This book is a lovely way to discuss the life cycle with children and to encourage them to view living and growing old with spirit. Old Pig is a grandparent figure who celebrates life but one day does not get out of bed. He lets the young pig know it is his time to slow down and that life will go on and that his spirit will continue.

Old Pig is the most touching story of life. I read it to my children, ages 3 and 4 years. My son, who is the older of the two, had questions about what it meant to lose someone you love. However, he quickly turned it around and spoke about life and how much fun it is share to it with others. Later that evening and for many evenings thereafter, I read Old Pig after they went to bed. It is indelibly etched it my heart.

i came across this book in 1996 when a fellow production controller showed me OLD PIG. we were the printer of this book for allen & unwin.

it made the hairs at the back of my neck go all funny the first time i read it. and it still does everytime i reread this achingly beautiful book. i left my hometown, 10 years ago, to work when i was barely nineteen and my grandfather died a few months later- never had the chance to say goodbye. i wished i had the chance to hold my grandfather tight one last time...

As a gay Mormon man in my early twenties, I was on the edge of suicide for many years (as many gay Mormons are). Reading this book was a major turning point in my life. I know it sounds dramatic to say that this book saved my life, but I honestly do not think I would be here today had a friend not had the courage to give me this book.

This book is a must read for anyone, especially anyone in the Mormon faith, that is seeking understanding of the often difficult subject of homosexuality.

A comprehensive and wonderful book detailing the pain, suffering, joys, and blessings of being a gay mormon. Through personal stories, sceintific studies, and offical policies, the myths and mystery surrounding this issue is brought out of the closet. A must read for anyone who knows a gay mormon or is dealing with the issues of homosexuality. I have personally found great peace and comfort in my own life from this book. As a gay mormon myself I know and understand the pain of not having the answers. Some of the answers are to be found in this book.

This book is must read for anyone struggling with sexual identity while still trying to maintain a love of God and church. Whether you are Mormon or belong to another faith this book is equally as powerful. Through the essays of gay people, their families, spouses, and clergy members, Peculiar People portrays the painful choices sometimes chosen by, and sometimes forced upon, those whose only sin is loving the "wrong" people.

I never thought of reading about military history until I read this book! Gaebelein brilliantly uses stories of individuals to drive home the points he and Simmons make about character. Great for business travelers and families alike!

This is an excellent book, a must read for people in leadership positions. It provides a superb complement to Sun Tzu ("The Art of War"). The examples are far from what might be expected.

Excellent Book! This book is well written and a pleasure to read. The authors take a challenging topic--the value of good character--and very clearly demonstrate through historical examples the benefits of developing this foundation for good leadership. They use great examples that are intertwined and continuously reinforce the points being made. This is a compelling and inspiring book about leadership, not history.

I was almost mad after I finished reading "Roadside Ron" because I wished there was more. I had to make myself stop reading so I could extend the pleasure of it. Looking at the cover and topic I wasn't sure I would like it, but I found myself riding along with Ron and hoping for happiness. I was intrigued to see the male point of view in relationships. I would not say this is a romance but it captivated me like a romance would. I would recommemnd this book to anyone who has or wished they had a cool friend that travels and takes chances.

Have you ever wanted to just erase your chalkboard and start all over with your life? Roadside Ron did exactly that! It has a wonderful story line and so true to life that most everyone who reads it will be able to relate....and may just find the courage to TRULY LIVE after reading this book!

This tale encompasses new beginnings born from total devastation of the human spirit. It is threaded together with hope and encouragement and the adventure and nostalgia of a cross country trip on old Route 66. The characters you meet on the way are unforgettable and will be missed long after the book is finished. Truly the best motorcycle story out since "Easy Rider."

This book literally fell off the shelf at my local bookstore. After picking it it up and reading a few pages, it appeared to be exactly what I needed at that moment in life. A great guide to explaining the benefits of centering oneself. Although I haven't brought myself to practice the way Mr. Rathbun does. The approach in itself is not as important as taking the time and effort to slow down and make the attempt. A great and inspiring read..

The book The Silent Miracle gave me the guidance I needed to fully live my life. Learning how to meditate and doing the practice every day has made each moment of each day worthwhile. The miracle is that nothing has drastically changed in my outer world - it is my inner life that is different. The path to follow has been easy to understand and worth pursuing with this treasure of a book as my guide.

The meditation practice contained in this book is just what I'd been looking for. The book is straight forward, setting out a simple practice that requires only 20 minutes a day. Even after the short amount of time I've been doing the practice, I can understand why it is called the Silent Miracle. It helps to dissolve internal pain and brings joy, wonder, lots of love and peace to living. I would recommend it to anyone. It's a down to earth and very practical way to acheive these things in your life.

Matt Carrigan is a 20 year CIA veteran field agent. After escaping from an Iraqi prison where he'd been held for two years, Matt determined to quit the agency and rekindle a romance with Lisa. But Carrigan is persuaded into one last assignment: older people are suddenly and inexplicably killing their loved ones. Lisa tags along as the crisis worsens and becomes worldwide. Carrigan must find and stop the person or persons responsible for this global tragedy which becomes so severe and epidemic that the President is in a military stronghold in Utah for his own safety. The situation is bleak and hope begins to fade -- but Carrigan won't give up, won't stop, no matter what or who gets in the way. Web Craze is a superbly crafted novel of absorbing interest and compelling engagement.

This novel by Ron Cox is truly one of the best novels I have ever read. The story is a perfect blend of action as in "Lethal Weapon", suspense as in a "Steven King" flick, and bedroom romance as in "Eyes Wide Shut". It has just the right amount of twists. Cox is a self published author and should be recognized for his brilliance and hard work. Kudos to you Cox! If the right person should read this, I can almost garauntee a "best seller" and the making of a "superb film!" This story is a work of excellence. For anyone into fast paced action and suspence, this is a MUST READ!

A touch of romance, a dash of mystery, a pinch of suspense. WEB CRAZE is all of that and more. A thrilling adventure, with edge of the seat action. A novel put together so nicely by Ron Cox, you won't want to put it down. WEB CRAZE.... Is this our future?

LTC Ron Reid-Daly has written a superb book on the finest killing machine in Africa, the Selous Scouts. LTC Reid-Daly was the founder and commanding officer of this psuedo counter-insurgency force. The author gives us the insight into the bravery, courage, and brutality of his men while performing their operations. This group of highly skilled black and white operators wrecked havoc on the guerilla forces inside and out of Rhodesia. Because of his availability to intelligence Reid-Daly also gives the reader a overview of the conflict and the politics behind the decisions. This is a great read on special operations and Reid-Daly gives a great narrative of the missions and the background for them. This is a great story of an exceptional group of men written by an exceptional soldier and is a must read!

Pamwe Chete is without question one of the most interesting accounts of counter-insurgency operations ever written. LTC Reid-Daly formed the Selous Scouts in the early 1970s' at the behest of the Rhodesian Army Chief of Staff. What follows is the most famous (or infamous) counter-insurgency campaign in recent history. The Selous Scouts were the finest counter-insurgency force ever to take to the field and hunt down guerillas. LTC Reid-Daly has written an honest, detailed account that draws the reader's interest on the first page and never lets go. This book is a must read for any military historian. Reid's engaging book is chocked full of incredible stories about the incredible challenges the Selous Scouts overcame and the unbelievable but true successes they achieved.

This book should be a mandatory read for Non-commissioned officers and Officers serving in special mission units or special operations the world over. In the counter-insurgency / low-intensity conflict arena there are many valuable lessons to be learned from this text, and for the armchair historian or casual reader the story is still gripping enough to keep you enthralled to the last page. Basically this is story of the birth and death of one of the most feared insurgency units of the time, as told by the founder of this outstanding unit; Ron Reid-Daly. It covers the units training, selection, operations, and personalities of the unit with the war being the tool that propels the story and evolution of the unit. One of the most remarkable aspects of Selous scouts was their employment of pseudo-terrorist techniques, which were used to melt into know terrorist cells, to either eliminate the terrorist themselves or direct other assets to the known cells to be neutralized. While conducting these type operations the Selous Scouts maintained the cover of being a combat tracking (mantracking) unit, as to keep their true purpose under wraps from the rest of the Rhodesian Security Forces. I would also like to point out they were truly all trained tracks and maintained this capability to superb levels of proficiency. This book is a re-release and completely revamped version of "SELOUS SCOUTS - Top Secret War" (original title). If you read the original edition you will enjoy this one much better. Many areas in the book have been rewritten and their many additions and details added to the text. Many of the names of individual have added into this text, originally kept exempt for security and safety reasons. Also there are many new photographs added and the Illustrations are a lot crisper. One of the biggest treats in this edition is the added appendix covering; roll of honor, wing nominal roll, awards and citations. Bottom line is this version truly opens the door to this once 'Top Secret" organization of combat trackers turned pseudo-terrorist specialist.

After hearing about this book, I ordered it to read before visiting Santa Fe for the first time. Alas, my husband picked it up first and interrupted a best seller he was in the process of reading to read Hutchison's delightful book. I was finally able to read it and enjoyed it just as much as my husband had. The book is full of interesting characters and has a surprise ending. We are both looking forward the the next book by Mr. Hutchison.

Howard Spoon, disenchanted with his sober ordinary existence, left his job and life in the Mid-West, and headed to New Mexico in search for a change. Some say Howard was going through a mid-life crisis, but I think it was more like a sexual identity crisis. What he discovered was more exciting and revealing than he could of imagined. Always anticipating Howard's next thrilling ordeal, I didn't want to put down the book until it was finished. This book was very fun to read and was so well written, it made reading it notably easy.

This book came highly recommended to me,so I bought a copy along with a Franz Liszt cd after church one sunday. I slipped the cd in the player and thought I would read a little of the book and then come back later and finish it. I could not put the book down! With orchestral arrangements of liszt in the background I spent two hours of absolute and total delight with howard spoon, the main character of the story. There were four times I laughted out loud and I found myself constantly smiling and feeling better the more I read. I felt relaxed and entertained for two days after finishing the book and I will never look at sante fe the same again. I can hardly wait for ron's next book. The book is not very long, it is well worth the money, and it afforded me the most relaxed and enjoyable two hours I have spent in a long time. Everytime I think about that story I can't keep from smiling and I feel "good all over" all over again.

I must admit I was skeptical before I started to read this book. I figured a book written by an ex-umpire would be boring. In fact, it was quite interesting and fun to read. If you grew up watching baseball during the late 60's and early 70's you should read this book. There are many entertaining baseball anecdotes about the players from that era. However, at times Mr. Luciano becomes a bit pompous. Especially regarding his feud with Earl Weaver. Overall, it was a diverting and enjoyable baseball book.

Being an umpire myself, I truly enjoyed reading how one mancould turn his job into something he really enjoyed. I saw Ron Lucianoump several times when I was a kid and didn't totally understand his antics on the field. In his book, he details his career as the umpire everyone loved to watch; everyone except Earl Weaver. You will love hearing how he ejected Earl even before the first pitch of the game and how Earl literally "stole" second base. You will enjoy hearing how he played third for one player as he umped the game and how rookies would beg him not to "shoot" them out at firstbase. This book is full of stories from one of the men who helped make baseball America's most entertaining past-time.

This is a great book about umpiring. A lot of it is irreverent, but that is Luciano -- respectful, but humorous. The book is easy to read and broken into sections that make for easy reading a couple pages at a time (ahem, for reading in the family "library"). There is a lot more here than just umpiring. You get the inside scoop on players, managers and some owners. Interesting reading that is a little off the beaten path.

What really drew me to this book was the phoenetic entries for all those hard-to-say words. I myself enjoy wine immensely, however I was always a little embaressed asking for some things in resaraunts because gross mispronunciation can make one sound ignorant. The size of the book allows easy strorage in the pocket for those quick references while at the wine store or a fine dining restaraunt.

I work part-time in the wine industry and found this book to be a wonderfully comprehensive, concise resource on wine growing, making and drinking. (There's a great companion book by the same authors on food.)

The sample pages show the depth of the definitions. The book is not nearly as detailed as Jancis Robinson's The Oxford Companion to Wine--which all serious wine industry people should have in their library. But neither is it as expensive nor as cumbersome. You can actually take this book to a wine tasting or have it beside you at a wine event or in a tasting room.

This is not simply for wine "drinkers" --comparing varietals, regions and/or vintages. It does give generic information to the wine drinker: types of wine and grapes, taste (earthy, fruity), typical cellaring time, what makes a good representation of that wine. But it doesn't give information on a specific bottle of wine. That's more appropriate in a time sensitive format.

But this book does cover the whole spectrum of winegrowing to wine drinking. It's a good resource for:
·An introductory winegrowing (viticulture) class since it explains the various bacteria, mildew, grape components, etc.
·An introductory winemaking (enology) class since it explains fermentation (primary, stuck and malolactic), brettanomyces, chaptalization, etc.
·Wine drinkers who have an occasional question about a grape varietal, a wine region or a wine term.

It is not the MOST comprehensive resource. That would be the Oxford Companion. But the only person who has found it lacking has been a friend who is studying for the Masters of Wine designation. That's a process that requires you to know all the wines in every country.

The only change I'd suggest would be to drop the names of the US wineries except for the truly historic ones like Gallo and Mondavi--and those that pioneered winemaking in the US. We now have over 800 wineries in California and more are being added yearly. A book like this can't keep up. And shouldn't try. It's enough to include AVA's--several new ones were added last year. To list a sample of current wineries gives a "hit-or-miss" feeling to this book. And it's clearly well organized and researched.

I bought four of these books last year (along with the Food Lover's Companion) to use as gifts--including one set to a winemaker. This year I used the Wine Lover's Companion as a speaker gift in a community college Wine Marketing class. Even speakers who ALREADY HAD the book appreciated it! A restauranteer said his copy was always upstairs when someone downstairs needed it, etc. A wine retailer said one of the nice things about it was that it included pronounciations....can we say Mourvedre? sure we can.. at least with this book.. : )

I got this book because the owner of a wine store I buy from said it was the best, all-around reference he'd ever seen. "I always find what I'm looking for," he said. This guy's an expert so that was good enough for me. And he was right. This book is packed full of an incredible amount of useful wine information. I particularly like the phonetic pronunciations, which make me sound like I know what I'm talking about. Thanks to this book, I'm no longer intimidated when I'm talking about, ordering, buying or simply enjoying good wine. It's great for everyone from beginners to experts!