I've looked at more than a dozen of these prescription drug reference books. All of them had shortcomings except for this one. It is thorough, well-organized, and (this is its best quality) isn't overly simple or overly complex in its language -- it speaks perfectly to any curious, intelligent reader. Can't recommend it highly enough. Buy it. (I have the 1996 edition.)

This book contains one of the great dog stories of all time: THE DOG WHO BIT PEOPLE....... Scratch that ...... This book contains one of the great stories -- period -- of all time, THE DOG WHO BIT PEOPLE. Once you have read this story you will remember it forever. Isn't that the definition of a "great" story?

"An American Postal Portrait" is a visually engrossing cultural history of the postal service. My father, a letter carrier in Kansas, was fascinated. It renewed the pride he feels in his job. It was a positive reminder that despite our techno age's slurs against "snail mail," the image of the letter carrier remains a powerful cultural--human--image. The book is a reminder that "technological advances" are poor substitutes for the power of human interaction. This book would be the perfect gift for anyone you know who proudly labors to ensure that our country's mail will be delivered despite rain, or sleet, or snow....

This is a wonderful book that reflects society and postal history on a parallel through time. Check out the section on the dog that was a mascot and traveled all across the world via airplane and earned his own medals! I learned a lot about our postal system and the photos were great. This was purchased for my husband who collects stamps. He really enjoyed reading about the "other" side of stamps.

I lived in Beira, Mozambique for two years in the early 1980s, researching the history of women in that city, and I returned for a week-long visit at the end of that decade, so I was very interested to read Kelly James' account - her 24-hour visit to Beira some unspecific time in the 1980s makes up one chapter in this book. I found absolutely nothing that I recognized - not the hotel name, not the descriptions of the harbor, not the portraits of expatriates who were there, not the ubiquituous "shelters," nor her potted history of Mozambique - every detail rang false. By the time I finished this chapter I wondered if she had perhaps been somewhere else entirely, or had fabricated the visit out of whole cloth. I did not read any other chapters after the exceedingly disappointing experience with this one, as I have no trust in the observations or analysis of this author. I find it horrifying that this kind of writing that harks back to the "dark continent" stories of a century ago can still get published by major publishing houses. She has certainly written an adventure story, but I believe it belongs in the fiction aisle.

Kelly James has composed a remarkable adventure infused with deep humanity for her characters and deep regard for the heroines that emerge during her journeys. Each story becomes a quest in some Quixotic fashion, to find these women, whose destiny's are entangled with true human tragedy, on a continent that seems to know little else. Either by their death (Detour) or in their trancendence (Witchdoctor), James' Dulcinea's are women given over to events for which they have no control, but with which they encounter with courage and dignity that one hopes to be definitive of modern womanhood. A refreshing book that should be read by all, especially young women whose primary cultural exposure is represented by the empty decadence of Britney Spears and the Hollywood culture of narcissicism.

Dancing with the Witchdoctor is a marvelous book, all the more remarkable because it is Kelly James' first one. This account of some of her experiences as a private investigator in Africa reads like a well-crafted novel, a page turner at that. But as she says in the preface, these tales are not about her. James' aim is to tell the stories of women she met and the extraordinary ways they prevailed against the challenges of ordinary life in Africa in these troubled times. She succeeds with gusto.

James calls them "heroines," and does them proud. Among others, she introduces us to the Watusi women of Rwanda, to Moana of Mozambique, and to Lua, a Turkana woman who saves Kelly's life. The qualities James admires in these people come through in the text: courage, compassion, commitment. I found inspiration here.

The land, the elements themselves, have presence in Dancing with the Witchdoctor, notably the unceasing winds of Lake Turkana and the rainforest home of the mountain gorillas. The book smacks of Africa. The beat of life that drew James to that continent resounds in these pages.

This book defies categorization. One Seattle book store originally put it under travel, until an employee who had read it, said "no way." Another has it under World History for some reason. Call it an adventure story (which it is), and people think fiction. Say it's a memoir, and watch people yawn. It's by a woman about women, but it's not a "woman's book," or if it is, you certainly don't have to be a female to treasure it.

One category this book certainly fits: Damn Good Read!

Everyone deals with grief at some point. "When Children Grieve" by John James and Russell Friedman is an amazingly helpful book. After the recent death of a dear friend, I needed help in understanding grief from a child's perspective. This easy to read book explains that it's healthy to grieve, and that adults need to allow children time to heal. "Children need to feel bad when their hearts are broken. Adults should never try to fix a child's loss."
Also, the book explains that grief doesn't just come from death, but instead can be motivated by divorce, pet loss, moving and even a parent's job loss. Grief stems from sudden change in ritualistic behavior. As adults, it is our role to facilitate the child's emotions by helping them discover "undelivered communications." This book teaches adults how to reach out to children and guide them through difficult times. It's a must read for all parents who want to encourage emotional growth and mental wellbeing in their children.

I am a conservative, grumpy, old, Lutheran pastor, vehemently opposed to all things "New Age." I despise the fads of pop-psychology. "Touchy-Feely" advice from so-called experts, who demand exorbitant fees, often makes me want to wretch. So, I approached this book filled with trepidation.

There was no need for my concerned.

Writing with extraordinary gentleness and common sense Mr. James, Mr. Friedman and Dr. Matthews have provided adults with an invaluable outline on how to shepherd the children in their lives through loss, grief and recovery. Every parent, grandparent, teacher, pastor, priest, rabbi, nurse or physician who expects the children in their lives to suffer the death of a pet, suffer the death of a relative, move or endure a divorce will benefit from reading this book.

Do yourself a favor. Read this book for the sake of the children whom you love. It is well worth the investment of your time.

Then, do yourself a second favor, and place a copy of this book in your church, synagogue or public library for the others who will grow by reading it.

After reading this book my eyes have been open to the conversations I have had with the children I teach and those that I come in contact with. I felt that this book is one that anyone in any profession could relate to. The book's focus is on how to help our child deal with grief or loss but I feel that it even teachs us, as adults, how to communicate with children in an every day conversation.

During the first 7 chapters the authors focus on the myths that we as adults communicate to our children, and inturn see the myths that were communicated to us as children. Everyone at some point in their life will deal with loss/grief of some sort and also helping someone they love deal with loss/grief. We all must be equipted with the knowledge of how to do this effectivly. This book is an easy reading book that at anytime can be pulled off your home library shelf and put to good use.

I enjoyed the book but found it a little lacking to the others of his I have read. Possibly it is me and I suffer to many thrillers and serial killers, hard to say. Still all in all a very good story well ploted out with Colorado as a good background and two nice people that deserved more than they had received in life. I would recommend the book actually on its fine readability.

Amy Parkens is a single mom struggling to raise her young daughter. One day a mysterious package containing $200,000.00 appears on her doorstep.

Ryan Duffy is a divorced doctor, his dying father has revealed to him there is 2 million dollars hidden in their attic.

Amy begins searching to find out who sent the money and why.

Ryan begins to search his father's past to find out who his father was blackmailing and why.

The search brings Amy and Ryan together...What is the connection between the two, and is there a connection to Amy's mother's suicide many years earlier?

You will turn the pages FAST to uncover the answers to these questions

James Grippando is an author whose talent for coming up with clever, page-turning plots is endless.

"Found Money" moves at the speed of a runaway train, and the climax is a shocker.

This book is a MUST read!

I am a major fan of Grippando. I read his The Informant and good hooked royally.
Well this book is a fast paced,cracker of a thriller.
You will never know what will happen next.
Grippando has the readers hooked till the end.
Suspense builds up and you will be surprised at the twist at the end of the book.
A real page turner i have recommended this book to all my friends.
Please dont miss this thriller which has everything packed in it.

this book was absolutely awful. i have read several self-help books and this is the first time i've felt so strongly about it that i felt compelled to write a review. this author is totally full of himself. i was very frustrated when reading this book for two reasons. first, it was very vague. he kept telling you what he was going to tell you next, then never really got to the point. second, i felt as though he was talking down to me, which was probably because of his big ego. another thing i found particularly disturbing was his reference to using illegal drugs to improve your sex life.

It's clear from an initial reading that Resurrecting Sex is much like resurrecting the golf game. In fact, there are many similarities to the the anxiety reported by golfers when they suffer from performance anxiety in their swings, or on the green, most of which is caused by the inability to focus on their strokes, the feel of the game, and the concentration required to address the strategics of the game. Since that occurs with both experienced golfers as well as with newer players, male or female, it is a universal phenomenon that can benefit from relaxation and enjoyment rather than the intense overwork that often results in heightened stress and more failure. Much like the right club and the right angle, the right approach in golf or in sex makes a difference. Choke holds on the club don't often work in either golf or sex. Having always been a "gentleman's game," sizing up the green as well as the partner can make the tee-for-two-time as comfortable as the regular tee time. The difference between the right woman and the one who isn't may have more to do with the similar difference between the champion challenge courses and those that are easier, but less challenging courses. It is a matter of taste, after all, in love or in golf.

This is not simply an excellent self-help book about improving your sexual relationship. It is also an extremely wise book about relational intimacy. *Resurrecting Sex*, David Schnarch's third book, attempts to translate for the layperson many of the essential concepts elucidated originally in his groundbreaking *Constructing the Sexual Crucible*(1991).

As probably the most influential writer in the field of sexual/marital therapy today, the author further bridges the gap between sexual problems--as they have traditionally been viewed in terms of individual dysfunction--and such problems as they can much more fruitfully be perceived as reflecting an individual's (or relationship's) level of development and differentiation.

Unlike virtually all other writers in the field, Schnarch's objective is to assist people not simply in having less problematic (or anxiety-ridden) sex, but in creating the kind of physical connection achievable only through learning how to successfully *confront* one's personal anxieties--namely, through better developing the capacity for self-soothing and self-validation.

Although the book is quite readable, with lots of practical information and suggestions, it is also quite challenging. For readers are inevitably encouraged not only to take more responsibility for what may not be working in their relationship (both in and outside the bedroom), but also to go out on a "relational limb" and be with their spouse in a way that requires considerable emotional courage and self-regulation.

As idealistic as, finally, Schnarch's approach is, it is also exceedingly practical. Totally up-to-date, it covers all the most important sex devices and drugs that can, in particular situations, help with arousal and orgasm difficulties. It also discusses the various techniques that can enable people (both men and women) to overcome their sexual problems (from dyspareunia and vaginismus, to low sexual desire, erectile dysfunction and early ejaculation). But much more important than this, it focuses on how individuals can realize their potential to profoundly change their relationship to their spouse; and by doing so, help the relationship to evolve to a higher, and much more satisfying, level.

This is a book that can transform your sexual relationship from one that is conflicted, indifferent, or just barely positive, to one that is truly innovative, passionate, intimate--and even spiritual. Moreover, if readers earnestly strive to incorporate the author's challenging ideas into their lives, the book has the potential to change them at a profoundly personal level: to alter how they see themselves--not only in the context of their relationship, but from deep within as well.

Ultimately, sexual gratification and fulfillment have to do not just with the sensory stimulation a person receives--or their body's ability to respond optimally to this stimulation. It has to do with achieving an emotional bond with one's partner that itself can contribute to an improved sexual functioning that in the end becomes indistinguishable from the deepest expression of intimacy and love.

I loved every moment of this book -- gorgeous pictures, great text, small houses -- seeing as how I live in a pretty small house myself. My only gripe with the book is that it seems that many, if not most, of the houses are summer houses or guest houses -- not everyday, we really live in a house this small houses. Oh well, can't be perfect -- it's still a gorgeous book that serves as inspiration every day.

I bought this book because I read the reviews saying he was part Carl Hiaasen, part Tony Hillerman -- well, I find Mr. Doss a LOT closer to Hillerman than to Hiaasen. I laugh my way through Hiaasen's books, and that didn't happen here, although there were a few moments when I laughed out loud.

The first 100 pages were slow going, and I almost gave up, until the book started to get into stride. The second hundred pages have been pretty quick and the third hundred pages are racing by. So, the book is worth it if you can make it past the first 100 pages.

Daisy Perika, the Ute elder shamaness who is Charlie Moon's aunt (Charlie Moon is the central character in this series of books) is the best character in the book and worth the read altogether. I'd like to read more about her, so I'm probably going to buy more of this series.

Doss has an annoying habit of using half sentences that should be employed rarely for effect rather than all the time. Things like "Which was the idea." or "And that was the idea."

So, he's not Carl Hiaasen by any stretch of the imagination, but he's good and I'm glad I picked up the book. Entertaining, even if you have to go on the web and look up some Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico geographic locations. Doss assumes we know where or what the Columbine is (other than a flower or a high school).

The dust jacket quotes the Denver Post: "Doss does for the Utes what Tony Hillerman has done for the Navajo [sic]." Well, not quite. I enjoyed reading "White Shell Woman," and look forward to reading other Charlie Moon Mysteries, but not quite as eagerly as I look forward to the next Tony Hillerman book. But who knows? Maybe some day Doss will equal or even surpass Hillerman. I hope he does. After all, there are never too many excellent writers, and James Doss shows promise of better things to come.

Charlie Moon is retired from the Reservation Police but when murder strikes a beautiful Ute woman, he can't help being interested--especially when the tribal leaders ask him to return to work part time as a private investigator. Without the politics of the local police, he has an ideal situation--at least as far as work goes. As far as his ranch, his psychic aunt, and his love life go, things are not so great.

Legends of an ancient Anasazi treasure have haunted the Utes for years. Now someone is digging, disturbing the remains of buried Indians and the work of the archeologists trying to uncover the history of this region. Simply disturbing archeological sites is bad enough, but when one of the students is murdered, rumors start to spread about the ghosts of the Anasasi protecting their treasures and of a shape-shifter walking the ruins. Moon doesn't believe in shape-shifters--although his aunt certainly does. But when the uncle of the victim disappears leaving nothing but his clothes, his dentures, and a pile of ashes and bone chips, Moon is certain that the mystic forces his aunt can't leave alone are somehow involved.

Author James D. Doss (click here to see booksforabuck.com reviews of other novels by this author) combines a fine touch for characters (especially Moon's aunt), respect for the Native American heritage that makes up so critical an element in his stories, and pure adventure to deliver a fine light read. Charlie Moon is a sympathetic character now blessed with a ranch that can't make a nickle, a dog that steals anything he tries to eat, an aunt who can't help being cranky, and a girlfriend who seems to show up only at the worst possible moment.

Fans of the Charlie Moon series will definitely want to read this one. Tony Hillerman fans who haven't discovered Doss will be overjoyed by this addition to the short list of excellent authors writing Native American mystery.

Simon Winchester answers this question with a story of violence, passion, tragedy, and sympathy. What more could you want in a story about a dictionary? I love books that shine with the author's enthusiasm for the subject. _The Professor and the Madman_ is just that type of book. Winchester obviously loves language and word origin. He gives the reader a look at etymology that is detailed enough to make you feel like a scholar, but selective enough so that you aren't overwhelmed with the rather dry science of language. But this is only the secondary plot. The main story, that of the obsession of the scholarly but homicidally deranged Dr. W.C. Minor, the focused and driven brilliance of Dr. James Murray, and the Oxford English Dictionary that brought them together is thrilling and tragic. Winchester does a great job of sharing with the reader the sadness and regret of Dr. Minor's amazing intellect trapped inside his deranged mind. If you've ever had a relative or friend succumb to Alzheimer's or another mental disease, you can understand the tragedy of such an intruguing person losing a battle with sanity. The story is so unique that it could only be true, and Winchester seems to have researched it thoroughly and accurately. I highly recommend it.

The Professor and the Madman deals with the role of asylum inmate Dr. William Minor in the development of the Oxford English Dictionary, and with the relationship of Dr. Minor to James Murray, the OED's longtime editor. The book's main strength, and also its primary emphasis, is its treatment of Minor's downward psychological spiral, beginning with his traumatic experience as a surgeon in the US Civil War, continuing through the murder that landed him in the asylum, followed by his extremely productive years as a volunteer researcher for the OED, and finally through his severe sickness in his later years, when he no longer channeled his energies into the OED and slipped even further into insanity in the absence of the obsession that had linked him to the outside world. The book deals with many tangential matters as well, giving a brief but interesting history of the dictionaries predating the OED and going into some detail regarding the development of the OED itself and the lives of its primary editors, notably Murray.

Especially near the beginning of the book, I felt that Winchester was going off on a few too many tangents, as though he thought he needed filler to give the subject a book-length treatment; for example, he spends nearly four pages discussing the definition of the word "protagonist," and, after telling us that in Shakespeare's time there weren't any English dictionaries, proceeds to do nothing but restate that fact for the next two or three pages. His tangents are, admittedly, written in a charming style, but they can be frustrating for those of us who might like Winchester to simply get to the point. Another thing that disappointed me was that Winchester spent very little time speculating on why it was that Minor chose to obsess himself with the OED, and why his contributions tapered off around the turn of the century. Of course Minor was bored and had relatively few options because of his detainment in the asylum, but clearly most people in his position found other things with which to busy themselves. The fact that both Minor and one of the other greatest volunteer contributors to the OED, Fitzedward Hall, were Americans with psychological problems is an interesting fact. Considering that Winchester was audacious enough to speculate that Minor's autopeotomy near the end of his life may have been a result of his shame over romantic feelings or possibly even acts involving the widow of the man he murdered, it's disappointing that Winchester didn't spend much time considering the much more central question of why the OED attracted Minor so.

Despite these weaknesses, The Professor and the Madman is an interesting book and on the whole does a very good job dealing with Minor's schizophrenia. Short and written in an engaging style, it's a quick read and was well worth my time.

Part biography, part history, The Professor and the Madman is the tale of two of the pivotal individuals in the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. Although the title implies a balance between the two people, this is more a story of the "Madman", W.C. Minor, a doctor beset by mental illness, confined for life after murdering a man during one of his more paranoid episodes.

Minor gets a chance to find some personal redemption by his vast contributions to the OED. His unique approach to research, along with his involuntarily large amount of free time, made his the single largest contributor to the OED. Murray (the "Professor"), the editor of the OED during a large portion of its creation, corresponded with Minor and was a huge force in maintaining the OED's existence during its early years.

This is a book about genius. Winchester draws a lot of parallels between the lives of Murray and Minor and shows how the gift of genius can be both a blessing and a curse and can lead to triumph or tragedy. Well written and a delight to read (its only real weakness is the lack of an index), this book is definitely worth the time to read.