Bettger gives practical time tested priciples and poses real life examples from sales calls he made as a life insurance salesman in Philadelphia during the 1920s & 1930s. Despite the advent of technology, you will find these principles never change. It will certainly improve your personal and professional life by reading and following Bettger's advice. Great book ranks with "The Richest Man In Babylon", "How To Win Friends And Influence People" and "The Greatest Salesman" as being the top self improvement books. A must read.

This was one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read. It is such a pleasure to get good, practical, workable information in such an easy-to-read format. Bettger's story is filled with excellent illustrations of some of the most powerful principles from Dale Carnegie's book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. And Dale Carnegie wrote a glowing introduction to Bettger's book.

As the author of the book, Self-Help Stuff That Works, I'm expert on self-help, and I can tell you without any reservations that Bettger's book will help you deal with people better. And if you're in sales, I don't see how it could possibly do anything but increase your income. I recommend it highly.

What title do you write for such a book? I have only praise for Bettger's book. The fact that it is a book written for salesmen should not keep anybody from reading it. In my life as a salesman, businessman and man no book (aside from the Bible)has helped me as much as this. If everybody applied its insight in human nature the world be a so much better and happier palce to live.

Simply a must-read for ANY salesman, businessman, manager or person that wants improve his/her results in interactions with other people.

BY FAR THE BOOK THAT HAS HAD THE VASTEST IMPACT ON MY LIFE AN CAREER! It doesn't get better than this!

My parents bought this book for my 4.5 year old daughter, and believe me, we are keeping this one out of the hands of her book-destroying 1.5 year old brother. What a magnificent book! Every page has a beautiful pop-up, and not only the page itself, but the accompanying text pages attached to each page. Such creativity and technological wonders. Seriously! My daughter saw this in the store while we were on vacation, and spent about 10 minutes on the plane, quietly spinning the wizard's balloon. If that isn't worth the price, then what is? 10 minutes of quiet on an airplane? The man in the seat next to us couldn't keep his eyes off it... even he was fascinated.

Newsweek just featured this book in their December 11, 2000 issue in their article about the best new kids' books (see p.72). They even show the Emerald City pop-up on their table of contents page.

I am sure that as long as we can protect this book from our precious little one-man-wrecking crew, it will be a treasured heirloom for many years-to-come. Would make a fabulous gift for the holidays.

I've always enjoyed pop up books, and marvelled at the artistry and vision they must take to put together. But this book really exceeds anything I have ever seen--a twisting cyclone, flowers that look as if they belong in a beautiful garden, a huge hot air balloon, the glittering Emerald City, and so much more. The details included are incredible (the feet of the bad witch sticking out from under Dorothy's fallen house, for example.) Love the green spectacles included! I have purchased at least ten of these books as gifts, and made lots of people smile!

My daughter Fiona (Age 9) was sent this book as a gift from friends in the States.

It is absolutely captivating, with pop-ups like you've never seen before! The artistry involved in bringing this much loved story to life has impressed everyone we've shown it to.... adults included, many of whom have asked for the details to order their own copies. A word of warning - this book is SO lovely that it's not the kind of thing you'll leave the kids to play with unsupervised!

Also worth noting that the text is a condensed version of the original L Frank Baum story - not the MGM movie version, and this makes it even more exciting for kids who have only seen the movie. Buy this book. Even if you don't have kids - our 3 girls just love it, and so do I!

I've never forgotten this book and have re-read it many times. Deford somehow manages to show how devasting cystic fibrosis was to his daughter, how it sapped her energy and stole so much normalcy from her life. At the same time, he shows how Alex Deford's spirit remained shining so much of the time, serving as an inspiration to those who loved her and who were forced to bear witness as the disease invaded her body. Although I can't say for certain what motivated Deford to write this book, I can say that it forever seared the memory of Alex Deford in my heart and soul and showed me the power of her spirit - and that of her father. Few writers are as riveting to read as Frank Deford.

My name is Jennifer Grayson of Sanford,Florida.I read it because my son was diagnosed with CF in Jan.1997,I had a very hard time accepting it,a close friend loaned me this book.I read it,I cried,I got mad at the world,but I found great comfort in knowing that,times have changed since Alex died,I feel in my heart they will find a cure for this disease,we all pray each and every day for that wonderful news to come out,they have a lot more treatments just in the past 2 years,I have been going through this with my son,One thing is for sure that Life is too short,you have to live it like you,you know that there is going to be a tomorrow.Well,all I can say about the book. That is wonderful and very positive. Thank you so much for that.

This has been one of my very favorite books ever since I first read it, probably a good ten years ago. Every time I read it I think I've read it enough times not to cry, but I end up crying just the same! This book is so full of meaning; it is clear that there was a definite purpose to Alex's life despite all of the suffering she went through. The message of really focusing on the simple and important things in life, and most of all to love as much as you can shines brightly throughout the book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

What a wonderful book. I feel like I've just completed a course in CEO management, but with no tests and plenty of laughs. If more CEO's as well as others in management heeded Ben's advise, the workers they supervise would probably be happier in their work. A must read for those who want to succeed in their career.

Ben has touched my soul with this book. In the chapter on "Reality Checks," he shared the story of my friend, Ed Sample. If you read nothing else, read this chapter. It will help you put things in perspective just as it helped me. Thanks, Ben, for a great book.

Jack Stone PWS Group Dallas, TX

I read the review written by the CEO who gave this book to his top clients. Then I ordered the book and understood why. Any business person will receive great "take home" value from Gill's book. I have ordered copies for my top clients (about 100) and asked that Gill personalize them. To my surprise he agreeded. Now I see why he was able to grow a great company and I look forward to putting his lessons in practice in my company as well. This one is so filled with great, yet simple to implement, business ideas that it is hard to believe. My word to Gill - write another one fast!

I have, for several years, been a member of various computer animation lists, and that's where I'm coming from with this review. This is the one book which has consistently come up on those lists when dealing with general issues (the Principles of Animation, etc), simply because it is the best. It is not the best tutorial book, since it is not written as a tutorial: it is a history of Disney. If you want a tutorial on computer animation, go elsewhere. But that will probably NOT be as much help to you as reading this book, because after reading this, you will be inspired. I think this is why people are so religeously fervent when speaking about it - not because they found it useful for the large number of techniques and tips which are slipped in throughout (though very many of them are out of date or not applicable in the computer animation world), but because the book inspires. I thought it was expensive, but after I bought it and read it the first time, I realised it was cheap at the price. It is gorgeously produced, and filled with colour pics and examples of what it talks about. Worth buying if you are into animation, or if you are interested in the history of Disney.

The two Authors of "The nine old men" knew what went on at Disney Studios. "A Prime source, you just can't read a better source than these authors! Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston's expertise, honored by the American Film Institute and other prestigious resourceszz; guide you through the characters in many animation movies; job descriptions of departments in the making of these movies, steps in animating a scence, ingredieants of a scene, principles of animation, story, character development, animating expressions and dialogue and more.

"Buy the book---no reservations"---the worst that can happen, you return the book to amazon.

Carl Santy.
C.S.

Not a professional animator, I bought this book as a young teen when I was into Classic Disney Animation, along with it's companion volume. I lost both of them in a house fire, and so when I saw The Illusion of Life at the Disneyland Gallery I put several other Disneyland items down to buy it. This book is that good!

Now that I do hand drawn line animation I have found this book to be very helpful and informative. It may not answer all your questions, but it brings up issues you have never thought of, and these small touches are what made Disney animation king for so many years. If you don't want your work to look like Saturday cartoons for the rest of your life, this is a must have.

With both color examples of the layers of animation along with many black and white examples of character movement, this book is for both the professional and Disney fan. More geared toward the professional than the Disney glossy books "The making of..." Illusion will be held dear on your bookcase for years to come.

This is a story of a young girl picking blueberries with her mother and a young bear picking blueberries with its mother. As they amble along picking berries and eating them, the bear gets seperated from its mother as does Sal get seperated from her mother. The story is gentle from beginning to end. It brings back many memories of picking blueberries and eating them faster than you can pick them. This is a classic that I grew up with and my children are growing up with now. The pictures only enhance the text and are very gentle and sweet. The theme of the story is very nice and reassuring to young children. Well worth the time and money to buy this book.

Enjoy.

A children's book about a little girl named Sal who goes up into the hills to pick blueberries with her mother and eats as many blueberries as she puts into her pail! She encounters a mother bear and her cub also picking blueberries; but, soon the little cub is trailing Sal's mother while Sal is trailing the mother bear. McCloskey's blue and white illustrations are perfect for this story and it resulted in the book being a 1949 Caldecott Honor book (i.e., a runner-up to the Medal winner) for best illustration in a book for children. It is a must for the shelves of any parent of a preschooler or the shelf of any serious student of children literature.

Sal is every little kid eating all the blueberries in her pail and then reaching into mom's pail to get some more. It is a cute story of mother and and child that all parents and their children will relate to. It is one "children's book" that appeals to all ages. There is adventure and surprise all mixed with humor but I'll let you read about that.

Working at a library has almost no perks. I shelve the travel section so there isn't much stimulation in the way of brain waves(then again, my job is pretty tedious to begin with). However, one day while wondering through a friend's section I found a gem. I found The Real Frank Zappa Book. When their were breaks in my work, I would grab this book and read it feverously. Even with my increasing respect and love for Zappa's work, I still found this a great book. It packs a sharp wit, biting comentary, and overal, is just a good quick read.

The book covers Zappa's origin, his early musical influences, the tough times of M.O.I.(Mothers of Invention), insight as to his musical creation process, and even a indepth look into his battle with the well-known PMRC. The great thing is even with all this retrospect, the man never loses his sense of humor. Sometimes slapstick, sometimes satire, always truthful.

Anyone interested in the man that was Zappa, I highly recommend this book. Those who are interested in becoming a musician, I also recomend this book(his musical insight is very inspiring). In fact, I recomend this book to all. Its just a shame he died before his time. Zappa was a true inovator of music. There will never be another Frank Zappa.

i had to read "the real frank zappa book" for school, but it certainly wasnt an inconvience. i grew up on frank zappa, having a father as a zappa nut. so i had an inkling of an idea as to what he was all about. a great look into zappa's life, although my dad tells me there is some controversy as to what is true, even in an autobiography. i suppose it's hard to find a credible source on such a wild guy, eh? but anyhow...an extremely good book. quite a jolly laugh, too...

We get some of everything with this one.

It gives us a feel for his personality and speaking style. Italics, underlining, and boldface are used liberally; I could hear his voice as I read.

It gives us a nice collection of anecdotes from various stages of Zappa's career, from his high school years up through the orchestral work with the LSO - even a couple of tales from the 1988 'Best Band You Never Heard'. If you like these, you will wish there were more, though.

It gives us what has to be the best general description of a composer's work ever ('wiggling air molecules, changing over time'). That chapter alone is worth the cost of the book, if you are at all interested in music or art.

We also get the political Zappa, some lyrics, the Zappa home life, and even a bit of What Frank Eats (whatever the kids don't, apparently).

The only thing we don't get (and this is why I wish he'd lived another 30 years) is some detailed analysis of his compositions. We get a couple of places where he is discussing musical theory and practice from a technical perspective (chord progressions that cannot occur in doowop, or why jazz drummers are not normally appropriate in a Zappa band), there is no music printed in the book to help the interested reader follow along. Certainly I can't fault the book for this, but, man, it would have been nice if he'd written one like that.

If you are a student of music, a budding composer, artist, or just think Frank freaks folks out, this is for you.

This is without a doubt the best, most comprehesive book on general gambling techniques for all of the major casino games. Frank Scoblete truly knows what he writes about, he gives the reader more than just a generic basic strategy to follow. He truly knows how to play and win in the casino. He also knows how to explain every major casino game so that even a beginner can go to the casino with a true feeling of confidence. The author has also written other more in depth books that focus in on specific games. All of is books are written in an easy reader fiendly style. I especially liked the chapter in Guerrilla Gambling about a day in the life of the guerilla gambler. It is a true account of what happend to him on a typical day in Las Vegas. It is written in a diary like fasion and shows the ups and downs of a typical day at the casinos and teaches the hit and run method that can make you a successsful gambler. This is without a doubt, a must read for player of all skill levels, it not only teaches the basics but also teaches a few tricks of the trade that are invaluable in the casino. Don't go to Las Vegas without reading this book, its worth its weight in gold, and if a particular game interests you find one of his other books that focusses entirely on that game. It is an investment that only a fool would pass up. Frank Scoblete is truly the best gaming author that I have ever come across.

Frank Scoblete has written an insightful, entertaining and absolutely essential book on casino gambling. It combines detailed but highly understandable analyses of just about all the casino games, excellent strategies to beat those games or reduce the house edge, along with wonderful chapters about the author's experiences in the casinos. The section on comps is worth the price of the book alone. This is a great book.

I usually don't like books that cover all the casino games in one volume, so I hesitated to read this one although I like Frank Scoblete's writing. Boy, was I wrong! This book offers some of the best information I have ever read in a gambling book. Scoblete not only tells you how to play dozens of the most popular games in the casino, he also explains what your psychology should be when you play them. The last chapter of the book, called "A Day in the Life of a Guerrilla Gambler," is wonderful and would make a great movie. Scoblete honestly explores what it is like to gamble in a casino -- he makes you live it with him. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in casino gambling! Order it today.

My old, marked-up Thompson Bible is the "Olde Reliable" that I keep coming back to. I have been using it for over thirty years and find it invaluable to "quick find" verses on nearly evey imaginable topic.

On the plus side, are the MANY chain referrences with marginal "PILOT" numbers and brief word discriptions which also serve as mini-commentary on the verses. While the chains may not contain all the referrences a particular denomination may wish to emphasize, it more than make up for it with an ABUNDANCE of referrences most scholars whould never even think to look up! The handy exhaustive indexes, concordance, cross-references and helps enable the user to find nearly every subject in the Bible.

On the minus side, 1.) the text is rather small and 2.) it would be benificial if the bold-face marginal headings were included in the OT as well as the New.

Overall rating:FIVE-STAR EXCELLENT!!! It is a lifetime of research and study marvelously condensed into a handy-sized volume for both home study and portibility. I heartily recommend it for new Christians as well as those who "think they know it all". As advertised, it is a Bible that will SURPRISE you. Get it!

I use the Thompson NASB and it is great. I will just echo other sentiments that the layout of this Bible is great. This Bibles greatest strength is that it uses Scripture to teach Scripture. There are no notes on the page. If one wants to dig into a specific passage or specific book the references will take the student into the Bible as deep and as far as they want to go. This is my main Bible, along with the Dickson New Analytical KJV, to read and study God's words. There are too many specialty and study Bibles on the market. All the major publishers bring them out each year like boxed cereal. I too own and use some specialty study Bibles for specific purposes. These are great if you want to study from a specific point of view, like Dispensational or Charismatic, or understand what an interesting teacher of the Word may have to say like Tim LaHaye, John MacArthur, RC Sproul, or Henry Blackaby. But on a daily basis the Thompson Chain Reference is the one that can bring the best out of the student of the Word.

I purchased my first Thompson Chain Reference Bible as a new believer back in the 70's. It was and continues to be the best study Bible for those who desire to search out the Word for themselves and compare scripture with scripture. And, the extensive Bible study helps in the back of the Bible do add a rich dimension in addition to the topical chain references.

I was a little concerned about the "new" TCR's as several reviewers mentioned degradations in quality and I certainly didn't like the thin glossy paper I saw in the hardbacks in the bookstore. I was delighted today when I received my large print deluxe leather edition Bible.

The Bible I received has excellent flat, opaque Bible paper perfect for note-taking. And, the binding appears to have stitching in addition to the glue, so I'd say the quality of the binding is fine and should serve one well for years.

One caveat in regard to the large print edition--It is LARGE! Not the print (it's 9 point instead of the regular 8), but the Bible itself. It's not so unwieldy that I would think twice about using it, but if size is an issue for you, check the dimensions and choose accordingly.

I can't say enough good things about this Bible. It has my highest recommendation; you won't be sorry in choosing this Bible.

It is difficult to criticize anyone who has devoted so much of her mind and heart to writing a 300+ page birth-to-death camp account of Anne Frank.

However, the book's jacket incorrectly claims "Here, after five decades is the first biography of this remarkable figure." Having been moved many years ago by Ernst Schnabel's book ANNE FRANK: A PORTRAIT IN COURAGE (1958) I was put off by this inaccurate statement. That Schnabel's biography is not even acknowledged by author Melissa Muller is also troubling. How could a journalist who has done such detailed historical research fail to even mention a previous author's detailed biography? Hopefully, this will be corrected in future editions.

Like Schnabel, Muller interviewed many people who knew Anne frank. Schnabel was able to speak with people not available to Muller because they had died before she started her research--such as Anne's father Otto Frank. To Muller's credit, her interviews include Frank family relatives, one of the Franks' protectors in hiding--Miep Gies--co-author of ANNE FRANK REMEMBERED as well as Jacqueling Van Maarsen ("Jopie" in the Diary)--author of MY FRIEND ANNE FRANK and Willy Lindmer--author of THE LAST SEVEN MONTHS OF ANNE FRANK.

Another nice touch is the Epilogue which sums up what happened to many of the people described in the book. For example, it is deeply sad and chilling to read about one of Anne's sweet friends, Sanne Ledermann, then turn to the Epilogue and find that she and her parents were gassed in Auschwitz.

Muller's writing varies from fascinating to overly detailed. For example, do we really need to know that one of Edith Frank's cousins divorced her husband because he was having an affair with his secretary? On the other hand, she offers new insights into who may have been the betrayer(s) of the Franks and others in hiding with them. She also sensitively describes "new" pages of the Diary that Otto Frank had deleted from the original version because he found Anne's perceptions of his marriage too embarrassing. Like other books about Anne frank, she quotes extensively from the Diary, citing many of its most moving passages. So despite the criticisms, I still believe this book is very much worth reading.

While Muller's choice of style and content may be too academic for the average reader, there are also flashes of inspiration and insight regarding Anne's deepest feelings. Schnabel's book is more consistently inspired, often expressing the heart of a spiritual poet. An example is found in his final words:

"Thus her voice was preserved out of the millions that were silenced, this voice no louder than a child's whisper. It tells how those millions lived, spoke, ate, and slept and it has outlasted the shouts of the murderers and soared above the voices of time."

Muller concludes:

"In the end, the Nazi terror oculd not silence Anne's voice, which still rings out for all of us, whom she had hoped so ardently to serve."

Ever since her diary was published back in the 1950's, Anne Frank has been portrayed as a martyr, a symbol of the Holocaust, and Hitler's "most famous victim." Though she may be all these things, we often have an idealized view of the girl herself. Remember, her diary only chronicles two years of her life. "Anne Frank: The Biography" fills in the blanks and gives us a more realistic view of the girl who captured the hearts of millions of readers worldwide. The biography is exhaustive, covering her family background and the political situation as it unfolded. More importantly, though, it gives a detailed description of what happened to Anne and her family in the concentration camps. Though hard to read at times (I cried a few times while reading it), it is important to know what happened to her and the other 6 million Holocaust victims. After reading her diary at age 13 for my English class, I had always wondered what happened after she stopped writing. I knew they were caught by the Nazis and were sent to concentration camps, where she eventually died, but I had no idea what her experience was like.

The detail in this book is staggering. Melissa Muller did an exceptional job of tracking down every bit of information she could possibly find, not only on Anne herself, but her friends and family as well. (She even dug up personal information about the SS officer who arrested the Franks in the Annex.) She managed to interview surviving friends and family (even those who were initially reluctant to talk with her), including Miep Gies, the woman who helped the Franks while in hiding (and who writes a touching note at the end).

So if you've ever read Anne Frank's diary, I would highly recommend reading this book to get a more complete portrait of what she was like, the times she lived in, her family, and her experiences.

Not only did Muller do a wonderful job giving more information about Anne and her personality, she gave the reader clearer pictures about the other people who also had to live through this terrible time with Anne. Anne's diary definatly made a picture of her life's happenings and Muller these times color. This biography sheds more light on Anne's spectacular personality, not only with excerpts from the diary, but from her friends and family. This book is to remember Anne but it also puts more insight into the characters we have read about in her diary... they no more are just names but true people that Muller has learned a great deal about. This is a great finishing book for anyone that has been moved by the diary of Anne Frank.