I got caught stealing one of my friend's cars, and I couldn't afford a lawyer. I "borrowed" this book, so I could defend myself and I got off, so hey, the book's gotta be good.

The Pushcart Prize is the most wonderful and rewarding annual anthology out there because, for one thing, it's the most fair--as Bill Henderson says in his introduction, there's no money here. You don't have to have written a bestseller or be in with the "New Yorker" crowd in order to be published here. All you have to do is be a good writer. Here is fiction and poetry at its rawest and purest form, from writers who write for the sake of writing, for the sheer love of it. This is a noble thing.

This book gives practical advice on how to topple society's ancient religious establishment and replace it with reason-based principles and values. Most ideas in our culture are carefully scrutinized, but religious ideas are considered beyond criticism by most people. Those committed to reason must begin the public debate over the truth claims of religions. The author argues persuasively that to get a place at the table of public opinion, reason-based people must put aside their minor differences and unify. Many activists belong to groups that call themselves atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, rationalists, or infidels, and spend too much time focusing on the 1 percent of difference that sets them apart, rather than the 99 percent that can bring them together. The author advocates that by showing strength in numbers, along with an effective public relations campaign, a unified humanist movement can win the minds of most Americans. He would be happy to know that the Secular Coalition for America is a newly-formed organization working to unify and amplify the voices of the nontheistic community.

J ANTHONY BROWN IS A GREAT ACTOR, COMEDIAN AND NOW WRITER. I LISTEN TO HIM ON THE TJM SHOW EVERYDAY J, TOM, CYBIL, MYA AND MRS DUPREE KEEP ME LAUGHING ON MY WAY TO WORK EACH MORNING. SO WHEN I HEARD ABOUT THE BOOK I HAD TO GET IT. CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS IS SO TRUE THAT ITS FUNNY. YOU GOTTA LOVE MISS WIDE LOAD WALLACE. ONE MY FAVORITES WAS "............... THE CHURCH SHOT GLASS FOR COMMUNION. UNTIL IT CAME INTO BEING, EVERYONE HAD TO TAKE A SWIG AND PASS THE BOTTLE" IF YOU LIKED 150 WAYS TO TELL IF YOUR GHETTO THEN YOU'LL LIKE THIS ONE AS WELL

Very surprised that this book is not reviewed much. Has great case-based questions for a majority of the tested topics with detailed and valuable answers that help to distinguish between even the most apparently similar diagnosis. It is question and answer based USMLE Step 2 review at its very best. Because of this book, I passed Step 2 after an initial unsuccessful try using other really dry, boring review books that just took up space on my bookshelf. Keep it simple, this book is all you need for Step 2. Thanks a bunch to Dr. Alario and the whole cast for having written such an exceptional review book.

I read this book before the "trilogy." I found it very dark and stoic, especially when compared with the next Sienkiewicz book I read, "With Fire and Sword." Unlike WFS, it is impossible to like anything about the villains in this story, the Teutonic Knights. For fans of the Teutonic Knights, they are not painted in a very flattering light, so don't buy this book thinking you are going to get a positive perspective on them. For Poles and Lithuanians, it portrays a complex struggle against a well-armed and aggressive neighbor. This struggle ultimately pits a Christian, Moslem, and Pagan coalition of nations against the Teutonic Knights, a multinational Christian force on a "mission from God". A collection of fictional characters interact with actual people and events that surrounded this historical struggle. Some of the themes include duty, honor, sacrifice, vengeance, and forgiveness. I find these characters much darker and more tragic than those of Sienkiewicz's trilogy and I think you can definitely get a feeling of the mistrust between the Poles and the Germans (at least in Sienkiewicz's perspective). In fact some of the parallels between this story, written at the turn of the IX/XX century, and the actual events that unfolded in WWII are actually pretty startling. This is a good book for those who want to get a flavor for XV and early XVI century Polish Commonwealth history, but I would recommend reading the trilogy first.

This book was written in 1900. It took the author over four years to write it. I advise anyone interested in literature, not just historical novels, to get this book. It is a monument of extraordinary literature. It is written sharp as a diamond, and throughout the 800 pages, there is no boring paragraph to be found. The plot is so well thought-out that you will be amazed. The last words of the author in the book are "So to you, sacred past, and to you, sacrificial blood, be praise and honor for ever and ever." Not only do you get a great account of life in the middle ages, but also a detailed and fascinating tale of many memorable characters and their adventures. After you read this, I STRONGLY recommend the trilogy. "With Fire and Sword" is a very different book, but just as good, if not better, than this one. "The Deluge" is a very long book: 1800 pages. But don't let that scare you away -- just like "Teutonic Knights," every page is fascinating. And the last volume of the trilogy is "Fire in the Steppe." Right now, Amazon.com is offering the latter two. Get them. It's worth it. "With Fire and Sword" is not available through amazon.com, though, unless you want to get a used one. You might want to try doing it directly through the publisher, Hippocrene books. Once again, for anyone who loves to read, I recommend all four of these books and all of Sienkiewicz's books. Don't let the long name scare you away. In my opinion, he is the greatest author of all time.

I found this book while doing research on the Teutonic Knights because I enjoy writing fantasy based on medieval themes and I'm planning to visit their old castle at Malbork. Instead of a reference book I found something better--an excellent look at what life was like in medieval Poland, chivalry, and how religion fit into the lives of those noble people.

If you're looking for something with a lot of blood and guts then don't buy this book. It may have some interesting fight scenes but what makes it great is the interaction between the characters. Courtly love is vividly portrayed as well as the relationship between lord/lady and vassel. The integrity of certain knights in contrast to the corruption of others gives the story a sense of realism.

The only gripe I had was due to not being able to pronounce some of the Polish names. I wish the translator included a pronounciation guide for laymen like myself. However this doesn't diminish from the five star rating.

I can't wait to read more titles by this author.

I highly recommend this book for all women interested in creating success in all aspects of their lives.

You've got to read this book if you are a woman! Jennifer and Bettina teach women that we should start looking at our earnings like a man does his. How come we give our money away? Don't negotiate the deal for bigger bucks? After this book, I took their advice to heart and managed to secure $4,000 more dollars in a work deal. I've made more in a few months than I made last year because the book taught me how to look at success and work and money. I've also learned to ask for what I want! This book changed my life. It's also a quick, easy and inspirational read. Keep your copy in your briefcase. That's where I keep mine.

I found this book to be very real. Nitty -Gritty advice and common sense approach. Though I've read enough books and didn't expect much new, i found this to be one of the best books I've found and have recommended it to many friends - both men and women. For anyone of either gender who is 'coming from behind', who hasn't been graced with the unquestioned belief in their rightful place among the population of the successful, this book is an eyeopener.

Good tips for training and knowing what to expect. Good pictures. Not always written well, and some parts are a bit hard to follow.

As a breeder and exhibitor of this fine breed. I recomend this book to all perspective westie owners. What a better way to explain what a versital dog this little breed can be. From therapy dogs right on to working in the feild, Ms. Martin does a great job letting the informed buyer be aware of all the attributes this breed can bring to any home.

First time and old time owners alike will love this book. It gives a wonderful overview of the West Highland White Terrier. It includes good puppy selection and training tips as well as breed health care, grooming, and temperment information. We particularly like her coverage of the breed's versatile involvement in canine activities such as agility and tracking. It is also a good book for people who are trying to decide if a Westie is right for them. We recommend Ms. Martin's book to everyone who obtains a Westie from us.

The Enron collapse shows that, as long as we continue to enjoy the benefits of capitalism in the West, Trollope's most famous novel will continue to be timely. This has often been called Trollope's best novel: while it does not contain his best writing (which would be found in individual chapters of PHINEAS FINN and THE LAST CHRONICLER OF BARSET), nor is it his funniest (BARCHESTER TOWERS), it is his most consistently engaging in its details of a railway bubble in mid-Victorian London. The great financier at the center of it, Augustus Melmotte, rises from obscurity to be asked to host a dinner for the visiting emperor of China (which forms a splendid setpiece for the novel) on the eve of his financial ruin. The novel is very exciting and enjoyable, and shows Trollope straining the hardest to meet the standards set by his admitted hero, Thackeray; although this certainly doesn't meet the level of VANITY FAIR, it's still pretty good. There is a bit of a trouble that Trollope has too many subplots going and winds up spending hundreds of pages at the end (long after the work's main action is over) having to resolve them. One of the very best of these ongoing stories, the desperate attempts of the contemptibly snobbish (but still oddly sympathetic) Georgiana Longstaffe to find a husband, is as a result resolved much too suddenly and unsatisfactorily. I would still recommend THE WAY WE LIVE NOW as a fine read--and as a very splendid introduction to Trollope.

It is most when reading (or re-reading) Trollope that I realize how much recent novels suck. Trollope, who regarded novel-writing as a learned trade, shows wider understanding of human nature than twentieth-century, breadloaf-fed artistes. Trollope was the master of personal character. He knew what motivated people, and what faults kept them from behavior they knew was correct

The Way We Live Now is an examination, from a skilled, intelligent early Victorian, of the beginning of capital as worth. Melmotte might be any of current unscrupulous speculators you can name (if you even think speculating is ungentlemanly). I do not personally agree with Trollope as he seems to believe in birth and blood, but I can easily agree that those who buy notice are never worth notice.

Picture a world in which a shadowy entreprenour rubs shoulders with the great and powerful, while hard-driving yuppies stop at nothing to be associated with his schemes. Sounds like Ron Reagan's "Morning in America," doesn't it? Except it is Victorian London. The entreprenour is Auguste Melmotte. The yuppies are the scions of great and small families hurling themselves at his daughter, his phantasmagorical railway (between Salt Lake City and Vera Cruz yet!) company, and the hem of his cloak. And the book is Anthony Trollope's THE WAY WE LIVE NOW.

Like all of Trollope's books, this one is as well crafted as any by Eliot or Thackeray; yet the theme and handling are strikingly modern. I came to this book by way of the Barsetshire novels with their depiction of rural clergy. I should have read THE WAY WE LIVE NOW first.

Especially worth noting are the surprisingly full characterizations of Marie Melmotte, daughter of the financier, who is courted by her emotional inferiors, and Roger Carbury, a rural landowner who holds aloof from the fray and helps several of the others pick up the pieces from their lives.

The only negative is the book's anti-semitism, though it makes several attempts to lift itself from this charge.