Running for an elected office can be one of the most emotional experiences a person can have. In fact, it is a lot like getting married. It's easy to propose and it's easy to declare a candidacy. The days leading to the altar or the polling booth can be filled with all kinds of ups and downs.

This book provides a road map for success on the highway to public office. In a campaign it is easy to get distracted, and this book directly addresses many of the key skills that every candidate or campaign staff member should know.

This book is a great gift item and I will be using it in a future class on campaign management.

The advice I found in this book was fantastic! It showed me several ways to save a lot of money in a campaign for public office. I really liked the advice in the first two chapters about what to expect when you get into politics. It was a real eye-opener for me. With all that I have learned from this book, I know that my first campaign will be ten times more effective, and I'll save money at the same time! I would recommend this book to anyone who even thinks they might someday run for office!

After becoming very disappointed in the direction of leadership in our local civic organization, a friend of mine and I decided to run as candidates for president and vice-president. We bought this book, followed its strategy and won the election with over 75% of the vote! I later shared this book with a politician friend of mine who decided to run for a high county office in a race against 2 established county officials. He won with over 60% of the vote. I strongly recommend this book!

I really enjoy Ms. Nesbit's written works. It is quite a shame that she can't write anymore. Although I liked this one a lot, I was a little disappointed by it because it lacked the charming fairy tale sort of feel that many of her children's books have. However, the story was quite wonderful, and I particularly loved the realistic scene of the children that the reader is given. I highly recommend this book to Edith Nesbit's fans, as well as people that enjoy a touch of mystery, mixed with a child's view of life.

I like the Railway Children a lot,especially how the author told the story. I liked Bobbie because there is something different about her,she was helpful and sweet at the same time. I am wondering where the dog James went? Other than that, the story was great!

The Railway Children is a wonderful book. When the book begins, the three children, Roberta (Bobbie), Peter and Phyllis are living a lovely, secure life at Edgecomb Villa. Their father returns home after being away on business, two unknown men come to visit him in the evening after supper, and he simply disappears. Neither the reader nor the children know what has happened to him until Bobbie makes a chance discovery and learns the horrible truth.

In the intervening time, their mother, a capable and charming woman, takes her children to live in the country near a railway station, because they must "play at being poor for a while." The children handle their new situation with grace and wit, spending hours hanging about the railway station and generally keeping themselves busy, and in the process becoming fast friends with the porter, Perks, and the station master. They also become acquainted with their own old gentleman who lends a hand to help them time and again.

Bobbie is the oldest and sweetest of the children, with a longing to be truly good. Peter is the boy, who is madly in love with trains, stubbornly refuses to pushed around, and exhibits an extraordinary courage in the rescue of a baby and a young man in a train tunnel. Phyllis is the youngest, a funny, clumsy child with good intentions that often seem to go awry.

I read this book to my four year daughter. She loved it. As the adult, I enjoyed reading it. And, you'll be happy to know, it all comes out right in the end.

Question: Which edition of Robert's Rules is official? Aren't they all the same? Which one do professional parliamentarians refer to? Answer: The National Association of Parliamentarians, and the American Institute of Parliamentarians, only recognize one book as the current official parliamentary authority: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised [1990 edition, Scott, Foresman] Everything else is old, or a variation. The bible of parliamentary law, it is this edition that your bylaws probably mentions, not the 1876 original text, like some publishers are selling. Be forewarned, it is literally a book of rules, and not easily absorbed. -- You may have to learn what's practical for your average meeting by a simpler beginners book. If you want simple, go elsewhere; if you want complete, this is it. No other book is ADDING things to Henry M. Robert's original classifications & rankings (it's 700+ pages!), only shortening & simplifying & rephrasing.

Many people will recommed other parliamentary authorities whose primary benefit is that of being shorter. Other authorities I've read ("21st Century Robert's Rules" and "Riddick's Rules of Procedure") are shorter because they've left out substantial parts, or don't include useful examples.

Some other authorities, like Ray Keesey's "Modern Parliamentary Procedure" do not actually reflect current (or past) parliamentary practice, but attempt to redefine procedure based on the author's own bias. Robert's Rules are more obviously the result of centuries of practice, and use.

This book will not get you up and running overnight, but it is indispensable to anyone with a desire for a comprehensive understanding of parliamentary law. And even though it is a more massive work, part of the extra material is instructive on shortening your meetings by acting more efficiently without abridging anyone's rights.

As a lawyer, when I am asked about proper procedure at a meeting, my first question is: What rules do you use? Is there an applicable statute, or bylaws or rules that the organization has adopted? Nine times out of ten, the answer is: "Robert's Rules of Order." Robert's is the most widely used parliamentary manual in the United States.

General Henry M. Robert published the original "Robert's Rules" in 1875 and 1876 and, since the copyright on that edition (and the next few editions) has long since expired, there are numerous unofficial editions on the market. The third edition, published in 1893, is still marketed in paperback by more than one publisher as the "original" Robert's Rules. With the copyright expired, even the name "Robert's" has passed into the public domain, and many imitators have slapped the name "Robert's" on books of parliamentary procedure that bear minimal relation to General Robert's work (much as many dictionaries claim the name "Webster's" without any connection to Noah Webster or the Merriam-Webster brand that carries on his work). This book is the real Robert's, composed by an editorial board appointed by General Robert's heirs (including his descendants Sarah and Henry III, both eminent parliamentarians). Now in its tenth edition, published in 2000, this book "supersedes all previous editions and is intended automatically become the parliamentary authority in organizations whose bylaws prescribe 'Robert's Rules of Order' . . . or the like, without specifying a particular edition."

Robert's is not necessarily the best parliamentary manual on the market: "Modern Parliamentary Procedure" by Ray Keesey is far more logical and user-friendly, and "The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure" by Alice Sturgis (commissioned by the American Institute of Parliamentarians as a contemporary alternative to Robert's) is more readable and more rooted in modern practice. But no other book has gained as much as a toehold in Robert's dominance in the market. If you are interested in parliamentary procedure, or figuring out how most organizations work in the twenty-first-century United States, this Robert's is indispensable.

'Blood and Money' is just about the best book I have ever read regarding true crime. I am an avid Ann Rule fan but Tommy Thompson's tale of murder(s)in Texas was spellbinding. I have read this book probably 20 times and will read it again and again. This book was the best purchase I have ever made at a used book store.

This book was given to me when I was a 13 year old living outside of Houston TX. It was the book that launched my fascination with true crime books of high quality (i.e. Darcy O'Brien,Vincent Bugliosi). I am still fascinated by the case and have heard many rumors in the last 20 years about the actual cause of death. Amazing - that this story still haunts me all these years later. It is out of print and I own a copy I have never lent out for fear of never seeing it again! Also interesting was Ann Kurth's Prescription:Murder which is her side of the case. Not even close to the same caliber as Blood & Money but still interesting. I cannot recommend this book highly enough - find it at the library or a used book store immediately!

Thomas Thompson does a fantastic job of re-telling the events surrounding the mysterious death of a Houston socialite, the investigation into the death, the trial of her prominent surgeon husband, and the circumstances surrounding his murder a few years after hers. This is without a doubt the most gripping story I have ever read. Thompson's research on this project was extensive, and I would imagine exhaustive. It is written as if he were a witness to all the events which took place in this story. It is a story so bizarre, it would have to be fiction, but sadly was a very true story of adultery, greed, and vengeance. If you can find the book I highly recommend you buy it. You will have a hard time putting it down.

The books quotes numerous examples. That's what the book is all about.

Readers may use these as foundation point for implementing best practises in their own companies. Different companies have different situations.

These ideas motivate one to perform well, often to surge ahead of the competition. Gives you the adrenaline pump to come out with the best.

The importance of value-chain is emphasized by quoting examples of companies such as Lexus which managed continuity of service despite problems in plants of its suppliers.

Readers have to be cautioned that this book is not a panacea to customer-service problems.

Customer Service is not a mere toll-free number. A reader will realise this and much more by reading this book.

A useful text with numerous examples to motivate and encourage your team to get creative and innovative. Useful to owners of small businesses and entrepreneurs to understand how the big organisations succeed. It is little things that could be done for big returns. With the focus on simple things like benchmarking and audit, understanding markets, products and services, it brings all together on winning customers. I have often trawled this book for best practices from time to time and without fail, I have found often new insight and ideas each time I flipped through it. Its a kind of book you may want to read and dip into from time to time for ideas to spark your creativity! The best practice agenda & top ten diagnostic questions at the end of each chapter are useful tools to develop your own best practices.

Arthur Andersen executives Robert Hiebeler, Thomas B. Kelly, and Charles Ketteman have brought the company's "Global Best Practices" program to book format. They tell you how to adapt any company's best practices to your business. They highlight dozens of examples from the thousands that they have collected for Andersen's popular database. The authors take a direct, no-frills approach to presenting their ideas and information, and concentrate on case histories that give you plenty of details. This makes the book highly useful, clear, and free of useless jargon, so we [...] recommend it to people at all levels in any business. You are bound to find some useful gems.

This purports to be a medical textbook, and many of the obviously learned author's quotations are from half-forgotten late mediæval medical writers. A plausible translation of the title into modern terms would be "A Study of Abnormal Psychology." The application of Scholastic methods to this topic --- so similar, and yet so different, from contemporary academic discourse --- creates a curious impression. He invokes astrology and theology in forming his psychology.

But in fact, Burton uses this arcane subject to go off on a profound and lengthy meditation on the melancholies and misfortunes of life itself. The author, it seems, was easily distracted, and his distractions are our gain. The passages on the Melancholy of Scholars, and the Melancholy of Lovers, are themselves worthy of the price of admission.

His prose is unlike anything before him or since him. It has some kinship to the paradoxical and simile-laden style of the Euphuists, but his individual sentences are often pithy and brief.

This seventeenth-century classic ought to be read by anyone interested in the period, in early psychology, or in the history of English prose.

Don't be misled by the title of this book, nor by what others may have told you about it. In the first place, it isn't so much a book about 'Melancholy' (or abnormal psychology, or depression, or whatever) as a book about Burton himself and, ultimately, about humankind. Secondly, it isn't so much a book for students of the history of English prose, as one for lovers of language who joy in the strong taste of English when it was at its most masculine and vigorous. Finally, it isn't so much a book for those interested in the renaissance, as for those interested in life.

Burton is not a writer for fops and milquetoasts. He was a crusty old devil who used to go down to the river to listen to the bargemen cursing so that he could keep in touch with the true tongue of his race. Sometimes I think he might have been better off as the swashbuckling Captain of a pirate ship. But somehow he ended up as a scholar, and instead of watching the ocean satisfyingly swallowing up his victims, he himself became an ocean of learning swallowing up whole libraries. His book, in consequence, although it may have begun as a mere 'medical treatise,' soon exploded beyond its bounds to become, in the words of one of his editors, "a grand literary entertainment, as well as a rich mine of miscellaneous learning."

Of his own book he has this to say : "... a rhapsody of rags gathered together from several dung-hills, excrements of authors, toys and fopperies confusedly tumbled out, without art, invention, judgement, wit, learning, harsh, raw, rude, phantastical, absurd, insolent, indiscreet, ill-composed, indigested, vain, scurrile, idle, dull, and dry; I confess all..." But don't believe him, he's in one of his irascible moods and exaggerating. In fact it's a marvelous book.

Here's a bit more of the crusty Burton I love; it's on his fellow scholars : "Heretofore learning was graced by judicious scholars, but now noble sciences are vilified by base and illiterate scribblers."

And here is Burton warming to the subject of contemporary theologians : "Theologasters, if they can but pay ... proceed to the very highest degrees. Hence it comes that such a pack of vile buffoons, ignoramuses wandering in the twilight of learning, ghosts of clergymen, itinerant quacks, dolts, clods, asses, mere cattle, intrude with unwashed feet upon the sacred precincts of Theology, bringing with them nothing save brazen impudence, and some hackneyed quillets and scholastic trifles not good enough for a crowd at a street corner."

Finally a passage I can't resist quoting which shows something of Burton's prose at its best, though I leave you to guess the subject: "... with this tempest of contention the serenity of charity is overclouded, and there be too many spirits conjured up already in this kind in all sciences, and more than we can tell how to lay, which do so furiously rage, and keep such a racket, that as Fabius said, "It had been much better for some of them to have been born dumb, and altogether illiterate, than so far to dote to their own destruction."

To fully appreciate these quotations you would have to see them in context, and I'm conscious of having touched on only one of his many moods and aspects. But a taste for Burton isn't difficult to acquire. He's a mine of curious learning. When in full stride he can be very funny, and it's easy to share his feelings as he often seems to be describing, not so much his own world as today's.

But he does demand stamina. His prose overwhelms and washes over us like a huge tsunami, and for that reason he's probably best taken in small doses. If you are unfamiliar with his work and were to approach him with that in mind, you might find that (as is the case with Montaigne, a very different writer) you had discovered not so much a book as a companion for life.

Don't be misled by the title of this book, nor by what others may have told you about it. In the first place, it isn't so much a book about 'Melancholy' (or abnormal psychology, or depression, or whatever) as a book about Burton himself and, ultimately, about humankind. Secondly, it isn't so much a book for students of the history of English prose, as one for lovers of language who joy in the strong taste of English when it was at its most masculine and vigorous. Finally, it isn't so much a book for those interested in the renaissance, as for those interested in life.

Burton is not a writer for fops and milquetoasts. He was a crusty old devil who used to go down to the river to listen to the bargemen cursing so that he could keep in touch with the true tongue of his race. Sometimes I think he might have been better off as the swashbuckling Captain of a pirate ship. But somehow he ended up as a scholar, and instead of watching the ocean satisfyingly swallowing up his victims, he himself became an ocean of learning swallowing up whole libraries. His book, in consequence, although it may have begun as a mere 'medical treatise,' soon exploded beyond its bounds to become, in the words of one of his editors, "a grand literary entertainment, as well as a rich mine of miscellaneous learning."

Of his own book he has this to say : "... a rhapsody of rags gathered together from several dung-hills, excrements of authors, toys and fopperies confusedly tumbled out, without art, invention, judgement, wit, learning, harsh, raw, rude, phantastical, absurd, insolent, indiscreet, ill-composed, indigested, vain, scurrile, idle, dull, and dry; I confess all..." But don't believe him, he's in one of his irascible moods and exaggerating. In fact it's a marvelous book.

Here's a bit more of the crusty Burton I love; it's on his fellow scholars : "Heretofore learning was graced by judicious scholars, but now noble sciences are vilified by base and illiterate scribblers."

And here is Burton warming to the subject of contemporary theologians : "Theologasters, if they can but pay ... proceed to the very highest degrees. Hence it comes that such a pack of vile buffoons, ignoramuses wandering in the twilight of learning, ghosts of clergymen, itinerant quacks, dolts, clods, asses, mere cattle, intrude with unwashed feet upon the sacred precincts of Theology, bringing with them nothing save brazen impudence, and some hackneyed quillets and scholastic trifles not good enough for a crowd at a street corner."

Finally a passage I can't resist quoting which shows something of Burton's prose at its best, though I leave you to guess the subject: "... with this tempest of contention the serenity of charity is overclouded, and there be too many spirits conjured up already in this kind in all sciences, and more than we can tell how to lay, which do so furiously rage, and keep such a racket, that as Fabius said, "It had been much better for some of them to have been born dumb, and altogether illiterate, than so far to dote to their own destruction."

To fully appreciate these quotations you would have to see them in context, and I'm conscious of having touched on only one of his many moods and aspects. But a taste for Burton isn't difficult to acquire. He's a mine of curious learning. When in full stride he can be very funny, and it's easy to share his feelings as he often seems to be describing, not so much his own world as today's.

But he does demand stamina. His prose overwhelms and washes over us like a huge tsunami, and for that reason he's probably best taken in small doses. If you are unfamiliar with his work and were to approach him with that in mind, you might find that (as is the case with Montaigne, a very different writer) you had discovered not so much a book as a companion for life.

Though I have never read Thomas Hardy before, I shall again very soon. I greatly enjoyed Far From the Madding Crowd. I kept associating Bathsheba, the heroine, with Scarlett O'Hara. They are both women from the past who are struggling for a place where only men typically tread. Unlike Scarlett, Bathsheba's emotions are more restrained. She's so young, but matures through the book. The reader yearns for the day she finally matures to the point that realizes she needs a partner in life, and her perfect partner is Gabriel Oak, her steadfast mate of fate.

I definitely recommend this book for one of those cold rainy weekends curled up on the couch.

I am looking forward to diving into my next Thomas Hardy novel, Jude the Obscure.

I've always condidered myself to be sort of an optimist; so it is really odd that I've always really loved Thomas Hardy's books. I count Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure among my very favorites, and whether or not it is my favorite, I think that The Mayor of Casterbridge is marvelously written. Still though, reading all of that fatalism and cynicism can be a little much. It was really nice to pick up this novel and not read so many grim scenes.

Far From the Madding Crowd is a pretty simple love story driven by the characters. First, there is Bathsheba Everdeen. She's vain, naive, and she makes the stupidest decisions possible. Yet, you still like her. Then there are the three guys who all want her: Troy who's like the bad guy straight out of a Raphael Sabatini novel, Boldwood who's an old lunatic farmer, and Gabriel Oak who is a simple farmer and is basically perfect. The reader sees what should happen in the first chapter, and it takes Bathsheeba the whole book to see it. The characters really make the book. The reader really has strong feelings about them, and Hardy puts them in situations where you just don't know what they're going to do. The atmosphere that Hardy creates is (as is in all of Hardy's novel) amazing and totally original. I don't think any other author (except Wallace Stegner in America) has ever evoked a sense of place as well as Hardy does. Overall, Far from the Madding Crowd is a great novel. I probably don't like it quite as well as some of his others, but I still do think it deserved five stars.

This book was a required read for Academic Decathalon but I was handed the cliff notes and told to study them if I didn't have time to read the book. I dislike cliff notes unless I have already read a book and I need to review so I chose to listen to it on tape. I was thoroughly surprised to find myself laughing at the overly-honest Gabriel Oak proposing marriage to Bathsheba Everdene, I had been informed that this book was something of a rural comedy but I had not expected such preposterous situations and ironies. The novel centers around Bathsheba though I would not label her the heroine because the reader is often frustrated by her behavior and even annoyed by it. She is quite poor but a smart girl and a particularly beautiful one as well. Gabriel meets her and soon decides he must marry this young woman. She declines deciding that she can't love him and soon moves away. Gabriel loses his farm in an unfortunate event and through circumstance comes to be in the same part of Wessex as Bathsheba. She has inherited her uncle's farm and is now running it herself and she is in need of a sheperd and sheperding happens to be Gabriels forte so he is hired. Farmer Boldwood who runs the neighboring farm becomes smitten with Bathsheba too when he recieves a prank valentine saying "marry me" on the seal(this valentine was sent by Bathsheba and her maid/companion). He soon asks for Bathsheba's hand and Bathsheba who feels guilty for causing this man's desire says she will answer him upon his return in two months time. The union with Boldwood is not to be since Bathsheba falls deeply in love with Frank Troy and soon marries him. An ex-girlfriend of Troy's shows up but dies shortly after giving birth, Troy is heartbroken and tells Bathsheba that he loved Fanny more and still does. Troy leaves and soon is assumed dead but is truly only missing. Boldwood moves in one Bathsheba again but in a set of bizarre events Troy returns to take Bathsheba from Boldwood once more. Boldwood is infuriated and turmoil ensues. This is an escapist novel in these times and is well worth reading. Weatherbury and Casterbridge will charm you and allow you to experience the little oddities of Victorian Era rural life in the pleasantest way imaginable.

Few people can lay claim to having created an industry. TomPeters can.

Tom Peters is widely credited with having created themanagement guru industry. Before him it is said that "management thinkers wrote articles in academic journals, gave the occasional seminar, and worked as consultants for a few large corporations". The biggest blockbusters sold under five hundred thousand books.

'In Search of Excellence', co-authored with Bob Waterman, is Tom Peters first book and sold over 6 million copies. Its success surprised their colleagues at McKinsey, who had laughed at the idea that Peters and Waterman would keep the royalties, "should the book sell 50 000 copies".

Two decades later, 'In Search of Excellence' is still one of the most readable management books. The eight characteristics of excellent companies, a bias for action, close to the customer, autonomy and entrepreneurship, productivity through people, hands-on values driven, stick to the knitting, simple form and lean staff, simultaneous loose-tight properties are all still relevant and still ignored today. It is written clearly, painting vivid pictures with anecdotes and examples from real companies.

Peters went on to become a megastar in the field of management entertaining, able to charge up to $80 000 for a one day show. The management guru industry is estimated to exceed a billion dollars and management books, including several by Peters himself, now regularly find their way into the best seller list. Peters'later writings have sometimes inspired and sometimes puzzled a new generation of managers.

This book is a classic. Great companies struggle to remain on top over an extended period. But the lessons learned endure. END

This is the book that launched the management guru business, as well as the popular management genre. Previous management authors such as Peter Drucker wrote academic oriented tomes for buisness executives. Tom Peters wrote for the masses.

The book starts with an introduction explaining the problems in the economy (this was the early 80s, when fear of Japan Inc was rising) and why this abstract concept of "Excellence" was needed. In many senses, the book's emphasis of "What's Right in the US" is really it's strongest selling point. In the context of a world where America seemed to be losing it's way, the book provides a rallying cry for places that America is doing things right.

The book the passionately covers general management caveats, such as "Stick to your knitting" with examples of companies providing extensive focus on their core competencies. It is important to note that Tom Peters does not claim to be a great management theorist here - his claim is to capture examples of companies who have figured out "how to be excellent". This is consistent with his academic training - an engineering background with a Phd in Organizational Behavior. He's not developing new business models here, only capturing what others already know to be true.

So how does it hold up over time?
Well, if you believe the naysayers, many of the supposedly excellent companies have gone belly up. Peoples Express airline? If you believe the Tom Peters website, his companies have still managed to beat the S&P 500 over the past 20 years.

Bottom line - The book is still valid. Closeness to customers is still as important as ever. Companies are learning they do need to stick to their knitting. This is a very entertaining and influential book. It's worth reading for the insights, as well as the chance that your customer has read it too. :-)

This is an excellent and useful book for anyone wanting to understand how to manage a company or organization well. Built to Last is similar and more rigorously researched.

The CD comes with the book cost extra $15. It's not worth. It does not have any feature as cross reference and pronouniciation. Buyers have to go on line for these features and pay for the subscription. If you need features like those buy Webster's Medical Dictionary. They have better CD.

The Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary is probably the best medical dictionary that you can buy today. It is very definitive in it's defintions and the charts, illustrations, and pictures make this medical dictionary vey fun. Whether you are already a doctor or are a medical student this dictionary is an absolute must. When I started to show an interest in medicine this was my first medical book. Whenever you are watching or reading something that pertains to medicine and something comes up that you are not sure about, this dictionary will solve your problems. I do have one problem with this dictionary, however. The pages are very thin and rip easily. This is not a biggy but is still something that I'm not too crazy about.

This medical dictionary is the best of all other medical dictionaries that are out there today. I recommend this to a medical student, a doctor, or anybody that holds and interest in medicine. This dictionary is an absolute must. Be sure to check this dictionary out, it has valuable information.

Happy Reading!!!

Having taken a medical terminology class at the hospital where I work, I quizzed the instructor on a suitable medical dictionary in his opinion that I could use for my daily work needs. He suggested a few including this one. Next day in work, I was about to ask a few of the many people in my department what their preferences were but decided to take a stroll around the cubicles instead. Sure enough, nearly every cubicle I passed, held a copy of this dictionary. After purchasing a copy, I wasn't surprised to see why. The book is very easy to follow and understand so, if you find yourself in need of this subject, I'd definitely recommend Taber's.

This was one of the most amazing stories I have heard about from the Titanic. It answers many of the questions that have been asked in the past.For example many people have often wondered what happen to Thomas Andrews the ships builder.I will not not give away the answer but instead I will tell you that the situation was unlike anything you have seen in a movie. I would greatly recommend this book as well as A Night to Remember. Both books give vital information on the sinking of the Titanic.If you have any interest in the Titanic, than this book a must read book.

"I Built The Titanic" by William Barnes is a wonderful audio-book. Interlaced into the text are clips from Mr. Barnes' past-life regression sessions where he 'becomes' Thomas Andrews. It's amazing and comforting at the same time to hear the builder of Titanic speak out after 87 years of silence. He loved his wife and daughter so much and planned to take a vacation after Titanic. No one could have known that Titanic's maiden voyage would also be his last.

What I found particularily interesting was the 'death' of Thomas Andrews--something that no one would know the details of except the man himself. These scenes are truly heart-breaking. "I Built The Titanic" is a wonderfully moving, captivating book that I know I'll treasure forever.

This audiobook is truly absorbing and captivating. The first time I listened to it, I was doing some household chores and put it on as background "noise". But I soon realized that I had to stop what I was doing and replay the entire story from its very beginning. It really makes you feel like you are there, especially at the moment of Thomas Andrews' death and the sinking of the ship. I highly recommend the book to any Titanic enthusiast as well as anyone interested in a well-narrated story.