Prepare to laugh yourself into a frenzy. I have read and re-read this book, and know to keep the tissues handy because I laugh so hard I cry !! It's hilarious, clean, heartwarming humor. Hats off to Mr O'Neill.

This book is great! Whether your a father, a mother, or just a 14 year old (like me!) you'll love it, and laugh your head off. It's one of the funniest things I've ever read!

This book is great! I laughed out loud evey five seconds. This book is great for both fathers, mothers, and just plain people. I'm only 14 and I loved it!

... It is simply stunning. If I ever needed a reminder of why I play this game, this is it.

The most sublime bridge book ever written is an extensive exploration of a core of intricate themes in card play. Covered are entry squeezes, trump squeezes, entry-shifting squeezes, elopement, throw-ins, dummy reversal, and backwash squeezes. There are also three chapters on a unique subject, squeezes, finesses and throw-ins against cards that do not immediately lead to any material gain, yet are necessary to set up a later trick. In reading these chapters, one feels that universal secrets are being revealed, like observing the birth of stars through some powerful telescope. A life-enriching experience that begs for an annual re-rereading!

This is one book I shall take onto the desert island with me -- at least, I would if I hadn't given away all of my copies to various bridge-playing friends.

I first picked up "Adventures on Card Play" many years ago, at the same time that I was learning about squeezes and throw-ins and other beautiful techniques in card play. Simple squeezes, strip-squeezes, criss-cross squeezes, ... I thought I'd seen it all. After all, how many different ways can there be to play a hand of cards?

Kelsey and Ottlik's wonderful, glorious book showed me just how wrong I was. Each chapter (with delicious chapter headings like "The Fiercer Trump Sqeezes") is a banquet in itself, hand after hand of richly ingenious card-play manoeuvres. It's stunning, exuberant entertainment. Just like Raymond Smullyan in his remarkable "Chess Mysteries" books, Kelsey and Ottlik have the ability to squeeze nectar from a stone. Uncanny.

Read this book together...it is a beautiful gift. Sharing the book helped us explore our needs and feelings. So often, I found it seemed difficult to express myself, but reading the book together, the words started to flow---from a place of love and connection and our devotion for each other. Miracles can happen!

This book helped me to enjoy my love life more than I ever thought I could. I'm a religious woman who finds most sex books either offensive or not helpful. Ecstatic Lovemaking really touched me because it showed me that a great sex life with my husband is perfectly consistent with having the deep faith I have and know I always will have. The chapter on how "Sexuality and Spirituality Do Go Together" said it all.I also used to feel that my husband had no clue what really turned me on. Now he understands that I need to feel emotionally and spiritually close to him before I want to be sexually close to him. I think it was worth getting the book just for that, but my husband says the best part is that now I seem to want to make love with him as much as he wants to with me.

My husband and I had some breakthroughs in our sex life because of this book. I bought it because of Hugh Prather's Foreword, because I trusted what he said about how our sex life could improve if we studied this book. He was so right! We learned to understand each other so much better, and we actually have been having some sexual experiences we both think are "ecstatic." We always had a good sex life, but we had some problems and conflicts about it too. Now, we're closer than we've ever been, and I know it's just going to get better and better. Thank you, Dr. Lee!

The author is helping us all with a great public service. His humor reflected in these letters are all in the spirit of having fun, and a great resource to help us endure the stress we are all under everyday.

The author has lots of letters for many situations we face dealing with corporate america, bullies, crazy drivers, etc...

My only wish is that 'Hugh D. Zervitt' would target the health care insurance drones and fast food resturants. But that could be the subject of of his next book.

Buy the book! You Deserve It!

First Class Revenge is more than just smartly written. It's a concept whose time has come. This is the book for those of us who have come to believe that confrontation of any kind just isn't worth it. So many of us are verbally paralyzed by political correctness that we crave some kind of outlet for what would just get internalized and turned into an ulcer. This is the book for those of us who have not lost the sensibility of a well crafted letter and yet may not have the ability to adequately express how we feel. An exercise in safe rage, this book has a letter for every eventuality, from the guy who cuts you off in traffic to a less than desirable landlord or co-worker. The entertainment value of this book far outweighs its price and would make a great gift for anyone who just doesn't have the words.

I've had a wonderful time with this book, I received it as a gift from my girlfriend who thought I seemed a little stressed out lately.
We sat around one evening going through all the letters absolutely laughing ourselves silly thinking about the different coworkers, boyfriends and ex bosses we thought would be most deserving of one or two of them. I love the book, I think it's very funny and very well written, I also like how it's broken down into different areas of interest, hex-a-grams are one of my favorites. A Good book for stress relief when people get you down. 5 Stars !!!

Don't leave this book on your coffee table. Take it anywhere you can dream. The pictures are so clear you can smell the air and run your hands over the bricks. The copy is crisp and well written. The perfect book to sit with in front of the fire, when the wind is howling and dream of warmer climates and clear skies.

This large format hard cover masterpiece squeezes all the natural beauty out of the Tuscan landscape. Hugh Palmer floods the pages with gigantic panoramic photos of almost forty villages in Tuscany, many of which are never visited by the average tourist. If nothing else, this book has convinced me to wander off the well-beaten tourist track to get a real taste of the rich landscape and architecture that hides there. This book is not only a magnificent inspiration for a magical tour of Tuscany, but after, the best possible way to remember the experience of being there.

This book is more than a well-researched travel guide. It's also the most gorgeous tribute to Italy I've ever seen. I'm an Italian, living in Como, and have visited every one of the villages in the book and I can tell you, they are as gorgeous as the authors' interpretations. The photographs are some of the most beautiful I've ever seen, and, like a previous reviewer, I, too, get misty-eyed just looking at them. If you want to travel to Italy or just love Tuscany, you won't go wrong with this book!

More than eight years in the making, the editors deserve a note of thanks for compiling this thoughtful, thorough and scholarly collection of 260 theologians' thoughts on more than 600 of Christianity's big issues.

The book represents a panorama of viewpoints. Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, conservative, radical and evangelical viewpoints are all represented in the signed entries. A bibliography follows each essay and cross-references lead from one topic to another. Controversial topics are dealt with in a balanced fashion.

I have two problems with the book. First, I am easily distracted when I use it. This is more my problem than the editors'. When I consult this volume I have a specific topic or question I want answered. The interesting and provocative nature of the entries often leads me far astray from the question I want answered. It is the same problem I have with Study Bibles. I become so enmeshed in the commentary; I lose sight of the verse or topic I want to research.

Second, graphically each page is a vast sea of gray. There are no illustrations, pictures or white space to visually break up the entries. If the content were not so stimulating, you would never pick up the book.

Despite my reservations, this is a great addition to any Christian's library. If it were not for the graphics, it would deserve five stars.

There is no denying that the Oxford Companion to Christian Thought is a very expensive book, but as it is something like an entire library in one book, it sure is worth its price.

You can have a look at the table of contents to see what you can find in the Companion. The essays are written by brilliant and committed theologians, there isn't even a whiff of the dead prose of encycolpedias.

The stress is on contemporary theology, but the excerpts which are accessible here show you that the history of Christian thought is well represented too.

Christianity is more than just your local church and your local preacher's views. This book gives you an idea what has been going on all around the world in the past 2000 years. There is much to learn!

This book is quite an amazing look at Christianity. Not only does it cover a wide range of topics, its contributors come from a variety of backgrounds. It is niether centered on Western Christianity nor is it overly dogmatic. Particularly I was impressed with the tact with which hotly debated issues were presented (e.g., abortion, homosexuality, etc.). Moreover, it is extraordinarily accessible while remaining engaging. The articles are written excellently with further readings provided at the end. It's an impressive accomplishment that I would whole-heartedly recommend to any Christian from any background.

Any theatre buff will think he or she has died and gone to hog heaven. It is virtually impossible to put this gorgeous book down. Put together by the archivists who work for the Shubert Organization, this book covers Broadway with the Shuberts for the past 100 years. Currently the Organization owns 17 Broadway houses. A history of each theatre and what has played there is covered on these pages. The photography and beautiful design make this one of the best coffee table size books I have ever seen. And I have quite a collection. You won't regret your purchase!

An amazing book that I couldn't put down. The Shuberts have compiled a great tribute to Broadway theater. It's worth the money if you are a theater history buff!

A letter is missing from the subtitle of this book: it should have been "100 Years of Great American Theaters." Yes, this gorgeously designed and printed volume offers numerous historic production stills, but Chach et al. reserved the real glamour for interior shots of Schubert-owned houses. They include no views of backstage areas, nor do they mention the true history of the Schuberts and their attempts to replace and repeat the syndicate's dominance over American theater. Readers will find reproductions of rare items from the Schubert Archive interesting, and the price is certainly a good value. Libraries with extensive theater collections may wish to acquire it, but the volume is a coffee-table book best suited for theater buffs.

The Prathers work is one of true insight and striking sincerity. I was touched deeply by it and continue to be as I refer back to it. One thing of minor note (and what prevents the fifth star) that is not mentioned in any review I read is that this book delivers a strongly Christian message. I am not a Christian, I do however keep an open mind and do not let my personal understanding of spirituality interfere with my acceptance of the wisdom this book delivers.

Or, what if I had had parents like this?? After sitting on my shelf for almost 4 years, I listened to the cassette tape version of this book several weeks ago. Somehow that was OK because I'm not sure that I really could have unederstood and taken this book to heart until recently (I was well prepped by reading Alice Miller's 'For Your Own Good' just before). I liked the tape because I could hear the Prather's own voices. And what they say is wonderful and loving for children. Unfortunately, what they recommend is not the norm in our culture. They recommend love, compassion and total respect for our child's identity. Our culture, on the other hand, increasingly speaks to discipline, punishment and abandonment. The world is changed one person at a time, and if only a few people become loving parents because of this book, then the world will be blessed with more stable, loving and creative children. - - If you want the other side of this paradigm, how socially accepted child-rearing, what most of us have been taught is 'normal,' frequently involves abuse and cruelty, then pick up anything by Alice Miller. Miller's work over the past 20 years underscores the value of the Prather's approach.

The Prathers laid out the rational for a parenting style that I instinctively knew was right. They also made some complex emotional issues seem very simple. I no longer get angry with my children. Its a must for all parents.

This is the ONLY parenting book my husband ever took to heart, for all it's humourous delivery. Whenever he jingles some coin in his pocket we think of this book!

I am a teenage girl who was raised on the Daddy Cool system. My father has always been an extremely cool, creative parent. (He has taught me more about explosives than my mom would care to know.) One day, I saw an ancient, battered copy of a book called Daddy Cool in our bookshelf. Surprise, surprise-after reading only a few pages I spotted several habits that my dad has. (See the part about Cooking Cool.)
Although unorthodox, this book has some great, not to mention hilarious, ideas. Of course, I have never been a parent myself, but as I said before, I was raised on the system, and I turned out ok.

This book is fun and funny. It has pearls of wisdom (Let someone else be the photographer for your kids events, you should be in there participating), and good ideas. This is a PERFECT gift for a first time father.

At some point in your career either in an organization or as an external consultant you are likely to be handed a "golden baton" and asked to facilitate or create change within the corporate culture. On one hand you may be delighted that the organization has seen the value in this sort of initiative and recognizes the need. On another hand you may be aware of the task at hand and wonder, "Does this organization really understand what it is asking for. Is it truly ready to make the necessary changes to create this 'said' desired outcome." If in fact you accept at this endeavor, ( and I choose this word lightly-as many are not asked but assigned to the undertaking) I recommend you read two useful resources. The first you are probably already familiar with, John Kotter's Leading Change; the second I will be sharing with you here, Barry Phegan's Developing Your Company Culture-The Joy of Leadership.

John Kotter's Leading Change is very useful as a pragmatic guide to the strategic steps necessary in creating change. Strategy, alone, cannot ensure cultural change. What Phegan does is put strategy in the context of what he calls the "Five Levels of Evolution, Culture, and Leadership." According to Phegan, there are five areas in organizational culture that require balance: physics, life, competition, language, and experience. In most companies the organizational cultures are strong in some areas, weak in others. In order to align a "cultural change" strategy in a way to create meaningful change, there must be leadership to balance out these areas.

5. Experience-feelings, trust, fear, caring, values, involvement, satisfactionThere is always experience, but in most organizations the quality of it is poor. You cannot get to this directly, only through actions at level 4.

4. Language-communications, listening, meaning, understanding, relationships, teamwork, consensus, win-winThis is the thinnest area in most organizational cultures. Communications, understanding, relationships, and teamwork are usually weak. +

3. Competition-economics, authority, control, politics, win-lose, rules, information, productivity, profits, decisionsAlthough not always discussed, openly, this level is overemphasized in most organizational cultures.

2. Life-systems and processes, biology, operational procedures and methods, training, software, efficiencyOperating systems are often poorly developed. There is usually plenty of room for process improvements. *

1. Physics-chemistry, equipment, hardware, engineering, technologyIn most organizations, this level is fine. It is easier to talk about equipment than the more productive areas of processes (2), or communications (4). The table below (page 53 of text) points to the fact that the largest opportunity to develop changes in the work culture lies in language-which has been broken down into communications, listening, meaning, understanding-basically relationship building. The next largest opportunity lies in tackling problems in processes and procedures.

While I am sure that this makes intuitive sense to you, the task becomes how to document and put together a means to actively measure the actions you are taking and how they affect the bottom line or the goals and objectives by which you are to be measured while leading this imitative. Phegan does not offer any solution to that dilemma. What he does, however, is offer a template to improve the areas that need the attention. The most effective strategy that Barry Phegan advocates is the use of an informal interview. He provides a template for an interview format that will allow organizational leaders to get clearer understanding of the framework of the organizations employees. It is from these "non-agenda-conversations"-not "fireside chats" relationships are built, the "true" picture of the existing culture can be drawn, and human beings can feel individual and valuable. This is where he claims you get the biggest return on your cultural change investment.

The book is full of information regarding group dynamics, the art of negotiating, and skillful tips to managers. What is somewhat discouraging is that after several pages of information, guidance, and helpful hints, he ends his book with a section called Reflections where he points out that "work cultures are very stable. Sometimes they would rather die than change." He outlines why managers resist employee involvement in cultural change initiatives. Perhaps the knowledge of why there is resistance is helpful, but he does not offer any solutions to this aspect of human management nature. He even encourages external consultants to work in teams, "culture consultants should always work as a team. Work cultures are simply too seductive."

As you go forward with the task at hand to lead or create cultural change, don't get discouraged. Remember, each positive conversation, change, meeting does have a ripple effect. Phegan encourages you as a cultural leader to look for "pockets of readiness" and to encourage them. Work and gain momentum with those who "get it" and allow the change to evolve over time. It cannot be forced.

As a teacher and practitioner of organization development I recently re-read this book and found it especially germane given today's acceleration of mergers, acquisitions, and pace of life in general. Work is more challenging yet less fulfilling than ever. Change sometimes seems to be expected if not immediately, then soon thereafter. The quick fix solution is sought all too often, typically in the form of a high profile "program" which does not adequately address underlying issues and therefore is doomed to failure. This includes culture, a label that in popular use has been hung on everything from common behavioral patterns to espoused new corporate values that senior management wishes to inculcate. The metaphor nevertheless has considerable relevance for developing organizations, particularly in regards change and change management. Language-including communications, understanding, relationships, and teamwork-is usually the weakest area in organizational cultures, particularly so with the increase in computer-mediated communication. Thus the book provides a critically needed counterpoint. For example, one of its practical tools, "the cultural interview," reveals common themes which provide the basis for discussion, thereby opening and directly developing the culture and enabling the possibility of people finding new meaning at work and life such that change actually can become welcome.

Teaching by clear and helpful examples is the strength of 'Developing your company culture'. Dr Phegan in less than 150 pages provides valuable insights on understanding the decision making process in corporate cultures, the nature of power sharing, the importance of feedback and the benefits of listening to each other. In terms of implementing consensus management and increasing productivity through creating friendly work environments his practical tips clearly come from someone who has "been there" and learned from his experience. I found this a very useful book for all levels of leadership from project management to CEO level. Highly readable with no fancy jargon. Peter Robinson, Editor "San Francisco Books and Travel."