In his new book, Dr. Jaksa outlines practical ideas to help parents understand the importance of building a strong foundation for their children. He uses humor mixed with specifics to make such statements as, "An assertive parent is not a dictator, marshmallow or guilt monger," or "Don't expect the same things at different ages." This is a great gift for new and "evolving" parents alike!

Peter Jaksa has written a book that, as a father of three young children, I found deeply comforting as well as helpful. Dr. Jaksa obviously loves his subject--parents, children, and families--and he pretends to nothing more than he delivers: solid, sensible advice mixed with humor, warmth, wisdom, and optimism. I am also a child psychiatrist, and from a professional standpoint, this book is also first rate. Read it, enjoy it, learn from it, and return to it when you need to.

Peter Jaksa is a very tuned-in, sensitive, practical therapist who provides a well-organized, highly readable book for parents who are struggling to make sense of parenting issues and family issues in this complex, difficult social environment of the late twentieth century. Dr. Jaksa charts a course for parents that gives hope and direction.

A fascinating true story of how A 3 1/2 year old child was brutally abused and ultimatly murdered by his adopted mother, Lois Jurgens. You Will learn how her husband, family and friends were very aware of the abuse and did absolutly nothing to help this poor child. You will also read how the justice system and adoption agency failed to save Dennis. And the painful events for the natural mother, Jerry Sherwood and her family to get justice for her dead son. Very well written book that goes into the background of Lois and Harold Jurgens and how this evil women was able to adopt a total of 6 children (all which ran away and was removed from her home due to abuse). The book also gives a compelling account of the trial and finally the conviction of murder for Lois Jurgens, who almost for 22 years got away with it.

As a parent myself, I will never forget what happened to little Dennis Jurgens.

Karen, OHIO

I have lived in White Bear all of my life. My parents grew up there. We all attended classes in the "new" high school that is talked about. My aunt was in that school's first graduating class in 1965. I say this because, horrifying as the Dennis Jurgens case may be, it is not hard to see how it happened. Even today, it is a small community where most everybody knows everybody else. My family often attended holidays at the Zerwas home, and even today they find it hard to speak ill of Lois. This book does a wonderful job of telling what so many people have been trying to keep quiet for so many years. This is a story that needs to be told in order to make sure that it never happens to another child. Siegel does an excellent job of projecting the difficulty of following up a 20 year old crime that nobody would admit was committed. This is a powerful story that will make you look at child abuse in a whole new way.

A stellar performance on the part of Barry Siegel and Peter Borland. The detail, history, and character development are exquisitely attended and because of that the writer's talent has created a smooth and clear and compelling flow of the story, when it could have been quite muddled. I am a voracious reader and prefer nonfiction to fiction. This is one of the best. Thanks, Mr. Siegel. More. More. Do it again!

I left a review of the hardcover a long time ago. I'm reviewing the paperback because I actually bought a 2nd copy of the book (one to keep untouched and the other to read several times). And now that I've gone through the book for the umpteenth time, I want to add more thoughts to my last review...

I'm begining to realize that the true magic behind the work of Tibor is that it's very personal. Tibor's work searches for some human quality inside us that it can appeal to. It relates to us as imperfect, informal human beings. Unlike most design today that is either self-indulgent or polished off and buttoned up, the work in this book seems to have a "come as you are" invitation to it. This was Tibor's gift. This was his major contribution to the work done in this book. As you surf through all 400+ pages you'll see that in the beginning his work was design "having something to sell". But suddenly his work detours and becomes design "having something to say."

The best part about this book is that it brings us inside the minds of all the people Tibor worked with, worked for (clients) and worked against. The eye opener is that their was a lot of pain that went into the production of this work. You learn that Tibor's passion became a blessing and curse for those he colloborated with. But you begin to learn that these "mistakes, misunderstandings and mis-comprehensions" are often an unexpected ingredient in producing fresh and interesting work.

I encourage this book to anyone who wants to see a new perspective on graphic design and the industry. But more importantly, it's a motivation for us to re-evaluate our own perspective on the industry.

This is the truth. It seems so many designers are looking for the "rock star" status that design seems to bring today that they forget the things Tibor brought (and are important) to the world of design. There are great things to be seen in this book. We are communicating for the people. Not the green pieces of paper. No one says this better with more humor and sensitivy than Tibor Kalman. I wish I could sit with him and talk.

I have tons of design books! Too many books! Of all the books this one travels with me everywhere I go just in case I need a little inspiration. Tibor and his pack of designers I believe have defined what design and communication is all about. They have pushed ideas to the point of rare novelty. With many of the designs in this book I can see that M&Co never stops asking the greatest of all creative questions: "What if?" There is only one thing I hate about the book - It makes me second guess everything that I do. Is it orginal? Is it "What if" enough? Am I following the creative line that is widely walked or have I grown enough spine to stray off the beaten path?

...Or am I just full of s**t?

My mom told me about this Bible so I purchased it. I've been telling everyone that I know to get it. I've only had it for a week, but it has inspired me to want to read the Bible daily. This Bible is written so that everyone can read & understand it. I can see this being a very important tool to help me become a mature Christian. If you are looking for help in your daily devotional reading, don't wait any longer, get the Daily Walk Bible!!!!

A friend recommended this Bible to me. I usually use a NIV Bible and wasn't sure about this translation, but it is wonderful. It is not like the Living Bible where everything is written in more modern terms. It is similar to the NIV only easier to understand.

The Bible is divided so that you read six days and have the seventh day to reflect and/or catch up. Each day's reading begins with a devotion, a synopsis of the reading, things to think about concerning the reading, and suggestions as to how to apply the lessons learned to your everyday life. It is not simply a devotional. It is the complete Bible with thought provoking commentary and simple explanations that anyone can understand. I highly recommend it to anyone...even those who do not desire to read the Bible in a year. It is a great Bible for everyday study and use at church.

I purchased this particular bible based upon "Power for Living"'s praise for the New Living Translation, and the other reviewer who said I'd be glad I bought it in less than a month. They're both right. I'm sorry to say I had never sat down and read the Bible at any great length until now (at age 51). Now I've read most of the New Testament, and plan to finish the whole Book within a year. The "Daily Walk" introductions for the various pieces are very informative and well done. I think anyone who gets this version will be well-pleased.

Captain Ted Lawson is a good writer in addition to being a heroic man. Just two years after piloting one of the B-25 Mitchells in a bombing raid over Tokyo -- a mission that wreaked some damage and served as a rallying point for America -- he has crafted a fine book.

I had read this book many years ago when I as 12. I was motivated to reread this book after seeing the blockbuster movie "Pearl Harbor" which goes on from that day of infamy to also include this counterstrike. And I am glad I did reread the book. The book covers the training and the mission in great detail, as well as his escape from China which covers about half the book. The book was written and published between 1942-1943 and there is a great deal of heart-felt emotion in the book about the war and the Japanese.

Also significant I thought is the context in which Lawson places this mission and the amputation of his leg -- they are events, albeit very significant events, that are stepping stones to his true purposes of family life and career.

The mission was great, and had a great effect of America at the time. There is probably no better account of this part of history than this book by Lawson.

To me the most interesting part of WWII was the battle for the Pacific Ocean. I had read many books about the Battle of Midway and Iwo Jima. They all told you about the war and the battles. The book Thirty Seconds over Tokyo tells you not only of the battles, but also the months of preperation for the surprise riad on Japan, it told you about the long month afterward in which the Chinese helped them recover and hide them from the Japanese. It tells of the crash landing on the Chinese coast and the horrible nights that followed, not knowing if they were going to turned over to the enemy or not. The book Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo is a great read for anyone who likes WWII becuase it not only tells of the battles, it gives the account of the emotional expenses a group of people were forced to go through. I liked this book and I hope you will too.

As a junior high school student and avaition/WWII buff, 33yrs ago, this was just the kind of book for me. I used this book for numberous book reports through out my school career. I recommend this book for all young people to read and remind them what their grandparents went through to help keep this country free of tyrannny I will always remember, April 18,1942, the "Ruptured Duck" and "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo".

Adults...don't even THINK of the "I'm buying it for the kids" routine. Buy it for yourself and ENJOY it! This is an absolutely wonderful book. Yeah, share it with the kids, but enjoy it for yourself. Don't hide behind adulthood. The book is a wordless story about giving and about true character..doing good when you think no one else is looking. Destined to be a Christmas classic and hopefully, like one of his other books "The Angel And The Soldier Boy", a video as well.

This book is nothing short of wonderful. It took a long time for me to find a copy after first hearing of the book. Finally I found a copy in my library. Each time I read it I find some new detail. It is very disarming. I wanted to buy a copy and was very glad to discover the British paperback version is available through Amazon.uk. The paperback version is the same size. Reading it will be an annual treat for me. I also learned plans are underway for making a 20 minute animated feature of this story for BBC this Christmas. What a treat that will be! Just hope Knopf prints again and the VHS is available through Amazon.

I first came across this book when working as a nanny for two little girls. They received this book from their grandma for the holidays and I looked through it. This book literally took my breath away.

This book is the essence of "a picture is worth a thousand words". The story is told in pictures only, no words whatsoever, and I continue to find something new in the details every time I look at the pictures.

The story of a poor gypsy woman who uses her last bits of strength in a bid to stay alive on Christmas Eve. Destitute, no help in sight, she saves a Nativity set in a church when it is knocked over by a vandal, and comes to have her own life saved in return.

The artwork is superb, I shared the book with people at work, all of whom said they would be going out to get copies of the book for their own families. This book is ageless, appeals to all, and will remind you and yours of the true spirit of the holiday season.

This book is no "Small Miracle."

This is a good book which will help you to perform better in basic troubleshooting but it's not great as I was expected. The best part of this book is easy to read and understand. However for anyone who is preparing the CCNP, this book will be very much useful.

This book is well-written and accurate. The writing is easy to follow. I read it very quickly, but didn't notice any errors. I plan to keep it as a reference for when I need to troubleshoot particular internetworking problems. I think it will be quite useful for typical problems. (It's somewhat basic, so may not cover the more bizarre problems, but that's OK. No book can cover every possible problem.) I have never met the author, but he seems like a wise fellow, with a lot of good advice to offer to the Cisco networking professional. This book is an accomplishment that he should be proud of.

Normally, I wouldn't buy a text that involves Cisco routers/switches from anyone else other than Cisco Press; but, after researching the author's background (and since this was backed by IDG books, which has a pretty good record of publishing quality texts), I decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed (well, only that I didn't purchased it sooner).

The book is excellent! When a book is about troubleshooting, I expect it to contain real-life situations that can help me at closing time, on a Friday afternoon. This book does not lack that, as opposed to Cisco Press' CIT guide. If you're a network engineer or administrator in-charge of administering and maintaining your Cisco environment, buy this book! I am sure you would not regret it.

I was startled by the idea of signpost event because I thought about it many times but never saw it in a book before and I always thought people would say I'm nuts if I talked about it. Great book!

The only thing, I heard Peter talk about the Combination Strategy for success on the radio but it wasn't in the book.

This book offers a different approach than the usual motivational stuff out there because Quinones is almost an academic, highly schooled in the humanities, but at the same time his nuts and bolts business acumen as a car salesman comes across as well. It's weird, but refreshing, to hear someone talk about Emily Dickinson and leasing a car to Joey's brother-in-law in the same book. Some of the concepts (the "projection principle" ) seem very hard to implement but are probably worth the effort. All in all, this seems a totally different approach to motivation then the usual rah rah stuff.

If you've read the first two books in the Frog and Toad series, by now you and your child are hooked!

This book, published in 1976, is the third of four books about Frog and Toad, written by Arnold Lobel. This book has five stories, starting and ending with Winter tales.

As usual, Toad is a bit negative and nervous, while Frog is calm, positive and dedicated to being a very good friend to Toad.

In "Down the Hill", Frog gets Toad to come outside and try sledding down a hill with him. Toad goes reluctantly along, and for a moment enjoys the ride. Frog gets bumped off the sled, and Toad still enjoys the adventure until he realizes he's alone. He decides Winter is best spent inside.

The next story is about a story told from Frog to Toad, one rainy day when they are wishing Spring was here. Frog promises that Spring is just around "The Corner."

"Ice Cream" is a funny story about what happens when Toad buys ice cream cones for himself and Frog, and carries them a long way on a very hot day.

"The Surprise" is a story about what happens when two friends try to do something special for a friend, in secret.

The last story, "Christmas Eve", has a worried Toad frantically searching for his best friend, sure that something terrible has happened. It has a happy ending, of course!

The stories are short, sweet and about friendship, but in a simple manner. Drawings of Frog and Toad are on almost every page, and are detailed enough to warrant a lengthy view and some comments from young readers. The words are understandable and readable enough for very young readers, yet they manage to tell a story with an amusing message.

Along with Seuss, Lobel is perhaps the most beloved writer and illustrator of beginning readers. In this effort he turns in another winning series of five short tales, each one in plain language but highly entertaining, enlivened by Lobel's superb two-tone illustrations. Frog and Toad are distinct and likeable characters, comically foolish in their own ways but buoyed by their genuine friendship. This book features the added appeal of stories from all the year round, from winter (how funny they look in big winter coats!) to spring rain (a genuinely sweet tale) to summer ice cream (what a mess!) to fall leaf raking (in gift-of-the-magi form, each rakes the other's yard in secret) and Christmas Eve, perhaps the most pleasant story of all - nothing sloppy or sentimental, just goodhearted. Readers of these domestic adventures will also enjoy Lobel's "Owl at Home."

Young children who are beginning to read longer stories will enjoy these five tales of friends Frog and Toad through the seasons. The stories are: Down the Hill, wherein Frog coaxes Toad out of his warm home for some winter fun; The Corner, in which Frog tells Toad a story on a rainy day; Ice Cream, about a long walk with large ice cream cones; The Surprise, concerning the friends' giving each other a secret good turn a la O. Henry; and Christmas Eve, in which Toad worries about Frog's arrival on a snowy night.

Sweet, soothing stories for your little reader.

Book - Son of Web Pages That Suck: Learn Good Design by Looking at Bad
Design
By Vincent Flanders with Dean Peters
Publisher - Sybex
List [...]>ISBN: 0-7821-4020-3
Rating - 5 out 5

Son of Web Pages That Suck is the follow up to the very successful book Web Pages That Suck by Vincent Flanders. The book consists of 279 pages, broken down into 14 chapters. The book also comes with a CD containing links to the websites listed throughout the book. Son of Web Pages That Suck is my first book on web design and will probably be the only one in my library for quite some time (until Daughter of Web Pages That Suck comes out). As the title suggests, Son of Web Pages That Suck teaches good web design by having the reader look at examples of bad web design. Throughout the book, Flanders explains why a web page does or does not suck.

The book's best quality lies in the very humorous and understandable way it's written. This is one computer book that isn't going to put you to sleep or bore you to death. One of the key points the author stresses throughout the book is "web design is not about art, it's about making money." Each chapter begins with a short introduction explaining what's going to be covered in the preceding chapter and ends with a summary covering the key points discussed in that chapter. One of the not-so obvious things Flanders covers is that you can make a web page that sucks without using tons of flashy graphics or other crazy design elements. Thankfully, he also discusses how to avoid making these same mistakes. Some of the more obvious web design topics Flanders covers include things like appropriate page and image size, how to stay on the right side of copyright law, professionalism, and why things like splash pages and "Welcome to my page" lines are bad. Another important point Flanders discusses is that while a certain theme or design might make one web page suck, it may make another rock-- depending on the target audience .If you've ever visited a Flash intensive website on a dial up connection, you'll appreciate Flanders chapter "Jumpin' Jack Flash."

I could continue to talk about all the great topics Flanders covers in his book Son of Web Pages That Suck, but that would take far too much space for a book review. I highly recommend that you go and buy the book and read it for yourself. I give Son of Web Pages That Suck a highly deserved 5 out of 5 rating.

SOWPTS is entertaining but never enough so the core principle gets lost - "Don't do anything that gets in the way of the sale". How easy this point is missed, even by professional web designers and in-house artists.

The essence: the most valuable aid in designing sites that appeal to your audience is first understanding what turns them off. Turn-offs are a dreary subject, yes, but Flanders excels here. He should know, running a site like "Web Pages That Suck" for a half-decade. You should tap into his knowledge.

Web design is new compared to other media, and the rules still aren't clear. "I want 12 point Garamond!" doesn't fly on the pop-star-of-the-month's site, while perfect for a "Mumble, Stumble, and Fumble at Law" site. Or maybe not so perfect - see Chapter 11 on Text (and fonts).

Understanding the people you're trying to sell is crucial - Flanders provides solid research on things like platforms/browsers, and links that will guide you long after the book is published.

This book should be the first thing you should read, either if you're on your first web project, or an experienced designer who's facing a client/employer about to make serious mistakes. You know, the CEO who insists on putting his face on the home page of your company that makes ball bearings for the lawn-mower industry. But on a site for the (unnamed) pop star mentioned above - not putting a face on the home page is death - and Flash is nearly expected. Flanders understands all this, and doesn't dismiss any technique - until you "get in the way of the sale."

The CD-ROM with the book ain't bad, but there is better. I vastly prefer WS_FTP to Voyager, but my company buys me tools that best several packages on the CD. For a price, of course. But the CD is a good starting place.

Put it on your bookshelf (or better, your hands) today. Let your competition wind up on the "Daily Sucker" at WPTS rather than you.

Vincent Flanders' new "Son of Web Pages That Suck" is the sequel to his best-selling book "Web Pages That Suck." WPTS arose from the site he founded by the same name in 1996, WebPagesThatSuck.com. It seems that WYSIWYG editors have just made it easier for designers to create bad web sites faster, so Flanders felt a second book was needed.

Flanders takes a different approach to teaching usability than the likes of Nielsen and Norman. Through over the top humor and outrageous examples of bad web design he manages to teach good design while keeping us entertained. Flanders uses humor as a teaching aid because he's found that that people tend to learn better when they are entertained.

You'll find yourself laughing as you read this book. The book is peppered with full-color pictures of Flanders and friends in various getups: a devil, an angel, a mechanic, a flasher, and even in the tub ("Splish Splash Pages" chapter). It's all in good fun, as Flanders doesn't take himself too seriously. He makes his points without condescension. He even uses Johnny Cochran-like sayings to illustrate his points:

"If the Bits Don't Flow, People Will Go."
"The Top's Gotta Pop or They're Not Gonna Stop."

The author is a marketing showman, using carnival-like PR:

TREMBLE at the horror that is Mystery Meat Navigation
RUN SCREAMING from splishy splashy Flashy pages...

The book is a hybrid design and usability book aimed at beginning to intermediate designers. The book teaches good design practices through bad mistakes with scathing commentary on numerous really bad web sites. Through his web site's "Daily Sucker" and thousands of email suggestions Flanders has plenty of material to choose from.

The actual advice is common sense stuff that advanced users will already know like keeping text contrast high and file sizes low. However, even after years of preaching the gospel, usability experts are finding web designers repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Flanders shows what not to do, and offers suggestions on how to do it right.

Web design is about working within limitations. Unless you have what Flanders calls "heroin content," make your pages fast loading, easy to navigate, easy to read, and minimize extraneous features. He gives useful pointers throughout the book for graphics optimizers, validators, browser simulators, and includes a CD chock full of useful utilities to shrink and shape up your pages.

Flanders likes to say, somewhat tongue in cheek, that this book is for everybody. It is not quite in that category, but it will have a broader appeal than most web design books with its splashy graphics, non-technical approach, and Flanders' trademark humor. Some college professors have even adopted his book for their Web design courses because it doesn't put their students to sleep. Highly recommended.