonderful book, it will also make for a great art piece to keep around and display the fantastic colorful paintings. For sure one of my sons best books ever!

After allowing the rich colors of the cover to to smooth around my being for many minutes, I opened the book. I was back in grade one in Canada standing up to take my turn to read , holding a book this size with the same style of art in 1957! Reading aloud at that time is one of the few accademic experiences that I treasure.
The story in the Surfrider is fantastic as well. If you love adventure and need beautiful art to nourish your soul,then buy this little treasure.
Aloha!

The first two volumes in this series are fascinating looks at Sturgeon's development, well worth reading for those who are already fans of his. The third is where Sturgeon really starts to hit his stride, though, and this fourth volume is the first that I can wholeheartedly recommend to those previously unfamiliar with his work. Not every story here is superb; some are a bit dull, and some are overlong and predictable. But there's enough excellent material here to make it a solid introduction to Sturgeon's work, and the fascinating end-notes on each story by Paul Williams will make you wonder why other authors' complete-works collections can't be as thoroughly researched or as interestingly annotated. "Maturity," the first story here, is a masterpiece in the old sense of the word: it marks Sturgeon's transition from journeyman to master, while prefiguring _Flowers for Algernon_ (and predating it by a good 20 years). Other high points of this collection include the non-fantastical "A Way Home," the horror story "The Professor's Teddy Bear," the hilarious "Tiny and the Monster," and "Thunder and Roses," which is still relevant after 55 years.

Four volumes in and no clunkers yet, this guy had something special . . . and his Hugo and Nebula winning short story is still about thirty years away. Wow. If you've been following along all this time let me just say that this volume will give you more pleasures than any writer had any right to give you, most writers have a couple truly amazing short stories within them and while not everything Sturgeon wrote was genius the sheer amount of good stuff here is simply astounding. "Thunder and Roses" has to be one of the most humane stories ever written and others like "There is No Defense" or "The Professor and the Teddy Bear" (if it doesn't scare you, you must not have a pulse) stand up remarkably well. Again, you owe it to get every volume of this series and save it for the generations to come, we have so few literate writers these days and those few that we have deserve to be remembered and enjoyed. Sturgeon is one. Read him.

This guy knew how to write about love, in all of it's phases, yet never or rarely descended into mawkishness. And a lot of his considerable output is classic. Buy it if you have to skip lunch for a week. If you've never read Sturgeon before, you're in for a treat, language of a grace and power to rival Bradbury and a way of moving along jauntily that compares with Henry Kuttner (Lewis Padgett) and Alfred Bester.

I bought this book because I had read in a magazine that Dr. Pearsall talks about the dangers of "multi-tasking" -- a very common trait. The book certainly speaks persuasively against multi-tasking and in favor of living in the moment. The book is in line with other books that suggest that it is time to "wake up and smell the roses." Dr. Pearsall suggests that instead of occupying our minds by thinking about moving mountains we could instead -- when we come upon a mountain -- notice what a magnificient mounntain it is and sit down and enjoy it with someone we love. Why climb Mount Everest? What is the point? Why not simply accept its majesty? It also talks about the importance of saying no -- even to close friends to keep from overdoing it. This is a very thoughtful book by a very caring man and has the potential to help many "over-achievers" discover what is most important to them.

This is a brilliant book that weaves psychological research, Hawaiian philosophy, and moving anecdotes into a compelling treatise on the meaning of success. I recognized myself (and most of my friends and colleagues, for that matter!) in so many of his descriptions of toxic success. I've only been "detoxing" for a few months but I already feel like a new woman. If you've accomplished a lot but lack the sense of fulfillment you thought success would bring, or if you'd just like a new perspective on life, I urge you to buy this book!!

I first read Paul Pearsall's, "The Heart's Code" and gave several copies to my friends. I finished "Toxic Success" last week and ordered 15 copies today. This book describes both me and my friends but also enables us to "change" the description if we so desire. All my friends prefer "Sweet Success" over "Toxic Success" and this book helps us to get there!

Who lives under the Bridge?

Florida sticks down into the ocean like a giant tongue. Like a tongue it sucks up the good and bad with no apparent differentiation as to good or bad. But it does take a piece of everything and everybody that trespasses on its sticky shores.

Paul McElvoy brings his finely developed sense of reporting, developed as a syndicated outdoor writer into the volatile world of the "trolls", misfits, fishermen, drug runners, people smugglers, and, Florida Marine Patrol, to weave a tangled tale of deceit, subtrafuge, lies and disinformation that started in the tunnels of Viet Nam, continued through the jungles of Chicago and ended with the witness protection program in a sleepy town in Florida.

For those of us who may be hiding the deeds and misdeeds of the 60's it may be time to get them out in the open. Certainly Rat, and Bear, did so. It cost one his life. Can I hear a chopper go over in the night and not feel empathy with the people under the bridge?

Who are they? People who had trouble returning to, "the world".

Were there insertions into hot zones? Was there an Operation Phoenix? What about SOG? Could this have anything to do with the smuggling of drugs and people into Eastern Florida, today?

Perhaps author McElroy's background as an electronics rotorhead in 'Nam and his current employ as a charter captain may help explain the knowledge of the 75 mph boats sans lights off Stuart and the people under the bridge.

If the reader is able to associate the tunnel rats and tiger cages of 'Nam, the witness protection program in Chicago and the move of the principle witness to Stuart with the association with a State's Attorney whose pants seem hotter than her red hair and screaming Beamer tires this is the book for you.

Perhaps the question should be: Why is it someone else under the bridge and not me? I don't know but this book will get you wondering.

I guess in the final analysis my liking the book boiled down to two things: I could put a name to everyone, and, there but for the grace of God go I.

This book is a Mystery Thriller from cover to cover. It is also full of periods of humor that will not only bring a smile to your face, but also some good healthy laughter. For us Floridians and those tourist in the Florida area, it is even more interesting as it is in an area and setting we can all relate to.

Once you start reading this book, you won't want to put it down. I find it very exciting and very believable. It is obvious the author did his homework and knows what he is talking about. Give it a try and I'll bet you will be waiting for Paul McElroy to write another book just as good as this one.

If you live in Florida, or not, you will want to go to these places to see if you can find these people and places. Once you start reading, you will not want to put this book down. The author has the reader wondering, is this all true? And if so, watch out, and if not, oh, the imagination! I have recommended this book to all of my frinds, and family. Great book.

The Triangles of Management and Leadership is an easy to read book that is hard to put down. Author Paul Thorton has a direct way of getting right to the core of an issue (without the fluff). Composed of 14 short chapters and 120 pages long, you may be able to read this publication in one or two sittings.

Thornton uses his years of consulting and workshop experience to get to the "nitty-gritty" of leadership basics. After a brief introduction he begins a "step by step" guide to better leadership awareness. Chapter 1 deals with a sound leadership foundation, which includes mission, vision and values. In chapter 2 he introduces what he calls the "Three C's of Leadership" which are the three things leaders should do! These are 1) they challenge people; 2) build people's confidence and 3) they coach people. With this early foundation entrenched within the book, the following chapters begin to build the core message.

The rest of The Triangles of Management and Leadership discuss management styles, the Power Triangle, planning, decision-making, managing conflict, motivation, feedback, controls, the Finance Triangle, dealing with difficult people and managing change. The author likes to use 3's to connect major points or concepts as in the 3-points of a triangle. Each chapter is followed by a section called, "Applying the Concept" in which other organizational leaders comment on the major principles of the preceding chapter.

If you are new to the subject of leadership, or like to read information in an easy to read style, The Triangles of Management and Leadership is a valuable resource. It is a sound primer for those discovering the need for leadership and change.

In my review of another of Paul B. Thornton's excellent books ("Be the Leader: Make the Difference"), I noted that it is rare to find a business author who not only gets what leadership and management is all about but who also is capable of conveying actionable advice. Mr. Thornton is a much-welcomed exception.

An accomplished consultant, Mr. Thornton knows how the best managers think and lead - how they accomplish results. More importantly, he knows how to distill and communicate powerful yet practical, real-world advice.

"The Triangles of Management and Leadership" is highly recommended, particularly for new or aspiring managers who are struggling to get their minds around their new roles and deliver genuine results. Taking on a management role is often as scary as it is exhilarating. Few schools or organizations truly prepare you. This book - a concise, compelling primer - will be a big help to you and your career.

There are several excellent books about leadership which have been written primarily for the relatively inexperienced executive and this is one of the best, as is Thornton's subsequently published Be The Leader, Make the Difference. I do not damn with faint praise when sharing that observation. Over the years, working with young executives to accelerate the development of their leadership and management skills, I soon became convinced that they lacked sufficient real-world business experience and a consequent frame-of-reference. Thornton provides the latter in this book and in Be The Leader, Make the Difference.

Wisely, he selects a core concept (the triangle) which enables him to introduce and then discuss various dimensions of leadership. For example, its "foundation" which consists of mission, vision, values; what he calls "The Three Cs" (challenging people, building their self-confidence, and coaching them); three different management styles (directing, discussing, and delegating); and effective communications, without which no leadership initiatives can possibly succeed. Thornton devotes a chapter to each of several basic "Triangles": Communications, Power, Finance, and Leading Teams. The challentge for each person is to keep the three components of each triangle in an appropriate balance. At a time when change is the only constant, that is indeed a formidable challenge.

Although Thornton did not write this book primarily for senior-level executives, even they can benefit substantially from the book's simplicity and his ability to connect the dots. If they read this book, they will improve their skills for mentoring and coaching those for whom they are directly responsible. The material which Thornton provides is relevant to the leadership needs of any organization, regardless of size or nature. Granted, most of those involved have responsibility but no authority. Nonetheless, Thornton's observations and suggestions can inform and direct their individual initiatives. Ask these questions of any supervisor: How many of your people volunteer for difficult tasks? How many of them are willing to go "the extra mile"? How many of them are seriously committed to doing more, doing it better, and in less time? In effect, how many of them "get it"?

As previously indicated, college and university graduates preparing for a career in business as well as others only recently embarked on one will derive the greatest benefit from this book. I presume to suggest that one of their most important goals is to become indispensable to organizations which employ and to those who supervise them. How? The answer to that question is provided in this book.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Joan Magretta's What Management Is as well as Jeffrey J. Fox's How to Become a Great Boss, Rex P. Gatto's The Smart Manager's F.A.Q. Guide, Steven Silbiger's The Ten Day M.B.A, Milo Sobel's. The 12-Hour MBA, Robert F. Bruner et al's The Portable MBA, and Nitin Nohria's The Portable MBA Desk Reference.

"Symptoms of Death" starts out promising enough: Edward Boswick, the fifth Earl of Dunsford, has invited a small party of intimate friends to his country estate of Montmarsh near the little village of Newton-Upon-Sea; when while at dinner, a distraught kitchen maid, bursts in upon the guests, threatening to kill the earl with a carving knife. It turns out that the maid (Elsie O' Riley)'s young man (George Stirling) has been murdered, and Elsie seems to believe that the earl had something to do with George's death. Fortunately for all, the village's lady doctor, Alexander Gladstone, is present at this select dinner. And she competently takes over by helping to disarm the hysterical Elsie and removing her from the scene. Dr. Gladstone doesn't believe that Elsie is really dangerous or that she is actually out to do the earl any harm. She believes that Elsie is just distraught, and that all she really needs is for someone to listen to her woes and to offer her a shoulder to cry on. So you can imagine the good doctor's surprise when she arrives at Montmarsh the next morning to find that the earl has been murdered, and that Elsie is the only suspect of the crime!

Dr. Gladstone however still refuses to jump to conclusions; and her preliminary examination of the earl's body bolsters her belief that Elsie is not the murderess everyone believes her to be. For it looks as if the earl was first strangled to death and then stabbed. Not everyone however (esp the village constable, Mr. Snow) shares Dr. Gladstone's view. Dr. Gladstone, however, does have one ally: Nicky Forsythe, the earl's distant relative and a barrister. Together, Gladstone and Forsythe start looking more closely at the other members of the house party to discover who, other than Elsie, had a reason to wish the earl dead, and who actually carried out the deed.

While the mystery is interesting enough, I had problems with Paula Paul's prose style -- it was a little too stagy for my taste. Also the characters left a lot to be desired: Dr. Gladstone was a little too cold and remote, while Nicky Forsythe was at times a little too vapid! It made the attraction between the two, while probable and believable, incredibly boring. Most of the other characters in this mystery novel were more or less familiar stock types -- the seemingly upright nobles who were really reeking of corruption and debauchery; the gossiping and malicious countess; the wife of easy virtue, etc. Only two characters broke the mold: Dr. Gladstone's housekeeper-friend, Nancy, who in spite of her belligerent and pushing ways, happened to be the only intelligent and interesting character in this mystery novel; and the Constable Snow, who because of Paul's reticent depiction, comes across as being a rather enigmatical, shadowy character, who may or may not be corrupt. With all my nitpicking, you'd think I'd advise against reading this book all together. To the contrary: the mystery is really quite intriguing and engrossing. And Paul does a rather good job of maintaining that air of suspense, so that you have no choice but to carry on reading in order to discover who murdered the earl and why. I just wish that the primary characters (Gladstone and Forsythe) had been worthy of this clever little murder mystery.

SYNPTOMS OF DEATH is a debut novel in the Dr. Alexandra Gladstone series. Set in Victorian England, it offers wonderful detail of how life was lived in that era. The details of medicine and medical treatment are especially intriguing, as is Paula Paul's understanding of English common law in Victorian England. Paul weaves these details with skill and finesse into an engrossing plot full of multi-dimensional characters. I especially liked Nancy, Dr. Gladstone's impertinent maid, and the enigmatic Constable Snow. Dr. Gladstone also hides a fascinating woman behind a facade of cool Victorian propriety. I couldn't put it down, and I can't wait for the next installment.

In Victorian England, the latest London season ends and the nobility retires to their country estates. In Newton, the fifth Earl of Dunsford hosts a house party and the cream of society is there. One night at dinner, a hysterical kitchen maid threatens the earl with a knife until one of the guests Dr. Alexandra Gladstone calms her down.

The next morning, Alexandra is called to the estate to assist the coroner in figuring out how Dunsford was murdered. Everyone thinks it was the maid who threatened him the night before but the doctor says somebody strangled him. The knife wound happened after he was dead. Circumstantial evidence forces the local magistrate to arrest the maid but he doesn't know that every guest at the earl's house wanted him dead for one solid reason or another. Alexandra intends to see that justice is done even if it means putting her own life in danger.

The villain of the piece is actually the deceased who had so many enemies, including a cuckolded husband, an adulterous wife, a sodomist and a man who was fleeced by the victim, that the audience won't be able to decide who had the best motive. The heroine of SYMPTOMS OF DEATH is not the typical Victorian society woman but a woman who could have thrived in today's enlightened atmosphere. Readers will look forward to seeing her in future tales.

Harriet Klausner

Reprint of 1957 collection of eight travel essays by the well-known novelist. Though they include pieces on modern Sri Lanka, Turkey and South America, the book is at its most insightful in North Africa, where Bowles has lived a great deal of his life. While the book is not really about religion, despite the suggestive nature of the subtitle, it is in most ways about different modes of spirituality and belief. Whether this involves hexes, the spirits of animals, the solitude of the desert, Bowles is attempting to present an alternative vision. Some of the language and indeed the attitudes he takes could be considered very dated by today's standards, and some of the writing borders on whining about poor conditions. But the essays are still valuable for their portraits of newly independent countries struggling with their identities. His glib generalizations on the relative merits and effects of narcotic vs. those of alcohol are somewhat silly, as are some of his observations on nationalism and cultural tradition. But, each piece is a quick read, and well worth it if you have any interest in the areas written about.

If you are wondering about that title, it's an Edward Lear Lyric:
Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green and their hands are blue,
And they went to sea in a Sieve.
This is a collection of eight travel essays all written in the 1950's. Bowles' sets down quite simply why he travels, "Each time I go to a place I have not seen before, I hope it will be as different as possible from the places I already know." And it is not different landscapes(which alone are of "insufficient interest") he seeks but different peoples, "North Africa without its tribes, inhabited by, let us say, the Swiss, would be merely a rather more barren California." And there is always the pleasant feeling when leaving ones own homeland of becoming a stranger in someone elses. Anyone who knows Bowles immaculate tales of delicate strangers purposely stranded will find this book a light read but also a pleasant and informative diversion into the Arab world. My favorite essay is "The Rif, to music". Bowles finds the key to Morocco's culture in its music. Their traditons and histories are not written down but rather passed down in song. In this chapter Paul is at work compiling what will eventually be the definitive collection of North African tribal music(now in the library of congress). To do so he has to travel to remote regions with tape recorder and runs into every difficulty imaginable with local governments and with the musicians themselves. Bowles laments the fact that the purity of the tribal music is vanishing as travel permits the musicians to play for larger and larger groups which has had diminishing effect on the music. The musicians play shorter and slicker versions of their music to please the crowds. There is a Bowles poem(though it is not in this book) which addresses this called Delicate Song:
It was a long trip back.
White lilies waved by walls.
The sweat from blue grapes
Shone like glass.
A wind blown straight from the harbor
Brushed the long grass.
I suppose we thought of the harbor
And of how it looked with its blue water
And its sailboats moving.

But even though the wind smelt of waves
And of the swamp grass nearer
Our thoughts were of the road.

Flutes are scarcer these days
And flutists are unskilled.
The white lilies were by walls.

The music does still exist though. An excellent CD was released in 1992, The Master Musicians of Jajouka, "Apocalypse Across the Sky"(Axiom). If they ever stop playing, legend holds, the world will end.

This is a peculiar work, and one which really doesn't fit neatly into any generic niche. In some respects it recalls travel journals written by literary men in the past, such as Sterne's (Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, Goethe's (Italian Journey) or Voltaire's (Letters from England) , as it combines descriptive details about particular regions with a modicum of philosophizing and social critique.

The first two pieces in the book deal with Sri Lanka (known in the fifties when this book was written as Ceylon). Bowles lived in Weligma, South Ceylon from 1952 to 1959. A black-and-white photo (all the pictures acompanying the text or B&W) depicts the incredibly lush vista he enjoyed from his veranda. The beauty of the place is largely counterbalanced by Bowles' descriptions of the intolerable heat and humidity of the region, which combined with the incessant swarms of mosquitoes, made a good night's sleep about impossible. This would be a recurring motif throughout the reports. Finding lodging and adequate sleeping arrangements were constant aggravations in the out-of-the way environs Bowles visits.

When Bowles writes of out-of-the way destinations, they really are remote in the strictest sense of the word. He takes the reader to regions that were (and are, for the most part) seldom visited by western travellers, and there are good reasons these are not popular tourist spots. Most of the towns don't possess what any western traveller would think of as a hotel. In practically every town (and that is a loose description as well) the only place a traveller can find quarters is at some hovel, where electricity, much less plumbing, is a rarity.

The reader may ask, why did Bowles choose to visit such remote habitats? The answer to that lies in his section on the Sahara, in which he talks about the "Baptism of Solitude," a motif that is of great significance in his major novel, The Sheltering Sky. Bowles describes it here: "You leave the gate of the fort or the town behind, pass the camels lying outside, go up into the dunes, or out into the hard, stony plain and stand awhile, alone. Presently, you will either shiver and hurry back inside the walls, or you will go on standing there and let something very peculiar happen to you, something that everyone who lives there has undergone and which the French call "le bapteme de la solitude." It is a unique sensation and has nothing to do with loneliness, for loneliness presupposes memory. Here, in this wholly mineral landscape lighted by stars like flares, even memory disappears; nothing is left but your own breathing and the sound of your heart beating. A strange, and by no means pleasant, process of reintegration begins inside you, and you have the choice of fighting against it, and insisting on remaing the person you have always been, or letting it take its course. For no one who has stayed in the Sahara for awhile is quite the same as when he came."

This quote, which is central to this book, both literally and figuratively, is also at the core of Bowles' entire ouvre. He writes repeatedly of the individual in isolation, but always redefining and reconfiguring the terms and meaning of "isolation."

I don't know how much T. H. Lawrence Bowles read, but there are some definite parallels in the lives of the two men. Both are expatriates (Lawrence from Britain, Bowles from America) who were committed to and seduced by the desert, and by the predominately Moslem cultures they interacted with. They were also equally seduced by hardship and discomfort, actually revelling in extremely unpleasant conditions, which would repulse and defer most of their countrymen. I am sure that Lawrence had his initial Baptism of Solitude shortly after his arrival in the Sahara himself. He even describes a similar transformation in his description of the desert in his Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

Bowles is an author with whom every serious reader should become familiar. His prose is uniformly excellent. He has great descriptive power and captures the nuances of foreign customs and cultures more than adroitly. This may prove to be a good starting point for those unfamiliar with his novels or his other works. He was an accomplished composer as well. He was an Eastern beacon to the Beat Generation. Every important Beat writer made a sojourn to Tangiers, where Bowles held court for many years. He also lived a fascinating life in other respects and his wife, Jane, also wrote an intriguing novel of her own that I would likewise recommend.

I ordered this for my 2 1/2 yr. old who loves dinosaurs and books. Much to my surprise, he isn't interested. I have to coax him into reading it. We keep all of his books within his reach and he's never asked to have this one read to him or gotten it himself. I personally think it's a cute book and a great idea, but it doesn't appeal to him. The illustrations and the story are good, it just doesn't hold his interest.

My 15 month old loves this book! I make it extra fun for her by making Tiny R-O-A-R really loudly. The book is about Tiny Tyrannosaurus trying to scare her friends, but instead just making them smile. This is a sturdy board book that is fun with the snappy teeth. I like all the books in this series, but this one is my child's favorite. A very good book, just be sure to make it extra special by making Tiny roar really loudly. It is sure to get yuor toddler to smile!

I absolutely love these "snap fun" books in this series. It is so adorable how you read along the book and snap the little mouth open and closed with the store line. My little boy finds it so cute and keeps his attention. It appears to be pretty durable too, so I don't think it would fall apart too easily. Anyways, I liked it so much, I am here looking up all the other "snap" books and am going to order them from Amazon. The price through Amazon was much better than my local store even. Oh and all the pages are the hard board type pages, not paper, so it is pretty sturdy. Anyways I highly recommend it.

Like a real pro, Paul Dickson has produced, actually concocted, a rich compendium of examples and answers to any query and questions about toasting and hosting. Getting a copy even helped me articulate my sincere attestations when I entertain a few close friends and acquaintances in my modest home; though frequently with coffee or irish cream or shandy, seldom with wine.

Dickson does not preach, he guides and suggests. As your reading progresses, you easily learn, comprehend and take heart what is appropriate if perfect, and then sense what to avoid or perceive what is uncalled for when giving someone or something a toast.

This book is not only amusing. It's a deliciously entertaining and concrete fount of infos and references for fledgling hosts and party impresarios. I read my copy cover to cover and felt like popping the champagne and making the wine glasses clink! For Amazon --- I've changed my e-mail address from wsimple@yahoo to w_waif@yahoo

I bartended (part time) for years and heard a lot of toasts, but no one could explain the origin of toasting. A customer bought me this book and all my questions were answered.

The text is simple and easy to follow. If you are looking for a toast for a particular situation, just go to the category index in the front pages and thumb your way through.

You will laugh, you will learn, you may even get a little grossed out. But all in all, if you love history and you entertain or like to be the life of the party, this is a great buy. I recommend it highly.

This is a fantastic resource, the best single source on toasting which I have ever come across. The introduction and "Brief History of Raised Glasses" provides a brief, gentle, and highly useful education so that you can oh so suavely back up immediately any question or challenge to the quote you've chosen from this cornucopia of highly organized toasts for just about any occasion imaginable.

The illustrations are superfluous, but the footnotes are very, very useful. At first glance a bit pedantic, they allow the user of the toast to speak (and understand) the traditional language, such as "stook," "murphies," and "banns." The different subject areas, plainly intuitive, and listed alphabetically in the table of contents include such further instructive chapters as "Hints for Effective Toasting," "Odd Customs," a "Selected Toast and Tipple Glossary," and "Skoaling." The different subject areas are also modestly cross-referenced to each other, such as the entry "see also 'friendship;' 'general;' 'guests'" concluding the "Hosts and Hostesses" section. There is also a useful bibliography.

What is missing and would have completed the book would be an index. This is my only complaint with this superb, and in my case oft-used little reference.