As an aspiring poet, I love the feeling I get when I vibe off other poets. I want to compare it to a type of high, or maybe a brief encounter with someone deep. However you want to describe it, it was wonderful. Thank you Jessica. P.S. One day I'll give it back to you.

Jessica Care Moore touches on subjects that are usually left untouched. She writes about womanhood, pride, sexuality, love, friendship and the list just goes on..My favorite poems are Appleseed, Black Statue of Liberty, and Y Chromosome. It is a book that can be shared among lovers, friends, sisters, brothers, aspiring poets, and family.

As a poet, I would like to thank Jessica Care Moore for being the one woman amongst the Blackwomen poets to take her love and anger, and paint a mural of respect for the spoken word artist. As a Black male poet, I feel that it is poets like her that enables other artists to "school" the masses on the wrong doings of all evil entities that are devouring the Black race. Keep Building On my Sister, for one day Chicago, Detroit, New York and the cities alike will feel what we are doing and it is just not performing. Thanks for the reading at Chicago State University.

Jackie Shaw does an excellent job of showcasing all that is possible in decorative painting. Her examples of stroke work apply across the board for any kind of painting. But, what makes this book work is the way she breaks down each stroke into its individual parts to show how to form them properly. Along the way she imparts words of encouragment and motivation to get you going!

She also gives excellent lessons to practice by and keep you stimulated. It is part of the book's progressive learning curve so that as you advance with one part, there is more to learn in the next section as you move from beginner, to intermediate, to advanced.

I rarely write review of books, but as I pulled out this book once again today to reference, I felt compelled to give Ms. Shaw her props! Thanks Jackie!

I am just beginning to venture into decorative painting. This wonderful book answers every question I had. It is beautifully illustrated and covers every aspect of this subject in a manner easily understandable to painters new to this craft. One doesn't need to spend money on many different books, each only covering a few aspects of this topic. This book has it all, as far as I'm concerned. What a treat!!!

We used this book as a course guide in an Adult Ed painting class--it is very well done, easy to understand and contains many wonderful projects to copy or adapt to your own taste. By using a piece of acetate over the "stroke" photographs, or preferably using a xerox copy of the stroke pages (so you don't ruin your book), you can easily perfect a stroke or "teach yourself" with this book. I have several other books in my decorative painting library, but this is the one I refer to the most often. I recommend it highly.

Even though I was just a young kid when America was fighting the war in Vietnam, the subject always fascinated me. Guess I've read about every book regarding Vietnam that shows up on the bookshelf, each time getting more of the same thing-firefights with statistics, people who got killed or wounded coupled with how many of the enemy we wiped out in the process; frustrated military leaders held back by the red-tape, evasive politicians misleading the public into thinking the war was to support a democratic Saigon government. This is all just great but somehow the true feelings, bitterness, sorrows, fears, humor and doubts evaded my conception of the war until I read Rast's story from his diary along with the pictures he took. The events he describes stayed with me and they stuck, I felt like I was right there with him and I kept going back to chapters in the book and rereading them with different feelings each time. Theres a little bit of all of us in his characters and the situations and emotions they display: maybe that is why it feels so real to read and see something about the war I never experienced before.

Don's Nam is an excellent book describing the daily experiences of the men of the 534th Transportation Co. This is a must reading for all those interested in this not-so-popular political war of Vietnam. The fire fights, ambushes, and sweep patrols were described about as vividly and accurately as you can get. Thank you for reporting the events and situations that have been pushed far back in our minds. You have, I am sure, helped many of your readers recall, relive, and rethink their experiences in Vietnam. The book along with the photographs provides a way for us veterans to share our experiences with our spouses and children and perhaps help them to understand us better. Every word you have written is so meaningful to me, since I served with you during part of your tour of duty, and can personally vouch for the authenticity of the events you described. The last time I saw you was 30 years ago in a rice paddy on patrol outside of Long Binh, and to find you alive, well, and on the Internet, was quite a suprise. God bless you. Christoper Cross---Vietnam, Oct. 68-Nov. 69.

Even though I was just a young kid when America was fighting the war in Vietnam, the subject always fascinated me. Guess I've read about every book regarding to Vietnam that shows up on the bookshelf, each time getting more and more of the same thing, firefights with statistics and who got killed or wounded with how many of the enemy we disposed of in the process; frustrated military leaders held back by red-tape, evasive politicians misleading the public into thinking the war was to support a democratic Saigon government. This is all just great but somehow the true feelings, bitterness, sorrows, fears, humor and doubts evaded my conception of the war until I read Rast's story from his diary along with the pictures he took. The events he describes stayed with me and they stuck. I felt like I was right there with him and I kept going back into chapters in the book and rereading them with different feelings each time. There is a little bit of all of us in his characters, situations and the emotions they display: maybe that is why it feels so real to read and see something about the war I never experienced before.

This book more than made up for my disappointing experience with another chick-lit book. It revive my faith in the genre by having a realistic-thinking heroine, hilarious situations that the heroine overcomes with a certain flair, and of course the guy who truly appreciates her for the imperfect woman that she is. I look forward to reading more of her books.

As a wedding planner, I couldn't help but pick up this book about Lauren, a great wedding planner with serious self-esteem issues. She's funny, smart, and incredibly entertaining in this book that follows her adventures in wedding planning, including falling in love, of course. I bought this book yesterday and just finished it today--it was quite addicting! Get this book for the wedding planner or soon-to-be-married in your life. Great beach read! :)

Lockwood knocks it out of the park her first time at bat. For anyone that has been a bridesmaid or bride - the razor-sharp witty dialogue will make you giggle till the very end. As a side note, this makes a perfect gift for any bride-to-be!

Wow, wow wow. A delicate, intricate and absolutely absorbing book about the origins of memory and family. Snyder carefully and credibily brings this story to life. A must read for anyone who has ever thought deeply about family and the ties that bind us to them.

The advice above is well taken, believe me. I don't think I've been this affected by a book in quite a while, and as a voracious reader, that's saying a lot. I cannot say exactly what it was that touched me, but the story is a sad and tender one, with beautiful language and description. I bought it on a whim, having never heard of Don J. Snyder; I am so grateful that I did. As you read the story, you are no longer an observer but an actual participant, it puts so close. The only thing that stopped me from reading it through at one sitting was that I had to keep taking breaks to let my emotions settle down and think about it. I was even compelled to do a little research on what the mother, Peggy, died from...please, don't hesitate to read this. Almost everyone will get something from this profoundly beautiful book.

Don Snyder's mother died giving birth to him and his twin brother David. In Of Time & Memory, Snyder undertakes a literary search for the mother he never know, in the process reconstructing his Mother and Father's love story and bringing his mother back to life, if only in the pages of a book. This is a deeply human work of art, Snyder's finest bokk to date. In a book world fill with contrived and trite stories, Of Time & Memory is refreshing search for truth. In The Cliff Walk, Snyder spared no one, including himself, in his endeavor to come to terms with with the powerful connection between identity and work. Now he tells an even more compelling story. Buy it and read it.

Bob's approach is life-altering. The process is intense. He poses questions where thoughtfulness and instrospection evoked are more meaningful (and can be more successful) than any eating or diet program. In understanding and dealing with the perpetual battle with food, this book and the Diets Don't Work philosophy should be on the very forefront of our personal and societal fight with weight and food! Read it again--and again, like I did.

If you are ready to free yourself from the enslavement of calorie or
fat counting or excessive exercise - this is the book for you!
"Diets Don't Work" explains in simple language why diets
fail to help people achieve their weight loss goals. It includes
written exercises to help you crystalize your desires and reasons you
are overweight. By helping you delve into your inner self and by
teaching you the skills that naturally thin people naturally do, this
book can put you on the road to losing your excess weight and keeping
it off without dieting! The book covers topics such as how naturally
people stay thin, four things overweight people never do when they
eat, the main reason why you eat to much, the diet mentality and more!
This book is in its 14th printing and is the revised updated version
of the original "Diets Don't Work" book. It was printed in
1996. Another book by the author "Diets Still Don't Work"
was published in 1990 after the release of the original "Diets
Don't Work" book. The books cover essentially the same
information with only a few variations, so you really need purchase
only one or the other. I recommend this book if you are tired of the
diet roller coaster and want to live a naturally thin diet free life!

I started my first diet when I was just old enough to say diet. I continued riding the diet roller coaster for the next 25 years of my frustrated life. My frustration and all my life's woes can easily be traced back to my issues with my weight. Everything became about weight, diets and eating. I could tell anyone the calorie content of anything. I thought that was a gift. It really was a curse. I know this now. I saw diets don't work in the book store years ago and thought YES that is SO ... TRUE!!! I believed in the philosophy of the anti diet for a very short time but did not, could not, and would not allow myself to trust myself, so at first it did not work for me. Now, about 4 years later I picked up this book again, and decided to read it over one more time. One thing I knew for certain was that diets had failed me again and again and again making my life totally miserable. I felt if I could just succeed in making myself thin than I could master anything, but I could not lick this problem. It lingered on and on. I also knew that I noticed thin people everywhere eating pizza, ice cream and cookies all around me, whereas my chubby compatriates were suffering silently with their rice cakes. I thought something's rotten in Denmark. How is it possible that thin people seemingly eat whatever they want and don't gain weight? Then it finally clicked once and for all. DIETS DONT WORK!!! Tell your friends. Tell the world. Diets cause overeating, obesity, depression, self hatred, failure, food obsession............This book and others like it that I have read have literally saved me. I have only been following this for 1 week. It's true. It may sound nuts that I am so convinced after a week, but I am sold. In just a few days I have not deprived myself of anything, and remarkably the things I thought I wanted so much like "a whole cake" or an entire pizza were not actually things I wanted. I found myself reaching for a banana! A Banana! Can you believe? I had thought vegetables and fruit were some kind of punishment, but when you're not eating them to diet or lose weight you find yourself actually wanting to have them. It is so unbelievable. One week and I am completely sold. Thank you Bob Schwartz. YOu are a life saver. Now when I hear people talking about atkins, the zone, weight watchers,.....I just laugh. I don't bother telling them what I have learned, because I think it takes a lifetime of dieting before you can possibly give up on diets all together. They'de just never believe me is all. I am so glad to have my life and sanity back.

John Callahan has written a fabulous book for almost any audience, mature mid-teens and older. One could call it irreverent and funny, morbidly funny in places. But it's much more than that.

The opener sets the tone: "On the last day I walked, I woke up without a hangover. I was still loaded from the night before." On one level it's the story of his life. We watch as he becomes addicted to chemicals at a very early age, starting with alcohol at twelve. We watch him cruising through his teen years, experimenting with other drugs. We learn about his adoptive family dynamics, his Catholic upbringing, his alienation from his father, how he was with friends, and his resentment towards his birth mother, who he feels abandoned him.

The last day he walked he was twenty-one. He and his buddy, also drunk and the driver, left a topless bar and drove into a utility pole at ninety. Callahan takes the reader through the most vivid description I've ever read of what it is like to become paralyzed in all four limbs, have sex as a person with quadriplegia, what the rehabilitation process entails, and how difficult re-entry is. For the first time I began to understand how critical a personal care assistant is for a person with quadriplegia, and how dealing with the vagaries of a state welfare program can virtually make or break one's ability to function.

He shares unusually open insights into his involvement with Alcoholics Anonymous, and his successful struggle to control his addiction, his triumph over self-pity. We follow his intense and persistent search for his birth mother, and his reconciliation with old friends and his adoptive family.

And finally, we see a gifted cartoonist and writer hone his skills, submit his work, and be rejected. Callahan shows us the real meaning of tenacity as he continues his craft, mostly at night, "his time." Eventually he becomes recognized and his sometimes infamous work is widely published, from Penthouse to the New Yorker. He relishes the thrill of creating.

In short, this is a sobering, instructive, yet humorous book about his life, and life in general, by a gifted man. On another level, it's a book about sheer guts, tenacity, and believing in oneself. Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot is a very easy read, and although first published ten years ago, its appeal is timeless. I strongly recommend it and thank my friend Dennis for introducing me to it.

Callahan is simply incredible. Never before could such a man who so obviously has so many faults be considered a hero. At my high school, Callahan has become a cult hero on level with South Park. But Callahan's story is more than his sick and demented humor. He overcame a lot to just be himself. This isn't a self-help book nor is it a typical autobiography of a noted comedian. Callahan is something special. He overcame adversity so deep and so self-inflicted that at times it seems like John himself is the only one who could overcome it. In this book, he shows his glaring weaknesses and for it endears himself to his readers. This book is not only Callahan's finest, but it is also a triumph of humanity. Callahan proves over and over again through the book that sometimes the best thing you can do is forgive him for being himself. Just like you need to forgive everyone for being themselves.

It's amazing how nasty, insightful and funny are Callahan's cartoons. In this book he relates the incidents that turned him into an alcoholic quadriplegic -and into one of the least PC humorists alive.

The book is very honest. Callahan don't put the blame of his miseries on external factors (unless when it comes to burocracy, and how the system penalize those who try make a living by working). He takes full responsibility of his mistakes and actions.

The book is extremely well written and easy to read. Callahan presents us his childhood, his drinking days and his insecurities in love as a teenager, the stupid accident, how he had to learn to live as quadriplegic, even more drinking years, his decision to take control of his life, the experience at AA, the search for his real mother, the ideas behind his cartoons and the reactions received, the frustration with welfare, and -of course- several of his cartoons.

Highly recommended.

I used this book from about pg 200 of Ulysses onward, and I think it's just about indispensable. There should not be any embarrassment in this: unless you know Latin, German, French, Hebrew (together with a good cross-section of literature from all these languages), Catholic & Jewish culture, English literature more or less entire, and (hardest of all) Dublin slang, culture, politics, and all the knick-knacks of daily life from 1904, Ulysses presents many baffling passages. This book helps out with all these things, plus plenty of other stuff: myths, songs, internal reference cross-indexing (for those of us who can't remember that Stephen Daedalus thought of the same Latin quotation 600 pages earlier), Joyce's basic scheme for each section, and more.

There are two failings, and they are minor: (1) there are still plenty of obscure words and phrases that aren't annotated (the introduction acknowledges this) and conversely (2) there are a number of things that don't need annotations that get them (particularly galling are the annotations that simply tell you that they don't know what Joyce is talking about either).

Still, an essential reference, and pretty entertaining in its own right (like flipping through an encyclopedia or Brewer's Phrase & Fable).

Ulysses Annotated is essential for understanding Joyce's seminal work, Ulysses. The Introduction, prefaces and notes explain how to use this book, and suggest why and how it was compiled. Each episode is preceeded by a map that helps the reader to visualize the movements of Bloom and Stephen throughout their journeys. It is somewhat difficult, even for a well-read student to understand Joyce's allusions without a reference guide book like Giffords.

Also recommended: REDEFINING THE 'SELF': SELECTED ESSAYS ON SWIFT, POE, PINTER, AND JOYCE by John Condon Murray

"Ulysses Annotated" is an essential Book for reading, and understanding Ulysses, and the previous four reviewers are right on the mark. It is impossible, even for a well read reader to understand Joyce's allusions without this extremely well presented, and well priced, Reference book.

Introduction, prefaces and notes explain how to use this book, and how it was compiled. Each episode is preceeded by a map of where the action takes place helping the reader to visualize the movements of Bloom and Stephen. Each entry is preceeded by the Chapter Number and Line Number according to the Gabler edition of "Ulysses". In addition, a fairly comprehensive index cross-references all entries. If the reader wants to find all allusions pertaining, for example, to the Book of Luke, these can be easily found. I found this Index quite useful.

Personally, I found the following method best for using the book. First, to skim through the allusions, marking those of particular interest, and then laying the book side by side with the Novel and reading the Episode.

As for realiability, I took Gifford and Seidman up on their offered Short Title List, and was able to find almost every reference, including "Thom's Official Directory of the United Kingdom and Great Britain and Ireland for the Year 1904", and have found them to be reliable in their entries.

This Book should suffice for reading, and understanding Ulysses, though many a reader may get caught up by Joyce, as I did, so that the following may be useful: Weldon Thornton: "Allusions in Ulysses", Richard Ellman: "James Joyce", Harry Blamires: "The New Bloomsday Book", Stuart Gilbert: "James Joyce's Ulysses", and of course "The Riverside Shakespeare", "The Oddyssey", and the Bible.

Greenberg's book features pointed advice regarding the most common CRM topics(SFA, Marketing...). Another chapter I found useful was the chapter detailing the layout of CRM implementations. Although a good read, I have some criticisms: 1. The author is a bit biased to some vendors. 2. Not the best written book. The grammar and structure is not very conducive to "demystifying" CRM. Not a great pleasure to read this book (although quite informative).

Perhaps the best feature of this book is the great CRM business ideas that it features. It gets the reader thinking "maybe I should start a company and use some of these business ideas". Case in point: read the PRM and verticals chapter. Good for people looking to start their own CRM consultancy.

When was the last time you read a business book written by an industry insider, and was so captivated by the book's content that you couldn't put the book down?? Well, author Paul Greenberg treats the reader to such a rare experience.

Whether you're the CEO of a company concerned about customer loyalty/profitability, a project leader charged with selecting and imlementing a CRM initiative, or a consultant within the CRM industry, this book is for you.

The biggest challenge the Business/CRM world faces today is understanding the delineation between CRM as a business strategy, and CRM as an enabling technology. No easy task! But Paul Greenberg clarifies this with incredible ease.

The author also, with zero techno-geek language, provides significant insights into areas of CRM such as: What IS CRM/What is it NOT?,Why your company needs CRM!!, ECRM versus CRM(a topic in the business world that seems to be strewn with much confusion), Who the real CRM players are....and why they are REAL, and What roles the internet and wireless applications are playing today, and in the future, and much, much more.

So if you're looking to become "CRM literate", or want to add to your CRM knowledge base, and want to actually have fun doing it-Paul's book is interspersed with humorous tidbits- GO BUY THIS BOOK!!

As a relatively new consultant in the CRM world its hard to know exactly how CRM fits in its broadest scope. Trying to decipher CRM piece by piece can cause migrains the size of Mount Olympus. Mr. Greenberg's book brings all of the components together and presents them in an easy to understand often times humorous way. If you want to know how the seperate disciplines of CRM interact with one another as well as the existing systems of a company and why this is of benefit to a company, then this book is a must read. Or, if you just want to know what the heck CRM is, who the major players are and where the future of the industry is going, it is an irreplacable tool. I recomend this book to anyone who remotely deals with the CRM industry.

First off, she defines autism in layman's terms and with first person testimonials.

Secondly, she provides a life cycle view of autism, so that you have SOME idea of what the future might hold for your child.

Third, she describes how families cope with autism, that some become driven, others fall apart, others adopt a "Holland" approach.

Then she discusses treatments, including a solid analysis of educational approaches such as Lovaas (leans positive), mainstreaming, TEACH, DAP, etc... and non-traditional approaches, such as AIT, FC, etc...

And she talks about recovery too, the controversy that very term raises. She closes this chapter with a quote that could have come straight out of my own heart: "A parent asked, What if my child remains autistic? What will we do? The best you can - with your love, your skills, and all the resources you can marshal - to help him achieve as independent and joyful a life as possible for him."

Perhaps I love this book because so much of what she writes does articulate what I have felt as I've gone over the different options for my son's interventions.

But also, her testimonials from a wide range of sources really help to illuminate autism as well.

And finally, her book is very REASONED in tone.

The only thing missing is a chapter that summarizes her thoughts about what she thinks parents should do. I mean really, most parents are reading these books for ADVICE! Even if parents eventually do something else, its always nice to have a plan laid out that you can either agree with or react against and develop your own. You won't find an action plan here, but the information provided should help you in making one of your own.

Targeting Autism is an excellent book for those new to Autism. Families and teachers should especially appreciate the analysis and overview of the various educational interventions, from one-on-one methods, to group programs used in many preschool and school situations. The book lists many available resources and spotlights inspiring new advances in research creating an overall atmosphere of hope and possibility for the prospects of more universally effective treatments and eventual cure of this devastating developmental disorder.

Since the symptoms and manifestations of Autistic Spectrum Disorders vary in incidence and severity, those who read this book should not be unduly encouraged or discouraged by the often times conflicting reports of success and/or failure of the various treatments and interventions discussed, but rather use the information given to further investigate the possibilities of each treatment or intervention on an individual or case by case basis.

A well researched book by an extremely qualified author. Excellent information on various interventions and treatments. This topic can be quite cut and dry, but this author has a wonderful writing style that makes the topic less clinical. It will appeal to parents, professionals and others interested in Autism. (I am the father of a 7 year old with autism)