With out a doubt one of the best books I've ever read ! Bob Welch makes the pages come alive ! I have been moved deeply and now have such a deep desire to make a difference in my little world around me ! I plan on buying this book for many of my friends, wish everyone would read it !

When one thinks of Mother's Day and Father's Day, thoughts migrate to the brilliance of flowers in bloom and a spectrum of vivid green splashed across the carpet of earth's habitat. But Bob Welch uses the starkness of a cold winter's morning with freshly fallen snow to describe the family unit and the legacies that emerge. Welch captures the reader's attention immediately. As in his past books, he uses stories of family and friends to welcome us into a kind of "fireside chat" with him. We learn about Granpa Schu and what is important in life. Gram, Welch's grandmother was "the hinge on which {the} screen door swung" and one who reflected God's love and lived it rather than preached it. Welch uses the image of the legacy tree (still in motion) rather than a family tree which is stagnant and lifeless. This book illustrates that families are made up of those who have come before to make a difference in the lives of those living today. Legacy is passed on in story form and this book does just that. Welch has given us a rare glimpse of his family's legacy in his personal stories; some humorous, some bitter. He paints pictures with the written word. He uses simile as a means of touching the mind and heart of the reader and move them into a deeper understanding and different level of awareness. He credits his mother for humor being a valuable part of his being. "The world needs laughter," she would say to him. One powerful chapter is "Fathers and Sons." If one ever wondered about the moment when they switch places with their parents and they become the parent and their parent becomes the child, this is the chapter to read. It is the prime rib cut of the meat of the book. As the season approaches where Mother's and Father's Days are celebrated, this is a wonderful gift book. Welch tells of a time when he witnessed a shooting star passing over a lake. It streaked across the dark sky for a split second but remains in his memory forever. "Why? Because its legacy was dependent not on its longevity, but on its brilliance." (p. 209) Simply stated, buy the book and experience the brilliance!

Blending wry humor with poignant insight, Bob Welch writes of a man who handed down a grand legacy despite never having a business card, never receiving a promotion, and rarely taking a vacation; a middle-aged woman who dressed in a rally uniform and yelled her heartiest at a Turkey Bowl game, her cheers meaning more to her son as the years went by; a family with 23 children (many adopted) who always have room for one more because they know there's no limit to love. These and other stories in this inspiring, satisfying, engaging collection combine to show the many ways we have of nurturing a legacy that lasts, creating a family of faith where spiritual roots grow deep, and where wisdom, values, and the sensibilities of love are passed as a kind of spiritual legacy from one generation to the next. Highly recommended.

After the owner of our store read the book all employees read it . Then the owner flew to meet Mr Tasca at his store ,he spent 3 days there, wa sgiven the tour of his store, he spent quite a bit of time meeting with Mr Tasca and his sons talking about his philosophy and way of doing business .What a place !! upon returning we have instatuted The same 7 day return policy that Mr Tasca has as well as putting 3month 3000 mile waranties on our cars.it took some faith in our selves and our business to go all the way but we have and we have not regreted it one bit,, Great Book

This book, through anecdote and exposition, tells the reader flat-out how to sell, without violating integrity. It covers why the "lowest price" game is one you can not win. It tells what the customer really wants. While it discusses these topics in relation to selling cars, it explains how these ideas can be used in other industries.

When I first saw this book, I picked it up because the name was familiar, since I used to live in southeastern Massachusetts, and I wondered what Bob Tasca had to say. Now I know, and I feel that I got good value from the book. And that's his point, in part. But it's -his- book, so let -him- say it to you.

Would I buy a car from this man? You bet. (review from reading the hardcover edition)

Bob does a great job of showing his winning formula to build a successful dealership. Although any business person can learn from his book, it's a must read for dealership managers. I have recommended it to my dealership clients.

This book is a must for the FileMaker developer, and a great study for the beginner.
It covers many developer questions and shows new angles to get more specific in designing, scripting and creating applications.
-Use it as your reference guide, technical dictionary and inspiration book.

If you are a developer or just a keen user who is looking at enhancing what they can do with FileMaker this is the book for you. There aren't many books of this type for FileMaker but luckily this is a really good one. A little short (at 350 pages) the first 120 pages are on relational basics and design that are applicable to any database. Some may skip these chapters but they contain a wealth of information that helps you understand the fundamental structure of your database and how to improve it.

Following chapters go over audit trail, creating a secure login system, advanced use of portals (e.g., using a portal as a selection list and "type-ahead" finds) and rollbacks.The chapter on enhancing your reports with "bucket reports", i.e., subsummary reports that run horizontally across the page instead of down, was particularly useful. Other chapters cover recursive data structures and complex calculations.

If you are not fairly literate with FileMaker you may struggle with some of the concepts as the book assumes you already have reasonable knowledge and pretty much jumps straight in. However, even if you have problems following the text the CD that comes with the book includes the databases so you can pull these apart to see how they work.

While FileMaker is easy to use for most things, there are some higher level functions that developer need that aren't necessarily stright forward to implement - even if you only get a couple of tips from this book it is worth the purchase as many of the examples covered here simply aren't easily available elsewhere

My only complaint about this book would be that I wished it would have been about 10 times as long. The material covered was priceless. I've been developing in FileMaker for several years now and reading this book is like spending an afternoon learning the secrets of someone who's been developing for 10 years...maybe more. These are sound, well thought out concepts that deal with real-world needs. I only hope this is a volume II or III or IV, etc.

...Dinosaur Bob is one of those children's books you just read over and over to your kids. It is funny from start to finish, with Bob the Dino and his family the Lazardos. My boys loved it as kids and will pass it down to theirs.

The story's great, the illustrations are wonderful. Adults will enjoy this as much or more than kids.

We love this story and read it often. We brought it to our designer, and are working with the colors and style. We call our living room the "dinosaur Bob" room. Bravo!

This book is great, it has beautiful pictures and info. However, I did find a few things that were not to great. First of all, when describing the Alaskan Malamute, the illustration had a pure black dog... Malamutes are NEVER pure black, they can be all white but that's the only exception for all one color, the only labeled pic of malamutes are an all white and all black, no markings! They also had very vague info on them. Malamute's real name is ALASKAN MALAMUTE, no where in the book did it say ALASKAN in front of malamute, well howcome you put SIBERIAN and ALASKAN in front of the husky? And two, I got a pup this August and I'm going to start training, so I read the chapter called "How to train Sled Dogs" it had absolutely nothing about training them except for, start training as pups! Blank spot! On what do you train them? All in all though, this was a beautiful book, I just use it for the pictures now.

"Born to Pull" was recommended to me by the owner of the kennel where our family would be going for our first mushing experience. Though aimed at upper elementary kids, the amount of information is amazing. The illustrations enhance the content beautifully; particularly stunning is a painting of a team pulling under the Northern Lights.

Most enjoyable are the stories interspersed throughout; stories from well-known mushers such as Gary Paulsen and Jamie Nelson. Stories of dogs that decided to run the wrong way at the end of a race, and of dogs who found the way home in a raging storm.

Reading this book did not guarantee that I would not wipe out on the sled, but when I did, I knew just what the snow hook was!

I found this book in the kids' section while looking for Christmas presents. Knew nothing about it, and sled dogs are not my dog-of-choice, but was immediately compelled to buy it even tho it cost more than I'd planned. Amazingly full of good information, understanding of dogs and pulling, but there was a twinkle in the eye of the author, too. Imagine the runway team surrounding the ice-fisherman and eating all his catch!

The illustrations too are extraordinary. Such obvious awareness of the inner workings of dogs is unusual. The expressions of each dog are wonderful.

Highest recommendation for sled-dog enthusiast or any dog person, young or old.

I was deeply touched by this story about the Viet Nam War and our Vietnam Veterans and am embarrassed to admit that this is the first book I've read on this subject only because I didn't think that this topic would appeal to me. But Bob's book has proven me to be very wrong and I feel honored to have been given this wonderful story to read. This is not about blood and guts at all. It's more about hearts and souls and this story has touched mine. I can't remember when I've cried over a good book or a movie before I read this one. Once you get to the end you will all be able to understand what I mean. Please don't let this book slip by you.

It has been my experience that people who have been involved in war do not talk much about it. So when I had the chance to read Chapter One, The Story of Vic Charles, I finally had some insight on how traumatic war is for all involved. The book was poignant without being weighted down with vulgar language. It's a story I'd like my 8- and 10-year-old to read someday. Thank you to the author, Bob Staranowicz, and to all Veterans. They've put their lives on the line for each of us and for the freedoms we enjoy every day........tam

This book was the kind that you could not put down once you began reading it. It made me laugh and cry. The writing is so detailed that I felt I was there with Vic Charles. I feel that I know him and I probably do in a sense because I have a few friends and relatives that served in Viet Nam but they never spoke about what went on, they were just glad to get back home. At the time of the war I was just a teenager and did not really get into the details as much except for what I saw on TV, when I watched it. Now I have a better understanding on what our men went through and they should all be honored. This book was about happiness, sorrow, anger and above all about love for our country and the writer should be commended on his ability to put all of his feelings into the writing of this book. I certainly will recommend it to all of my friends and relatives. I also am going to keep it in safe keeping so that when my grandchildren grow up that they will have it to read. Thank you.

I now have nearly 1,000 books in my baseball library, so I've read my share of ballplayer biographies and autobiographies.

Mathews has a reputation of being somewhat hard-nosed and unlikeable, but it hardly comes across here. He's forthright and honest in telling tales of both his positive exploits and negative habits. I came away with a higher regard for Eddie, who unfortunately remains baseball's most invisible 500-homer man.

If you grew up with baseball in the 50's-60's, you could do far, far worse than reading this one. I also recommend John Roseboro's autobiography for fans of this era.

I'm only 44 years old, yet fondest memories when growing up on the northwest side of Milwaukee were going to Braves games at County Stadium their last two years (1964-65) prior to moving south to Atlanta. Eddie Mathews was the idol of every eight or nine-year old in Milwaukee who had any interest in the game of baseball. I knew back then he was a hit with the fans (while not necessarialy so with the press), and this book reinforced my memories. Two sports memories that flash in mind daily involve Eddie Mathews. The first involving a game I attended at County Stadium in 1965 with the score tied in the ninth inning and two runners on with two out and Mathews stepping up to the plate. There as an eight-year old, I said to myself he is going to win this with a three-run homer. One pitch later, he did just that! The other involved his last game ever when he played third base in the 4th game of the 1968 World Series and went 1 for 3 against Bob Gibson (almost 2 for 3 had he been five more feet to the left of the right field foul pole when he knocked a Gibson fast ball over the right field roof of Tiger Stadium). This book is beautiful -- an absolute must for those having vivid memories of the Milwaukee Braves as I have. Word of caution: the book is highly addictive and the reader will find it to be nearly impossible to put it down. A true sports classic written on a classy, frank, and honest human being. Eddie Mathews with his book is indeed "UNFORGETTABLE"!

It was over 5 years ago that I met Eddie Mathews at a local restuaurant in Santa Barbara, California. I had heard so many stories about Eddie and how tough he was, but when he invited me to sit at his table and talk about the old families that he knew and I grew up with, it was a wonderful 4 hours of memories. This book tells of the Real Eddie Mathews and his love for the game of baseball and of course the Brave fans that were so supportive of the team! I enjoyed every minute reading the book and it was well followed in the sequence of his career. Eddie Mathews is what baseball is all about, a kid who wanted to win and be the best he could be in the Major leagues! I asked my cousin, Ted Williams of the Bo Sox if he knew of Eddie Mathews? Ted was very complementary about Eddie and said, " they ( Management ) knew he was going to hit 500 home runs for the Braves orgainztion and he did just that." On February 18th 2001 Eddie Mathews was laid to rest. The Baseball World Lost A True Baseball Player of the Game. Beleive me, " Only a handful like Eddie Mathews " This book is a fine tribute to the life Eddie Mathews in the National Pastime. Signed, MAHerrera

As a beginner woodworker, I was intrigued by the different techniques that I read in the magazines. For example, why was a box joint used on one of the projects while another project used a dado joint? This book did an excellent job of explaining the pros and cons of various joints, in addition to many other topics. It also has a good section on making several commonly used jigs. The writing and illustrations are all first rate.

After reading the book from cover to cover though, I had only wished that it would cover some additional topics critical to the success of a project, such as wood selection and finishing. Nonetheless, this is a must read for anyone who wants to know the why, not just the how, of woodworking techniques.

The author does a great job of describing in detail just about every aspect of woodworking, from cutting to glueing to sharpening to finishing. There is a lot to cover and he does it very succinctly and with enough detail and various methods that the reader is given a LOT of ideas on how to go about any given project.

The hardcover is a beautiful book. Even if the content wasn't as good as it is, it is still a beautiful book to look at.

In an entertaining and well constructed text, the author reviews basic layout techniques, shop geometry for laying out more advanced pieces, sharpening and glues. The text moves on to cover the preparation of stock including surfacing rough lumber, saws, resawing, crosscutting, ripping and gluing. Part 3 covers joinery. Part 4 picks up the shaping of legs, moldings, curves and panels. Part 5 discusses the construction of shop jigs and fixtures.

I learned a new way to do almost everything in the shop, often finding explanations for why some things failed in the past. The text acknowledges that most of us don't always have the optimal tool for the job and explains how to work around that issue with other tools we might have at hand. While not a design book, the text does encourage design. And, while not a safety book, the text explains why some techniques have problems and suggests ways to mitigate those.

Few instructional texts qualify as "page turners," but I found this one genuinely hard to put down. I hope to read more from this author in the future. Finally, this deserving text is hardbound.

Recent corporate scandals have shaken confidence in leadership and the ethical underpinnings of the business world. Without significant change, we risk increasing problems in the years ahead. It's time for leaders to step forth, declare a commitment to ethical performance, and set the example.

"Absolute Honesty" tells it like it is, and like it must be. Johnson and Phillips, management consultants who have been inside and seen how things work, have produced a powerful tool. This easy-to-read book emphasizes that no one argues against corporate integrity, but some executives need support on HOW to apply the principles. Readers of "Absolute Honesty" will learn how to build the right kind of cultural infrastructure.

The authors argue that too many companies adhere to what they call "the Kumbaya Syndrome---embrace all decisions, no matter how stupid or unethical; smile and sing the company campfire song." It's too easy to just go along, and confronting or fighting superiors or The System is frowned upon.

The alternative is to apply their Six Laws of Absolute Honesty: Tell the Truth, Tackle the Problems, Disagree and Commit, Welcome the Truth, Reward the Messenger, and Build a Platform of Integrity. A chapter on each of the laws explains what needs to be done, with effective supporting material including advice, anecdotes, and a style that makes the whole process comfortable and acceptable.

The book is organized into three parts. The first part, The Challenge, includes chapters on The Naked Truth and A Culture of Absolute Honesty. These 52 pages set the stage nicely for the rest of the book. Part 2 presents the Six Laws, with engaging detail. Part 3 is aptly entitled "Where Do We Go from Here?" The final two chapters discuss building an ethical infrastructure and Key Points to Help Your Implementation Efforts. Lots of good, practical advice here. The book concludes with Notes and a good index.

You'll find this book to be a disarmingly fast read. There's a personal sort of feeling that draws the reader into the subject and keeps the flow moving. This book is one you'll keep in your office-for reference and to send a message to all who enter.

Absolute Honesty is not a book for the faint of heart. It takes courage to bring integrity to work. It takes commitment to long term, sustainable success to build a corporate culture founded on honesty. If you value this kind of courage and commitment, this is the book for you. It is practical, with loads of examples of what it takes to be honest at work, the obstacles that prevent us from being honest, and tips for overcoming these obstacles. These stories and examples come from genuine organization experience - no irrelevant academic theories here. The Six Laws of Absolute Honesty are a clear and compelling distillation of a complex bundle of information, and the last chapter on implementation is solid and helpful (and too often missing from corporate culture books).

And - especially rare in books of this genre - it is very well written. Practically a page turner!

Following a year in which Time magazine's "persons" of the year were whistle blowers who risked their careers and reputations to tell the truth, this is a timely and important book. Strongly recommended for everyone who cares about ethics in the workplace.

Finally a book that takes the black magic out of organizational development. Beautifully written. Easy to read. A must for HR professionals and executives who are trying to create an organization capable of thriving in turbulent times. Absolute Honesty pulls together the various concepts and processes needed to define and drive an enabling business culture. It then provides a road map for discovering the cultural attributes need in a given business, communicating the expected attitudes and behaviors, and ultimately walking the talk.

This book is a non-fiction book about a female dolphin named Aster. It is an interesting story of a dolphin's survival in captivity. When she was about ten months old she was washed ashore. She was about to die when a group of bird watchers discovered her. They put her in one of the bird-watcher's cars and took her to the Maryland State Aquarium. While the trainers were taking care of Aster and the other dolphins, Aster becomes pregnant. Since dolphins often die in childbirth, everyone was worried. Read to find out what happens to Aster. I think that this would be a great book for kids aged 9-11.

Cute, cute, cute and informative about dolphins!

I think that A Dolphin Named Bob is a really good book. I liked the book because I really like dolphins. This book is about two dolphins named Aster and Bob. Aster was sick and stranded on the beach with no food or water. Some bird watchers found her and brought her to the closest aquarium. Aster was pregnant; Aster had a very scrawny baby. The trainers named the dolphin Bob, but they didn't think he would live. To find out if Bob did live, read A Dolphin Named Bob. I think you will like it a lot.