I also read this book as a teenager- for a book report in Health class. I have kept the book for over 20 years and still find it excellent. If it were in paperback, I would give it to others as it shows what a person with disabilities-even way back then -can do. Douglas Bader is certainly one of my heroes.

I read this book when I was approximately 10 years old and have thought of Douglas Bader and his exploits often during the past 42 years. A great book and excellent work by Paul Brickhill.

I was in my early twenties when I first read this classic tale by Paul Brickhill about Britain's WWII R.A.F. "legless," ace-fighter pilot. In re-reading the book many times since, I can sense and feel the heroic determination of Bader and the pilots of the squadrons that he led. If any reader wishes to know why Winston Churchill was moved to perpetuate the heroism of these men in his famous, "Their Finest Hour," speech, this is indeed the book to read.

A "humane" treatment of business. Hawken demostrates that business as practised by "corporate" America, where the interest of the shareholder is supreme, and where the employee is an"afterthought", is the reverse of what it should be. A farmer can't force his crop to grow too fast, or slow it's development: his crop has a speed that is just right. So with business: too much forced growth (with excess capital, for example) can be just as dangerous as too slow growth. This book should be read by anyone desiring serious longterm success

I read this book and watched the TV series around 1990. I credit Growing a Business, as much as anything I ever read or heard, for the success of my company today.

In 1992 a group of first-time entrepreneurs started a company together. Some of the group had a blueprint of how a company is supposed to start. Get capital. Build something. Launch it. Succeed. They had not read the book, or they had but did not believe it spoke to us.

Some of the group had a more organic idea, inspired in part by this book. Each company has its pace, its flow, its learning curve. The CEO is the clock, the pacer, the navigator. There is a constant calculator going on each decision, each day, extrapolating payoffs, comparing the costs and benefits. And there is a recognition of what we are going into business for and structuring the business to support those objectives.

For example, we wanted a great place for employees. Each employee would share the experience and benefits. The "Startup 101" types of books treat this topic as an add-on after you do all the important things. Hawken makes it primary. It is primary if you want a place for the best people to do their best work. Structure your company around the employee experience and all else falls into place - if that is the kind of company you want.

An important lesson from this book is serious initial capital for inexperienced entrepeneurs can be a mistake. Hawken describes this. So important. So easy to overlook.

Large amounts of startup capital allows you to outsource parts of a company you may not totally understand yet. It makes some mistakes very expensive. It dulls the creativity at times, the innovation to do more with less. It might encourage one to do things just because you see other companies doing them. It tempts you to make large steps, when it is critical in modern markets to learn to make many smaller steps.

And so on. This book may not fit every entrepreneur. It certainly does not provide all the information you need for growing a company. But for some of us it describes a pattern for growing a good company.

If you are thinking about starting a company, or are in the early stages of a startup, I recommend this book. It might change how you do things, and you might get more satisfaction from the adventure as a result.

I started my business in 1988 and no advice I received was a valuable at Paul Hawken's. He helps you to see a business from 10,000 feet as well as from just inches below the surface: in your heart, where ultimately your business must succeed.

I recommend this book to everyone, but have ceased lending my copy out-two have disappeared. Today, my business is an enormous success-indeed, a somewhat famous one-and no one deserves more credit than Mr. Hawken, for the advice and inspiration of this lucid and engaging book.

To every small business owner: buy it today, read tonight, and see if it doesn't change things immediately.

Admitted, I've not seen the movie. I loved Boogie Nights, which I thought was worlds beyond just "a flick about porno". It was deep, and intriguing, and dark. And this book is no different. These characters are not perfect, nor do they pretend to be. They are real, their emotions are real, and its so unabashadly beautiful how they can do what they feel when they feel it. Some of the writing (especially Frank TJ Mackey's monologues) are downright hilarious.

At first I thought that so many characters would make the story incoherant, harder to conceptualize exactly what was going on. The beauty of scripts, in my opinion, is the fact that you can visualize the film in your head, see the characters doing these things, ESPECIALLY if you haven't seen the movie, which I'm dying to do. Paul Thomas Anderson can't make a bad movie, or a bad script. The three stories intertwine and revolve around one long day in the San Fernando Valley; from the old, disheartened Quiz Kid, the young and new Quiz Kid, from the dying man and his frazzled bride, to the lonely cop with low ambitions. They all circle around one another beautifully, from scene to scene telling you the ultimate story about love, life, and what it means to actually BE there for someone. It doesn't have to be perfect, or beautiful, or meaningful, you can only do the best you can. At moments the script even pokes fun at itself, saying in one situation "this is the part in the movie where you help me out" which I thought was cool and funny and cute at the same time (and the FROGS! The FROGS!...) Don't doubt PT Anderson, his next will probably blow this one away.

But he'll have a hell of a time trying.

"Magnolia" is a film that should go down in history. And for the mere reason of Paul Thomas Anderson. Anderson's brilliant screenwriting is seen the best through his characters. By this talent the piece truly is an ensemble film, for no character outshines the next. Linda Partridge and Claudia Gator, my personal favorite characters, go through the gamut of emotions throughout the script, while likewise staying true to their original motives and feelings.

Basically, the thing that makes Anderson's characters real is that they ARE real. They are normal people whose lives have, along the lines, come apart at every possible seam. No people live absolutely perfect, happy lives, and this is what Anderson gets across. Many of the characters in the script on first look seem invincible, strong, glorified, and beautiful. It does not take long for the reader to see, though, that the most perfect people have the weakest constitutions and strength.

The film is superb. The actors and actresses Anderson used were the ones that could get the job done, not just the big names (okay, despite Tom Cruise and maybe Julianne Moore) that would pull in the crowds. Anderson's direction is also brilliant, for you see that he and his script pulled every ounce of his characters out of his cast.

Anderson is somewhat like the Mel Brooks of the modern, dramatic realm of film. He writes his scripts, does the directing, and he uses the actors and actresses that he knows will deliver. Many of the castmates in Magnolia also appeared in Boogie Nights, and some even in the earlier Anderson film, Hard Eight. He...in truth...is brilliant, and this script is his best one yet I think. My fingers are crossed for him at the Academy Awards this March for his Screenplay nomination, but I'm only upset that no more than three people (Anderson, Aimee Mann, & Cruise) were recognized by the Academy for their amazing performances in the film (especially Melora Walters).

And the bottom line...Anderson is pure brilliance and is one of the next great film makers of our time, and I cannot wait to continue following his career.

MAGNOLIA is the brilliant 3-hour intimate epic of Paul Thomas Anderson, writer-director-genius-walking God-auteur-idol.

It's the story of redemption, loss, lonliness and apocalyptic cataclysm over the course of one day but you can't begin to describe in words anything about what it's truly about even after seeing it.

MAGNOLIA was a brilliant film. At 3 hours and 8 minutes, MAGNOLIA is a vast film of such brilliant and breathtaking vision, it makes you wish they gave an OSCAR for BEST SCOPE.

I've read the screenplay by ANDERSON and bought the book and it too is brilliant, just like the film. But I suspect because of the publicized editing in the film, ANDERSON'S SHOOTING SCRIPT that is the book is actually more in depth in the nature of certain characters and scenes. The film neglects to explain fully some of the plot threads and the script scoops them up and cradles them in light.

It's a self-affirming jolt of a movie that is sure to be unpredictable by everyone. I do recommend both to everyone who can understand the pain of the characters.

The weirdest thing about this book is that the beginning is so true-to-life. The book was written several years ago, but the story is very much in sync with what is going on in the world today. This is my fifth Marcinko book and it's one of his best. It's his second fiction work, a follow up to Rouge Warrior: Red Cell, which is the main reason I didn't give it five stars. The action scenes in Green Team are much more exciting than Red Cell, but the plot just doesn't stand up to the latter. It develops at a break neck speed, but its quality fluctuates right up to the end. First time Marcinko readers will probably get hooked, just like I did with Rogue Warrior: Task Force Blue, only to be more pleased with the discovery of his first and second books. Marcinko's crossing of the thin line between reality and fiction might annoy some readers who are not used to his style, but I think it's a very original welcomed breather from the "2+2=4" formulas of other action books. Marcinko is not the writer Tom Clancy is, but then again, Tom Clancy is not the warrior Marcinko is.

Marcinko lives large and plays hard. This book, along with the rest of the Rogue Warrior Series, is hard hitting and action packed. This dude does it all, says it all, and doesn't take crap from no one. Execellent reading for someone whose tired of the slow moving far fetched action of most fiction books out there. I read Red Cell just three months ago, and I've read almost all his books to date. It's KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) read the book and get hooked!!! Anyone for a Bombay?

I'll admit to this guilty pleasure: I love the Rogue Warrior books. Not because they're great literature, but because they're just plain fun. I'm a Marine combat vet, so I can usually detect the (very) fuzzy line between military fact and fiction, but with Marcinko's books I throw up my hands in the amphibious salute and just go with it. Demo Dick's literary swagger is intoxicating, and his larger than life character is THE male archetype. All of us guys want to pump iron at Rogue Manor, throw down the double Bombays, and go shooting and looting with the SEALs' best.

It's not "the best book I've ever read," nor is it the SPECWAR primer that Rogue Warrior is. But for some unadulterated macho fun, Green Team (like the others in the series) can't be beat.

This outstanding book is a collection and analysis of leadership lessons from Ernest Shackleton's heroic 1914-1916 Antarctic expedition at the edge of survival. Shackleton's amazing adventure saga alone is a great read, but it is the leadership insights that make this book a "must-read."

Perkins carefully organized the book into four inter-related parts. After briefly summarizing the Shackleton expedition, in Part One Perkins presents his 10 strategies for leading at the edge:

1-Vision and Quick Victories: Never lose sight of the ultimate goal, and focus energy on short-term objectives.

2-Symbolism and Personal Example: Set a personal example with visible, memorable symbols and behaviors.

3-Optimism and Reality: Instill optimism and self-confidence, but stay grounded in reality.

4-Stamina: Take care of yourself: Maintain your stamina and let go of guilt.

5-The Team Message: Reinforce the team message constantly: "We are one - we live or die together."

6-Core Team Values: Minimize status differences and insist on courtesy and mutual respect.

7-Conflict: Master conflict - deal with anger in small doses, engage dissidents, and avoid needless power struggles.

8-Lighten Up!: Find something to celebrate and something to laugh about.

9-Risk: Be willing to take the Big Risk.

10-Tenacious Creativity: Never give up - there's always another move.

Interwoven with these strategies are detailed accounts from Shackleton's expedition and real world business examples to fully illustrate the strategies' applicability to today's leadership environments.

Part Two is case studies of four organizations that successfully applied the strategies and achieved remarkable success. In Part Three, Perkins "outlines a number of qualities and actions that...contribute to living, learning, and thriving at "The Edge."" Part Four provides the reader with some tools to further develop individual leadership skills.

Written by a former combat Lieutenant of Marines in Vietnam and current "President of The Syncretics Group, a consultancy that focuses on effective leadership in demanding environments," this book was a very enjoyable and informative study of leadership. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning about, and seeing if they have what it takes for, leading at the edge.

This is simply one of the finest, most fascinating, and most instructive leadership books I have ever read. Dr. Perkins and his co-authors have succeeded in clarifying the universal leadership principles and practices as they exist in the real world. Using the incredible true story of Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition as backdrop, and interweaving modern business examples to further illustrate the critical leadership lessons, Dr. Perkins has captured the heart, soul, and guts of leadership for the modern leader. Rather than stopping there, he also gives us the benefit of leadership lessons learned through his own intense experiences "leading at the edge" as a Marine Corps Infantry Officer in Vietnam, and as an organizational leadership consultant. It doesn't get any better than this extremely well-written work. If you, like me, are tired of the "leadership cookbooks" which crowd the bookstore shelves, search this one out. Read it. Discuss it with your family and your colleagues, and truly grow from the experience. The lessons are powerful, the stories are inspiring and instructive, and they work at the level of both metaphor and real-world example of what is possible in any organization when authentic leadership is present. Sean M. Georges, JD, LLM, is a former Marine Corps Officer and now serves as Vice President, Human Resources for a publicly-traded corporation.

Dennis was interviewed about this book on FoxNews, and he was captivating with his story of Shackleton and what he learned of leadership.

Perkins has applicable background, in Vietnam and management consulting and teaching which make this book doubly fascinating.

I found his style and wit so easy to read and yet remember the points being made. There are many one can take away from this and use, however two that stand out in my mind are: great leaders don't enter knowing everything, e.g. Shackleton had never even slept in a sleeping bag before, much is learned; second, in At Edge experiences, overcome uncertainly with structure and distractions.

So much more could be said about this excellent contribution to leadership. It is well structured with Shackleton's lessons first, then biz cases which are each unique and contribute to illustrations of these leadership lessons. After each section there is reflection, while at the book's end, more intense follow-up excercies and resources to be pursued.

One great leadership adventure!

Philip Gulley's books give me a sense of peace, calm, and quiet seasoned with a generous helping of humor that always lets me end my day on a happier note. I've read most of his works and especially enjoy the characters who make me think, "I KNOW that person!" "Front Porch Tales" has joined my other favorite book, Clyde Egerton's "Walking Across Egypt" as my gift of choice to dear friends and loved ones.

Philip Gulley does an excellent job of bringing us the stories of his life. He has a wonderful sense of humor and brings his relationship with God into perspective each time. He has a very interesting writing style that makes you want to know the man and read on. His other book is great too "Hometown Tales". I hope he puts pen to paper more often...

I'm 13 and I'll admit I only bought this book because I had a gift certificate to a local Christian bookstore and I couldn't find anything to buy in the young adult section. But after being bored one day I picked it and it's dusty cover off of my bookshelf and started reading it. I'm glad I did. Philip Gulley writes in an easy manner that anyone can understand, even a teenager like me. His stories make you laugh, even though I don't think he tries to be funny. It just comes out natural in his writing. I've read the book twice and got my mom to read it and she liked too. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read mini-stories, because that's what the book is. You can put the book down and not have to worry about remembering characters' names or other details. It's full of stories that will make you laugh and also warm your heart. So why are sitting here reading my review? Buy the book on Amazon today! If I'm 13 and I liked it, I think you'll like it too. Thanks for reading my review. Bye!

This is not a 'new' book, but has been around for many years. I first became aware of this touching novel through excerpts that appeared in several articles, beginning in the 0's I believe. The book was out of print at that time, prompting me to hire a search firm. After several months I acquired a hard cover edition, which I have treasured ever since. Several months ago I let a friend borrow my 'treasure', and I moved. In unpacking my nearly 2,000 books I did not find "The Abandoned" -- much to my horror. The friend has confessed that she has it and will return the book, but it is a comfort to know that if it ever goes permanently astray I can get it through you. The book itself is a perfect gem, full of adventure, love and triumph. It is enjoyable for readers of all ages. I re-read it every few years just for the joy of it. Mr. Gallico displays a fine understanding of children and of cats. His imaginative story-line will hold the reader's interest while the humanity of his characters, cat or human, touches the heart. Paul Gallico is a fine author and I recommend many of his other works including "The Boy Who Invented the Bubble Gun." Readers who enjoy this book should also seek out "The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread" -- another charming, heart-warming story of a young boy in a very unusual situation.

Paul Gallico is one of the best writers of cat stories ever. He understands them better than anyone I have ever read or known. My mother bought "The Abandoned" for me when I was a child, hospitalized in a Swiss hospital during a Christmas vacation. She read it to me. Then I read it. As the years went by we have given it as gifts over and over again to other cat appreciators. The chapter "When in Doubt Wash" is priceless and almost eerie in its human perception of how a cat's mind works. This story of Jennie the cat is written for people of all ages from children to adult. It is an adventure and a love story. Once you read this you will want to read more by the author and you won't be disappointed. Start with "The Silent Miaow."

My first reading of this story was as a teenager, I found it in a musty box of paperbacks in the attic; in the throes of teen angst, I immediately identified with the cats who are so seemingly independent and so terribly frightened always. Over and over through my teen years I read the tale, always gleaning some new insight, some new power with which to show the world I could take care of myself independently (When in Doubt, Wash!). I lent it to a friend when I was 17, a virtual cat-hater... not long afterward, he had a cat, and my "mother's book" had disappeared. ... and so began my tale of a long list of missing copies... I would really like to get one of them back...

This book is amazing, Paul Pitchford is amazing and I am going to give away all of my other books on food and nutrition. Mr Pitchford comes from a place of such clarity and truth that this book is just a joy to have and to read and to reference. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in their health and the health of their family.

This is possibly the best instructional book of any I have ever read. Pritchford conveys the tenets of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), modern nutrition, biology and spitituality in this primer for healing arts.

This book teaches the symptoms and causes of illness and makes clear recommendations about foods and herbs that should be used to lessen the impacts of toxicity and bring the sick back to health. I have used it extensively and have bought several copies for others, the latest for someone who is responsible for cooking for adolescents in a halfway house for substance abusers. About 1/4 of the book is recipes. Book is extremely well indexed for relationships between disease and herbs/foods that minimize impact of disease.

I have used this book to learn basic - but very solid - understanding of energetic balances between diet, psyche and spirit. Well footnoted with current research. It is a must have.

You are going to love this one. It is clear, in depth, detailed, and a joy to read. It covers each food discussed with a comprehensive explanation of its energetic properties according to Oriental Medicine.

This book is what you need to make enlightened decisions about what to eat, when to eat it and what to combine in order to have a balanced and self-healing diet.

What I liked most about this reference work is that Pitchford doesn't seem to have an "axe to grind" or a new age philosophy to spout. He gives you the bottom line about food, how to prepare it, when to avoid it, how to evaluate it, how to use it to heal yourself or your patients. He doesn't ask you to believe, just to experiment and use your intelligence.

When you buy this book you will find yourself referring to it for years to come. Warning: You will probably end up giving it to someone you love, so get an extra copy for yourself.

I also recommend you check out Conscious Eating by Gabriel Cousens. It is a good companion to this one and presents a raw food Ayurvedic approach. Enjoy.

Paul Feig was the poster boy for nerd and geek in high school, junior high and elementary school. If these stories are really true, then it's amazing that he got out of adolesence still alive! You're laughing while you're hurting for Paul - it's a quick, easy read - entertaining in a sort of sick kind of way - sort of like watching a car accident - you don't want to watch but you can't take your eyes away!

If you liked the show "Freaks and Geeks" then by all means, read this book. It's funny.

From gym class skirmishes, to awkward first kisses, Paul Feig takes the reader through his disjointed adolescence in his memoir, "Kick Me, Adventures in Adolescence." His humerous tone is set during the first pages of the book, as he brings up the terribly agonizing names one could be planted with in life. Each chapter illustrates an in-depth, obviously a tad embellished, memorable time in the life of a boy, titled with the nickname Fig Newton. Falling in love with his female alter ego at one point, and giving away a valued family heirloom to an unattainable eighth grade crush during another, "Kick Me" explores the true thoughts of a developing boy. Through his experienes, the reader is able to sympathize, empathize, and practically dash under the covers as Feig reencounters his humilitating, unimaginable traumas. If you are a fan of old Monty Python movies, Leave it to Beaver episodes, or any old TV shows and movies, you'll travel back in time reading this twisted, even nostaligic narrative of a naive, paranoid, and absolutley hilarious adolescent.
I give this book five stars, ten points on the scale, two thumbs up, and a dozen cookies for Feig's humerous tone and courageous ability to remain unhaunted by humilation as he reecounters with unbelievale times. For his sensitivity, although indirect at points, but noticed through his sentiments and exaggerated feelings that were coated by comedic, often sarcastic jokes. And for his broad use of diction, who knows, you may even pick up on a few SAT words while laughing yourself silly...
Paul feig takes us through his encounters with drinking, changing for the first time in the gym locker room, CPR lessons, the anxities of crushes, and ends his journey with his senior prom; periods of adolescence in which we all can relate to. I felt connected with Feig throughout his growth from beginning to end, and even felt like helping him out during certain times. Paul Feig is a guy in which you grow to love, through his comedic and outragous expeditions. Even when your mind tells you that things can get no worse, they do for poor Paul. Read it, on days when you want assurance, wisdom, or simply a mere dose of laughter. These stories are prone to put a smile on your face, possibly along with a cringe...and maybe even touch a tender spot in your heart!

Paul Feig has acquired a real legion of fans as a result of his television show "Freaks and Geeks." And justifiably so. "Freaks and Geeks" was one of the best shows in the last twenty years. Feig's book "Kick Me" is just as enjoyable. As others here have commented the book contains equal doses of cringing and laughter. For most of us adolescence was painful and Paul's was off the scale. But his sense of humour and writing talents make his tales of teenaged angst a pleasure to read.

I must speak a dissenting voice to all the glowing reviews of this book. Mowat is, no doubt, an excellent naturalist, and many of the adventures described in the book are very entertaining. However, I am very disturbed that, although the author is ready to defend HIS pets with his shotgun against other animals, he pretty much gave his own animals not just free rein but also encouragement to kill the pets of others. Mutt the dog is deliberately set on a woman's cats, and the "secret cemetery" of neighborhood cats filled by his pet owl is described with almost pride.

Also disturbing to me is the author's attitude toward women. Any complaining woman is described as "spinsterish." The "Cat Lady" whose cats the author set his dog on to attack and kill was described as harboring "yearning hope" for a male intruder to come and presumably do things to her that I don't want to refer to in a review that children may read -- the implication is pretty strong, with a reference also to the Sabine women.

I may get flamed for this review, but I feel that these are very poor attitudes to be subtly or unsubtly conveying to children. I find it very unfortunate because I endorse the author's work as a naturalist.

This is a light-hearted book by Farley Mowat, a writer with whom we normally associate more serious texts. Yet Mowat is just as fun-loving as the next person and it comes out in this collection of stories about his youth in Ontario and Manitoba. Mutt, the dog of the book's title, is a dog who very reasonably refuses to act like one. So he won't hunt ducks properly or do much else that is reckoned too dog-like, at least while anyone's watching. Mutt was Mowat's constant companion throughout many boyhood forays into the wild country around wherever he happened to be living. On the prairies in the 1920s and 30s, he says, it was easy to get out in the bush, because it started right where the town stopped. You just had to walk out. So began Farley Mowat's lifelong love of the natural world. Indeed, he made a pretty good naturalist by the age of ten and earned himself a minor living for a time, through the dubious activity of collecting birds' eggs. This is an easy book to get along with and one that would probably be enjoyed by children. Indeed, I assume it may well have been intended for Mowat's own children. I thoroughly recommend it.

i am reading this book with my dad and having a fun time.mutt,comes to this family for only a penny but brings a millon laughs.he did not think he was a dog so he did not ACT like a dog.when he didn't want to do something he pretented not to hear it.he would put on an expression that said,''i'm sorry,were you speaking to MOI? my two favorite parts are when the dad turns mutt blue and when the dad shot his gun and fell into the dich.you will have to read the book to find out the rest.