This is a beautifully written account of a young man's survival of the sinking of the USS HOUSTON during WW2. After spending 17 hours in the water, he was "rescued" to begin a three and a half year imprisonment in Japanese work camps which included the infamous River Kwai bridge. It is a true account of degradation, suffering, pain and fear laced with humor and faith. I sincerely doubt if anyone can read this book and not be a little bit humbled by what our courageous young men endured for our country. GOD BLESS AMERICA; AND GOD BLESS OUR ARMED FORCES.

The author of Attention, Fool! was my father. William J. Weissinger, Jr. survived the sinking of the USS Houston CA-30 only to spend the ensuing 42 months in Japanese death camps. As I read his book it was as if I was sitting there with him, listening to him tell of his experiences as a Japanese prisoner of war. And I think to myself, "Man, this is vintage Daddy, if ever there was." I don't recall him telling me anything more than "what" happened. I think he knew that if you weren't there, you could never know how bad it really was, no matter how he described the conditions. But in his telling, I did understand that it was bad. His story is one of human survival under the most adverse conditions, and I'm sure the men who shared these experiences will be able to read much into this book than the average reader ever could.

I am so glad I ordered this book. Was looking on Amazon.com for books about feisty older women and beside the book I love about when I am an old woman I shall wear purple I came across this book and grabbed it.

And I am so glad I did. The book is packed with wonderful empowering information on every facit of ones life if they are a woman over age fifty and not wanting to attend pity parties but wanting to grab life by the whatever and trek on for the second half of our lives.

Chapter Two Changing Identity was what I wanted and needed. Part Two of the book is excellent because it addresses how to choose wise helpers and the issue of paid work. Part Three has a great piece on being creative with ones life and just having fun. Oh and sex...

Because I live a simple lifestyle called Voluntary Simplicity I appreciated and gleaned valuable information in Part Four about housing oneself be it solo or with others. And the section on economizing offered me some ideas I didn't even know of and I have been simple living since the early 80's.

There is a nice section on Bereavement and being Politically Outrageous (I so agree) and the benefits and bonuses of aging, which is something I am learning about and appreciating.

If you library doesn't have a copy buy them one, and buy a copy for your home library since it is a book that you will (I guarantee) read and re read often and always learn something new from.

Two of my favorite women were the late actresses Ruth Gordon and Roz Russell who stared in a favorite movie of mine "Auntie Mame". Both women would have loved this book because its a book with attitude. Attitude is something older women either are afraid of or embrace. And the author is a woman I would like as a friend because she is upfront and dares talk about things that some think older women shouldn't talk about.

The book is full of really useful information and about a variety of subjects from sex, money and housing to family and life in general and how to take more risks and get more out of life. Chapter 10 Having Fun is a good example. The author says "The truth is that you can have a lot of fun being a thorn in the flesh of those who do not do right by you or others. You have a sense of humor that can sustain you through tough times" and she goes on to show how you can combine fun with social action. She also knows how to use the fine art of sarcasm which is almost a lost art.

Also like her sections on affordable housing and how to be creative with housing. And how to be creative when it comes to travel and lodging. It was so great to read where she to is a user of hostels when traveling. Hostels are a common sight in Europe and in some areas here in the West.

And I agree with her that there are so many ways to make some extra money that simply requires a frontier spirit. Like picking up recyclable bottles and cans when we are out doing errands or on a walk. I wear a small backpack when I am out walking so that I can pick up pop cans that people toss away and not only do I help keep the roadside clean I make a few extra dollars a week doing so.

Like the people in my local simple living group the author shows how using beauty colleges or chain hair cut outlets can save money. And dollar stores can get you many of the same items for a dollar that you pay more for at a drug or grocery store. Or on page 221 where she says that instead of paying money you cant afford or don't want to spend talking to someone on the phone whose voice you really do not need to hear, use email or send a written letter via the post office. And its more personal and you can write what you want and no more.

Her suggestions about shopping around for the best druggist where you can get the best prices on needed prescriptions is an excellent one. And asking your physician for samples of the drugs you take that the drug makers give him/her can save money.

The chapters on Outrageous Friendships and Companionships is awesome and something those who really do not want to be alone could learn a lot from. It is information those with a variety of friends already know.

I also liked Chapter Six and her section on Be Politically Outrageous. and the section on the Benefits and Bonuses Of Aging. I am in my fifties and cannot tell you how much useful information this author has shared that I am so grateful for learning about. And I was well informed before I read the book.

After reading several versions of the Bhagavad Gita, I found this one to be the most accessible -- especially listening to it on an audio cassette. I sensed that I really understood the message as the original author intended for the first time. Needleman is a masterful reader, and this contributes to the enjoyment and teaching of this work. I find the wisdom presented here to have had a profound effect on my learning as a human being seeking my spiritual self.

Very well read by Mr. Needleman. I'm listening to it now for the second time. Barbara Stoler-Miller's translation works for me: she translated everything. People's names were not changed, but there are no untranslated Indian words to puzzle the listener. The Dover Publications book, e.g., has some Indian words left untranslated so I sometimes don't know what is being "said". That's why I put down the Dover book and got this tape and am very happy with it. The Bhagavad Gita is very interesting and very thoughtful. I've been interested ever since I saw the Mahabarata (spelling?) presented on PBS. The Bhagavad Gita is a part of that larger story.

If you have any form of hair loss, this is a helpful book. It was written in 1992, and she made sure that she didn't cover medical treatments so that it wouldn't be out of date.

Instead, it deals a lot with the emotional and psychological issues that women deal with when they have a form of hairloss. It includes men, somewhat, but not much. But it's information is valuable for people with all types of hair loss, which is nice. It does lean heavy on the side of Alopecia areata as the author has alopecia totalis.

I borrowed the book from the library, but I will be buying a copy as it is a valuable reference for the emotional aspect of this dreaded disease.

Iam a plastic surgeon and Iam studing a hair loss and a procedure for a hair replacement, i.e: folliegraft.

The Book Of Omens: The Magical True Adventures Of A Self-Made Movie Star is the amazing autobiography of Jon Jacobs, a British-born actor who followed his own dreams to stardom and who has appeared in (or directed) over two dozen feature films. Jon's marvelous life and his deep belief in omens as signals from the universe itself to guide him to his ultimate destiny, mark this original, attention engaging, and reader enriching narrative. Enhanced with the inclusion of a 105-minute DVD of the movie "Lucinda's Spell", The Book Of Omens is truly exceptional and confidently recommended.

I was given a copy of this book by a friend, because i'm always nagging her about omens and synchronicity. I wasn't sure about the whole movie star angle at first, but as I started to read I found i could relate, to everything in this book and see the parallels in my own life. Forget about Harry Potter, real magic is right here in our daily lives and it doesn't take much training to start to see it... Great book! Also the DVD that came with the book is great fun, witches in New Orleans, more of a fantasy, than the book, but it was totaly fresh, better than the Craft or Practical Magic. (naughtier too)

If you are pursuing dreams in your life, this book is for you!

Take power back from executives, admonishes this shareholder advocate. Should be a great read for investors who want to be active without trading all the time.

Most investment books are written for speculators. They focus on a strategy for picking stocks though market timing, technical analysis, finding value stocks that are under priced, or growth stocks with good prospects. The problem is that over time, none of these methodologies achieve returns superior to the market average. As more and more investors realize this, they have chosen to invest in index funds. Yet, the more we do so, the less efficient our markets become since capital is no longer allocated to companies that produce the greatest wealth for each dollar invested.

Jacobs identifies our most common fallacy; treating stocks like commodities. Each share of stock represents ownership and a vote in what is to be done with corporate assets. Index investors spread their stock holdings so thinly, they minimize any influence they can have on each company. Break the Wall Street Rule is about how to be an effective owner, how to focus your attention on factors over which you can have some control, rather than the market. It is the first book written specifically for intelligent individual investors. (for more, see http://www.corpgov.net/abreviews1.html#Jacobs)

Of all the stories my father read to me as a child, this was my favorite. Its endearing story of self-discovery is timeless, and not to mention quite humorous for a six year old boy. It reminds me of a time far less complicated and will thus always hold a special place of affection for me. This was the Catcher in the Rye of my Elementary years. I would highly recommend this to anyone with children looking for quite simply a flat out good story to read them that they will enjoy.

The Breman Town Musicians is a simple story that involves setting goals and team work. It has two things that children love, music and animals. What a combination!

As a 17 year childcare veteran, I highly recommmend this book. Kids today can use all the inspiration they can get. A great way to learn is to read. I read this book to my daughter when she was a child. Now I am getting a new copy for my grand daughter.

Mr. Jacobs captures the lies and deceit that Nation states engage in when resource control is the objective. In this case..oil. The sad part is that the material costs in human lives is unforgivable.

We tend to remember Vietnam as the defining event of the late 60's and early 70's, but Biafra was and is ultimately more heartbreaking to contemplate, because it is nearly forgotten, even though millions died. Jacobs tells a story of valor and treachery, of relief pilots and aid workers who risked death everyday so that they could bring medicine and food into the oil-rich Biafran separatist enclave, which was completely surrounded by a huge and vengeful, British-backed Nigerian military machine bent on the Biafrans' extinction.

The book is detailed but doesn't plod, and we follow along as an ethnic pogrom festers into a civil war, and ultimately a holocaust. Along the way, all the vaunted fail-safes of our modern world, from the U.N., to the Red Cross, to the liberal governments of the U.S. and the U.K., actually aid and abet the Nigerians, and exacerbate the Biafrans' plight and prolong their agony. The U.S.S.R., long falsely seen as an anti-imperialist engine for African liberation, cynically plays its hand as cruelly as anyone else, providing military and technical assistance to the Federal Government of Nigeria whenever the West loses their stomach for it.

When millions are dead, and so many are culpable, one feels it's unfair to assign blame to any single party, but blame must be assigned. Everyone's responsible, all the way back to the imperialists who so ineptly drew the borders of what were to emerge as completely unworkable national entities. Perhaps "state failure" in Africa will ultimately be the force which credibly redraws the boundaries, but in Nigeria's case, that will only happen when the oil runs out. And Lord how high the cost will be.

This book was amazing! At first, it took a little getting used to the writing style - it was written in 1908 - but it was a great book. Kaspar's (German's prefer it spelled with a K) story is true, and very sad, and I think the author does an incredible job of putting the reader into Kaspar's head and transfering his emotions. If ever a book needing to be reprinted, this is it!

Caspar Hauser, [or Kaspar - the Germans prefer to use the K] was a sort of 'Anastasia' of the 19th century. A mystery of a boy who came from nowhere, and who only lived for 5 years. This book tells his sad tale in fictional form, but readers will get a strong idea of the case from this book, which offers the facts in an easily understood form, in much the same way that Hans Nogly's novel about Anastasia contains the essential truths of her story.

Well worth a re-print please!

I bought this book and loved the art work. Its very uplifting and the pictures are so soothing. My 4 yr old daughter has taken it over. She loves the beautiful pictures and even goes to bed with it.

The artwork of Kim Jacobs is so lovely! It's like you can climb in any picture and just join in the fun. There is so much life in all her pics. The passages are little pick me ups that seem to fit each picture completly. I received my book and immediately ordered one for my sister so that she too could CELEBRATE TODAY! A must have for all Kim Jacobs fans!