When Amy and her best friend of seven years Rosie have a fight when Rosie joins the popular crowd, Amy gets upset about it and writes about it in her diary while befriending new girl Heather, whom Rosie hates. However, in the end Rosie sees her mistake and stops the popular girls from picking on Heather and Amy. This book is really realistic and it's a lot of fun to read. In particular the author writes very well about preteens, and the diary parts help move the story along a lot. I highly recommend this series!

It's a sad story because two girls don't want to be friends anymore.Amy and Rosie have been friends for four years and they don't want to be friends anymore because Rosie wants to be a part of snob popular crowd.

This is a book about a girl named Amy who is happy with who she is and who her friends but has a best friend who doesn't quite feel the same way. Rosie, Amy's bestfriend decides she wants to be part of the popular,snobby crowd. And if Amy won't go along she cant be Rosie's friend anymore. The end has a small twist so you better find this book and fast!

This is one of the funniest books. One of my co-workers laughed so hard while reading it her mascara ran down her face. I've used it in Pre-school storytime all week and its been very popular with the 3 to 5 year old crowd. The illustrations are priceless and the charaters a riot.

Reviewing music is a subjective task. Bloomenthal admits that. He gives an honest attempt to point out some of the most significant pieces from selected composers. With this guide you won't have to waste money experimenting.

This book contains everything that an experienced kayaker needs to know to plan a trip to Alaska's Inside Passage. For those who already know where they want to paddle, the first chapter and apendices still provide great local information and advice on gear, clothing, and techniques that are most appropriate for this area. Anyone who will be paddling in these waters should read these sections of the book not only because they will answer many of the difficult logistical questions but because they will make your trip safer and more enjoyable while helping reduce your impact on the area. For those seeking ideas on where to paddle, the rest of the book offers a wealth of suggested routes without getting so specific that you lose all sense of personal discovery.

As a sea kayak guide based in Gustavus I have paddled most of the northern routes described in Jim Howard's book over the past 20 years and I can report that his descriptions and advice are current and accurate.

Something that really bothers me about some guidebooks I have seen is that they name specific campsites and suggest day-by-day itineraries for a few selected routes; they are like a journal of the author's trip. This approach leads to over-use of a few areas and sites and diminishes the sense of discovery that is one of this wild area's greatest attractions; following one of those guidebooks is more like taking someone else's trip than one's own. Not only that, but many of the best sites along a route are (thankfully) NOT named in those guidebooks, so kayakers can have a better trip by ignoring those authors' detailed suggestions.

Jim Howard took a different approach. His routes cover most of the region and for each he gives a description of the area and an assessment of the difficulty of the trip. He names the hazards and gives helpful logistical advice and a general description of the route. This is just what I look for when visiting a new area. I want to know whether I am getting in over my head and how to get to the area. I don't want to know exactly where someone else paddled and camped and what they saw. Finding my own campsites, wildlife viewing areas, and special places is what sea kayaking in a wild place is all about.

Because Southeast Alaska is a wild place with plenty of hazards far from help, it's wise to have solid sea kayaking skills if you are alone or leading less experienced paddlers here. Therefore, this book doesn't cover basic sea kayaking and navigation. Beginners will need to find this information in one of the many other general sea kayaking books and by going with experienced paddlers.

Jim Howard does an excellent job of giving helpful area-specific information while preserving opportunities for wilderness self-discovery. I can tell he's explored the area thoroughly and talked to lots of local folks. Get this book if you're coming here.

I read this book when I was 12, and enjoyed as I have never enjoyed any other book. The descriptions are so rich, vivid and merry that I, as a reader, lived together with the Sherwood Forest's renegades the happy moments of their adventures. I have to confess that Robin's death made me cry.

I first became acquainted with the work of Howard Thurman when I found a leather-bound copy of Disciplines of the Spirit at an antique store. I was struck first by the practicality of his work, and then by the universality of his vision of spirituality and brotherhood. I am very excited to find this volume of his essays published. I hope it brings to many in 1999 and the millenium the practical, down-to-earth theology of this man who was a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King

All of this is covered in "The Quadrant Solution" by the same authors. TQS was better in that it covered a technology example. Also, it has lot more detail on how to discern the quadrant the product/customer relationship is in (without some of the,IMHO,distracting "ancient-egyptian" spin on things). The best in TQS (also covered here) is a description of the four personality types that are effective in each of the quandrants. Recommend TQS as a second read, if you don't have time skip this just go to the TQS.

In the beginning, I had no idea what to expect from this audio book. I only casually glanced at the front cover and popped the tapes in the player. When I first heard the beginning of the story, I thought this was really corny! As I continued to listen, I began to become enthralled by the story. Its teachings are "ON TARGET" and funny. I liked it so much that I'm trying to find a hardcopy of the book and the audio-book version. I hope you will find as much enjoyment in this book as I have in hearing it.

This book would make a five star read either as a book about sales or as humor. You can read it for both, and get twice the benefit.

The premise for this fable is based on a character named Max inventing the wheel in ancient Egypt, and then quickly adapting to the evolving market place with different product focus, marketing, and sales efforts.

With the help of his wife and the Oracle, Max finds different sales people to create demand for the wheel. Initially, no one can see a purpose for the wheel. Soon there is lots of competition, and Max has to adjust.

Based on research by Howard Stevens, a coauthor, there are four types of customers: gateswingers who want to be first with the new, progressive customers who want advanced products, relationship customers who want relatively acceptable products from a company they can trust, and world customers who want a standard product that is reliable at a good price.

Each type of customer needs a different type of salesperson: closers work best with gateswingers; wizards (technically competent people) do well with progressive customers; relationship salespeople do well with relationship customers; and the reliable captain and his crew (solving the customer's problem) are best for the world customer.

The key point is to choose customers for whom you can deliver the most value.

There is also lots of information about sales planning, the marketing and sales process, and how to measure your effectivenss. All of this information is solid and valuable, especially to those who are just learning about sales and marketing.

The beauty of using the wheel as the basis for the fable is to make the point about developing a product into a mass industry is easier to understand. Everyone knows about wheels. But the point is that every product was once a breakthrough and will at some point become a low-price, undifferentiated commodity. This allows you to understand how that life cycle affects what will make you most successful.

This book will help you overcome your stalled thinking that there is only one way to sell products. If you are in sales, you can apply this to getting a sales job that fits your preferred sales style. If you are a customer, it will help you know which kind of a sales person will best meet your needs. If you are running a business, it will help you plan your business and monitor your effectiveness. That's quite a lot of stalled thinking to overcome from one book.

The authors point out in a note that few sales forces are measured for effectiveness, and little hiring is done to match sales style to customer need. Be sure to focus on improving over that set of practices if you want to become more successful.

Enjoy faster and more profitable growth as your 2,000 percent solution from this wonderful tale!

Donald Mitchell

Coauthor of The Irresistible Growth Enterprise (available in September 2000) and The 2,000 Percent Solution

(donmitch@fastforward400.com)

At first glance, my opinion here was that any book offeirng a pizza recipe starting with frozen crust is a crime against humanity, but then I simmered down a bit. I am, after all, something of a fanatic about pizza--and about authentic, complete recipes in general. And then I remembered that I have two kids who have two sterling qualities: Both are a) employed and b) living elsewhere. The big thing is to keep them that way. So fars as a) is concerned I'm helpless, but for b) I'm going to enlist the aid of this book.

Increasingly we live in an age when more and more people--especially young people--think cooking is something only their parents do, and when they grow tired of warming up take-out Chinese in the microwave, they start inviting themselves to dinner. Partly it's the fault of parents who didn't involved kids in the kitchen in the first place, so consider this book the make-up course.

Anyone who hasn't cooked, doesn't cook or thinks he can't cook can and should take this book of clear, simple, easily followed recipes and go to school on it. OK, there are lots of simple and simple-minded recipes like hot-salsa cheese dip and sloppy joes, but there's lots of other stuff they should have learnt about much earlier: tapenade, for example, Indian chicken, pork tenderloin. In short, dishes originating in actual civilizations, not marketing campaigns. In not too much time the user of this book will become competent at the very least, and he'll save a bundle over the cost of take-out. Whether he actually finds himself awakening to the delights of serious cooking and eating--that's another story. For now I'll be happy if my kids--who'll be getting their copies pronto--will progress to the point that I am at least once in a while able to dine at their apartments because they're not ashamed to invite me and I'm not afraid to accept. (Bill Marsano is an award-winning magazine writer on wines/spirits, travel and food.)

In each volume of The Best American Poetry, there are usually a handful of really good or great poems, but on a whole, I find them to disappointing. It's generally not the best American poetry in any given year. Nor is 1995's volume the 'best' but it does have a higher number of good or great poems in it. Richard Howard (1995's guest editor) does a better job than most of the other guest editors I've read. You find poems by Margaret Atwood, Rafael Campo, Ginsberg, Marilyn Hacker, Anthony Hecht, Andrw Hudgins, Kizer, Kumin, Mary Jo Salter, and a great series of poems by Molly Peacock. There is also a wonderful poem by Sally Ball. I wish the series would get back up to this level of quality.

Anyone who know Howard Roffman's photography knows he has done many wonderful books of Male Nude Photography. This new postcard book #27 featuring Johan Paulik, one of Bel Ami most admired models, is a welcome edition that was issued about the same time as the new hardcover book featuring Johan Paulik by Howard Roffman. There are 29 postcards featuring black & white photos of Johan by himself that are shot mostly indoors. This is a Johan that is a little more mature & older, but still very attractive, cute, and innocent looking. These are wonderful postcards to enjoy yourself, or to send to your friends, etc. Highly Recommended!