This book is a very easy to read little set of "wise" tidbits, told through anecdotes (mostly about very "improtant" multi millionaires and anonomous famous people. The book is broken up into three sections: Magic words to say to yourself; Magic words you say to others; and finally Magic Words universal. Nothing really profound and its not very deep. Neither of the co-authors have a background in Psychology, so I sort of wonder what the base their authority on. If you really want something like this, but more insightful, try either "Dont Sweat the Small Stuff" or my favorite "Finding Joy: 101 ways to free your spirit and dance with life" All three of these are based on the same premise of changing yourself and your behaviors so you can enjoy life, but the last two are just MUCH better.

They can also drive you insane if you let them. In fact, I'm pretty sure you can think yourself into happiness, depression, frustration and just about any other emotion you can think of.

What are you thinking of today? Are you stressed about a situation? Are you dreaming of a vacation? What are you saying to yourself right now? When you start to compare what you are thinking about to how your emotions are rolling along, it becomes very apparent that you either have to change your way of thinking or the words you use will start to control you in the wildest ways.

Howard Kaminsky and Alexandra Penney have been great friends for 20 years or more. Together they have created a rather interesting book.

Words can Hurt or Heal. They can also show that we have manners or that we know how to behave in various situations. "Magic" words can give us hope, show us things in a new light and can help us cope with situations that would actually overtake us if we did not control our thinking.

Are you dealing with a stressful situation? When are we not dealing with stress! Anyway, this book will give you some ideas on how to use "Magic" words to deal with this stress. Sometimes you are just dying inside and you don't show it on the outside. There is a story about a woman who was going through a terrible time. She cried for weeks and then finally she started to say magic words and felt herself moving from tragedy to success.

"It's a rough patch in the long road of life."

The authors make you rethink a few phrases, like "Time is Money" becomes "Time is Honey." They encourage you to see those beautiful moments in time that taste sweet.

Other ideas like telling people you really need them or you need their help, gives the situation a new focus and people are more willing to help you out of your problem.

Words are extremely powerful, use
them with caution.

Maybe the most powerful words in the world are: "I love you."

I'm pretty convinced that can change lives.

This book was very helpful to me. There were a number of situations in which I recognized myself, and could apply the advice. Try reading a few pages and you will see.

If you ever saw the classic 1960 English movie, "Village of the Damned," you could probably relate to this book in a different manner. As it stands, though, the Kaminskey's fall short in providing the chilling doomsday of the aforementioned children with the white eyes.
Instead we have twelve children released from a cult commune by their insane leader, Josiah Hummock. Once released, the complex is blown to smithereens and Hummock along with it. (Although don't miss an early reference that might provide a hint to the ending?). At any rate, FBI Nick Burrows and psychologist Sally Price try to get the kids out without any violence; when it does occur, Nick is blamed and sent to a field office in Tulsa. He also loses his globetrotting wife, and he hits the bottle! Nothing new, there, huh?
However, four years after the event, the children all disappear from their homes; two of them fake their deaths to lead them, and a deadly plan is set forth in motion.
While an interesting premise, the Kaminskey's fail to generate the chills or impending doom they obviously intended. The childrens' murders are predictable, although the poison in the doughnuts is a new one! Burrows and Price rush to convince everyone that the kids are plotting something, but no one believes them. Typical again.
This book, written in 1999, obviously hoped for a sequel, as the ending is another one of those, "never count out the bad guys" finales. Since no sequel has emerged since then, one can only feel a little cheated by the nasty ending. RECOMMENDED, BUT ONLY MARGINALLY.

I did enjoy this book a lot and it did keep me turning the pages.It has plenty of suspense and the story buildup is artfully handled.I would recommend this book .
I do have some problems with it though.
I know it is fiction and the authors can take whatever liberties they want with fiction, but if it is something that could have happened in real life or in this case , HAS happened in real life, I want a little realism to the story.
It really bugs me otherwise.
And there were parts of this story that were totally unrealistic and I found myself thinking that as I read it.

In real life the FBI would NEVER deal with a cult leader under siege as they did in this book. Dream on.
And I found something that was a huge part of the ending to be totally out there too.
I was shaking my head thinking that it would never happen in real life in this situation.

Maybe I'm just too nitpicky because I realize the book is fiction.

To sum up, it is a good suspense book with an interesting story.
If you like suspensful books or books in which cultic groups or non mainstream religions play a part, this is a book you'd probably enjoy.

I thought this book was very good. I really feel that this book gives a person a glimpse into the mind of a cult, and what happens when a person is brainwashed by the cult's leaders. I expected the children to get together again, but I did not expect some of the twists that happened at the end of the book.

I feel that this book is set up for a sequel in the future and I feel that this might even make a good movie. (Perhaps cast David Duchovny as agent Barrows, and Christina Ricci as Mary Hummock.)

Read this book!