Working in an office of 10 women, one can understand how it may be tough at times. After reading Vitamin C for the workplace, we had a much better understanding on how some of the differences we had were a result of a difference of personality and once we recognized what each of us were (Peacock, Owl, etc.), it was much easier to communicate. The worksheets are a great addition, as it enables the book to be interactive. Our working environment has been greatly enhanced due to the wisdom of Jospeph Sherren & Luke De Sadeleer. Our productivity has increased and our relationships with one another is stronger than ever. I would highly recommend "Vitimin C for the Workplace" to anyone who works in a group environment.

Vitamin C For A Healthy Workplace by Luke De Sadeleer (President, LDS Consulting) and Joseph Sherren (President, Ethos Enterprises Inc.) is not a diet or nutrition-related book, but rather a motivational book for business managers to help their employees become more productive. The seven C's emphasized in this practical guide are Change, Career, Culture, Coaching, Communication, Conflict, and Connection. Vitamin C For A Healthy Workplace is a superbly presented, practical guide for unifying people within the context of their workplace mission!

Vitamin C for a Healthy Workplace is very useful and practical book for a business manager. Researching thoroughly the topic the authors did wonderful job. Proper organization of every aspect of the workplace is crucial on the way to success. This book offers many good advises, analyses. It is a guide. Great help on the way to improving one of the most valuable resources of the organization - the human resources.
Easy and clearly written I really enjoyed the book.

The Black Devil Brigade is a personal story of the First Special Service Force in World War II. This brigade consist of US and Canadian commandos fighting in Italy. At first I was not overly impressed with this book. The grainy photos and primitive maps are substandard. Moreover, I encountered errors in the manuscript due to little or no professional editing. More importantly, and in light of historical research, there is the lack of a table of contents. Despite these shortfalls, and problems notwithstanding, the extraordinary personal recollections recorded in this hardback makes it one of the finest overall personal and oral narratives I have ever had the pleasure to read. I recommend this book to all serious students of history, or any reader in search of an extraordinary story of warfare.

BLACK DEVIL BRIGADE IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF SMALL UNIT ACTION IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR. JOSEPH SPRINGER GIVES US A GRIPPING, CRAFTSMANLIKE JOB OF PIERCING TOGETHER THE INCREDIBLE EXPLOITS OF THE MEN OF THE 1ST SPEICAL SERVICE FORCE INTO A COLLECTIVE ORAL HISTORY. RECRUITED FROM US AND CANADIAN VOLUNTEERS FOR A SUICIDE MISSION BEHIND THE ENEMY LINES IN NORWAY, THE BOOK COVERS THE UNITS 1942 CONCEPTION TO THEIR 1944 DISBANDMENT IN SOUTHERN FRANCE. THE FORCE WERE THE ELITE OF THE ALLIED FORCED DESPITE THEIR CONTINUED ANONYMITY. TASKED FOR IMPOSSIBLE SPECIAL FORCE MISSIONS, SUCH AS THE NIGHT ASSAULT ON A HUGE MOUNTAIN TOP IN ITALY (ALA THE MOVIE 'THE DEVILS BRIGADE'), THEY STRUCK SHEER TERROR INTO THE VERY HEART OF THEIR ENEMIES, KILLING WELL OVER 12,000 GERMANS, AND ACHIEVING INCREDIBLE RESULTS IN ITALY AND SOUTHERN FRANCE WITH AN EQUALLY INCREDIBLE 600% LOSS RATE. HUMOR, FEAR, HUNGER, COLD, HEAT, AND THE GRATUITOUS HORRORS OF COMBAT ARE RECORDED ON EVERY PAGE. THE FORCEMEN VEIW COMBAT (AND DEATH) IN A VERY UNCOMPLICATED, ABRUPT, AND VERY STRAIGHT FORWARD MANNER. THEIR UNUSUAL ATTITUE IS QUITE PREVELANT FROM COVER TO COVER. THE FORCEMEN SEEM OVERTLY MODEST AT TIMES, ALMOST AS IF THEIR EXTRAORDINARY CAPABILITES WERE THE DAY TO DAY NORM FOR OTHER COMBAT UNITS. THE BLACK DEVIL BRIGADE CAPTURES THE BROTHERHOOD AND HUMAN SPIRIT IN THE ACT OF BRUTAL COMBAT. AND SADLY, YOU WILL LEARN THE PERSONAL AND MOVING DETAILS OF THEIR HORRNEDOUS LOSSES. ULTIMATELY, SPRINGER'S BLACK DEVIL BRIGADE COMES ACROSS AS A REMARKABLE RECORD OF SMALL UNIT ACTION IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I loved this book. The Black Devil Brigade is an indepth account of the First Special Service Force from the words of the men that fought the battles. Some books capitalize on numbers and troop movements, strengths, etc., but this book is an oral history that is both exciting and sad. The author has weaved a wonderful story about these men, using their own words and the results are unbelievable. We get to know these men as we read about them through the intense training and then violent combat with an equally determined enemy. I felt the full range of emotions as I read their account of the death, destruction, and then the hilarious actions of combat soldiers that are always present. These men, both American and Canadian, were the elite fighting force in their day and the forerunner of the present day Special Forces and this book documents many of their accomplishments that should be read by all. It was a pleasure to read about these men and their deeds.

I found this fast-paced thriller very engaging. But not because of Y2K. In fact, rather than boring me with computer bugs, the story is a fascinating (albeit violent) look at industrial and financial terrorism, a diversion I found refreshing, not to mention thrilling. I don't believe the world is about to come to an end from this computer glitch or even the second coming, but obviously some people do. And this book takes a breathtaking look at what might happen if some of those crazies exploit our vulnerabilities to gain real power.

Apocalyptic headlines aside, I enjoyed this book for its likeable characters, fast story and loads of suspense. Just when I thought it was safe to get on an airplane at the stroke of midnight, the book's master terrorist starts pulling them from the sky like toys. And there's even a good piece of common sense in the book: when our terrorist uses computers to play havoc with aircraft, an old helicopter is put back into service in order to avoid disasters. I must also mention our heroes' use of chemical and semi-biological computers with massively parallel capabilities -- this is absolutely awesome technology which, I understand, is considered to be strong possibilities for the future. And there's so much more here to enjoy. All-in-all, a great read!

I just read "The Millennium Project" and thought it was great! Started reading it last night and finished at 3:00 am. I couldn't put it down. Great Plot, with all the twists and turns and equally great characters. Someone needs to make a movie about this book. Would make Rambo, Terminator 2 and the Die Hard movies look like Disney flicks. I'm recommending it to all my friends and fellow investors in Y2K stocks.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fast paced, educational and highly entertaining story. I took it on vacation with me and found that I was missing a lot of snorkeling while reading with enjoyment. It moves like lightening and strikes with intensity, blasting me with adventure everywhere it finds it -- on top of the Rocky Mountains, in NORADs impregnible bunker city, and even inside Chicago's hundred-year-old water tunnels beneath Lake Michigan. This book steps far apart from the run of the mill techno-thriller to a much higher level of fun and adventure all to itself. This is the second book I have read by Mr. Massucci ("CODE:ALPHA" was the first) and I look forward to the next adventure. Excellent, excellent entertainment!

Taback, Simms. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. New York: Penguin Group, 1999 Set in a small farming community, Joseph Had a Little Overcoat tells the story of a man named Joseph who has nothing but turns nothing into something. Joseph has an overcoat that is "worn and shabby". He decides to make it into a jacket. When the jacket becomes worn, Joseph makes it into a vest and this process of making a new article of clothing out of the worn overcoat material continues throughout the book. Then one day, Joseph loses his button and has nothing. As always, Joseph turns his nothing into something by writing a book about this overcoat. Taback uses the illustrations, the simple text, the cover and the dye-cut pages to convey the book's theme: something can always be made into something else. The cover of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat has a black frame around the illustrations and Joseph's name is made out of scrap material, the overcoat has dye-cut holes to show that it is worn, the words are written in yellowish-orange and the S and the T in Taback's name are written in red. All these features will appear again within the pages of the book. As the reader turns to the endpaper, the reader will notice that they appear to be made of scrap material. The scrap material creates interest in the reader, foreshadowing that the overcoat will be made into other article of clothing. The title pages give the reader more insight into Joseph's daily life. Once again, Joseph's name is written in scrap material to indicate his resourcefulness. The two orange pages make the reader feel warm and loving toward Joseph. The title pages also have fruit, thread, vegetables, scissors, needles, and buttons scattered around. These items suggest that Joseph is a simple man who farms for a living. Simms uses the black framing, dye-cut pages, the J in Joseph's name written in red and the words written in yellowish-orange again. These four things stay constant throughout the entire book. Taback did this to show consistency in Joseph's life. The black frame and the illustrations span both pages, creating a window effect, which allows the reader to become an observer of Joseph's life. Taback uses warm colors to make the reader feel comfortable and at home. The yellowish-orange color was used in writing the word to again make the reader feel comfortable with Joseph and what is happening in the story. Die-cut holes are skillfully used throughout the book to show the reader what Joseph will make next. They also remind the reader that the article of clothing came from an old worn out piece of clothing. At the very end of the story, Taback writes the readers a letter telling them that he adapted the book from an old Yiddish folk song called "I had a Little Overcoat"; opposite the letter, Taback has the music and words to the song. Adding the song to the end makes the book more personal. The final pages are again scraps of material to remind the reader of the ongoing theme: something can be made out of nothing.

Taback, Simms. Joseph had a Little Overcoat. New York: Penguin Putnam Books, 1999.

In Simms Taback's, Joseph had a Little Overcoat, Joseph teaches a simple moral lesson to the reader about being resourceful and thrifty. Throughout the book, Joseph makes his overcoat into many different pieces of clothing. He begins with his overcoat becoming a jacket. He then makes a vest out of his jacket, a scarf out of his vest, a necktie out of his scarf, a handkerchief out of his necktie, and then a button out of his handkerchief. In the end, Joseph writes a book about making something out of nothing. He proves to the reader that you can make something out of very little. Taback, also the illustrator, uses watercolor, pencil, ink, and color patchwork collages to illustrate this Caldecott award winning children's book. Many illustrations consist of clippings from magazines and photographs. This paints a realistic picture. Pictures of real coffee cups and saucers are arranged on a shelf that Taback drew. This technique is also used in the rugs on Joseph's floor. Taback has drawn the rugs but placed photos of real pieces of a rug into his drawing. This is such a unique and innovative characteristic of Taback's illustrations. The colors that Taback chose to use are very vivid, primary colors. This may represent the simpleness of Joseph's life. Taback also uses "cut-outs" to illustrate to the reader how Joseph's overcoat becomes different articles of clothing. Each time this occurs, the "cut-outs" get smaller, to show each different piece of clothing that Joseph is wearing. On each page of this book, Taback illustrates various aspects of the life of a Jewish peasant. Jewish life in Poland is visible to the reader through pictures of farm animals, various fruits and vegetables, the minora, Jewish proverbs, motza crackers, and hot tea with lemon. Each of these symbolize Joseph's culture. Taback also convinces the reader that music is a prominent part of the Yiddish culture. One illustration of this shows Joseph dancing at his nephew's wedding, while musicians play. There is another example showing Joseph singing in the men's chorus. In both of these illustrations, Joseph appears to be enjoying the music. It is also evident that Joseph's family and community are a central part of his life. This is a characteristic of the Yiddish culture. Many illustrations in this book have a Jewish proverb hanging on the wall. One proverb says "What one has, one doesn't want, and what one wants, one doesn't have." This indicates a society that is not materialistic. Another proverb simply states, "Better to have an ugly patch than a beautiful hole." Again, thriftiness and simplicity are valued. Pictures of different individuals, such as Moishe, the Melamed, the Rebbe, and Molly Picon, are hanging on the walls of Joseph's home. These individuals must have a special meaning to Joseph and are a part of his culture. Another interesting part of the book is the trip that Joseph takes to the city. Taback illustrates Joseph in his finest clothing. This may show that he does not leave his community often and he only does so on special occasions. Finally, this book captures your attention by the simple moral lesson presented. The book shares information on a culture many people are not familiar with. This simple story promotes cultural diversity along with an ethical message.

This book could easily have been entitled, "Opportunity Knocks." The philosophy of the glass is always half full is humorously and realistically portrayed here in fairy tale fashion. The beautiful illustrations make imaginative use of die cuts to develop the story in delightful ways.

Joseph is a man who lives alone in a farming community in what could be Eastern Europe around 1900. Although he is a poor man, he always sees hope. His hope shines as a beacon to us all, like the torch held by the Statue of Liberty.

The story begins with Joseph wearing an old, worn and patched overcoat that gets older and more worn. But it can still provide benefits. He turns it into a jacket! A die-cut overlay onto the prior page makes the transformation in a way that makes the process more obvious to the young reader.

The story evolves in that general direction, and the smiles are broad as it does.

Then, just when you think that Joseph has run out of options, he finds an even more wonderful opportunity!

This is a great book to teach children to see change as a reason to think about opportunities. I would hope that every family would have a copy.

The book also can serve as a beginning reader from around ages 3 or 4 because it has few words, and much repetition in the use of words. "It got old and worn" is repeated several times, for example.

I also encourage you to ask your child what things make life challenging in her or his life, and how to turn those challenges to advantage. That can be a source of irresistible advantage for the rest of your child's life!

Have a great new wardrobe whenever you want one . . . and always see great opportunities, wherever they may come from!

Joseph Telushkin is the premier ethicist of our time. Even though this magnificent book is informed by Jewish ethical values, it truly speaks to all people, regardless of race, religion or creed. It is a superior combination of scholarship, insight, humanity and warmth, which reflects off every page. For those who want to evolve spiritually, become better human beings, this is a must-read. It is written in a very cogent, lucid, readable and accessible style. A veritable gem!

I cannot think of a more superb book to inspire contemplation of ethics, spirituality and values. I was already a fan of Rabbi Joseph Telushkin's writing when a long-time buddy of mine gave me "The Book of Jewish Values" as a gift. Before I even opened it, I knew I had a gem.

Very simply, Rabbi Telushkin's writing is direct, concise, up-to-date and easy to understand. Also ... important! You don't have to be Jewish (I'm not) to appreciate the relevance of the ethical guidelines on which the author elaborates. For each day of the year (excluding the Shabbat) one of a broad range of issues is discussed and highlighted either anecdotally through quotes by other noted Rabbis or supported by reference to important Jewish literature (e.g., the laws of the Torah and Talmud). You probably won't find 300+ issues applicable to your life, but every page is worthwhile reading nevertheless. The most pertinent and/or interesting topics to me were the ones involving relationships, charity, kindness, and speech.

The book's format is suited to every kind of reading habit, so go at whatever pace you like. Each day is comprised of 1-3 pages, with cross-referencing where related discussion appears elsewhere in the book. Also, footnotes can be found on the same page where a reference is cited (I appreciate this) so you don't have to turn to the back of the book to check a source. In the event you do turn to the back, you'll find a decent glossary, bibliography and index.

Whether your intention is to learn or to simply bolster your moral convictions, I give this book my highest recommendation.

Rabbi Telushkin has done it again. Already the premier author of a collection of books that amount to desk encyclopedias of Jewish Humor, Jewish Wisdom, Jewish Literacy, and Biblical Literacy, Joseph Telushkin now adds this wonderful volume on practical ethics. The book presents ethical issues - one for each of six days with a time to review on the Sabbath - that weave current and historical illustrations of important ethical principles. What distinguishes this "day at a time" ethical compendium from others like it is the strength of the stories which illustrate each principle. These are deep and complex practical applications, neither contrived nor saccharine.

Readers who are not Jewish will also be interested in this book. The lessons here are not related to any particular sectarian view but apply to all those who feel that a religious life must be an ethical life if it is to be meaningful and authentic.

The publishers are to be commended on the beautiful presentation of this book. It should grace the shelves of anyone who wants a realistic guide to a more ethical life.

This book is excellent. It covers all the bases--practice with numbers, letters, shapes, opposites and more while using everyday objects and favorite characters to "teach" them all. Plus, there's the fun of lifting the "flaps" to see what's behind many different objects--an activity of great interest to children. My son just loves this book (he's 18 months). He's a big fan of reading, and this certainly would be in his top 3 favorites. I just can't say enough about this book! (As a teacher, I have a great appreciation for how well this book is organized and what all it covers. Teaching and learning is a snap with materials like this!)

A good book for all young childrens: I leave in France and I geave this book to my little nevew. He loves it so much. It's possible for him to learn easier english. A good way to learn!

Buy this book only if you're prepared to read it *all* the time! I love that this book has helped teach my 2 yo son his letters, numbers, shapes, opposites, etc., but he has to read it every night before bed and he has to sleep with it! This has been going on since we got it for Christmas! I'm so sick of it, I came online to find another Elmo lift-and-look book. For my son's bedtime reading ritual, I have to read Elmo first or he won't concentrate on the other books--constantly saying "I wanna read Elmo" as I'm trying to read a different book! Thankfully, there's enough going on each page that I can make up stories about the characters or play games like finding circles in the numbers page to mix things up a bit! Ah well, thanks Elmo :-)

Joe Sugarman is the man! I've read countless books on advertising to fine-tune my ad skills. This book seems to encompass all the lessons, and more, of a dozen others I have on my shelf. Not only that, but it's all done in an easy to understand way. I've sold my ads to over a 1000 customers, but I started making revisions immediately after I read Mr. Sugarman's book. Great job. If you are serious about improving your ad skills, get this book.

I own $4,200 worth of Books and courses on Advertising and this book is on my list of top 20 must read. A lot of valuable insights not covered by others! Helps you avoid some of the biggest and most common mistakes in writing ads and sales letters that almost guarantee a Bomb. Covers emotions and reasons why people buy and don't buy. This book is worth $250.00 or more. It's a virtual course. Sugarman has sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of products and knows what he is talking about. Sugarman makes almost nothing off teaching others what he knows. I think he teaches because he enjoys it and not to make money. His money has come through selling products in space ads and television, and not from teaching others how to sell through space ads or television. A lot of so called experts make there money teaching others how to make money teaching others how to make money. Sugarman made his millions selling products to the public! Get this book! Its fun to read and its Great!

Great copy looks so easy -- so simple, so effortless, so "ordinary." There are those who can take the process of writing it and make that process look complicated. And then there's Joe Sugarman.

This is one of the two books I recommend for further study in my home-study "Money-Making Copywriting Course." Why? Because Joe cuts through all of the needless and cumbersome detail so many teachers of copywriting instill in their lessons. He makes the information accessible and entertaining to learn. And he's a super-successful real-world practioner, as well as a very skilled and effective teacher.

A novice might think that because this book does not refer to Internet marketing or the latest trends in print and direct mail advertising, it is out of date. That is a well-intentioned but misguided criticism. Of course very few people know how to market effectively (and close sales) on the Internet. Since I have done this successfully (I've created Web sites that made lots of money, by themselves) and since I spent a year as the editor of a newsletter tracking who was successful marketing online and who wasn't (almost everyone wasn't), I can say with some authority that there are very few people who can market effectively online.

But know this about Joe Sugarman. If he ever chose to do online marketing, he would make a fortune -- just as he has done before in other ventures. Why? Because there are certain principles of human nature, and of selling with the written word, that have not yet changed. And he is a world-class expert in conveying those principles to novices and experts alike.

The technological and situational landscape may make it look like we live in a very different world, but trust me -- as someone who got a 2% response with direct mail at the height of the anthrax scare in the fall of 2001 -- the world we live in now is pretty much the same as the world we have always lived in.

At least as it pertains to writing effective advertising copy.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. You'll learn tons, and -- best of all -- you'll be able to make some very good money with what you learned.

Having just finished my civ pro course and final exam (though no grade yet as I write this), I can say I found Glannon's supplement helpful -- especially for the most complicated questions like joinder, jurisdiction, and the intersections of the two. As another reviewer has noted, this isn't a secret weapon, since chances are almost everyone else in your class will have it. (Our prof even made it recommended supplemental reading.) Like all authors, Glannon has his own quirks, and some points he chooses to dwell on may or may not align with what your professor thinks is important. Glannon's somewhat cutesy writing style may get on your nerves after a while, but this book is still almost surely better written than your textbook. You can usually knock off each chapter in an hour or less.

While it may seem heretical in light of only glowing reviews to give Mr. Glannon anything shy of five stars, I must say that while this book is quite helpful for most law students, some may find it just a bit wanting in certain areas. Don't get me wrong: Glannon will help "explain" the basics as well as some of the more nuanced areas of civ pro; use of this book in conjunction with your casebook and class notes will definately provide you with a sound understanding of this sometimes bafflingly obtuse subject.

However, for one whose goal is to excel well beyond the pack, Glannon alone will not propel a student to get the coveted law-school "A+." The law of numbers alone dictates this result: Glannon is the most widely read civ pro supplements available - you will be getting nothing more than what pretty much all your classmates get. Your solution? An additional supplement. For me, it was Gene Shreve's fantastic "Understanding Civil Procedure" - a more dense, but extremely tightly packed supplement. Everything you should know for civ pro, + a little more is in Shreve.

To summarize, get Glannon for the basic explanation; get Shreve for the edge. Glannon is great if you've got some time on your hands to digest the examples; Shreve is great if you've got the basics down and want to attain insight beyond most of the competition.

I found Glannon's book to quite informative. The content and examples and explantions at the end of each section cleared up many gray areas. In fact, my Civ Pro professor is considering making it a required text for his next Civil Procedure class.

So you love C.S. Lewis' Narnia Chronicles? There people who don't are few and far between. One of the biggest influences on C.S. Lewis was this man, George MacDonald (1824-1905). It was MacDonald's talent for telling fairy stories that inspired Lewis in writing his own. Like Lewis, MacDonald has a remarkable ability to tell a delightful and enchanting story for children, layered with strong Christian themes and imagery by means of allegory and symbols. 'The Princess and the Goblin' is one of his most beloved works for children, and an excellent introduction to his style and success.

'The Princess and the Goblin' features a heroine ' a princess called Irene ' and a hero ' a simple miner's son called Curdie. While working overtime in the mines to earn money to buy his mother a red petty-coat, Curdie chances upon the goblins who live in the mountain, and discovers that they are hatching an evil plot against the king and his palace. Meanwhile the princess makes a discovery of her own ' high in the castle she finds a wonderful old lady who is her great-great-grandmother. The problem is, nobody else knows of her grandmother, and nobody believes her. But the princess does believe, and it is by her faith in her grandmother and the magic thread that she receives from her, that she is able to rescue Curdie. Together they rescue the entire palace from disaster at the hands of the goblins.

In telling the story, MacDonald has an enchanting conversational style, wonderfully suitable for reading aloud to enraptured children ' an ability perfecting in telling stories to his own eleven children. But 'The Princess and the Goblin' is more than just a story. Before pursuing a literary career, MacDonald was a Congregationalist minister, and so integrates important underlying Christian themes. Believing in the great-great-grandmother despite the fact that many cannot see her, is a symbol of believing in God. MacDonald uses this to show how the Christian faith involves believing without seeing, and that not everyone has to 'see' something for it to be true. The grandmother's lamp and magic thread are the guides on which the princess must depend, much like the Word which is a lamp on our path. It may sound tacky, but it works.

Children are not likely to grasp the deeper underlying themes that MacDonald is working with. Nonetheless the story has a clear message for children. The clear conflict between the royal powers of light against the goblin powers of darkness is unmistakable. Moreover, the princess is presented as a model of virtue, and MacDonald frequently asserts the importance of moral virtues such as always telling the truth, keeping your word, and admitting your faults ' moral virtues that are equally important for princes and princesses of God's kingdom. Courage, honesty, grace, dignity and beauty are timeless ideals for children of all times to strive for. If you love Narnia, you're sure to like this one, and you'll find yourself quickly grabbing the sequel, 'The Princess and Curdie.' 'The Princess and the Goblin' was one of J.R.R. Tolkien's childhood favorites, highly regarded by C.S. Lewis, described by W.H. Auden as 'the only English children's book in the same class as the Alice books', and generally considered as a classic example of nineteenth century children's literary fairy tales. So if you haven't yet read this book, it's about time you did. With admirers such as Tolkien, Lewis and Auden, if you become a MacDonald's admirer you'll find yourself in good company!

This wonderful children's novel tells the story of eight year old Princess Irene. Cared for by her nurse Lootie, she lives in a mountain farmhouse while her father rules over the region from a mountain top castle. The local folk work as miners but are beset by the Goblins who inhabit the underground. Irene is saved from the Goblins by Curdie, a thirteen year old miner, and she in turn saves him. The whole thing is told in a pleasant conversational style and is filled with humor, word games, magic, derring-do, and pure wonderment.

George MacDonald, a Congregational minister turned novelist, who seems nearly forgotten now, was one of the seminal figures in the development of Fantasy. His influence on other Fantasy authors is obvious, he was a childhood favorite of JRR Tolkein, who especially liked this book, and C.S. Lewis named him one of his favorite authors. His own stories draw on many of the themes and characters of classical European fairy tales. But where they were often merely horrific and meaningless, MacDonald adds a layer of Christian allegory. Thus, Irene and Curdie are eventually saved by a thread so slender that you can't even see it, but which leads them back to safety, teaching Curdie that you sometimes have to believe in things that you can't see.

The book would be interesting simply as a touchstone of modern fiction, but it stands up well on its own and will delight adults and children alike.

GRADE: A

This book is not only beautifully written and perfect for all ages, "The Princess and the Goblin" is also morally strong and uplifting. Children of either sex will be interested in it, with a loving and beautiful grandmother, a strong and intelligent young girl, and a young boy who is intent on protecting his loved ones and uncovering the evil goblin plot. I have read this countless times, and each time I discover something new. The sequel, "The Princess and Curdie," is also worth reading. I love this book!

Although I am an avid reader of American military history, I read few first-person accounts of war because I tend to prefer books about geopolitics, grand strategy, and decisive weapons systems. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book about a marine officer's experience during the Korean War. It was easy reading, its narrative was straightforward, informative, and, I believe, honest, and it provided some valuable insights into the harsh realities of the first of the Cold War's regional conflicts.

The United States' "forgotten war" began on June 25, 1950, when the People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) invaded the Republic of Korea (South Korea). At the time, Author Joseph Owen was a Marine Corps lieutenant stationed in North Carolina, living with his wife and their two young children. According to Owen: "Nobody at Camp Lejeune had expected a shooting war. Nor were we ready for one." A captain who had been an adviser to the South Korean Marine Corps predicted Korea would be "[o]ne lousy place to fight a war. Too hot in summer, too cold in winter, and straight up and down mountain terrains all year round. Except for those stinking rice paddies down in the valleys. Human manure they use. Worst stink in the world." Nevertheless, according to Owen: "The possibility of American Marines in a combat role excited us." Owen writes: "The North Koreans continued to overpower the meager resistance offered by the South Korean soldiers....Seoul, the South Korean capital, fell with hardly a fight, and the Red blitzkrieg rolled southward. In response, President Truman escalated American involvement in the war. He ordered General MacArthur, America's supreme commander in the Far East, to use U.S. Army troops stationed in Japan to stem the invaders." And: "General MacArthur called for a full division of Marines to help him turn back the North Koreans. According to Owen: "The Marine Corps welcomed the call, but we did not have a full division to put in the field;" and "More than seven thousand of us at Camp Lejeune received orders to proceed by rail to Camp Pendleton. There they would form into companies and embark for Korea." Owen's unit, "Baker-One-Seven became one of three rifle companies if the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment....Our ranks were filled by 215 men and 7 officers who had never before served together....Many of [the privates] were beardless teenagers with little training beyond the basics of shouldering a rifle and marching in step." While training, there was much concern about the readiness of the Marines for combat. At one point, after a sergeant remarks that the troops need more training in boot camp, Owen succinctly invokes reality: "They are not going to boot camp. They are going aboard ship. And they are going to fight." On September 1, the company boarded a Navy transport for the three-week voyage to east Asia. According to Owen: "Ready or not, we were on the way to war." And, according to Owen, the 1st Marine Division's orders were "to go for the Yalu River," North Korea's border with China. At one point, a veteran officer provides this paraphrase of William Tecumseh Sherman's famous dictum: "War is hell, but you never know what particular kind of hell it's going to be." The Korean War hell was cold and barren. Owen writes: "We were chilled through and bone tired as we slogged our way back to battalion....The bivouac was lumpy with rocks and boulders;" "The cold weather was as formidable an enemy as the Chinese;" and "Rarely did the [daily action] reports exceed zero degrees, and there were lows of twenty below."

By the time Owen's outfit arrived in Korea, he writes, "we were making bets that the war would be over before we got into it." Owen's Marines could not have been more wrong. While Owen is inspecting his men's weapons, a private asks: "Think we'll get shot at today, Lieutenant?" Owen replies: "We're taking the point for the regiment. If the gooks are there, they'll be shooting at us." A few pages later, after the outfit's first experience in combat, Owen comments: "We were fortunate that the enemy had not chosen a "fight-to-the-death" defense of this hill, as they would when we advanced farther north." But some fighting was hand-to-hand. At one point, Owen writes: "Judging from the noise they were making, and the direction of their grenades, the North Koreans were preparing to attack, not more than thirty yards away." The Captain tells Owen and the other subordinate officers: "The Chinese have committed themselves to this war....The people we will fight are the 124th Division of the Regular Chinese Army....They're tough, well-trained soldiers, ten thousand of them. And all of their officers are combat experienced, their very best....A few hours from now we'll have the Chinese army in our gunsights. We'll be in their gunsights. You damn well better have our people ready for some serious fighting." The combat was, indeed, brutal. According to Owen: "The Chinese attacked in massive numbers, an overwhelming weight, but they also endured terrible casualties." Owen recalls that, while waiting for one Chinese attack, the "men stacked Chinese bodies in front of the holes for greater protection." And the fighting around the frozen Chosin Reservoir may have been the most brutal of the war. Owen ultimately suffered wounds requiring 17 months of treatment, and he never regained full use of one arm.

A few months ago, I reviewed James Brady's wonderful The Coldest War: A Memoir of Korea here. This book has different charms. Whereas Brady is a gifted professional writer, there is no elegant prose here. But Owen provides an equally vivid account of this ugly war. Big, sophisticated studies of military history focusing on geopolitical principles and grand strategy rarely offer narrative moments like the ones in this book. Reader are unlikely to forget the Korean War after reading Joseph Owen's Colder than Hell.

Colder than Hell: A Marine Rifle Company at Chosin Reservoir. By Joseph R. Owen. Reviewed by Mike Davino

Army Korean War expert Lieutenant Colonel Roy Appleman has called the 1st Marine Division of the Chosin Reservoir campaign "one of the most magnificent fighting organizations that ever served in the United States Armed Forces." The remarkable and inspiring story of the division at the Chosin Reservoir has been the subject of numerous books and several films. During their fighting withdrawal, the Marines decimated several divisions of the Chinese People's Liberation Army while at the same time fighting an exceptionally harsh winter environment.

Joseph Owen's new book on the subject tells the story from the cutting edge perspective of a rifle company. The author served as a mortar section leader and rifle platoon commander in Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines from its activation in August 1950 through the Inchon-Seoul and Chosin fighting where he was severely wounded.

There are many reasons given for the outstanding performance of the Marines in northeast Korea during the winter of 1950. It is clear from this book that a large measure of the credit goes to the Marines and their leaders at the small unit and rifle company level.

Owen's narrative covers the hasty activation and training of the company, its brief participation in the fighting north of Seoul after the amphibious assault at Inchon and the details of its intense fighting at Chosin. He candidly discusses the mistakes made by the leaders and Marines of Baker Company, to include his own. More importantly, Owen covers what they learned from these mistakes and how they used that knowledge to defeat the Chinese in a series of intense actions.

Although focused at the company level, the author frames his story with the overall conduct of the campaign. Refreshingly, unlike many books about the Chosin campaign, it is free of partisan sniping about the contributions made by the various services involved. Owen gives credit to the Army units that fought at Chosin as well as the contributions of naval and air forces and our British allies.

This book is rich in lessons about small unit leadership, training and combat operations. It is an excellent addition to the personal narratives on the Korea War.

When preparing to travel to an Asian country on business, I seek context by reading of the wars the U.S. has fought there. When I look in those Japanese, Chinese and Korean eyes, I see the children of old enemies and old friends. While plowing through Fehrenbach's canonical Korean War history, "This Kind of War", I took a break and lost a weekend of yard work to "Colder Than Hell" which I ordered based on the praise given by my fellow Amazon reviewers. My thanks to the other reviewers, for this is a superb first person account of a Marine company fighting it's way up and then back down the Korean peninsula in 1950. Marines of Baker one-seven fought and froze to the death too often, but their sacrifice has let 47 million Koreans in the South build a democracy and learn the meaning of freedom. The price of freedom was huge for Baker one-seven, but the esprit de corps so crisply described by ex-Second Lt. Owen carried his Marines from hill to hill. This is an excellent book and a must read for fans of first person stories of war and sacrifice.