This was a wonderful book. I loved Josephine and Ravenaugh. They are not the usual society characters. She is a fragile but spirited girl and he is an older distinguished gentleman. But what a hero he is! There are no sexual scenes (which I appreciate) but the emotion and love they feel for one another is very strong. It will touch your heart. This story is so well written, I shed a few tears before reaching the happy ending. I can't wait to read the rest of the "Noble" series.

A truly wonderful and romantic book. I great read. I really recommend it!

This book is a must-read for anyone who, in their regular work, must deal with people who are troubled, frustrated, depressed or simply in need of a confidant. It is well-written and practical and teaches that one can counsel others without the benefit of extensive training. We each possess skills that enable us to assist others. This book shows us how to tap into and develop skills we already possess. It is a "common sense" approach to counseling. Extraordinary!

As someone who often counsels as part of my job, and will be attending an upcoming Stephen Minsitry training, I rediscovered this book on my shelf, and appreciate it even more than on my first "pass-through" years ago. The authors celebrate the thousands (maybe millions) of people who are thrust into counseling roles on a daily basis, so they charge ahead and describe positive actions we can take to make our "supportive counseling" role work to the counselee's advantage. The authors have numerous descriptions of problem behaviors that provide a real reference for the lay person, but the real strength in the book is the care they take in illustrating the relationship between the counselor and counselee. The chapter on "Hard-bought Wisdom" is alone worth the price of the book. I'm glad to see that it is back-ordered; there's hope that it won't permanently be out of print. If you are a part-time counselor, I highly recommend this book.

This is lovely book that gives a personal account of Betty Grebenschikoff and her experiences as a child fleeing Germany during World War II. A good book to read especially in our present day to give understanding to the plight of Jewish families around the world. The author also does book signings and lectures around the country. I have heard her speak and that made the book have even more valuable to me.

I was deeply moved by this life story of Betty Grebenschikoff. She moves through her life rather quickly in 180 pages, from girlhood in Germany to being a grandmother in New Jersey. Her story is told simply, but extremely well with it's details of daily life and the family's travels while fleeing Germany. Throughout the book, you find yourself counting your own blessings in life. The handful of family photos at the end are a bonus.

Whether one is a beginning orchid grower or an experienced one, this book is a marvel on information and 'know -how' on the subject. Or, if you only keep it on the coffee table to let your guests admire the beautiful photography, it might turn on the senses to something so extraordinary, they might have missed otherwise. The photography is truly superb, but not enough credit is given to the artist. The layout, graphic design and format is modern and top notch. Last and not least, you can tell that the father-Daughter team really love their thing: 'orchids'

Brian and Sara Rittershausen's Orchids: A Care Manual begins with a history of the orchid family as it explains all the techniques gardeners need to keep orchids in good shape. All aspects are covered including watering, feeding, lighting, temperature conditions, propagation, hybridization, and caring for orchids in pots. The clear, straight-forward, "reader friendly" text is enhanced with step-by-step color photography and line-drawn illustrations. Orchids: A Care Manual is enthusiastically recommended for novice gardeners and horticultralist hobbyists seeking an easy-to-use introduction and guide to year-round care that also includes an extensive directory of specialized and popular orchid groups.

I found this book to be a warm and endearing look at the early years of Elvis, thru the eyes of one of his neighbors. It was nice to read a book that wanted to share a personal experience of Elvis as a next door neighbor. It revealed a warm and friendly look at Elvis as Sara Erwin looked back on her experience as a teenager living next door to Elvis.This book is an easy and interesting read.

This is a wonderful book about the days before Elvis Presley purchased Graceland when the author and her friends rode their horses on the Graceland property and stabled their horses there. After Elvis purchased the property, he would stop by to visit awhile with the young people. Eventually a fence was put up and Elvis's fame kept him from taking part in the neighborly things he had enjoyed so much. Today there are 6 rescued horses in the Graceland pasture in addition to Ebony's Double, the last horse owned by Elvis. Sara continues to live in the same house she did then, the property of which abuts the Graceland property.

As Sara writes in the first paragraph of the Epilogue: "The young rising rock star I knew in 1957 had become a very different person by the time he died twenty years later in 1977. Through the 1960's and 70's events in his life made him a sometime neighbor to me on his infrequent visits home. He lived in California and enjoyed a home in Hawaii. Yet when his body and soul needed a respite from the tumult of life as an entertainment legend, he always came home to Graceland to refresh his spirit. He had bought Graceland with his mother's comfort in mind. Perhaps when he returned home he embraced those memories of the pride she felt for her son."

This book has won the 2001 Best First Book Prize from the Foundations of Political Theory division of the American Political Science Association. The citation reads as follows:

In Plato's Democratic Entanglements, Sara Monoson uncovers and explores the connection between "two things usually viewed as thoroughly opposed - Plato's thought and Athenian democratic ideals and practices." To inform her inquiry, she draws upon her extensive knowledge of two bodies of recent scholarship: the literature in classics and political theory that reaches beyond the level of specifically governmental institutions to examine the civic practices and norms of Athenian democracy: and the literature on Plato that examines his philosophic practices and his involvement with the political life of his city.

Although fully cognizant of the antidemocratic features of Plato's thought, Monoson provides us with a more complex and nuanced account of the interaction between Plato's ideals of philosophic practice and the civic practices and ideals of democratic Athens. In particular, she shows the parallels between Plato's conception of the philosopher and the Athenian conception of the good democratic citizen - as lovers of the polis, as frank speakers, and as adherents of norms of deliberativeness and reciprocity.

Monoson's erudite analysis adds significant new dimensions and insights to a venerable scholarly debate and problematicizes overly simple understandings of Plato's political ideals, of Athenian practices, and of the standards for democratic citizenship. This book, in the words of Arlene Saxonhouse, "fully succeeds in bringing Plato into our conversations about democracy." It will reward the attention of all those classicists, philosophers, and political theorists interested in the issues she addresses.

Yikes, Plato uncovered! May I suggest that you and your most educated friends buy the book for those meaningful latenight exchanges around residual b-b-q light. What else can you ask of a political text?

This book is only about the size of a magazine but it tells how to buy, repair, finish, and copy quilts from the 1930's. There is a little history of the era and pictures of quilts made then too. For someone like me who inherited a trunk full of 30's vintage, unfinished quilts, it was s fountain of useful information.

Sara Nephew has focused on the craft of the American woman and explained what our grandmothers were doing. This helped me identify old quilt designs that I had inherited. She also gave great directions on saving a quilt, identifying fabrics, and basic problems with some unfinished quilts. I will keep this book handy for future reference.

People have dubbed Joe Salerno's Sara Smile 'Lolita for Dummies'. The unofficial title is considered flattering by the author. Readers say 'Sara' offers an interesting read on a taboo subject without the cumbersome, verbose literary styling found in the Nabokov classic.

I couldn't put this book down. The story is very compelling. AND did anyone catch ALL the Alanis Morissette references. They are everywhere. Is this book about Joe Salerno's secret crush on the 90's angster? Great book. It was a quick read, funny and honest.

I love Sara Steele Calendars! This may be the 10th year that I have bought at least one. Every month is a new delight.

Anything by this woman is great! I have never been disappointed with her work. She puts to paper what I feel.