As a member of the Dog Writers Association of America and a close personal friend of Howard Weinstein and having had the pleasure of knowing Mail Order Annie, I took great care in reading both parts of this book. Howie also took tremendous pains in revealing himself in book one, something that no writer can easily do. In book two, Howie also proves himself to have mastered, through the lessons Annie taught him, how to train other dogs, and not just Corgis.

At the risk of dating myself (I'm 47 as of this writing) I wonder how many of you besides myself remember a television commercial for a breath mint that went something like this: "Certs. Two, two, two mints in one." The reason I bring up what TV Land would refer to as a "retromercial" is that the book co-authored by Howard Weinstein and his first beloved Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Mail Order Annie, is clearly labeled 2 books in 1. There is a reason for this and a good one. Book one deals with the life of Mail Order Annie and the lessons she taught Howard and what we can all learn from her. Most of the lessons are happy ones and bring a smile to those of us who read them. But there's one I'm going to quote directly from the book. To do otherwise would do it an injustice. First, you must understand that Howard labeled these tidbits ANNIE TAUGHT ME. But the one that Howard learned from Annie, and that I'm quoting directly, goes like this:

"ANNIE TAUGHT ME.... Part of loving (the last part, I suppose) is letting go of the one you love. Losing the loved one doesn't mean losing the love. But it sure does hurt. I hate this lesson."

Those of us who have known the joy of having a dog share our lives with us have also known the pain of losing that beloved companion when the time comes. For the simple fact is that we out live our dogs in most cases.

I've written about my first dog and how painful it was to put him to sleep. Now I have a dog who alerts me to my seizures and though he's only five years old I can't bear to think of him reaching the age when I might have to consider putting him down. Of course, his particular breed, being a miniature Dachshund, tends to live longer than the larger dogs so perhaps I'll be lucky. But there are always diseases lurking around the corner and I have to keep an eye out for them.

As to Howard's Book Two, it concentrates on training, as he has become something of a specialist in this area, Howard works as the proprietor of Day-One Dog Training and he also serves as a Canine Behavioral Consultant. He has become, through his lessons with Annie, and her successor dogs, Mickey and Callie, also both Pembroke Welsh Corgis, quite an expert in training people in how to handle their dogs, no matter what the breeds.

Perhaps the most important lesson Howard teaches the dog owner is that we must learn to guide our dogs to the behavior patterns that we want them to learn, but only by positive reinforcement.

I'll end this review by saying that I cannot recommend this book highly enough and that Howard and Mail Order Annie chose a very apt title, because every night, when my miniature Dachshund Alex climbs into bed with me, before lights out, I pick him up, he puts his front hands around my neck gives me endless puppy kisses.

And let me tell you, folks, Howard's right. They're good for the soul.

This book is great for first time dog owners who have no clue how to raise a puppy. I was at wits end until I hired Howard Weinstein (the book's auther) for a one hour session. He sold me his book Puppy Kisses at the end of the session. After three days with my dog, Sandy using Howard's techniques and lessons in his book, Sandy and I are understanding each other and enjoying a wonderful life together. I highly recommend this book for anyone trying to train their dog. The other half of Howard's book is a heartwarming diary of life and times with his dog, Annie. Howard's wonderful writing style takes you on a journey where you laugh and cry. I hated for it to end. Puppy kisses is a must read for dog lovers.

This book is a must read for any dog lover or persons planning on getting a dog. As a former Poodle owner some of the antics Annie put her owner through all dog owners have gone through some time or other.

This book offers wonderful ways to help you and your puppy no matter the breed, learn together and bond the friendship that will grown over the years.

I laughed and cried over the life they shared. It made me remember all the wonderful and sad times I shared with my own dog of 13 years.

I never knew Annie but after reading this book I WAS there. I feel as if I have known her and her family all my life. For a trully enjoyable read and very informative helpful instructions on teaching your four-foot freind how to behave. This is the book for you.

This book is the perfect summer read: quick and guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. It's an epistolary tale set off when Sid Straw, one of Heather Locklear's college acquaintaces (apparently quite distant) requests a signed photograph. This simple event leads to near ruin for him, as it spirals out of control and seeps into the whole of his life, thanks to the combination of bad luck and his intentions being misconstrued by one person after the next. The poor chap seems to lack a "pauses button", which would have surely saved him alot of headaches. I look forward to reading more works from Michael Kun, a promising writer with a quirky sense of humor.

This story, told entirely through letters, memos, etc. written by the main character, Sid Straw, works so well that it would be easy to take for granted the brilliance of Kun's writing and use of the epistolary device. But it is that brilliance that makes a mere collection of letters tell a cohesive, multi-layered, HILARIOUS tale. You will indeed laugh out loud every time you read it (which should be more than once!). And just when you have reached the limit of your frustration with Straw's haplessness, he rises from the ashes and gives you some hope that he will get in control of his life (or maybe not . . .). It is a page-turner that you will finish in one or two sittings ("just one more letter . . . ok, one more").

A rare book comes along that makes you laugh out loud. An even rarer book comes along that makes you laugh out loud and provides a creative, quality literary read, with an inspired plot to boot! The Locklear Letters is all of this! Indeed, Michael Kun has ingeniously created a sub-genre, using one man's quotidien correspondence as the vehicle to expose his unraveling life and his deepest internal struggles. It is a blast of a read, and an inventive book that you will want to re-read immediately to enjoy all of its different layers and to spend more time with its endearing protagonist, Sid Straw. I encourage all lovers of creative new fiction to read The Locklear Letters.

I have really enjoyed reading this book, it is jamed packet with information and really takes you back in History. Once I started reading about the Sears Homes, I found it very difficult to put to put the book down.

If you have not read this Book you have missed a real treat.

My wife and I have had the opportunity to spend some time with the Author of the Book, touring some of the Sears Homes in Cairo, Illinois. Rose is a fine Young Lady, we wish her God's Speed in the writing of her next book.

Rosemary Thornton's book, "The Houses that Sears Built", is a wealth of information. A Sear's Home Sales Office was located in the area where I live. What a great discovery for me! I can't wait to venture out with Ms. Thornton's book in hand to search this area for Sear's built homes. All the information needed to identify the homes is right there in her book!!

Rose Thornton's book is an excellent personal and interesting account of Sears houses , especially in the Illinois area of the U.S. It is written with personal interest and conviction and provides information not found in "Houses by Mail" which was a catalogue but with little personal information.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants information and interesting personal accounts about Sears homes. It is interesting reading and very informative at the same time.
I have a very special interest in mail order houses as I authored a similar book in Canada entitled "Catalogue Houses; Eatons' and Others" Eatons was to Canada what Sears is to the US.

In today's society, the use of email has become standard practice. With this newly developed technology comes the burden of how to manage your email. With the ease of sending and receiving email comes the problem of ensuring you don't spend wasted time viewing obsolete mail.

In the pages of Kaitlin Duck Sherwood's OVERCOME EMAIL OVERLOAD WITH MICROSOFT OUTLOOK 2000 AND OUTLOOK 2002: GET THROUGH YOUR ELECTRONIC MAIL FASTER there is hope for the weary email user. From page one, readers will quickly gain the knowledge to help eliminate countless hours spent sorting through email to determine which requires their immediate attention. This book explains all the advanced techniques that are often left out of general computer classes. The easy to follow language and illustrated graphics allow novice users to quickly grasp the many helpful tips and tricks and put them to effective use within minutes.

Kaitlin Duck Sherwood's book was helpful in teaching worthwhile techniques which I was able to effectively use in my current occupation. Having worked fifteen years in an office environment email has become the primary means of communication. Often, I have felt overwhelmed with the daily struggle of finding ways to manage hundreds of email messages. Ms. Sherwood's simple and helpful advice has been helpful in allowing me to regain the precious time that has been consumed by email. This book has found a permanent place beside my computer. For anyone who is looking for a way to save time, money, and help relieve stress, this book is a must read.

Ms. Sherwood's wit and friendly writing style make this book an enjoyable read. The information, advice, and tips she presents make this book essential. I have gained countless valuable tools from Overcome Email Overload. I came back from vacation to 186 e-mails all sorted, categorized and prioritized. In less than 2 hours I was completely caught up! I am amazed daily with how much time this book has helped me save.

Kaitlin Sherwood's Overcome Email Overload With Microsoft Outlook 2000 And Outlook 2002 is a refreshingly simple, effective guide to using Microsoft Outlook 2000 or 2002 to speed up your email traffic and cut hours from time spent on correspondence every week. Perfect for the novice computer user, Overcome Email Overload features numerous black-and-white illustrations of screens from the Microsoft Outlook programs, the better to walk readers step-by-step through what Outlook has to offer. However, Overcome Email Overload is not primarily a software manual, but rather a practical guide to organizing and prioritizing messages, moving through messages quickly, how to spend less time on responses, how to make one's messages more legible, and so on. An appendix covers scripts in Visual Basic. Overcome Email Overload pays for itself and is an absolute "must" for any worker who relies on Outlook 2000 or 2002 to process vast amounts of email - the strategies herein are superb time-savers! Also highly recommended for Eudora 5 users is Overcoming Email Overload With Eudora 5.

As a web designer for small businesses, the task of bringing visitors to a site often falls into my lap. It's a daunting task and with internet marketing still in it's infancy it's difficult to look to anyone as an expert. Ms. Kinnard is worth her weight in gold; demonstrating how to handle the new field of e-marketing and expertly giving how-to advice.

Many of my clients are regional shops and businesses that do not have the big business (big $$) marketing budgets. Not only do I often find myself referring to this book often, but I recommend it to all of my clients as well.

Business owners are often one of the biggest draws for a business; their personality, eye for detail, or craftsmanship is what attracts customers. By reading this book, my clients are able to market themselves, which my all accounts is a win-win scenario.

If you own a business or if you represent a business that is trying to increase their market share on the Internet, make this mandatory reading.

I am a technoid (See my about me area) so when I first started reading this book and Kinnard described the tools I thought the book was going to be fairly boring. Later when I entered in the chapters on marketing I was thrilled with an entry level book.

I needed (and still need) good ideas to help me market my business. I used my highlighter a great deal in this book. In almost every one of the later chapters I found really good ideas. Also the structure of the book was wonderful. The beginning of every chapter is a series of descriptive or narrative paragraphs, case study, resources and a cheat sheet. The structure that Kinnard uses makes this a tool for reference as well as a good read.

Finally, I think Kinnard has an excellent style. I think one of the great tasks of writing a book like this one is that most of the audience really is not interested in reading the material. We just want to know it so that we can use it. So, time spent reading and learning about email is tiresome. Kinnard does a good job of making the paint dry quickly.

I perused all the books at the store before choosing Shannon's. I was looking for an internet marketing book that focused exclusively and in-depth on e-mail. Nothing else was even a close second. Each chapter is really a book in itself, and you learn incrementally, chapter by chapter, about the subject.

If you are writing ads for magazine and newspaper placement, this is a superb Bible. As I travel the world I see ads written based on Sugarman's philosophy and each time I return, I see the same ads running again and again. The sign of success. I've always found Joe Sugarman's work to be remarkably effective in helping our direct marketing programs. Sugarman has truly got decades of experience to back up his marketing directives. What I found most useful in this book were the many sample full page advertisements which are replete with crisp and powerful writing. At kevinhogan.com we utilize Sugarman's approach and continue to be profitable year after year. This book is a heck of a good read and should be read in conjunction with the marketing book in the same series.
Kevin Hogan
Author of The Psychology of Persuasion
and
Talk Your Way to the Top

I have read many of the books on copywriting and marketing and Joseph Sugarman's book is one of the most helpful and inciteful of any I have read. Far superior to Robert Bly's book, Sugarman takes the reader through the entire creative process and develops a very efficient technique for writing great advertising copy. In addition, Sugarman is a master at what he does. He has proven himself, not in the classroom but on the firing line where real lessons are learned. I've used his techniques to create great ads and have benefited from his book many times over the cost. Well worth it from a great master."

I own $4,200 worth of Books and courses on Advertising and this book is on my list of top 20 must read. A lot of valuable insights not covered by others! Helps you avoid some of the biggest and most common mistakes in writing ads and sales letters that almost guarantee a Bomb. Covers emotions and reasons why people buy and don't buy. This book is worth $250.00 or more. It's a virtual course. Sugarman has sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of products and knows what he is talking about. Sugarman makes almost nothing off teaching others what he knows. I think he teaches because he enjoys it and not to make money. His money has come through selling products in space ads and television, and not from teaching others how to sell through space ads or television. A lot of so called experts make there money teaching others how to make money teaching others how to make money. Sugarman made his millions selling products to the public! Get this book! Its fun to read and its Great!

Dear Stranger, Dearest Friend opens with Lara, an active and healthy New Yorker, who discovers a lump in her breast at the age 39. After scheduling an appointment with her doctor, she seeks solace on the web by posting her questions and concerns on a bulletin board about breast cancer.

It is here that she meets Susan, a breast cancer survivor. Susan quickly becomes a pen pal for Lara, answering her questions, serving as an information source and sounding board as Lara struggles through a cancer diagnosis and treatment options. From this correspondence emerges a special friendship. This relationship evolves and the two women share with one another about their families, work, and life in general.

Becker's book has come from her own personal experience with breast cancer. It is clear Becker knows her stuff and has elicited help from the medical community to provide the most current information on breast cancer. At times, the story reads a bit like a public service announcement, but the message is an important one. Becker has created two very likeable characters and a format that is very easy to read.

Dear Stranger, Dearest Friend is an important read for all women and anyone who wants to learn about this disease and the power of new friendships.

This book moved me like few books have moved me before! The story of two women whose friendship blossoms by way of the Internet is thought provoking and touching. Susan and Lara couldn't be more different. They, however, have a strong thing in common: Breast Cancer. Having found a lump on one of her breasts, Lara seeks help in an online Breast Cancer forum. That is where she meets BC survivor, Susan. A unique friendship has begun and a wonderful story develops.

The ending is extremely touching without being too sentimental and the e-mail correspondences are poignant and funny at the same time. You can never be too young to read a novel about Breast Cancer and the struggles women and their families go through. I recommend this beautiful novel most highly!

Dear Stranger, Dearest Friend is an adventure into the hearts and minds of two women that could be any of us. Laney Katz Becker has taken the scary subject of breast cancer and put it into the bite-size pieces of information available in email messages. Susan and Lara (rhymes with Sarah)find each other on a breast cancer bulletin board and are drawn together in a common emotional whirlwind. Like any friendship that springs up on the internet, theirs is laced with caution and eventually with love and trust. If you are a woman or have a special woman in your life, this is a book that must be read. It will encourage you and uplift you. You will want to share it with the world.

I picked up this book by accident thinking it would be a good "starter" book. AKA - Having never used exchange server before, I wanted a basic book for setting up accounts, addresses, basic administration, etc. This is not that book at all. If you want a really low level book, look elsewhere. However, I quickly found out Exchange Server is intuative enough that it's easy to figure out the basics all on your own just from playing with it. Aside from that, I am greatly impressed with this book. It's solved every problem I've ran across, and more. The best thirty bucks you'll spend this year.

McBee provides a complete outline of how to setup and maintain Exchange servers. He assumes a general level of knowledge, so he does not waste a lot of space giving extremely detailed directions. A few pages from this book are worth more than some chapters in other books. I've been administering Exchange for two years, and I still found may good pieces of advice. Must have.

I don't usually write reviews, but I had to for this book. The author not only knows his stuff, but is capable of putting his indepth knowledge in a very step 1,2,3 approach, something I have found to be an exception in alot of what I read. One think I have to note, I am the main systems person for a trading firm, and we are required to do message journaling (keeping all communications for three years). I have tried to find information on this topic and how to implement it on many message boards and other forums, as well as in documentation. Being that I did not know the actual term was "journaling" I found this impossible, and therefore, have been backing up every single mailbox, and that does not even "legally" do the trick. This one 2 page section on how to implement this makes this book worth more than money, because we are now legal. To the author, thank you for your help, and I look forward to anymore lit. that you produce!

A literary masterpiece has been bestowed upon us and it's purveyor is Justin Racz. This tearful, joyous, gripping satirical examination of society's infatuation, nay addiction to catalogue shopping is an insightful, sociological commentary on our cultural trend towards an isolationist existence. I say bravo Mr. Racz on this risqué, cutting edge exposé serving as your first venture into the kingdom of authorship. The concrete walls that have imprisoned the literary community in the dark cell of imperturbable depravity come crumbling down with the passionate prose that flow effortlessly from the "stylo" of Racz. The precedent has been set and the bar has been raised. Mr. Racz comes roaring into the printed medium with a fury we have not seen since King or Grisham. The only comparable feat will be topping this tour-de-force in his next installment.

Pure genius. I'm giving it to all my friends. I just can't stop laughing!

J Crewd, by Justin Racz is, without a doubt, one of the funniest books I have ever laid eyes on. Every detail is intentional, each time I look at it I find something new, and HILARIOUS. It doesn't just poke fun at a the catalog, but at the entire fashion industry. I gave it to some friends as a gift, and they all loved it too. This book is GREAT!

I have adopted Brondmo's email marketing book as a text in my electronic marketing course. I recommend it as essential reading. The book takes over where Seth Godin's Permission Marketing left off. Godin's book was all about philosophy, with not too much about implementation. Brondmo's book start with a grounding in a customer-centered / one-to-one business philosophy but carries through implementation to program review, getting down to nuts and bolts. His examples and analogies ring true... .

The authors have put together perhaps one of the best and most complete books on marketing via e-mail on the market today. Note that I said "marketing via e-mail" and not spamming via e-mail. The authors actually address this issue and how to use e-mail marketing in a positive manner where it will be welcomed by the recipient and not instantly deleted. Hans Peter Brondmo is an authority on this issue and is one of the owners of Post Communications, which uses e-mail marketing extensively.

The book details how to move from traditional marketing methods to an Internet based marketing system that concentrates on the efficient and positive use of e-mail. It not only covers how to use it to obtain new customers but guides the reader step by step in how to effectively use e-mail to create and maintain customer loyalty and positive relationships.

Hans Peter Brondmo's "The Engaged Customer" is a must for Internet marketers. Whether you're an experienced Internet marketer or a novice, this book will be prove to be of enormous value.

It is extremely thorough in its coverage of e-mail marketing from planning to vendor selection to analysis, and this book goes deeper into exploring customer relationships.

Buy it.

Given the highest rating in its December 2000 MarketingToday.com review.