When the Choir Began to Sing is evidence that a book does not have to be lengthy to be full of insight and wide application. Eastridge and O'Callaghan have provided us with a paradigm-busting read in the line of Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman's First, Break All the Rules and David Whitney and Amanda Trosten-Bloom's The Power of Appreciative Inquiry. In doing so they have redirected our thinking about the time-worn principle of management by exception. As leaders, we need to redirect our attention to the choir, those individuals who day-in-and-day-out "deliver the goods" for our organizations. Too much time, attention, and pages in employee handbooks have already been devoted to those who refuse to align their efforts with others to produce something that none of us can do alone. We need to quit trying to put in what is not there among the minority of organizational employees who don't get it and start drawing out what is there among the bulk of organizational employees whom we have taken for granted for far too long. That time, recognition, and effort will yield a much better return on investment. That notion has far wider applications and implications than the church context within which the book is written. I would urge every organizational leader to purchase the book and integrate its lessons into organizaitonal life. Thank you, gentlemen, for speaking up for the choir. Your words are music to our ears!

When a friend and fellow superintendent gave me a copy of this book with his enthusiastic recommendation that I read it, I politely accepted his offer. Privately, I was skeptical about its value for educational leadership. However, to honor my promise, I read it in an airport while waiting for a flight. It didn't take long for my attitude to change. This wasn't just a story about a choir and a church; it was about relationships and leadership. I couldn't get the story out of my mind, and I found myself in constant reflection about it during my cross-country flight. This simple story caused me to think about my leadership and the culture of my school district at a level deeper than I've ever experienced. Since that trip, I have met with a group of colleagues to talk about the book. At each gathering, we create new and deeper meaning around its message. I've now come to the conclusion that there will be no end to what I learn from this book. The message is not confined to the story alone. It is far more personal. The message is found in how I am inspired to think at new levels about my leadership.

This is a valuable and delightful book that is easily read and understood. Though the concepts are straight-forward, they are seldom considered by groups attempting to bring about change, especially internally. The presentation is effective in that it lists concepts, then explains and applies those concepts through an on-going story. Though the story is about a church choir it is applicable to any group, whether private sector or public. In reading the story I could not help but apply the content to the changes I am seeking to bring about in the educational arena. I recommend the use of this book for individuals seeking to form a group to bring about changes and also for the entire group as a starting point.

This book was great i read every one of his adventures. I got realy mad when i heard some librarys were banning the book. :(

I bought the original work of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn for my 8-year-old and while he reads on a very elevated level, the original had language too difficult to decipher. However, he was interested in the story so I bought this abridged version and he loved it.

Jack Lemon takes a rare and wonderful turn at narrating in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This adaptation of the Twain classic seems crisper, capturing the feel of youth. It has never sounded better. The spry Mr. Lemon breathes life into this worn classic. This is a keeper for all ages.

Hemingway lovers and haters will be able to unite over this superlative collection of schlock Papa. The stories are universally strong, including some real gems by the likes of E.B. White, George Plimpton, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, as well as a host of uproariously funny takeoffs by less well known authors. I nearly fell over myself laughing in the bookstore when I picked up a copy and randomly started reading. Highest recommendation.

I had only read one Hemingway novel but that was enough for me to laugh at every single story. Makes a perfect pick-me-up gift for anybody struggling with a Hemingway assignment or paper...

The pages were filled to the margins with Bad Hemingway, and it was good.

I read this book 5 years ago, and it is still my favorite! Once you start reading, you will not be able to put it down. Definitely a "must" read!

This book, Bridie and Finn, does everything that a book should do: it opens up windows in your soul, tickles your funny bone, shocks with brilliant clarity about the human condition. I loved the book, the people, the turns of phrase, the surprises, the tenderness and its bittersweet quality. A lovely novel about real people.

From the moment one reads the title, BRIDIE AND FINN, one can't help being curious. As it turns out, the principle character, Bridie is just the sort of unique character that every reader loves to embrace. Nostalgia and romance rank high in this story set in a time that no longer exists, a time where just as many stories of drama took place at the homefront as they did in the battlefields of War. The most astonishing thing about the novel is the shocking ending. BRIDIE AND FINN is truly one of the sweetest novels that I have ever read; it definitely has a special place in my heart

Buy this for your teen!!! MIRACLES wil occur OVERNIGHT!!! The only book I have found that talks to teens about the way AND the why parents act the way they do!!! It's clear, concise, honest and humerous...a MUST READ for every 14/15 year old. Many pages we read together and discuss! They realise I'm not a witch or insane! - because here in print is a book by a man with a Phd! Some extremely thought provoking(and humerous!) discussions ensued. It was wonderful to re-connect with the girls I couldn't talk to anymore! The best(so far) self-help parenting book I have read! Note: If you pre-read it - you'll see yourself on every page!

I bought this book for my daughter and have noticed a change in her behavior. She now does things that we ask her to do and tries to be nice to us instead of hostile. Then when she requests a privilege and we waver, she says "But I babysat my brother and I folded the towels and I made a cake like you asked me too." Of course who can argue with that logic? I haven't read the book but I assume it is along the lines of "show your parents how mature you are and they will give you more freedom".

I read this book several years ago, and I thought it was really cute. Packer had some very good insights about the parent-teenager relationship. I laughed out loud on numerous occasions.

Radio theater is a literary genre of its own, with its particular rules. To translate efficiently into it these enormous works -both in size and complexity- is a task that is successfully accomplished by L.A. Theater Works, its cast and its writer. One is carried away by the excellent acting and effects, and the stories are presented so that one understands their development and feels the power of the situations.

It is great to listen to these important stories and catch most of their implications, while, for example,driving your car. This dramatisations bring them to life far more efficiently than a severe abridged reading of the original book that I possess also -of "The Idiot"-.

If you like audio drama and Dostoievski, this is your best choice.

The Brothers Karamozov is an epic yet personal novel that will knock the wind out of you. My favorite character is the vapid Grushenka who bedevils all of the slightly twisted Karamozov brothers and Father. A great book for its religious, historic, and lyrical values.

"Brothers Karamozov" is so good right from the first paragraph that I literally could not put it down -- I read it while cooking, during an ultrasound exam (!), even for 5 minutes in church! It's a grand, sweeping epic of a novel, which reads like the latest page-turner on the best seller list -- the characters are so vivid & real & 3D, the most amazing & appalling things keep happening to them and keep being caused by them, & yet at the same time it's a fascinating look at 19th cent. Russian life & mores, at religion, at the psychology of families....just a FANTASTIC novel, I've never read a finer one!!

'50 in 50' was surprisingly enjoyable. Many stories from decades past are trite and out-of-date. Most of the stories in Harry Harrison's new collection hold up very well.

There are several overarching themes in Harrison's stories. The major theme is overpopulation. My favorite story in the volume is about a couple who breaks the law by having a second child. By law if you bring an unauthorized life into the world, another life must leave. So the government hires an assassin to kill one of the parents. This is a taut, chilling story of a man's desire to protect his family against a cold-blooded killer. The other overpopulation stories are equally memorable.

Included in this collection is the story that was the basis for the movie 'Soylent Green'.

Most of the 50 stories in the collection are entertaining. A few are dated, such as stories about interplanetary flights and space exploration, but on the whole they hold up quite well. I was disappointed with the lack of a bibliography telling when each story was published. The reader is left to guess at each story's publication date. The cover art is marvelous, which, though inconsequential, made the book all-the-more enjoyable for me to read. A solid collection. Though there are no award-winners in here, it's a good read.

This collection contains 50 stories written by Harry Harrison in 50 years of professional writing of science fiction. Most of the stories are well-written, but a few are outdated by subsequence events. Some are deliberately shocking -- Rescue Operation, Roommates -- and others are humorous -- The Man From P.I.G. -- and some supposed to be -- Space Rats of the CCC -- but some of the best stories aren't in this collection since they were expanded into novels and even into movie scripts.

Although already writing in other fields, Harrison originally came into science fiction as an artist and some samples of his works are included. Harrison also worked as an editor, first in comics and then moving on to science fiction magazines. He also edited the Best SF series with Brian Aldiss, the Nova series, and the SF Authors' Choice anthologies. He is probably best known for the Stainless Steel Rat series, which started off with a bang, but have become rather predictable. His Deathworld trilogy continues to be admired by his long time fans, showing the advantage of quitting while you are ahead.

Harrison and I are almost diametrically opposed on many political and social issues, so I wish I knew the man personally and could sit down with him for extented discussions of anything and everything. Reading his works is the next best thing and I have done so for over 40 years. I still think he is one of the best at his craft.

Having read Harrison for so long, most of these stories are old friends that I read when first published, but some were new to me. I bought it for old times sake, but I suggest you try this collection if you have never read any of Harrison's short works. It should be an interesting experience.

In 50 In 50 Harrison not only gives the fans of SF a semi-auto-biographical overview of his 50 plus year career, but gives us 50 of his best stories. From his first 'Rock Diver', to his most recent, 'The Road To The Year 3000'. From the fantastic to hard SF, humorous to the serious, to stories that defy category. It is a compendium that is a must for every fan of SF. The extensive story notes that not only look into the stories, but what makes this writer one of SF's very best, and his long and illustrious, prolific and continuing career... Gary S. Potter Author/Poet.

"Ralph the Duck", the second item in ABSENT FRIENDS, is my favorite short story. This first-person account by a Vietnam veteran hooks the reader with a funny golden retriever who loves what makes him sick (Think about it). The narrator is a part-time college student, taking one free class a session in partial payment for his job as a security guard. He figures it'll take him sixteen years to graduate.
The story is heavily laced with irony in that the student tests the teacher. The narrator (I couldn't find a name) turns in a paper entitled "Ralph the Duck", which seems entirely inappropriate for an assignment in rhetoric and persuasion (You'll need to read the story several times before you figure out why he felt it met the assignment).
We've all met teachers like the professor. He never wears a suit. He sports khakis and sweaters, loafers or sneakers. Ironed dungarees.
There's lots of sardonic humor. The narrator says, "Slick characters like my professor like it if you're a killer or at least a onetime middleweight fighter."
The story picks up pace when a red-headed co-ed takes some pills during a snowstorm and disappears, and our hero is off to the rescue. The redhead is the professor's "advisee".
Although the story is twenty pages long, it is very sparely written. As I was reading it, I thought to myself, "This would make a really good novel." Apparently Busch did, too. It's called GIRLS. If you can't figure out "Ralph the Duck", read the novel.

RALPH THE DUCK is simply one of the best short stories I've ever read. It is absolute MUST reading for the developing writer, though it may make you feel miserable, as its level of mastery is intimidating. It is simple and unforgettable.

I'm actually sorry Frederick expanded the story into "GIRLS". It works far better as the punch to the stomach it is in short-story form.

This collection of stories will whet your appetite for more from this fine, fine upstate New York writer.

In "From the New World," the first of the fourteen stories in this collection by Frederick Busch, a producer with a liking for Melville encourages a writer to develop a script where people learn things without overhearing them. Busch follows his character's advice: these stories are about loss -- the loss, by sympathetic, everyday people, of a parent, spouse, sibling, or child -- and yet the dimensions of their loss, sometimes even the fact of the loss itself, are only hinted at. The stories are remarkably affecting, the characters are credible and interesting, and the dialogue is right on.

In a highly cerebral and compelling argument, White attacks the fallacies behind censorship efforts: hazy legal definitions, attacks on materials based on personal responses to them rather than their inherent qualities, efforts to promote or preserve orthodoxy rather than to admit free exchange of ideas, fear of mass communication of ideas rather than a fear of the ideas themselves, legal statutes and decisions based on class prejudices rather than fact, and attempted restrictions based on perceived harm or threat of harm rather than on hard scientific, causal evidence linked to harm. Thought-provoking and unique, this book should be read by anyone interested in preserving intellectual freedom.

White's case is logical, clearly presented and very witty.I highly recommend this book.

From the metaphorical title to its thorough and inclusive bibliography, _The Anatomy of Censorship_ presents with laser-sharp accuity the rebuttal to the judicial "I can't define it but I know what it is when I see it" definition of pornography. White presents us with a concise history of those individuals or factions of society who have engaged in activities beyond their contemporary mores and then proceeds forward to describe how our confused Puritanically-sex-addicted society simultaneously reels in disgust at "smut" and yet spends more time concerned with the topic of sex than most other social concerns. White deftly explains how traditional definitions of pornography avoid the fact that most cases of "pornography" actually and rightly involve personal choice and individual freedoms, and how the givers of these definitions impose a distorted view of exactly what acts constitute wrongdoing or coercion upon others. In addition (and I'm sure to raise some hackles with this statement), this book could be described as an "un-feminist" or better yet a "person-ist" track in that it dares to define many heretofore thought-of sexist activities, whether depicted in various media or just part of daily life, as NOT being misogynist because of their consentual nature. This really seems to form the crux of White's argument: "Pornography ain't pornography if all involved are adults, enjoying it, and haven't forced the other person(s) to engage in it." _Anatomy of Censorship_ takes on its subject head-on and with aplomb and accumen. At the least, this book should be on the reading list of every person who is worried about personal freedom in these days of encroaching conservatism and Internet watchdogging and V-chips; at worst, it should end up on every ACLU card-carrier's bookshelf. And if you have any friends in the Bible Belt, this would make a most interesting Christmas present. Any way it's taken, _Anatomy of Censorship_ is an intelligent, logical entry into the corpus of books defining just "what's dirty" in our world.

As with all anthologies, the stories here vary in quality. I particularly liked Tanya Huff's story of the brother and sister assassin team that she later featured in her novel _Fifth Quarter,_ and Fiona Patton's tale of a slightly-alternate magical Italy where "death mages" and the Church wage an underground war. The nice thing about anthologies in general is that they can make one aware of writers, and works, that one might miss otherwise. The bad thing is that the quality of stories can be very uneven, but that's not much in evidence here---Greenberg's an experienced editor working with pros.

My favorite stories are those that remind me of Looking Glass Studios' _Thief_ games; a *real* sneaker leaves no traces, other than the job having been done.

Arntzen, Bernie: "On My Honor" Nicholas, the narrator, is and isn't the Oranian Royal Assassin; he's also Roarke's most secret agent in the Oranian court. Now he's been ordered to bite off the hand that feeds him: the queen has ordered him to kill her despicable brother-in-law, the King of Roarke. (Nicholas' humor isn't quenched by his dilemma. "Assassin sarcasm. Another occupational hazard.")

Edgerton, Teresa: "Dying By Inches" Set in the same world as _The Queen's Necklace_. Few of the Rowans survived the two years of imprisonment in barbarous conditions before their names were cleared. When Odilia hears a rumour that the Marquis committed the crime that sent her family into limbo, she plans to exact revenge, with or without proof.

Edghill, Rosemary: "War of the Roses" In the Argestian States, assassins have replaced war as the last resort of diplomacy. But checks and balances are necessary: the Flower Guild exists to hunt down assassins who have become too dangerous. Redlorn, who styles himself the Red Rose, is their next target; the Guild's agent is the legendary White Rose. The feel is _Thief_-like, as Redlorn makes a point of getting into and out of his target's home without touching the guards, and *his* pursuer likewise toys with *him*.

Elrod, P.N. "Myhr's Adventure in Hell" Terrin and Myhr *really* want to earn enough gemstones to let them escape to a more civilized world, broadly defining 'civilized' in terms of plumbing. Their client's husband - this world's Hitler-equivalent - is already dead; she wants to make sure his soul can never reincarnate. Myhr, the narrator, is nominated by his wizard-partner to make the hit. (Myhr trusts him on magic, if not on splitting red velvet cake equally.)

Flewelling, Lynn: "Raven's Cut" The young foreign assassin, when it's his turn to tell the evening's tale, remembers the best assassin he ever knew.

Huff, Tanya: "Death Rites" Very Thiefy feel: the two young assassins attached to 7th Army are the best hope of prying the rebel commander out of her captured stronghold - the secret entrance can't be blocked without cutting off her water supply.

Jefferson, Leyte: "He" Moonback is an assassin whose master remade him into a werewolf. His canine instincts predominate as the moon waxes; at that point, even in human form he reacts like a dog, approaching his master on his belly, licking his hands - losing some of his vocabulary, but remembering some of his professional skills even when he can't remember the word 'army'. Disturbing.

Leigh, Stephen: "Green Stones" The scarred man is only the latest in a long series of fools seeking to learn at the feet of the Green Stone. The trademark green stones left on the victims were always from the flanks of Goat Fell, so the would-be assassin's apprentice has come to Maire's lonely tavern. (Scar doesn't have the sense he was born with, but the reader shouldn't be *too* smug.)

Lindskold, Jane: "A Touch of Poison" Set in the same world as _Through Wolf's Eyes_. The assassins' tool of choice to reach the Supreme Affluent is Adalia, his chief baker; they've taken her infant son as surety. But Adalia knows she has no guarantee they'll return the baby, or that they won't reveal whose hand poisoned her master's pastry. (The culture of Waterland, where administration - there is no 'government' as such - and status are tied directly to money, is interesting in itself.)

Oster, Anna: Mallon is being stalked by a young fool who believes she killed his sister; Mallon, in exasperation, tells him he should have studied "History and Economics" instead of (obviously) poetry at university. (The Silent Guild is quite legal - and it's the client, not the assassin, the boy should be concerned with.)

Patton, Fiona: "The Svedali Foundlings" 'In Cercicava, the dead were revered far more than the living.' Coll can testify to this on several counts; he survived the burning of the Svedali Innocenti Foundling Home fourteen years ago during the duc's little expansion project for the necropolis, only to be picked up as an organ collector by the death mages. But someone else survived the burning: Drey, an assassin now stalking the corridors of power.

Reichert, Mickey Zucker: "Darkness Comes Together" Josafah envies the fame of the assassin known as Nightfall; no hire would dare waste Nightfall's time, as he'd just as soon destroy an unworthy hire as destroy his target. When Josafah encounters Nightfall outside his target's home, he suggests that they cooperate - who's to know? (Josafah's gratuitous violence contrasts with Nightfall's minimalist approach.)

Rusch, Kristine Kathryn: "Coin of the Realm" Orsem's assassins are competing for the public executioner's job - most of whose work is outside the kingdom - and the winner will be he who kills the most important victim, increasing the king's holdings in the process. *Not* the safest time to bring foreign dignitaries to court, as the king's daughter Rosalind is being sold into marriage to a neighbouring kingdom's heir.

Sherman, Josepha: "Never Say...Uh...Die?" Rather than ordinary humans, the narrator assassinates rampaging ogres, sorcerers plotting to usurp kingdoms - like that. His current target, a Koshchei, has learned subtlety in the art of hiding his heart outside his body. (*Not* a retelling of the Firebird legend.)

West, Michelle: "Echoes" Kallandras' family was murdered because someone learned they had a child with demonic powers - command-voice, among other things - and sought to take him. Kallandras survived as a beggar until the day the Kovaschii, the brotherhood serving the Lady's darkest face, took him for testing. The story is told in flashback, as the adult Kallandras remembers the tests of his training in a land far away.

Assassin's are extremely difficult characters to write. If you do it wrong, the assassin becomes a monster that no one can relate to. Or becomes self-rightous and hypocritical.
In this book there are 15 stories of assassins who are unique characters unto themselves, and no where near typical.
My favorites were Death Rites, about the brother sister team of Vree and Bannon, assassins for the empire. Also Coin of the Realm, which gave a very interesting twist, and Darkness Comes Together, about an assassin who is nearly as dangerous to his employer as his mark.
Echos was a good story to me, but then I have read the other books featuring Kallandras. For thoses who haven't, it may just be a little confusing.
I didn't care much for He, or for History and Economics or Dying By Inches. They seemed a little stilted, and not quite as smoothly flowing as some of the others.
But all in all, this was a good book, especially if you enjoy tales of darkness and deception, and of the ever mysterous assassin.
All assassin lovers should give this book a try.