It covers the basics, such as pronunciation, orthography (capitalization, syllabication and punctuation) and punctuation.

It also treats all of the parts of speech, including nouns, articles, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions. And, this being German, the book also tells how to make compound words from independent words and add prefixes or suffixes to words.

There's a useful section covering such special topics as numbers, telling time, days, months, seasons and the weather, synonyms and antonyms, and common phrases and idiomatic expressions.

Many business people will recognize Paul Tulenko from his syndicated small business newspaper column. A highly-respected small business columnist (I have personally clipped and saved many of his columns), Tulenko also writes a free e-mail small business newsletter (tulenko.com) and has worked with many professional organizations, such as the SBA and SCORE, to help entrepreneurs.

Tulenko's new book, "Get More Business Right Now!" isn't a book that tells people how to start a business and make a billion bucks. Rather, he assumes the reader currently owns a business and is struggling financially. Tulenko gives ideas and planning to help a struggling entrepreneur decide what to do while "... the alligators are nipping at your heels, and you absolutely must get something done right now... . Your goal is to get some money in the bank as soon as possible, tomorrow morning would be great."

Tulenko writes: "... crisis management says to do what is needed right now, and clean up the mess later."

Tulenko says you should call in your markers and try to benefit from word-of-mouth marketing. He suggests reviewing all of your contacts and seeing who can help. (This is much like the career advice that, if unemployed, you should tell everyone you know you're looking for work, because you never know from where the job leads might come.)

Another suggestion is to pursue a particularly lucrative client. Tulenko offers some good advice on selling to larger companies and overcoming bottlenecks that might prevent a purchase decision from being made. Sometimes, a big sale can save a struggling company.

Tulenko suggests launching a pilot program fast, possibly offering a new service to your customers. He says to consider deeply discounting your products or services (and, possibly, offering a discount for immediate payment). If you discount, Paul suggests an advertising blitz to make customers aware of your reduced prices to generate more business. (If reduced prices and heavy marketing don't help, it's probably time to close up shop or try something else. I know many business owners will argue that they don't have the money for advertising. But, marketing doesn't have to be expensive. Tulenko mentions one entrepreneur who spent $6 to print fliers, which generated $3,000 in business for his summer lawn-care company. Effective advertising/marketing should generate profits and is money well-spent.)

Tulenko writes: "If you are 'cash poor,' the chances are that happened because of poor planning on your part. Face it and admit it. This is not a black mark that will scar you forever, but if you don't do something about it now, it can potentially cause you to fail in other ways."

Other survival options aren't as fun. Tulenko says a struggling business owner should consider:

--Downsizing your business, making it smaller and more efficient. Reducing your rent or employee expense are options Tulenko suggests.

-- Getting an outside opinion. You might be too close to your business to be objective to see what's being done wrong. Tulenko suggests SCORE as one source of help.

--Start a multi-level marketing home-based business to generate some money. Tulenko says to select your program carefully, but that many multi-level marketing jobs can earn $25,000 to $100,000 a year. (For a good salesperson, any commission-based sales job is probably something to consider.)

--Take another job. Tulenko writes: "There is absolutely nothing wrong with working in a hamburger joint, an all-night grocery, a gas station, or any similar job. Face it, if you need the money, you need the money." Tulenko suggests that you consider the effect of such a job on your business reputation and also consider 'low-profile jobs.' For example, if you're a struggling financial advisor, you probably don't want any of your clients to bump into you while you're pumping gas.

--Quit. Tulenko writes: "True entrepreneurs don't ever say quit. In their mind they close shop for a while, then proceed to work their buns off to gather a few bucks together and start over again, possibly in a totally unrelated business." Tulenko acknowledges that some people will decide working for someone else is a better alternative for them.

Tulenko writes about goal setting. He says goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, targeted). Surviving an alligator attack gives you a chance to reevaluate what's important in your life.

Tulenko concludes: "It's easy to start a business of your own, it's just a matter of saying, 'I'm in the Widget business' ... It doesn't even really take a lot of money to get started. ... The tough part of entrepreneurship comes when you have to produce income at a high enough rate to pay the everyday expenses of your business [and earn enough income to eat, etc.]"

Much of Tulenko's advice should be followed even if you aren't struggling. You should pursue lucrative clients aggressively. You should launch pilot test programs to see what profitable products and services you can offer. You should aggressively pursue word-of-mouth marketing for your business. And, you should always try to make your business more efficient. If you do this, as the skin lotion ad says: "Later, Gator."

I was wrong. This book is for entrepreneurs in trouble. While much of Tulenko's invaluable advice can apply to almost any entrepreneur, this book targets a very specific niche market: businesses in crisis. Most business books focus on long-term thinking, which the author acknowledges is important. This book focuses on short-term thinking for those entrepreneurs who have to do something "Right Now!" or "like tomorrow morning at 7:00 A.M." if they ever want there to be a long term.

Get More Business Right Now! defines an all-out blitz, based on seven assumptions and four steps. The first step is to define a service that an entrepreneur can undertake immediately -- not necessarily a service he traditionally does, but one that his client base will want.

Tulenko is a well-respected syndicated business columnist, and he has been a mentor to over a thousand entrepreneurs as a small business consultant. His words are the words of experience.
He covers all the fundamentals of crafting a benefit statement, setting goals, identifying target markets and partners, cold calling, where to get help, etc.

Readers will even find advice about moonlighting, in the event an entrepreneur needs income from another source if necessary. (This is something very few business books will tell you, but Tulenko is a tell-it-like-it-is type of author.) He also reminds us that it is not a sin to quit.

The book includes an extensive appendix on "The Essence of Marketing", but anyone serious about this subject should pick out a book on that subject alone.

What impressed me the most about Get More Business Right Now! is the detailed advice Tulenko packs in ... right down to how to save money on flyers by printing different colors on different days.

Tulenko is at his best, in this reviewer's opinion, when he gives some straight talk on advertising agencies and their propensity for displaying awards: "Remember, you want success, not prestige." Tulenko shares the very practical view of the great David Ogilvie (see the classic "Confessions of an Advertising Man")

This is no literary work of art, so don't bother submitting it for a Pulitzer Prize. However, it is one of the most useful business books I have ever read. Get More Business Right Now! is a good book for bad times. And there is enough useful advice for me to recommend it to any entrepreneur in any kind of times

The reviewer is David Leonhardt, author of Climb your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness.

There are lots of useful tips to be gleaned from the author's true stories of five students (names changed) applying to Princeton.

For example, there's sometimes an enormous difference a good letter of recommendation can make in an applicant's file. Last summer, a student tour guide and Admissions Office volunteer at a prestigious Massachusetts college said that every letter of recommendation is basically the same, glowing text, and so these are given little consideration by the Admissions people. After reading Paul's book, I am convinced that that student was mistaken; I see now how incredibly important a very well-written letter can be. And Paul tells why, in perfect, practical detail.

This page-turner is a great book; it clears up the mysteries, identifies the vagaries, and reveals the sheer humanity of the admissions process. Satisfying reading for the burnt-out parent who needs a break from the Peterson Guide... and a "must" for every high school guidance counsellor.

The best short reference on each college is the Princeton Review of The Best (311) Colleges. It gives ratings of academic quality, difficulty of admission, percentage admitted, etc. There is also a brief summary of college life and what each place might be looking for.

Peterson Guide is comprehensive, and has long write-ups for each school. There is a front section for each school, listed alphabetically within each state, and a back section with detailed profiles of selected institutions.

Fiske's guide is interesting, but he basically has something good to say for each school, so careful reading between the lines and for "damning with faint praise" is called for.

The Yale Insider's Guide is extremely subjective, with different students writing various reviews. We did not find it too reliable, except in conjunction with other books.

Likewise for Barrron's Guide to the Most Competitive Colleges. Recent alumni write of their (invariably positive) experiences. Take it with a grain of salt, or read carefully between the lines.

Choosing the Right College by ISN was extremely helpful. Some readers criticized it for being allegedly right wing. We did not find it so. Rather, knowing the point of view of the authors helped us evaluate their observations. Other books do not make their biases explicit. A feature of the book we found particularly helpful was the naming of excellent professors and departments in each college.

Antonoff's College Finder was interesting only in conjunction with other books.

Three books written from the perspective of college admissions officers were very interesting and helpful. They are The College Admissions Mystique, by Mayher, Getting In, by Bill Paul, and most of all A is for Admission by Michelle Hernandez. We strongly recommend that parents and the kids who are the applicants read at least one of these.

Another very helpful book was You're Gonna Love This College Guide, by Marty Nemko. It takes the student through the decision process of big vs. small, urban vs. country, elite vs. the level just below, geography, and so forth. That really got our daughter unstuck in her thinking process.

Loren Pope is another helpful author for those who think that not getting into Harvard is the end of the world.

Three books we did not find to be particularly helpful are Getting Into Any College, by Jim Good and Lisa Lee, The National Review College Guide, by Charles Sykes and Brad Miner (too out of date), and The Real Freshman Handbook, by Jennifer Hanson.

One book we found to be unexpectedly useful was Getting Into Medical School Today, by Scott Plantz, et. al. Even if your child is not interested in medical school, this book puts college in perspective for any post-college program.

We hope readers find our review helpful.

Getting In follows a handful of accomplished high school seniors through the admissions process, offering examples of their essays, snippets of conversations and interviews, and other illuminating vignettes of senior year. At the same time, Bill shadows Fred Hargadon, the Princeton admissions dean, as he attempts to read all the applications and make what would seem to even well seasoned admissions professionals some extremely tough decisions.

The worth of this book lies in its accurate reflection of reality; it suggests that admission to one of the most selective (1 of every 11 applicants) schools is determined not only by academic excellence and extracurricular entrepreneurialism, but by the luck of the draw as well. Indeed, at one point in the book, Hargadon admits-- as I've heard him do on other occasions-- that if the admitted Princeton freshman class were somehow eliminated, he could fashion a statistically identical class from the rejected applicants.

This is not a how-to book; rather, it is a book that gives students with high admissions aspirations-- and their parents-- a context that will prepare them well for realities of the admissions game.

While Oates offered his view of the 15th Alabama's fight to take Little Round Top, a great story is to follow written by Frank Haskell. Unfortunately, Haskell tends to waste the immediate structure of the battle like Oates had earlier. He tells the readers where such a corps was placed, who was advancing, etc. This boring non-relating story he tells doesn't tell about him or his action in the battle. After this quick and non essential tale of the battle of Gettysburg, Haskell finally gets to his involvement in the fight. This is where Haskell gets interesting. He is very fair on his descriptions and how he associates with other Generals during the conflict. His tale of Pickett's Charge and the carnage is excellent. I really liked Haskell's discipline in not reacting to telling about a battle on the field that he didn't take part in or had not witnessed. His graphic tale of Pickett's charge and the movements covered certainly placed myself right along with him on the field. He builds up Day #3 of Gettysburg very well and comes to a complete end to his story without dragging the reader.

For the novice reader of the battle of Gettysburg, I wouldn't recommend this book as it is not generalized enough to understand without reading more of the basic battles of the three day saga. For the advanced reader looking for more historical insight written by two soldiers that were actually there, this is an excellent book and I recommend it completely.

This story is sweet without being saccharine; emotional without being overly sentimental. Harjo's gift for poetry shows in the simple but expressive text ("My dad watched Woogie's seventh life fly by him as she ran after it"), and the warm paintings show the cat's expressions in a very real way.

If the kids want their breakfast they're going to have to chase off after it - through town where the stampeding pancakes have glomped onto taxi wheels, skipped over ponds & tumbled mailmen!

THE GREAT PANCAKE ESCAPE is written in rhyming verse, & is a rollicking read with all the ingredients for a tasty feast of words.

Fun reading & laughing for the whole family & Scott Goto's lively illustrations are the maple syrup!