Jim's book is very entertaining and easy to read. His advice comes from real-life experience and it is explained in terms that any novice would understand. I recommend this book to anyone considering the cruising lifestyle, especially y you are not loaded with a bottomless cruising kitty. This book is full of practical, common sense advice.

This book seems to be very thorough, well constructed and executed. I've been collecting alot of cruising books over the past few years in anticipation of a round-the-world cruise (someday), and this book not only answers many of the questions I have, but also is a very enjoyable (and effective) read when your dream needs a booster shot. For this reason alone, it has aearned a place of honor on my nightstand, where it has already, and will I am sure, many times more give "the dream" the neccesary "kick".

Howard assumes some knowledge of sailing, but you don't have to be an experienced sailor to understand and appreciate this book. It is very well organized and is about as in depth as any *single* book on such a wide subject can be. He isn't afraid to name names when recommending equipment or other books and has a good bibliography and index. If you are at all interested in the *reality* of offshore cruising, buy this book.

Although it's a step by step instruction it works like you are the lawyer. We read this and wrote a letter to our broker. The letter was reviewed and we got 22K in returned for our stock that was lost by unexperienced broker.

This is by far the best "Do-It-Yourself" guide I have ever read. It is clear, to-the-point, and comprehensive. All necessary documents, forms and samples are included in the appendices. After completing the book, the reader will have everything needed, including self-confidence, to deal with a dispute with a stockbroker. And, he or she will have had a surprisingly entertaining reading experience!

If you are an honest person who has lost money by the dishonest practices of a stockbroker, you should get this book and follow the steps it will show you.

The book is well-written in clear language for the ordinary reader. I liked the way the authors explain the deceptive practices of some people in the investment business. You may not even have realized what was being done to you at the time; in fact this book may save you more grief (and money) just by alerting you to some of the tricks of the trade. The authors help you see whether or not you have a realistic chance of getting some or all of your money back through the arbitration process (or even through the threat of the arbitration process). They are pretty frank about what does not make a good case and want you to be honest with yourself.

Once you decide that you have a good case, the book gives very practical directions for trying to get your money back. It explains the arbitration process and shows you how it can work for you.It will take a little effort, but should not involve much time or expense. The book gives you a good of idea of how the brokerage firm might reply to your claim so you won't get intimidated or overwhelmed by their answer. The authors remind you of the basic points you want to make: you are an honest and credible person, you tried to prevent the loss, but you were treated unfairly.

One of the chapters in the book is entitled "Time is not on your side". The authors tell you that if you want to get you money back, you should get started right away. I would add that if you lost money because of a dishonest broker, get this book right away!

I agree with the earlier reviews but I'd like to provide some details about this book's strengths.
First, Payne places the people who made the Mississippi movement at the center the story. He tells the story of both the original local leaders who made it possible for the civil rights movement to happen in Mississippi and the activists who followed their lead in the 1960s.
Second, he extends the time span of the civil rights movement, showing that it would not have been possible without the "organizing tradition" referred to in the subtitle. Payne expertly traces the relationships and linkages between different generations of heroic troublemakers in Mississippi.
Third, he shows that the original radicals, and I mean those who wanted to change Mississippi from its roots, were those who had already challenged the system to achieve personal gain. "Bourgeois" blacks in Mississippi weren't uniformly complacent or fearful. Wisely, Payne does not use this fact to justify any notion of a "talented tenth" that ought to lead the masses.
Fourth, the chapter on Ella Baker is a stunning and riveting account of one heroic troublemaker who didn't receive enough recognition for her efforts.
Fifth, when Payne writes about what we typically consider the civil rights movement, he places you in the midst of the activists and makes you feel their exhileration, exhaustion, frustration, fear, and courage. Scholarly books never have this quality. At the same time, he does this in a historical context and with a critical eye which absolutely illuminate the raw material in a way that first-person and journalistic treatments rarely approach.
For these reasons, and many more, this is clearly the best of many excellent books on the civil rights movement. Some could fault Payne for placing less emphasis on the national and institutional dimensions of the freedom struggle. But, in the case of the black American struggle for freedom, Payne shows us the story begins with, and is carried by, people who tried to change their communities, not their nation.

As a history major, I have various interests. One of my favorite things to study is the civil rights movement. Of all the books that I have seen, few match the caliber of this book. It takes the state of Mississippi (which may be the book's greatest irony)and shows how powerful a grassroots movement such as the civil rights movement can be with the proper forms of leadership. I urge anyone who is interested in learning about the civil rights movement should start with this book!

Two years ago the author taught a short course at my college on the Mississippi civil rights movemement. He used this book, and I've been recommending it to people ever since. His style and content are both amazing, and I feel really lucky to have had an opportunity to read this book in a course structured around it. _I've Got the Light of Freedom_ offers a new perspective on the way history is taught and remembered. Organizing and people's history are emphasized in what happens to be one of the best movement books out there. It's everything scholarly writing should be. Kudos to Charles Payne.

This book will help all beginers who want to learn about Reliability and Maintainability Engineering.
This book has a lot of not only very kind features but also good examples. This book is one of my treasures in my book shelfs.

There have been many books, papers and publications written on the subject of Reliability. Since the AGREE Report, followed by C. Ryerson's work at RCA in the 50's on a pre-Mil-Hdbk 217, there have been many authors promoting and upgrading the discipline of Reliability. Most engineering and scientific textbooks have a tragic short lifespan. However,in my opinion, I believe Charles Ebeling's work is an example a more enduring and sustaining effort. Chapter 9,"Maintainability" is a good illustration that could be of value to a Maintenace Manager that shows the benefit of PM. Chapter 10,"Design for Maintainability" carries on with discussions of Reliability of Repairable system, i.e. repair or replace..... Chapter 17, "Reliability Estimation and Application" is priceless as examples to emulate. I believe that the applications are more appealing to a wider audience, i.e. Non-Aerospace industry. If there is a shortcoming, it is one that always concerns me in all the classes that I teach.

It is that none of the techniques, equations, empirical methods or algorithms have any value, if the DATA has no integrity.

Chapter 12,"Data Collection and Empirical Methods" is a fine chapter, perhaps it could have been first?

DATA integrity is crucial. Data means drudgery, screening, checking, confirming but a vital platform for analysis to spring to decision making. My simplest example of data without integrity is the application of computer program to estimate an average, that is based on 4 data points, (1 , 2 , 3 , 5280). Is the average 1321.5? or What? I believe that this book has a future and a longer life.

Good Luck

Norm Jagodzinski

I had the pleasure of having Dr. Ebeling as an instructor in college and he taught me reliability engineering. Not only is he easily understood in person, but he is also very clear in his writing. Dr. Ebeling makes reliabiliy an understandable science.

Once again, Charles Swindoll has brought a biblical character to life. I felt as if I was going "through" with Joseph! Mr. Swindoll makes it easy to relate what happen to Joseph with his family relations to today's family. If you're having difficulty relating to the trials and tribulations your family faces, read this book and get a revelation from God!

This is only the second book by Swindoll that I have read. The first was "Intimacy with the Almighty". I liked this one much better. Swindoll did a fantastic job with the life of Joseph. He included a lot of details and perspective on issues, Jacob's poor parenting, geographic locations, etc. that really put you in Joseph's shoes. The book was an engaging page-turner, which I devoured and greatly enjoyed. I am looking forward to reading some of the other books in the series. (Moses, Daniel, etc.)

Much like with the first novel in this series, "David", this book is not only wonderfully written and explained, but inspires great strength in the reader. Also like "David", "Joseph" should be read with the intent of learning, of bettering one's self, not for strict entertainment value alone (although the book is highly entertaining). Another tool for the modern day Christian, and another wonderful book from Swindoll though the power of God.

If you are the kind that loves to read books on homeletics then this is a book you do not want to miss. Spurgeon has some very interesting ideas I guess because there were no microphones back then, so consequently if you did not have a big lung and a thundering voice capacity that you should not enter preaching, or that you are not called, something to that effect, but of course nowadays things are different. Just skip that kind of oppinion and this book has some powerful insights on the need for a preacher to live a pure life, to pray and love his people.

Just wanted to make a quick and hopefully useful note to potential customers (rather than a review of this otherwise outstanding work): I realize the Editorial Reviews state that this version of "Lectures to My Students" is complete and unabridged, but unfortunately this is not the case. You'll instead want ISBN 1-56186-100-6 for the true "complete and unabridged" book (which Amazon seems to carry).

At least the first chapter anyway. The first thing he tells his students in this book is to watch out for your own soul- i.e. see to it that you are a partaker in Whom you are preaching. An exellent book, a little much on the interjection of Latin phrases for this day and age, but still worthy of five stars.

My only quibble with this book is that the plot verges on something out of Ludlum or (yikes!) Sheldon. But the narrative is wonderful -- smooth and well-paced -- and the characters are interesting and well-drawn. In a field crowded with wooden and poorly-edited clunkers, this was a refreshing find. I hope Mr. Mathes gets noticed by the paperback majors soon -- he deserves it.

This book was incredible. I've read it three times, and every time I get caught up in the story and the characters. My mother read the book, and also loved it. Emma is so well created that I start to feel like I'm living her story, and experiencing what she experiences. I definitely recommend this to everyone!

i read this book in one sitting and couldn't turn the pages fast enough! emma as heroine is alive, spunky and full of zest--her inquisitiveness makes the story happen...a clever title which ties the entire story together!

I devoured this book in a matter of days and give it my enthusiastic recommendation. However, as a former television reporter, I am withholding a five-star endorsement. Sorry, McCarry's depiction of the investigative reporter was lacking in authenticity and believability. The brief scene describing a 60 year old Senator who was engaged to a 22 year old was also a tad too much. Overall, I loved these characters and intend to scour the used book websites to read more of his spy novels.

"The Last Supper" is one of the best espionage thrillers I have ever read, definitely putting Charles McCarry in the same literary league with John LeCarre, Alan Furst, Eric Ambler and Ken Follet. McCarry's nuanced, at times poetic, writing style, his ability to create real, flesh and blood characters who will move you, and his fast-paced, taunt storyline, put him at the top of the list for craftsmanship. There were actually moments when I found my eyes filling with tears, at a particular poignant passage, or at the loss of a favorite character. I don't do that easily. The man is Good! The background research is excellent and the historical details of the origins of the OSS and "The Company" are accurate.

The story takes us from the aftermath of World War I, in Germany, through World War II, the Cold War, and Viet Nam, with the creation of "The Outfit." This would be the OSS and the CIA. We meet the earliest agents and watch them and their agency grow in a turbulent world on the brink of one war after another. We are never completely sure who can to be trusted, or whose version is true. A few of the Outfit's leaders know early on that there is a mole in the system who is betraying American interests and getting agents killed. The book takes us all over Europe, to Russia and China, Washington, New York and Boston in the world of international intrigue.

The novel's main character is Paul Christopher, a sensitive, intelligent young man who joins the "Outfit" at the beginning of W.W.II. His mother, Lori, is a Prussian Countess, his father, Hubbard, an American, Yale graduate. They were never political people but hated stupidity and cruelty. Living in Berlin, Hubbard wrote novels and poetry, Lori countessed, they both made friends, traveled, loved each other and had a son...before 1939. It was during those prewar years that we saw a colorful sub-cast of characters enter the picture. Friends and relatives traveled to and from Europe visiting the Christophers, many to play future roles in the drama. There were various types of bohemian life, (Berlin was booming with bohemians), artists, Bolsheviks, musicians, etc., that latched-on to the family in Berlin. Some of these folks were desperate to leave Germany after 1935. The Christophers sailed many Jews and Communists out of the country on their boat Mahican. The Gestapo knew. When the war began, Mom, Dad, and Paul tried to leave for Paris but were stopped at the border. Paul and his father were told never to return to Germany. They were classified as American citizens. The mother was taken away. She was nobility, but she was German. The writing is devastating. This event will occur in Paul's dreams, repeatedly, throughout, giving the reader a terrible glimpse of the Nazi horror.

Paul's father, Hubbard, until his death, never gives up the hope of finding his wife. He changes drastically with her loss. It is with details and character development like this that McCarry leaves the crowd behind. Hubbard joins the OSS. As Paul comes of age, he initially joins the Marines but is also recruited into the OSS. We follow their lives and careers, as well as those of their colleagues, friends and enemies. The tension builds as we begin to see the network of betrayal and lies build, and wonder who is responsible and to what extent.

As I wrote earlier, McCarry develops the characters, and their families in such a manner, that when you lose one, especially to violence, the loss is felt deeply. There is one scene when Hubbard tells Paul stories about his maternal grandparents, that are almost folk-like in nature, and I was awed at what an amazingly wonderful family this was/is. I forgot it was fiction for a moment.

The story moves to an extraordinary conclusion. I could not put this book down. I give it my highest recommendation.

PS - One of the reviewers commented that he thought two of the book's characters, a 60 year old senator and his 22 year wife, were too much...as in not believable? Hey, I was around in the '60s. There was most certainly a 60+ senator from the South with a 22 year old ex-beauty queen wife. Not only do McCarry's people seem real, some were taken from real life.

I will not try to add to the praise of the other two reviewers, but wish to confirm it in the strongest terms. McCarry is in Le Carre's league with a more supple style and more direct, less distant point of view. He is a thrilling, touching writer, particularly in his Chrisopher novels (which, sadly, seem to be out of print -- a dopey decision by his publisher). Find, buy and read them! You'll be moved and glad that you did.

I am an organization development consultant who specializes in innovation and have been using the practical tools that Palus and Horth highlight succinctly in this book with clients such as Exxon/Mobil, Los Alamos National Laboratory and others. Without exception, leaders in these organizations have found the tools insightful and enlightening when applied to unique, complex challenges.

Based on long years of research from the Center of Creative Leadership, the authors have truly put their learnings into a book that is refreshing and easy to read. This is a must read for anyone who is looking for novel ways for groups and teams to interact-- by putting something different "in the middle"--in order to breakthrough (to understand this, you'll have to read the book!) Powerful favorites for me have been "visual connections" and new ways of looking at R&D scorecards.

Have fun with this book and most of all-- experiment!

As a leadership development consultant, I found this book a refreshing break from current best sellers that emphasize and glorify the characteristics of individual leaders--I read it cover to cover, word for word. Using long term research and case studies as support, Palus and Horth describe 6 competencies needed to go beyond traditional leadership as we typically know it in order to handle today's complex challenges. The 6 competencies are quite different from those we are familiar with, even opposite of what we often hear: paying attention, personalizing, imaging, serious play, co-inquiry, and crafting. Recognizing that much leadership of complex challenges occurs in a variety of ways-within individuals, between individuals, and within groups, when Palus and Horth give advice on developing the competencies, they discuss developing your own, other people's, and what these competencies look like at the group level. They include two more neat ideas that fit in well with the point they are trying to get across in the book. If you are skeptical about any of the competencies, they invite you to experiment and expand. Second, they include discussions regarding when these competencies are important and when they are not--recognizing that not all situations call for these competencies. I can't wait to incorporate these ideas into my own leadership and into my development of others.

I found this book a refreshing break from current best sellers that emphasize and glorify the characteristics of individual leaders--I read it cover to cover, word for word. Using long term research and case studies as support, Palus and Horth describe 6 competencies needed to go beyond traditional leadership as we typically know it in order to handle today's complex challenges. The 6 competencies are quite different from those we are familiar with, even opposite of what we often hear: paying attention, personalizing, imaging, serious play, co-inquiry, and crafting. Recognizing that much leadership of complex challenges occurs in a variety of ways-within individuals, between individuals, and within groups, when Palus and Horth give advice on developing the competencies, they discuss developing your own, other people's, and what these competencies look like at the group level. They include two more neat ideas that fit in well with the point they are trying to get across in the book. If you are skeptical about any of the competencies, they invite you to experiment and expand. Second, they include discussions regarding when these competencies are important and when they are not--recognizing that not all situations call for these competencies.

The illustrations in this book are fantastic. The translation purports to be Mary Howitt's, with "only the smallest adjustments...in concession to contemporary pace and attitude." I find it more romantic, however, to fly through the aether and risk being crushed to pieces rather than the more scientific "sailing through the atmosphere" and being crushed to "atoms." The editor also decided to omit the term "slaves"; apparently she'd prefer to hide from human history instead of facing it. Still, an edited Howitt is significantly better than the insipid prose issued by Disney.

I read the story when I was 9, it was for school and I hated it. I always thought it is a girly book. Now I read it again with the fantastic illustration of Charles Santore, I know why Disney adopt it into a movie.
If you are looking for beautiful modern children illustration works, this is the book you have to get. Charles Santore brings out the mysterious mood of ocean merfolk, which is something missing from any other little mermaid illustrations I've encountered.
The book is a bit pricy but it is worth every penny. It is a classical novel with the quality of classic art.

Ever since my youth Hans Christian Andersen's story of 'The little mermaid' has tugged at my heartstrings profoundly. There have been many translations of this story, some with different endings than Andersen's original tale. This edition however provides Andersen's original story as translated by his friend and correspondent Mary Howitt. The tragic story of the courageous little mermaid who sacrifices so much, will always have the power to touch me deeply. Her longing for love, freedom and humanity is universal. A tragic yet unforgettable heroine. The superb and breathtaking illustrations by Charles Santore perfectly capture and evoke the tragedy of the mermaid's plight and sacrifice.

For children this volume is a great introduction to Andersen which might lead them to his other stories. However this edition of 'The little mermaid' is a wonderful treasure for all people who are interested in Andersen regardless of their age.