Prisoners are human beings! Chicken Soup For The Prisoners Soul transforms the stereotypic image of all prisoners being horrible people woh are threats to society. As I read this wonderful book I found myself questioning our criminal justice system. Chicken Soup For the Prisoners Soul shows that prisoners are indeed human beings; people who would be better served by communnity support rather than punative retribution. Please, don't just believe me. Read this wonderful book for yourself and I am confident you will be incredibly moved.

As an educator in a state correctional facility, I am always looking for reading material that can interest and inspire. As a human being struggling with the difficulties of my own little life, working with human being beings who for many reasons are going through the very difficult life experience of incarceration has assisted me in my own soul growth and the awareness of the one soul by which we are all connected.
Reading "Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul" before I read it in class with my adult incarcerated students aided that development. I bought copies of the book for my students to read in class. Each student practiced his story. Then read it to the class. We have had many soul-stirring discussions.
I have never been the victim of a violent crime. I feel very much for victims and their families. The sections of the book that moved me to reflect on forgiveness were the ones telling about the forgiveness of the victim's family member for the perpetrator. I have trouble forgiving small slights. To read about the forgiveness of a violent crime that led to a taken life...well, I am still working on that. We live. We think. We change. This book encourages new thoughts to enter my mind and new changes in awareness of the soul.

"Chicken soup for the Prioner's Soul" was the answer to my prayers. After reading your book, I joined Toastmasters to develop my skills as a speaker. Your book opened my eyes and heart to my desire to be a professional speaker. It has also opened a lot of doors for me. It is so amazing that being in jail, I was led to your book, which has led to so many wonderful and helpful people. If everyone could accept people as unconditionally as you and the people in your book have accepted me, our world would be a much better place.

I thought this book was very enjoyable. I am an avid reader of the Chicken Soup for the Souls series and as a new mother I thought this book was perfect. Of course some of the stories are more touching than others, but they all sparked an emotional response from me. The format of short stories makes the book easy to read and hard to put down. I often find myself at night, saying, " Okay, I'll just read one more story" and 45 min later of course I'm still reading. I would recommend this book to all, mothers, children, fathers, grandparents. . ., but its a tear-jerker so remember the tissues!!

For years I have wanted to read the Chicken Soup series, but finances being limited, I had to wait until my mother bought me Chicken Soup for the Mothers Soul. What a tremendous delight.....I fully intended to only read a story a day so that it would last a while, but within 24 hours I had consumed every story in the book. My heart feels lighter and my thoughts began to look on my life as a mother and how my children percieve me. It makes you want to strive for the ultimate goal....to be a mother remembered with love and admiration. I am a fan of Chicken Soup for life.

I had heard about the books from a friend at work, and got three for Christmas (Woman's soul, Woman's soul II, and Mother's soul). I don't normally enjoy reading but could not put the books down, in a matter of a week, I read two of them. They are absolutely wonderful. The Chicken Soup for the Mother's soul, WOW, what a book! It's awesome, and the stories touch the heart. Some of them even bring tears to my eyes. I recommend these books to anyone and am forwarding the Mother's soul book onto my mother.

my mom bought me this a few christmas's ago. I wasnt really a diary type person so I figured I wouldnt like it. But one day when I was bored, I opened it up and looked and realized what I had been missing. this is definitly a great book for teenagers. Its not just a blank journal, it gives you lots of interesting ideas to write about and asks questions that make you think. I love writing in it if I'm bored. And it's big so it wont get used up fast. Also, even though there are sections, you dont have to do each one in order, you can just skip around if you want. the sections are similar to the ones in the chicken soup for the teenage soul books. and for some of the questions, they give alot of space to just write whatever you want. I especially liked the section where your friends, boyfriend, etc. could write to you and the part where you can put your pictures. I highly recommend this journal! its great! I hope they come out with a second one

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: Journal, was one of the most moving books I have read. It is directed towards adolescents, and deals with issues every adolescent girl faces. It's a blend of stories, quotes, poems, and spaces to write your thoughts. This book has many different sections such as: family, learning lessons, love and kindness, and tough stuff. My favorite section, however, is "loving yourself". This book gave me a chance to deal with issues and see that I am not the only girl whom faces such issues. Chicken Soup is a book that I am able to pick up and at any time if I need some inspiration, help, or reassurance. Other issues helpful to me were on drinking, self-esteem, eating disorders, and how to deal with my past. Another good part about this book is that a lot of it is compiled with texts written by teenage authors. There are spaces for friends to write about you, and spaces for you to express how you feel on certain issues. Chicken Soup allowed me to realize I was not the only girl who had experienced some of the feelings I did. After reading this book I knew I wasn't alone! I do highly recommend this book to any teenage girl. Adolescence is a hard time to get through, and many girls need inspiration. You do not have to read the book cover to cover; you can pick it up any time and read whatever section you desire.

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: Journal, was one of the most moving books I have read. It's directed towards adolescents, and deals with issues every adolescent girl faces. It's a blend of stories, quotes, poems, and spaces to write your thoughts. This book has many different sections such as: family, love and kindness, learning lessons, and though stuff. My favorite section, however, is "loving yourself". This book gave me a chance to deal with issues and see that I'm not the only girl whom faces such issues. Chicken Soup is a book that I am able to pick up at any time if I need some inspiration on a situation, or some reassurance. Other issues helpful to me were on drinking, self-esteem, eating disorders, and how to deal with my past. The best part about this book is that a lot of it is compiled with texts written by teenage authors. There are spaces for friends to write about you, and spaces for you to express how you feel about certain things. Chicken Soup allowed me to realize I was not the only girl who had experienced some of the feelings that I did. After reading this book I knew I wasn't alone! I do highly reccomend this book to any teenage girl. Adolescence is a hard time to get through, and many girls need inspiration. You do not have to read the book cover to cover; you can pick it up any time and read whatever section you desire.

An excellent, easy to read and understand book about asking for what you want. A little instruction coupled with very many samples of real life stories shared by readers who got what they want out of life by doing something that anybody can do - ask! A real eye opener to how simple it can be to unleash the power that lies within us all. I highly recommend this book to anybody and everybody

after reading the Alladin Factor you wonder how many times will I have to hear, "Ask and you shall receive," before it sinks in? Jack and Mark are like the postal service; They Deliver. Within the synergy only these two create, is the key to acquiring what you desire - ASK! Rub the lamp and ask the genie who lives inside us all for the Courage to open your mouth. We used to say nothing bad can happen when you ask at the end of the day - If it's been a good day and you receive by asking, it just got Better; if you ask and don't receive, who cares it's been a good day anyway. If it's been a Bad day and you don't receive, don't beat yourself up, it's been a bad day. BUT, if it has been a bad day and you Do Receive - Shazamm! - you just changed the WHOLE DAY. And not only that day but the next day and the next - You have the POWER to Ask. Desire without Action is a Wish - Read this book to begin making your wishes come True. Way to Go, guys, Another W! inner -- Keep Smilin' Mike Redding

Ever heard of "Ask and you shall receive?" Canfield and Hansen illustrate beautifully that this principle really works in all areas of our life - if we are willing to ask. So many times, we don't even try, we think it's impossible, we give up too soon. The principles of how to do the art of asking are interspersed with inspiring examples from real life people.

From the contents:

- The Five Barriers to Asking: Why we don't ask for what we want - Knowing how to ask, who to ask, what to ask for - Ask at home, at work, at school, the world, yourself, a higher power

After reading this book, I boldly asked where I would have been silent before. It is amazing how much you can create for yourself if you're willing to ask for it. I liked this a lot!

If you love your pet, you'll love this book. The stories capture how important pets are in our lives. My whole family has read it. I'm writing stories about my own pet with the help of a journaling book, THE BOOK OF MY PET. It's helping me capture my endearing animal's life in the way the Chicken Soup authors did.

I got the book as a Christmas gift and found myself transported to warm memories of pets, past, present and future. I found the book to be like looking in someone's emotional diary; sharing their most intimate, special moments of sharing their lives fully with a beloved pet. I bought ten copies of the book and gave it as a new millennium gift to all the pet lover's in my life and I'm prould to report that the praises, thank you's and high-fives keep coming my way. If you love your pets like family, and are tired of fiction or stories of gloom and doom, add this book to your shopping cart!

I loved this book, the stories truly captured the special bond and joy that animals bring to peope's life.I laughed,cried and will never look at my cats the same way again.For those people who ae owned by their pets we are truly blessed and this book contain stories that will remind us of this. For the many people without a four-legged friend in their life they should read this book and find out what they ar missing.

This book presents a wonderful way to read Thucydides. While the introduction and appendices can be quite helpful to the non-specialist, the edition's greatest strengths are its translation and its maps. Crawley's is truly the definitive English translation, doing justice to Thucydides' majestic, albeit sometimes dense, prose. At the same time the maps make reading it a real pleasure. The Peloponnesian War ranged all across the Greek world, and most editions force you to constantly flip back to a few small and confusing maps in a feeble attempt to follow it. This volume entirely relieves you of that burden, removing all obstacles to the enjoyment and appreciation of this classic.

For those further interested in Thucydides and the war he recounts, I highly recommend Donald Kagan's four-volume analysis of the Peloponnesian War. An up-to-date, thoroughly scholarly work, it is also very accessible to the non-expert and well-written to boot. For expanded views and interpretations of the war, as well as an evaluation of Thucydides himself, pick up any one of his volumes.

Robert Strassler has done a remarkable editing job with Thucydides' Peloponnesian War. He has included three key features which provide the reader much luxury:

One, he has provided maps throughout the text, to the extent of repetition, to ensure that textual geographic references are always accompanied, in close proximity, cartographically.

Two, he has provided paragraph summaries on the margin throughout the work so that a reader, who has put the edition down for any length of time, may refresh their memories quickly by reading as many of these one to two sentence summaries as necessary.

Three, as Thucydides provides his narrative in chronological order, he must often leave one narrative to begin another. Strassler has provided a thread to follow each narrative through to its' end by way of footnotes.

These editorial enhancements greatly enrich the reading experience and would be a welcome addition to any historical text.

Thucydides, himself, presents the reader with a narrative unromanticized, strictly adhering to the events of the Peloponnesian War. His work possesses many passages that rivet the reader, but also contains areas where the sheer and voluminous recitation of fact can render one foggy. This is not a book for the light-hearted, though Strassler's editorial enhancements make for a pleasurable experience. It is, in short, a classic which has been classically edited.

I bought the Landmark Thucydides because it was the only hardback edition I could find. I was pleasantly surprised because it happens to be the best modern edition available. The editor, Robert Strasser, set out to make the most authoritative book on Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War, and I believe he has succeeded brilliantly.

Strasser uses Richard Crawley's translation, apparently revised and updated. In any case the text is very good, though Thucydides syntax is sometimes complex and even a bit confusing. Strasser uses marginal notes besides each paragraph to summarize the events described in the text. The most valuable additions are the maps- there are maps every few pages, illustrating the geography described in the text as needed. Other welcome additions are a timeline, breaking down the events of the book according to date, appendices covering topics such as Athenian and Spartan government, trireme construction, land and naval warfare in ancient times, and even an essay on the monetary units and religious festivals used in the ancient world. There is also an introduction, discussing both the text and the author in detail and in the context of their time. There is also a full and complete index. If you want Thucydides, this is the book to buy!

Another in the series of books with similar titles and formats. This time it is 101 stories relating to the joys of gardening and the personal, physical, and emotional benefits of the act of working with the soil to bring life to plants of all kinds.

Among the generalized headings for the stories are: The Joy of Gardening, Blossoming Friendships, Love in Bloom, Making A Difference, Little Sprouts, The Seasons of Life, Overcoming Obstacles, The Family Tree, and Potpurri. You can probably guess the general themes of the stories which make up each section. They range from the ridiculous to the thought provoking. I enjoyed most all of the stories. Two of my favorites were emotional in style.

One of my favorite stories is that written by Nelson Mandela about the garden he was eventually given permission to start while imprisoned on Robben Island. In summary, not only did the garden provide an "enduring satisfaction," but, as Mandela states, "a small taste of freedom."

Another story I enjoyed is Henry Boye's "A Son's Harvest" which relates how after being estranged from his father for thirty-nine years, their realization that both father and son were gardeners gave them a common ground for the establishment of a relationship. Having been given vegetable seeds by his father, Boye relates that now planting something that can be eaten in the garden each year serves as a constant reminder of that relationship.

There are many interesting short compositions in the book. If you have ever taken pride in a well planted garden, you are sure to find a few which are particularly pleasing or meaningful to you.

A thoroughly charming read. Was sold on this one by Marcia Brown's "Strings Attached" story on the sneak preview. She must have a colorful family indeed! Also enjoyed the Mandela piece. Great fun, even if you're not a gardener!

Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul is a collection of 101 short stories and vignettes. Each piece is about three pages long, a format that is convenient for those of us who's free-time comes in little snippets. The stories share a common theme: Despair + a Garden + God's Grace = Wisdom and Peace.

Chicken Soup books seem to really polarize readers. A reader either really likes them and buy copies for all their friends, or dislikes them and would not buy one on a bet.

Let me assure the first type of reader that Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul is just as good the other Chicken Soup books. One of my concerns was that the quality of the writing would be inferior to the earlier books, that all the good material had already been skimmed. That concern was baseless. Evil is newsworthy because it is rare. Dignity, humanity, honesty and sacrifice ARE the human condition. There is no shortage of inspirational stories, just a shortage of publishers who think they are worthy of the readers' attention. Chicken Soup is still skimming the cream.

Book reviews are supposed to help the reader decide "Do I buy this book?" That is not much of an issue with this book. Chicken Soup addicts will buy this book. The question on the table is: "Do I buy this book for the cynical friend who thinks they are 'sappy', or 'maudlin'?" I think the answer is a qualified "Yes."

These stories do not strike a quick resonance with cynics. It is not because cynics have never felt despair. Rather, it is because cynics are afraid of the pain of revisiting those times. Cynics need to ease into these stories the way you might ease into a hot-tub. So buy them a copy and highlight a few stories like:

*A Veteran's Garden, page 25 "The Marines sent me overseas. But it took gardening to bring me home."

*Girls like Roses, page 109, "...twenty-four bucks! That's a lot of money. Even for a girl named Michelle."

*Brian, page 192, "Brian is seven. He's a dreamer and drives his teacher crazy. She is as stiff as taffy in December."

I feel I share a miniscule slice of Klemperer's heroism by reading every word of his (as translated) diaries. I wish his LTI was translated in English and widely(and affordably) available. If you consider human nature an important matter, or remember your sixth-grade introduction on "man's inhumanity to man" (excuse the gender mess there)and wonder why that was worth reading about, you must read this book. So many insightful philosophical, theological and sociological wrtings came from the WWII era because the essential truths of humanity's condition were laid bare for many of the observer-participants in the horrible conflict. Klemperer precisely and heroically relates what amounts to some of that exposed raw data, from a perspective that is tragically and wildly underrepresented--that of a German civilian Jew, alive and in Germany throughout the war, but in at least occasional contact with others: Jew, gentile and monstrosity.

Depending on your understanding of God and God's intervention in human affairs, this book may have much more (and very complex)to say about God's place in Klemperer's life and Klemperer's in God's universe.

Of the other comments, I find only one impression that strikes me as troubling. I think that neither Klemperer' personal, astounding ability to adapt to misery and maintain self-truth nor the occasional pleasant human interactions nor Nazi Germany's eventual military defeat nor the failure of the "final solution" to eliminate all of the Jews of Nazi-occupied territory signify an ultimate victory for good over evil, etc. If you imagine all the books that all those Klemperer describes being abused,lied to, humiliated, injured, herded, deloused, robbed and murdered(etc.) would write, and the sad and disgusting track record of humanity since...including the commonplace manipulations of language and atrocious applications of perverted science by so many subsequent evil rulers, there is precious little over which to organize a victory dance for humanity's use of language, technology or other human beings.

I wish more people were buying it.

This book was not as fascinating as the first volume but on reflection, when one realizes the tremendous risk he took in maintaining this diary, one must be chilled and grateful to Victor Klemperer. The book makes one realize how slow the war dragged on for people suffering under Hitler, and what seemed like fast-moving events to me as a boy living thru the war seemed an eternity to Klemperer. One can endure the awfulness of the life he led only because we know he survived. These volumes by Klemperer should be read by anyone who wants to know what daily life in Germany by a Jew was like.

Is 'extraordinary' a powerful enough word for this book?

On reading it, I almost couldn't believe that it was genuine...but no writer of fiction could have created something as extraordinary,(I've used the word again,) as this.

Klemperer was a Jew, who managed to survive the war living within Nazi Germany because he was married to a Christian woman & 'luckily' for us, he wrote EVERYTHING down. Every. Tiny. Detail.

A superbly intelligent & witty man. Sometimes these kinds of books are just fascinating as eye-witness accounts, but what's unusual about this, is the fact that this man could actually write AND SO well.

SO sad & frustrating that it wasn't published within his lifetime.

I can't say any more. I'll never be able to say enough.

Probably the most extraordinary eye-witness account about life in Nazi Germany available...NO!...that will EVER be available.

Definetely the most extraordinary, (yes, it IS the right word,) book I've personally EVER read.

I'm honoured in being able to recommend this to you.

The first chapter book I ever read was Matilda. The second was this one. This book truly got me started on fantasy and I never read anything else. I love to read and this book is still one of my favorites. I read this book when I first got it out of our elementary school library (which wasn't that big) Since most of the books were boring, I would get book out over and over again. That was in 3rd grade. I haven't read it in over 6 years, but the story still stands clearly in my mind and I can still remember what happens. I could never find this book until I found it on amazon, and it is really a great book. Read it!

This was one of the first books I read as a child. It plays on the imaginative whims of any young girl or boy; full of gargoyles, royalty, mystery, true love, and many other forms of fantasy that any child would adore. I would recommend this to anyone, from a 5 year old boy to a 95 year old grandmother. It is such a beautiful book, and I still own my copy that I first read at 6 years old. Parents, this book also makes good bedtime reading, and teachers, this book is perfect for story time in class.

If you like fantasy stories or fairy tales, you'll like this book. Dakin, the main character, is 15 years old. She dreams about finding out the secrets of the farthest away mountain, so she decides to go and sneaks out of the house. On the way she meets interesting characters like trolls, gargoyles, and frogs. The journey is fun, but it's also a weird and dangerous journey filled with monsters and witches. Will Dakin accomplish her dreams? Read the book to find out.

Considering this is the author's first book, it was a pleasant read. It is your typical 'conversation' novel with a slight twist. If you are looking for an insightful, well developed, intricate plot, this may not be the book for you. If, however, you are seeking a good summer read with authentic dialogue, this book will satisfy. It reads like a movie, as was the author's intent. The characters mesh well with the storyline and one can almost hear their voices rising from the pages, from the low talking mafiosi to the most likely squeaky voice of Yumi. The information on Japan was accurate and insightful. For most readers, it will provide a brief glimpse of what Japan still is today; an egocentric, male dominated/female subservient culture. There are exceptions of course and the author uses Yumi to prove this point. An interesting book, the Button Men is to be recommended to all italophiles as well as to those looking for a fast paced quick read.

I picked up The Button Men by Victor Casale with some hesitation. After all, the content of a novel in which "East and West crime syndicates collide head-on" certainly has the potential to be more than a little bit hackneyed. However, because of my interest in Japan, I decided to give the book a chance. I am glad I did. What I discovered was a lively story that dealt with both the criminal underworld and with Japanese culture in creative, original, and engaging ways. Casale beautifully sets the tone for the entire novel during its opening sequence, the mob hit in the movie theater. For the young men who witness it, the reality of the slaying is difficult to distinguish from the fantasy world simultaneously being projected on the Big Screen. Thus, Casale thrusts both his characters and his readers into a liminal state, somewhere between fantasy and reality. It is in this state, maintained nicely by the novel's running cinematic subtext, that the action of The Button Men unfolds. By establishing such a mood for the novel, Casale is able to explore the particularities of his underworld characters without the burden of describing the intricacies of criminal intrigue. The Button Men has a Tarantino-esque feel -- its criminal characters are more interesting than the crimes they commit. Significantly, its tone also allows The Button Men to effectively delve into Japanese culture. Unshackled by a realism that might necessitate short, pedantic asides dealing with things Japanese (see Crighton's Rising Sun), The Button Men exposes aspects of Japanese culture without upset to its narrative flow. In short, a great first novel -- creative and well written. I look forward to more from Casale in the future.

This is one of those books which you will not be able to put down until you finish the last page. The author has a great hand for fiction while at the same time interlaces background material which helps you understand Japanese customs as it relates to the story. Being a native New Jerseyan and a frequent traveler to Japan I felt like I grew up with many of the characters. The story combines hardcore New York/New Jersey life with the mystery of Japan. Great book which I highly recommend, I hope it becomes a movie.