In today's world there is little room for joy. Each day brings news of some new tragedy. There are very few lights that brighten our existence.

One such light exists in the form of Judith Cody's book of poems, "Eight Frames Eight". It is more than just a collection of words arranged to sound pretty. Each poem takes the reader on a journey into the realm of the human mind.

The book consists of five parts that move through the life cycle.

Part One - Primary Colors:

This section's collection is full of life, color and the creation of beings, be they man, woman or beast. It tells of the awakening of the soul to its surroundings. Realizing that there is a meaning why it exists, one just needs wide eyes to see it.

Part Two - Perspective:

Deals with the human cultural environment, what does life mean, why do we exist. The poems bring forth images of people making blocks in the forge of creation, to discover whom they are. They reaffirm that a creative mind is a continual, probing, evolving thing.

Part Three - Life Blood:

I found this section to be the most searching and complex. So many facets of life are tackled in this part. A sense of being, belonging, being loved, wanted, is God real all this and more is examined.

Part Four - Soul Tears:

This part deals with that time in the life cycle that we all must face, death. It is not a morbid account of what is to be, but rather a celebration. Death is just the beginning of a journey through eternity.

Part Five - Epilogue:

Here the author discusses some notes on a few of the poems. It is interesting to see her thoughts and compare them to what her poems evoked in you.

Eight Frames Eight is a unique approach to the poetic art. The construction of the poems is as varied and colorful as the language. Poetry by its very nature will leave people with different perspectives of what the poet meant.

Judith Cody's book will challenge the way you look at things. But I am sure it is a challenge that many readers will enjoy. I would highly recommend to all who enjoy creative writing, to read this excellent book of poems.

Review by Warren Thurston - Boggle Books : http://www.bogglebooks.com

The field of OD has a rich, varied, and value based heritage. Through case studies, research, metaphor, and story telling these "classic" articles from "The OD Practitioner," capture the scope, beauty, and promise of organization development. The OD Practitioner is a publication which is small in circulation, but large in impact. This collection of "The Best of the OD Practitioner," deserves to be read by all who profess to practice OD. From classics by recognized experts such as Bob Tannenbaum and Herb Shepard, to gems such as "Reflections of a New Mother on the Similatities Between Caring for an Infant and Working with Organizations: Or What New Babies and Clients have in Common," by Rosemarie Barbeau, this collection touches the mind and the heart of OD practitioners.

I admit I saw the TV series before I read the book. The book is MUCH better, although it's amusing to see a very young Hugh Grant and Courtney Cox on the tube. I enjoyed all of the characters and their story lines, but it took me awhile to get through this book. I've been able to get through some of Krantz other novels much quicker. If you are on vacation for a week, and would like something fun to read, this book is it.

As she approaches her 60th birthday, Vicomptesse Eve de Lancel remembers her years as a madcap music hall singer before her marriage into the Lancel champagne family.

Her daughters, beautiful Delphine and the irrepressible Freddy, live adventurous and sometimes scandalous lives. Delphine is a seductive actress and Freddy a flamboyant aviatrix. While Delphine struggles through the German occupation of WWII Paris, Freddy plies the skies of Britain, delivering Spitfires to RAF squadrons. Brother Bruno plots his way to a fortune.

This one's a slow starter but if you're a Krantz fan you won't be disappointed in the last 2/3rds of the book. The characters are unpredictable and once it gets going, readers become more and more involved in the story. It's an entertaining way to spend an afternoon.

I am admittedly not a great fan of Judith Krantz's upperclass, usually eccentric and oversexed protagonists, but this novel about three women (the mother and two daughters) who, in their private way, become heroines of the World Wars, truly impressed me. Krantz weaves a very tight atmosphere around her settings, giving even the most unlikely situations cerrdibility (like one scene where a freight plane plays 'dare' with a Messerschmitt propelled fighter-and wins!)

This and other slightly unhistorical accounts are what made me subtract a star from the rating, but as far as reading pleasure goes, I could not put this book down. I started it at around ten p.m., and was still at it by five in the morning, so well had the characters and the storylines caught me.

I recommend reading this book, so long as you're not looking for a lesson in European history, but for a story and protagonists that you can feel for.