This is a rare oppertunity to read the writing of a future leader of our country. Hershovitz is a Rhodes scholar with a bright future. Buy this book and you can say you knew him before he was famous. Fascinating reading.

Rhodes Scholar Scott Hershovitz really hits home with his essay. He is brilliant.

THE IDEA OF A POLITICAL LIBERALISM contains 14 essays-- many by leading scholars-- critically examining the recent work of John Rawls. This is the first collection of its kind, and is essential reading for anyone interested in Rawls's "political, not metaphysical" interpretation of justice as fairness. Topics include: the distinction between reasonable and unreasonable persons and comprehensive doctrines, public reason and religious commitment, Rawls's idea of an "overlapping consensus," and the implications of political liberalism for constitutional and international law. A must read for any serious student of current political philosophy.

Of all the many books on suicide I've read through the years, this book rates highest on my list of books that are helpful in terms of the understanding it provides to survivors of suicide, including both the legacy and the different ways we process and come to terms with a suicide. What I spent years trying to understand in myself, my family members, and other suicide survivors, I found on the pages of this well-written and organized book. Time and again while reading, I would say aloud with some excitement: "That's WHY!" or "Exactly!" or "I wish I'd written that!" In addition, I couldn't resist sharing some of the passages and/or the insights I'd gained to others who were either struggling with the legacy suicide leaves behind or were contemplating suicide themselves. This book clearly shows that suicide leaves its own distinct fingerprints on the hearts and lives of its survivors. I wish I'd discovered the book long ago. Kudos to Victoria Alexander!

An excellent read for health care professionals, survivors of suicide and anyone seeking stories of human strength, Victoria Alexander offers a well organized collection of narratives from survivors of suicide. Raw in it's honesty, it offers hope of a future to the recently bereaved and a reference point for professionals and laypeople caring for those left behind. A survivor myself, it allowed me to address issues I had burried years earlier. A decade of collecting these touching, sometimes painful stories has allowed insight into a suffering that shame so often causes us to conceal.

Victoria Alexander brings her own experiences in life into this book that describes the isolation, confusion, desperation, anger, lack thereof of any emotion...once someone close to you takes their own life. For once I have found a book that is not purely engorged in its academic statistics. I applaud Ms. Alexander for seeing the truth of the terror. I am a survivor of suicide, and this book proves a great comfort in knowing that I am not the only one. I pray that we rid ourselves of the stigma. Interviews in this volume range from every corner of the nation, be it a son, wife, husband, daughter, mother, father, or anyone close who has died by their own hand.

Thank you Ms. Alexander.

Molly Leach Boise, ID

A great book! Packed full of great information for planning volunteer duty in Israel. I am planning my trip with a full understanding of the culture and facts of kibbutz lifestyle, all based on what I learned from the book. I highly recomend this book to any one planning on spending time in the middle east!

thinking about kibbutz? this is the book to get

gives a great overview on what to expect on any particular kibbutz you've been thinking about volunteering on.

I've always loved Jean Plaidy's books and I'm so happy her Tudor series is being reprinted. The Lady in the Tower is the story of Anne Boleyn. It begins and ends in the Tower with Anne, tired, wiser, and almost ready to die; trying to figure out where things went wrong. Once she was a king's beloved, now that same king was so sick of her that he'd signed her death warrant. How did she fall so far and so fast? Thus, the incredible story begins.
Most biographies, fictional or not tend to skip over her years in France but this one spends quite a lot of time on them and it's to good effect. Anne's life in France helps to explain her actions in England. This is a sympathetic portrait that shows Anne as impetuous, thoughtless at times, and too ambitious but not the evil, scheming seductress that she's been painted as. Brilliant. If you've never read Jean Plaidy, this is a good one to begin with.

'The Lady in the Tower' is a fascinating, fictionalized first person account of the life of Anne Boleyn, doomed second wife of King Henry VIII. The book begins with Anne's childhood as the youngest lady-in-waiting to Mary, young bride of France's Louis XII and sister of Henry VIII. Anne enjoys her life in France until her older sister, also named Mary, tarnishes the Boleyn name with her numerous liaisons with gentlemen of the court, including the man who succeeds Louis as king, Francis I. Anne and her sister are sent home to England, where Mary becomes Henry's mistress and the Boleyn family becomes much more significant because of this. Anne becomes a lady-in-waiting to Henry's wife Katherine, who has fallen out of the King's favor due to her inability to produce a surviving son. Henry is now looking seriously for a new, younger wife, and he finds the perfect woman--Anne. After a courtship that lasts several years, mainly because of the difficulty involved with divorcing one of Europe's most important women, Henry's marriage is finally annulled, and he and Anne marry. Eight months later, she gives birth to a healthy baby--girl. Anne is enthralled with her new daughter, but also dreads her husband's reaction. Henry is upset--after all, he has married this woman mainly to get a son--but decides that this new daughter, Elizabeth, is rather charming, and he and Anne still have plenty of time to have sons. But Anne never does deliver a live son. She has also failed as Henry's wife in other ways: she refuses to accept his dalliances with her ladies-in-waiting, for instance, and is very quick-tempered. What's more, Henry has found another woman, one who is meek, gentle, young, and healthy--and about to become his third wife. Henry does not care to got through the hassle of another divorce, though, so he has only one choice: death. Anne is arrested under trumped-up charges of adultery (including with her own brother), and is sentenced to death by beheading. As the book is written in the first person, we get to hear the thoughts she has a few hours before her execution. Most are of her life with Henry and of her daughter, who will grow up to become Queen Elizabeth I--a fact which, had Henry foreseen it, may have spared Anne's life. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who loves Anne Boleyn, Jean Plaidy, or both.

Jean Plaidy weaves a complex portrait of the fascinating Anne Boleyn, leading the reader through her childhood to her death.

Use literature and literary figures to follow in the footsteps of notable writers and their settings with the aid of a title which covers many destinations, from the Prague of Kafka to Steinbeck's California setting for Cannery Row. Add first-person reflections on the literature containing the settings and you have an excellent take-along or travel planner.

Literary Trips: Following In The Footsteps Of Fame is a superbly presented compendium of observations, adventures, and travels of and by some of the best loved writers as they trekked around the world. A magnificent armchair travelogue, Literary Trips is divided as the world is: Africa to Australasia (Paul Bowles, T. E. Lawrence, Rohinton Mistry, Bruce Chatwin); North America: West (Malcolm Lowry, The Beats, D. H. Lawrence, Garrison Keillor and Sinclair Lewis); North America: East (Tennessee Williams, Margaret Mitchell and Tom Wolfe, Ayn Rand, Mark Twain, Elizabeth Smart); Caribbean and Latin America (Ernest Hemingway, Ian Fleming and Noel Coward, John Stephens and Frederick Catherwood); Great Britain and Ireland (W. B. Yeats, Jane Urquhart and the Bronte Sisters, A. A. Milne, Agatha Christie and Jane Austen); Continental Europe (Knut Hamsun, The Lost Generation, Mary Shelley). Highly recommended for both school and community library collections, Literary Trips is enhanced for the reader with a section on biographies and a "user friendly" index. A novel and original feature of this publication is that any of the chapters are available as separate, individual e-texts and downloadable from the GreatestEscapes.com website.

This is a book to savor in a cigar lounge...in the corner of a jazz club...in front of a softly crackling fire at home. Or in a hammock under a royal palm in the deep, deep south.

I started out by nestling with the book into our oversized, down-filled sofa - and ended up traveling through one of the best reads of my life. Several times, I startled my husband with cries of "No kidding...Wow...I didn't know that...Ohmigod..." as I discovered new places in the hearts of my favorite authors. And delved into the lives of others I knew little about.

Literary Trips probes into the past, yet is formatted for the present. We're all used to reading in chunks now - short, self-contained sections that are complete, independent modules. And this book is totally "today" in that respect. Each chapter, written by a different person, is a complete story - gift-wrapped with its own special signature. Each has its own flavor, its own style, its own finds. Every writer has unearthed amusing tidbits and lively tales that add richness and depth to well researched and beautifully written prose.

The book is also an excellent travel guide for following in those famous footsteps. Each module contains a practical reference section listing hotels and other stomping grounds of famous feet ("Literary Sites"; "Literary Sleeps"). Each section also describes how to get to those grounds and provides useful tips and background information.

My favorite parts are the little surprises throughout. For example, did you know that: §Hemingway dedicated his Nobel Prize for literature to the patron saint of the basilica in Santiago de Cuba? § Ian Fleming wrote the James Bond novels at Goldeneye, his home in Jamaica, and named 007 after the local author of a book on birds? §When Ayn Rand was writing Atlas Shrugged, which took 12 years, she didn't leave her apartment for an entire month?

Another of the book's delightful dimensions is a smattering of recipes that could form a menu for a literary memorial party. You could honor D.H. Lawrence with his dandelion wine; Hemingway with double daiquiris; Mistry with Dhansak; and Sinclair Lewis with his "Sinful Christmas Cookies".

I'm always looking for inspiration for my own writing, and Lit Trips provides it on many fronts. Much of it comes from seeing so many authors "under one cover" - an excellent way to compare styles, to link lives, to see how they made their magic. But I was no less inspired by the talent of the book's contributing writers.

Highly recommended for the non-specialist general reader with a desire for home-enhancing do-it-yourself projects, More Splash Than Cash Window Treatments presents over 250 ideas and techniques for sprucing up any size or kind of window with just the right touch to complement the interior decoration of the rest of the home. Easy to follow step-by-step instructions succinctly cover everything from working with sheer fabrics to sewing on buttons, to installing a mounting board, employing classic motifs, and more. More Splash Than Cash Window Treatments is a truly great guide that puts its emphasis on looking smart and fashionable without spending extravagantly.

Home decorators from Dunces to Divas will love this book.The treatments are lovely but once again, Ms Babylon has outdone herself on the instructions. This book is packed with details, suggestions, hints, tips, all in easily understood, easy to follow instructions. I've been sewing my own window treatments for years and even I learned many time saving, workroom tips. I loaned my copy to my teenage daughters and they were able to design and complete window treatments for their rooms. This book gave them the tools and the confidence to tackle the project!

Thanks Donna and Victoria for another great hit!

Carolan Kviklys

excellent ideas, excellent illustrations, and excellent instructions together make up a very useful book for the person who wants to design great window treatments. even i can do these! the book itself is brightly designed, therefore, making it fun to page through.

An implausible plot in which the teenage boys in town are drawn to know the Lord and better behavior as the result of Ms. Gracen's picnics, elegant dinners at her mansion, classical and spiritual music, followed by her reading books and the Bible to them. Highly implausible, but a beautifully written book -- and oh, that it were so!

This is one of the best Grace Livingston Hill books I have ever read and that is saying a mouthful! Dick Gracen, after being orphaned, has a cruel life until his aunt, Victoria Gracen, sends for him. She shows love not only to him but to other boys who are friends of his. For her efforts, she is spitefully gossiped about by Lydia Bypath, who is like the Pharisees who persecuted Jesus. In spite of the gossip, Victoria Gracen teaches the young men about Christ and shows that Christianity should show love and not be spiteful like the Pharisee, Lydia Bypath, thinks it should be.

Victoria Gracen shocks the local gossips when she befriends the bad boys of town. What could a single woman know about raising teenage boys? How she handles their exuberance and their solemn moments makes for a book that is both touching and humorous. The boys teach her about rag time and she teaches them about the classics. They discover adventures together and help stop a meddlesome old woman from spreading false news from her poisoned words. Good deeds triumph in the end over vindictive thoughts.

FANTASTIC!!! It was amazing!!!
Everything that you want too know is in this book!!!
I LOVE Pharlap and anything too do with him!!! So read Phar Lap as soon as you can it ROCKS!!!

What a wonderful book - great photos and narrative. It fully explained what was probably the reason for his untimely death. This book will someday be a collector's item, but I won't part with it!

I knew I was in trouble the moment I saw the cover of this book with the beautiful chestnut horse named Phar Lap. I knew I just had to have this book. I knew because I had seen the movie, Phar Lap, years ago and had fallen in love with this incredibly beautiful and gifted animal that had a heart and soul big enough to affect those that loved him and those that knew him from afar.

This beautifully crafted book does not disappoint as it unravels the life and mysterious death of this beloved racehorse while revealing a darker side of greed and jealousy that surrounded him.

Filled with incredible black & white photos and memorabilia, this book will draw you in and keep you there. It will amaze you, it will disturb you but it will always remind you of the winning spirit and courageous heart that was Phar Lap. A name you will never forget...

My daughter borrowed this book from our local library. It quickly became one of her favorites...I'd often find her sitting on her bed, book open, giggling at the story. We renewed our copy so MANY times that I finally bought one for her and she was thrilled. This is a humorous story and we will be keeping an eye peeled for future releases by this author!

I am a pre-school teacher; I teach ages 3-5. This book has been read, non-stop, 3 times a day for the last month. The children absolutly adore this book. It is a wonderful book!

This is a really funny book that made me laugh. It had trouble and solving problems at the end. The animals keep on eating each other and then all of the animals came flying out. We recommend that other second graders read this book. It's great!

There is nothing more risky in business then marketing. In Smart Marketing, the author Victoria Garcia uncovers the mysteries of marketing that create confusion and inconsistency for small business owners. From the outset, Smart Marketing focuses on outcomes, goals and measurements then leads the reader into the concepts that drive a marketing program. Garcia uses practical,easy to understand examples so the reader can conquer the fundamentals and concentrate on being creative. Highly recommended for start ups or any business needing a fresh approach.

I was spinning my wheels about how to market my business until I read Smart Marketing by Victoria Garcia. It's an A,B,C approach, filled with simple explanations of things I had thought were complicated. Now I know it doesn't take a Harvard MBA to understand how to write a marketing plan or make important marketing decision. I only wish I'd had this book when I started my business 5 years ago. Victoria clearly understands what its like to own a small business and her encouragment comes right through.

SMART MARKETING

Is not only SMART!..... it makes marketing easy and doable!

Victoria Garcia's practical approach to the necessities of small business

is insightful, whimsical and turns the challenges of the markpetplace

into celebrations.

Earl Storm

- creativity coach and cartoonist -