Last month I saw an amazing documentary ("Boys Will Be Men") about an intervention program for at-risk boys. The kids were told a adult version of this same story about a half-boy who is ostracized and searches for his other half. They were asked to interpret the story in the context of their own lives using poetry. The kids came together to perform the poems, astounding their parents. Clearly, the notion of being incomplete, of having to overcome great difficulties to find oneself, is very meaningful for kids today. And this wonderful book is a great way to bring the experience to even very young children. As a psychologist and a parent, I highly recommend it.

Fun to read again and again. An uplifting story with beautiful illustrations...and who can resist a dragon tale?

[....] It's clear that we need to provide our kids - especially boys - with tools to counter the violence and knee-jerk aggression ubiquitous in popular culture. These children's stories by Idries Shah are just this kind of tool. They're not preachy. They don't offer simplistic lessons or moral platitudes. They're more like exercises for "mental muscle groups" grossly underdeveloped in this culture: A strong sense of one's own value. Empathy. Flexibility in thinking and responding. Appreciating that not everyone is the same, not every outcome is predictable. Seeing that there are more than two sides to a situation. A sense that patience and perseverance can pay off, sometimes in unexpected ways. Not demanding easy answers. A sense that things are not always as they seem, that the viewpoint of "experts" - or even the whole community - is not always right. The experience of seeing something that even adults don't see, of creating clever solutions. The sense that taking positive action is possible and rewarding-even when one has to buck the tide. That help can come from where and when we least expect it. The sense that life has interesting "loose ends" for us to reflect on. And so much more. At least one of these books should be on every child's book shelf.

Excellent Read! This book starts with 20 tips for success. Kemmons' sucess examplifies those tips. He is so hardworking, never afraid of making mistakes. As he said, everyone makes mistakes only a fool makes the same mistakes twice but he himself made same mistakes twice. Even mistake pays.
He did not become rich in one night as those in the internet bubble. He was already a millionaire before the Hiliday Inn. Even after he retired from Holiday Inn, he was still creating enterprises.
Makes me want to act on my ideas.

Excellent read! I enjoy good business bios, and this ranks up there with the best of them. After you read this book you'll know what the word persistance means!

This book not only chronicles the life of Kemmons, but expands upon the ideology behind the business of Holiday Inn and other ventures. Not only an enjoyable read, but an EXCELLENT guide for an entrepreneur such as myself. Exceptional in EVERY respect!

This book will change how you've viewed the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. We've been lulled into the belief that it ended the war and "saved lives." But have our history books been truly honest in that simplistic regard to the act? This book urges you to look deeper into the issue, if you are serious about TRULY understanding the decision to use the bombs.

Lifton gives an incredibly thorough profile of the events and characters involved in the decision to start nuclear war. From political to psychological reasons, the characters are dealt with on a human level. It's a frightening tale, much more complex than the propoganda that was issued prior and following the nuke's use. Many will not like what is documented, because it reaches beyond the simplistic explanations, but sometimes truth is painful, especiallly when it may challenge what we believed are our true values.

This is a must read for all who believe nukes are a legitimate choice in war. Lifton will surprise you, and make you very intimate with Harry Truman and his thought processes going into the final months of the war, the pressures he was under, both from his own cabinet, the military, and the public.

We can only make choices based on the information made available to us. This book is unique in its presentation, and deserves full attention in our history courses and for those who seriously study the impact of our World Wars. It's not a literary guilt trip for the nation. It presents and profiles the hard truths, and no doubt took serious guts to publish.

Not many books can change your beliefs, but this one can, or at least legitimately challenged what you thought were established views.

Using sources made available only recently, Lifton and Mitchell examine the US government's efforts to mold public opinion following the detonation of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs.

These included squelching reports of radiation injuries, preventing release of ground-level damage reports, discouraging discussion of alternatives to the bombing, playing up the "military necessity" of what was (at best) only partially a military decision, and placing all of the scientists and their papers under a shroud of "Top Secrecy" to prevent non-military viewpoints from being discussed or published.

Like Gar Alperovitz (and drawing heavily on his work), Lifton and Mitchell present revealing portraits of the main characters involved in this turning point in history, and make a compelling case that their motives were not always as pure as we've been led to believe.

A cautionary tale of the seduction of power.

Now in a newly updated, revised, and expanded edition, Disinherit The IRS by chartered financial consultant E. Michael Kilbourn (President of Kilbourn Associates and Chairman of the Wealth Protection Network, Naples, Florida) is a very practical and "user friendly" guide to minimizing or eliminating personal estate taxes in order to ensure that the money and possessions left to the people and causes intended is not unfairly or unnecessarily eroded by estate taxes or any other form of taxation. Solid and practical advice for protecting personal finances against claims from lawsuits and divorce actions also fill the pages of this useful and informative compendium. Other chapters address such financial planning issues as life insurance, the usefulness of trusts, and sound steps anyone can take to protect their assets. If you have amassed a lifetime of wealth and wish to lawfully minimize the tax man's demands upon it, then acquire and carefully give a serious reading to Michael Kilbourn's Disinherit The IRS!

What a career as a journalist Pitts might have had. The superb "people skills" and vivid descriptive powers expressed in this book make it a very "human." Pitts, however, is an archaeologist, bringing a strong scientific background to an account of a prehistoric dig and what it brought to view. As the evidence mounted of ancient hominids living along the Sussex coast, it became clear that Boxgrove revealed an unprecedented age for European habitation. Boxgrove, as this book makes graphically clear, will become the standard against which older archeology will be judged and future finds compared.

It is difficult to distinguish the respective contributions made by each author in this book. Mark Roberts, a young archeologist at the beginning of the excavations who became the Director of the site, is a dedicated digger. He managed logistics, personnel, site management and analysed the results. It is likely that he provided significant portions of the scientific background for the account. The story is simply one of persistence in using evidence to gain support for extending operations when funding seemed threatened. Those extensions continued to reveal an assemblage of fossils, tools, and other signs of human activity. All from half a million years ago.

With the authors contributing background material on climate conditions, glaciation and sea levels, soil content and the new science of geomagnetism, we're given a detailed picture of the world surrounding those ancient people. What impact did that environment have on their lives? What does the evidence suggest about how they coped with what nature imposed on them? Did they hunt, or scavenge? Was meat a mainstay or a "side dish" in their diet?

This book makes a major leap of interpretation in formulating what sort of people existed those millennia ago. With help from many sources, the authors build a picture of a sophisticated creature. Boxgrove produced a wealth of flint tools and flakes, some the researchers were able to reconstruct into the original stones. The evidence, they assert, suggests a creature with strong intelligence, capable of in-depth analysis in selected topics. The most important consideration was in hunting and creating the tools to make the hunt a success. Knapping flakes from flint is "more than banging a couple of rocks together" - requires the ability to foresee several steps in advance - "like a game of chess." The tools meant ready access to meat - and meat is necessary for increased brain power. Far from a raw savage, Boxgrove's revelations image our ancestor a capable creature. From this interpretation, it's clear older finds must be reassessed. New discoveries will need to draw on the same interdisciplinary teamwork Roberts was able to assemble.

Fairweather Eden is a wealth of information, both historic and current. Much background material is provided, interspersing the descriptions of participants in the finds and subsequent analysis. One individual actually strips down a carcass with the provided flint tools. Beyond the text is an array of diagrams and photographs depicting the information. If this book has a shortcoming, it's the use of notes' sources in lieu of a bibliography. That hardly detracts from its worth, however. The amount and quality of work Pitts and Roberts have put into this study will keep it useful for a long time. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

"Job Hunting For Dummies" is an easy-to-read book that spells out the most effective ways to find a job and it does so in a clear and concise manner. Even in the best of times, the job market is an imbroglio that is difficult to navigate and that is why JHFD is a must-read for all job hunters.

Although job hunting is serious business, JHFD adeptly uses humor for comic relief as well as to emphasize a point. The section on actual resume' and job interview miscues is both funny and cautionary; readers would do well to take note.

Of all the job hunting books I've read, JHFD is clearly the best. While Richard Nelson Bolles' "What Color Is Your Parachute?" has been acclaimed as the job hunter's "bible," I know from experience that it is a tedious and often contradictory piece of work that has outlived its usefulness. Accordingly, job hunters should consider bypassing "Parachute" in favor of JHFD as it has more to offer its readers.

After several years of complete dedication to my career and to the company I was employed by, I experienced a layoff a few months back. Thus, I suddenly find myself back in the job market and felt ill-prepared to deal with it until I got this book.

I went on a few interviews but had been nervous about certain questions such as; do I tell them how much I was making at my last job? Do I write a "thank you for interviewing" me letter after the interview? etc, etc...

This book covers all the topics that you are nervous about. Examples; what to say in a cover letter, interviewing, salary negotiations + much more. Included are some useful sample resumés and cover letters in different formats.

After reading this book, I feel much more confident that I'm handling my job hunting in a more professional manner. I would recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a job, or even if you have a job but hate your boss and want another one.

In general, I like the For Dummies clear and concise and easy to read format. While there are some For Dummies books that have very little substance, this is not one of them.

Max has written the final word on finding a job! It is put together very well - a quick yet informative and in depth read. Hey! This book even helped me get a job at Robert Half International - Max's company! Love ya, Messmer!

Half Moon Bay Exploring is just what a travel guide should be: clear acturate information, well organized and fun to read. We not only use it when we go to Half Moon Bay and the coast, we give it to visitors who exchange homes with us from other countries. We think it is great-- and we use their Montery Guide too.

Anyone coming to the beautiful California coast, or even for someone who lives here like I do, will find a wealth of great info in this book that will make your trip even more enjoyable.

Very practical, hands-on book for use in the hiring process. Includes a list of questions to ask references that has proved very helpful in our company. We've also followed its advice when we've had the need to fire someone. Easy to read. Highly recommended.

Robert Half details the hiring process, taking the guesswork out of interviewing. This is the first book I have found that gives the employer tips on how to hire the best people. If you've ever looked at a stack of resumes and wondered what to do next, this book give you a clue. I have put his techniques to work, and have been very pleased with the results.

This book has easy to follow instructions with diagrams and pictures to help illustrate, but no yardage is given for the quilts. There are several pictures of different variations of Lemoyne Star quilts, but no yardage for material needed to make the quilt. It would have been a perfect book if the yardage charts were available. It is difficult for novice quilters to calculate the yardage.