Each year a group of ladies (25) gets together and picks a day's devotional and makes an ornament to go along with that day. Each person makes 25 of their ornament and then everyone gets together and exchanges. Finally, you have a complete set that you can use along with this great devotional book!! Each day has a devotion/symbol and there are readings for children and adults. My children unwrap the ornament for the day and then we read the devotional. It makes a wonderful family time!!

THIS BOOK WAS VERY INSPIRATIONAL TO MY FAMILY. IT BROUGHT US SO CLOSE TOGETHER AROUND CHRISTMAS. MOST OF THE TIME ONE LOSES SIGHT OF WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT & THIS BOOK BRINGS IT HOME TO NOT ONLY OUR CHILDREN BUT TO US AS PARENTS.

IT IS A MUST BOOK FOR THE FAMILY LIBRARY TO ENJOY OVER & OVER.

THIS BOOK TRACES THE HERITAGE OF JESUS CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTMENT. ADULTS ENJOY THE CHILDREN'S DEVOTIONS AS WELL AS THEIR OWN. EACH DAY AN ORNAMENT IS PLACED ON A TREE TO GO WITH EACH DEVOTIONAL.

This book was such a fun read! Mary Taylor takes a topic of this nature and deals with it in a humorous, informative and tasteful manner. She draws on her own personal experiences and captures the reader from page one. I think "Bedroom Games" is a must for today's woman regardless of your chosen career path - it has something to offer us all. In addition to spicing up your relationships, Taylor also gives some valuable advice on being happy with yourself for yourself. It's on the birthday list for all of my friends!

Not only does this book teach you seductive moves but
reading it gives you so much self confidence.
You learn to let go of your fears in other areas
of your life not just in the bedroom. Reading Mary's
writing is like having a heart to heart chat with your
best girlfriend. It is fun and informative I recommend
it to everyone.

The author instructs on how to "strip" for your partner and how to have "confidence" for yourself. She does this in a fun way, letting us in on some of her own life experiences. Her 25 year journey from being a "stripper" to a successful author and business woman should be inspirational to all woman.

I had the honor of meeting Mr. McLogan at a book signing where his reading honestly convinced me to buy this book. I now cherish the signed copy I own. This book is exceptionally well written which honestly surprised me, Mr. McLogan is an engineer by trade (so am I). The writing is dynamic, captivating, vivid and sensory. This is an exceptional autobiography combining memories and official documents. This is a phenomenally written book about the life of a young man caught up in the turbulent 40's. That being said, this is not a war book, this is a book about a man's life. Mr. McLogan does not dwell on the time he spent in combat, but does cover that period as well. This book details his life before he was drafted, what training and traveling with the army was like, his wounding, recovery, and as an occupational soldier in Korea after the war and finally going home again. Mr. McLogan does not try to make himself a hero, and in my opinion, he doesn't have to, he simply is.
I have found no better written personal account of a young American's life during the war. This book took my breath away literally; especially the parts where the author reminisces about walking hand in hand with a high school sweetheart while sitting in a foxhole in the Philippines. Mr. McLogan was lucky enough to survive the ordeal and went on to be truly one of the heroes I have always looked up to. Not a war monger or a violent person, but simply a young man who answered his countries call, did his duty, stood his ground and came back and built a life for himself. I only wish my grandfather had written this book!

I just finished reading "Boy Soldier by Russ McLogan and I recommend it to anyone who is from that generation, anyone who has been in the service or anyone interested in history. Russ worked nine years on the book, although he denies that it was work. He has always enjoyed history, so he says the was merely doing what he enjoys. The book is a remarkable review of the Pacific Theater in World War II, especially the Philippine Liberation and his persistent research has uncovered interesting campaign strategies by both the United States and Japan, while weaving through this war-history the feelings and experiences of a young, naive high school graduate who is trained as a foot soldier and sent to muddy foxholes thousands of miles from his Detroit home to help win the war. Russ reflects on the atomic bomb from the honest and innocent viewpoint of a 19-year-old soldier who longs for home - without all the moral theology of post-war classroom discussions. He has done an amazing job of recalling his feelings, his experiences and his fellow soldiers 50-plus years later. I was concered that the book would be cumbersome (potential publishers had wanted to significantly shorten it), but I found it both interesting and compelling reading, and I highly recomment it.

Boy Soldier vividly gives the reader insight into the thoughts and emotions of an eighteen year old boy thrust into the infantry in World War II. The author is remarkable in his ability to recall the feelings of the "Boy Soldier." Each chapter flowed into the next chapter connecting the events of this great war in the Pacific and capturing the interest of the reader.

This book explains the SCAM! The federal tax code book says that income taxes are collected as a voluntary contribution, then why are we "forced" to pay, this book is the door way to freedom!!!

This book describes the insidious threats undertaken by a select group of moneyed powers to destroy our Constitutional rights given to Congress in the control of money, regulating its value, and the right of the country's money supply belonging to its citizens.

The author does an excellent analysis of the British intent to destroy America's fledgling financial dreams of a money system for the people and created by the people. Through its agents of Jay Cooke & Co., the Rothschilds and the traitorous Senator from Ohio John Sherman (brother of Gen. Wm. T. Sherman) the rise of the national banks and their sole intent to destroy the Constitution by controlling and regulating the supply and value of the country's money. Drawing on numerous 'hidden' sources -- memos, letters, etc. -- the book describes exceedingly well the worst in political and financial corruption encountered in the 19th Century.

This book explains the dialectics of money power eloquently and scholarly. Concentrating mainly on the 19th Century (it is a little weak on the Hamilton, Jefferson and Morris discussions first exposing the differences in financial power prior to 1792 and the discussions in determing what a dollar or 'unit' consists) nevertheless, it rightfully places Andrew Jackson as perhaps the greatest president in exposing the corruption of the (Second) Bank of the United States and the seditious acts of those associated with it (or instance its president Nicholas Biddle, et al.) and most importantly, providing the clarion warning call to all 19th, 20th and 21st Century sons of liberty that giving away the people's control of the money system is the primary constitutional threat to sovereignty this country faces.

The state banking era (1837 to 1862) however is not properly addressed (perhaps the author believed this was the era in which decentralized banking practices were in accord with the intent of those who framed the Constitution -- we will never know), and neither is there a full expose of those individual interests in forming the power basis of national banks with the exception of the secret meetings of John Sherman (in 1867) with British financiers. Obviously, at the time the book was written, the national banks had completely corrupted the financial system to the point where so much of the system's weaknesses were blatantly noticable by all (debters and creditors alike) but those very few who derived maximum benefit. The state banking era was but a temporary memory between the interlude between the collapse of the corrupt (second) Bank of the US and the rise of the corrupt national banking system (which was in guise a reincarnation at a tempt at a central banking system -- the National Banking Association in NY called the shots much like today's Fed. Res. system).

The 1862 to 1875 period is rightfully exposed as the most politically and financially corrupt period of the national banking era. Until 1873 gold and silver bullion was freely coined into money on account of the depositer at the mint, thereafter, on the account of the US Treasury. The mysterious circumstances surrounding the congressional passage of the Act of Feb. 12, 1873 is exposed and evidence is presented on why so many in Congress changed their voting records to promote passage of this act. Furthermore, the big mystery of why the silver dollar was deleted from the list of coins to be made on the final draft of the bill remains today. The effects of this would shape the debate between the silver and gold interests until 1900. Thereby, 1873 is rightfully exposed by the author as the last year the US could be a creditor nation, thereafter it was indebted to those interests who controlled politics and finances. With most of the later quarter of the 19th century the moneyed interests attempted to destroy the greenbacks (Resumption Act of 1875) and government financial instruments in hopes to promoting a debt based financial system where the money does not belong to the people but must be had through the banks at high rates of interest.

To a great extent the national banking system brought about a system that succeeded in creating a central banking power controlling the political and financial system in the country. While the forms change with time, legal prowess and the vagaries of the Supreme Court, the insidious greed of the heart finds new modes of concentrating money and power.

In summation, the book is an excellent scholarly written overview on the rise of the banking system of this country. Numismatic researchers of both coin and financial paper too will find it highly rewarding. It is highly recommended.

"The world is governed by far different personages than what is imagined by those not behind the scenes"--Benjamin Disraeli "Those unaware are unaware of being unaware"--Merrill Jenkins, Monetary Realist. For nearlyone-half century, the news industry strove to keep us fearful of a being enslaved by a country that we were feeding and financing and this was absurd! President James A. Garfield (1831-1881) stated:"Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all commerce and industry"( including the news industry) He was shot. It is apparent that the total effort of those in power is to control the volume of money by all means fair and foul so that they will remain our absolute masters. This message concerns the controlling of the volume of money. There were people who hated the U.S. Constitution as it was being written and there has always been such people since it was ratified over 200 years ago. Congress was granted the power to provide penalties for counterfeiting. Naturally, counterfeiters don't want either interference or penalties. Nevertheless, in the Mint Act of April 2, 1792, Congress provided a penalty of death for officers of the mint who might participate in debasing our gold and silver coinage. This harsh penalty was deemed necessary because those wise men knew that unrestrained counterfeiters could overthrow the republic. Where are we now? FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND, KEYNES ON INFLATION, PG.6 KEYNES IS QUOTED FROM HIS BOOK, ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF PEACE. " LENIN IS SAID TO HAVE DECLARED THAT THE BEST WAY TO DESTROY THE CAPITALIST SYSTEM WAS TO DEBAUCH THE CURRENCY. BY A CONTINUING PROCESS OF INFLATION, GOVERNMENTS CAN CONFISCATE SECRETLY AND UNOBSERVED, AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE WEALTH OF THEIR CITIZENS. BY THIS METHOD THEY NOT ONLY CONFISCATE, BUT THEY CONFISCATE ARBITRARILY. AND WHILE THE PROCESS IMPOVERISHES MANY, IT ACTUALLY ENRICHES SOME. LENIN WAS CERTAINLY RIGHT. THERE IS NO SUBTLER, NO SURER MEANS OF OVERTURNING THE EXISTING BASIS IF SOCIETY THAN TO DEBAUCH THE CURRENCY. THE PROCESS ENGAGES ALL THE HIDDEN FORCES OF ECONOMIC LAW ON THE SIDE OF DESTRUCTION, AND DOES IT IN A MANER IN WHICH NOT ONE MAN IN A MILLION IS ABLE TO DIAGNOSE." FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF RICHMOND, KEYNES ON INFLATION, PG.10 KEYNES IS QUOTED FROM HIS BOOK, TRACT "Keynes argues that inflation is a method of taxation, which the government uses to secure the command over real resources. Resources just as real as those obtained by ordinary taxation. What is raised by printing notes is just as much taken from the public as is a beer duty or an income tax. A government can live by this means when it can live by no other. It is a form of taxation which the public finds hardest to evade and even the weakest government can enforce when it can enforce nothing else."

I have a first printing of this book which I first read in 1982. I recently decided to reread it to better understand how Herman Kahn's pioneering work on scenario development had held up over time. Based on understanding where it had worked well, I wanted to get insights into how to repeat his process.

Well, was I in for a surprise!

When I first read the book, I was overwhelmed by its optimism . . . coming on the heels the "Stagflation" following the Oil Shock in the 1970s. At that time, the stock market was about to make a major bottom, having fallen well below the highs of both 1966 and 1973. Treasury bonds were yielding 15 percent. Inflation was romping, and the economy wasn't. President Reagan had just been elected and taxes had been cut, but it hadn't seemed to help yet.

Since then, we have enjoyed an unprecedented prosperity with only one brief recession in 18 years. Yes, Mr. Kahn got it right.

But what was astonishing was to read his specific predictions. For example, his description of future computer networks matches what we do on the Internet today very well. His descriptions of a worldwide plunge in adult female fertility in economically advanced countries were right on. His thoughts about government policy, how to fight inflation, and social adjustments that would help reduce inflation were all highly accurate.

How did he do this? Well, he used a combination of examining long-term trends (usually over centuries), determining the causes of these trends, and then considering scenarios for areas where individual action could make a difference. Most impressive.

For those who like Harry S. Dent, Jr.'s work (and I count myself among that group), Herman Kahn's book will be an important extension of that thinking.

Since Kahn used so many long-term causes in his thinking, the observations stand today. You just have to extend them a little more into the future on your own, now that Mr. Kahn is no longer with us.

I hope that his publishers will consider having someone do a new edition of this book that puts the track record beside the original, and thoughtfully extends the book into the next 20 years. It would be a most valuable resource.

Where else do we miss the big picture by looking at the ripples on the lake rather than the lake itself?

Identify and go with the irresistible forces!

I too read this book in 1982 and from time to time have thought about it over the years. Now in the year 2000 I find myself fairly stunned at how accurately Kahn predicted the future. Books about the future were common in the 70's and 80's, Future Shock, Club of Rome, Greening of America and so on, but none so clearly predicted the world we have today.

Mr. Kerwick has said it better than I can. If the book is out of print, try looking in zShops, there is a copy of it there now.

I first read this book in 1982 when its optimism seemed questionable, if not preposterous. Now, almost 20 years later, through good (then) and bad (now) administrations, Kahn's predictions proved astonishingly accurate. They contrast markedly and tellingly with the gloom and doom pronounced by a lot of people who are still around and still misstating the present and future (did you hear that Al?). Herman Kahn is said to have achieved the highest score ever on military standardized tests during his youth in the 1940's and he was undoubtedly one of the few American geniuses of my lifetime. The Hudson Institute lives on as his legacy, but it has never quite lived up to his own level of excellence. The great reason to look for a copy of this book long out of print is to consider the premises and rationale and compare them to the prognostications from the greens and others on the left. No one can tell the future and probably few if any even approach the intellectual prowress of a Herman Kahn, but a review of the methodology of genius (and that of the chicken littles) ought to go a long way in defining where to place our trust and where to assign our skepticism.

New advances in cancer treatment are exploding on the scene, and Dr. Dooley and Marian Betancourt have outlined them clearly in this book. It's cutting-edge science, explained in plain English.

I purchased this book for an associate intending to skim through it. It is very well written and "user friendly." I found myself reading the entire book. The chapters direct you to the specific site of cancer the individual is interested in. Standard treatments are discussed but the newer exciting, promising developments for all cancers are detailed. One can find the expert physicians and cancer centers where clinical trials are ongoing. Web sites and telephone numbers are given as contact information.Support groups are detailed. It is uplifting and provides hope. Don't read this book if you are looking for "quackery". I hope the author provides updates with a second edition! Thanks a lot.

This book was a wonderful help to me and my family. A very close friend told me that she had lung cancer. She was told by her doctor to wait and see. I told her about this book and gave her a copy. She was able to find the latest treatments for her type of cancer in the book. It even had the name of the specialist doing that work in her city. "The Coming Cancer Breakthroughs" gave her hope and she felt empowered by the information she found in this wonderful book. She was able to ask her doctor all of the right questions, and with him, find an experimanetal new treatment for her disease. Without this book, she would never have started the process that eventually heped her so much.

I like the authors' attention to defining words in the beginning of the book and think it picks up on a gut level, with more mass appeal, when individual cases are examined. Don't skip the appendix because there's some good practical stuff there. I know one of the authors and have met both here in Denver, so I might be biased on the positive side, but I think they offer some refreshing views of a subject that touches just about everyone's life. The ideas of social capital and of beating addiction without traditional forms of treatment are worthy of more attention, and I speak in the context of having seen treatment fail for others.

As a prevention professional, I found Coming Clean a breathe of fresh air on a topic graced with strong beliefs and passions. The book is particularly germaine for the person contemplating a tobacco cessation program! A must read for the prevention professional and for the treatment professional alike.

Can addiction be overcome without treatment? This confronts the disease model of addiction, providing a set of alternatives to treatment programs for overcoming drug and alcohol addictions. The words and experiences of recovering addicts are used to enhance a title focussing on alternative recovery processes.

Almost 25 years old and just finished with her Masters in English, Terry has taken a job with Canada Post delivering the mail. A job that she hopes will give her the time to think about and write her first novel. One day on her route, Terry is asked to help a woman lift her quadriplegic husband who has fallen. Terry is quite taken by Rob and Jan, and their respective attitudes toward dealing with Rob's advanced MS.

When Terry sees Jan at a local park a few days later, she strikes up a conversation with her. This is the beginning of a special friendship between Terry and Jan as well as Rob. For some 15 years, Terry learns, Jan has been taking care of Rob as his health increasingly declines. Jan's escape and comfort, during these years as a caregiver, are her books. She has a voracious appetite for reading a range of fiction genres. A mutual love of books becomes an important common ground for the two women.

Once an athletic hotshot pilot for the Canadian Air Force, Rob continues to maintain a deceptively lively attitude. A charming extrovert he enjoys the opportunities to socialize with Terry and her family. Rob's point of view is rarely known, although his personal history and tales of his exploits are often provided. This creates an interesting impression of Rob that reflects some of his distancing with life.

Intelligent, kind and generous, Terry can also have a quick temper that sometimes prompts her to speak without thinking. She is perhaps the most rounded character in a well depicted cast. Her point of view is prominent and her interactions with her two roommates and extensive family are followed over the course of almost a year. During that time, Terry comes to realize that her feelings for Jan are not entirely platonic. Meanwhile, Jan begins to acknowledge feelings that she's long ignored regarding her own orientation. Honorable, neither woman will betray their obligations or Rob's trust.

There's a popular saying that experience is what you get when you don't get what you want. Suffice it to say that Terry gets a great deal of experience over the course of Coming Home. Ordinarily, titles that deal with such a "lovers' triangle" do not appeal to this reader because of the amount of angst involved. Unsurprisingly, Coming Home has a great deal of that angst. However, it is also a very touching and well-told story. Hart has populated Coming Home with realistic, interesting characters and she provides a loving tribute to persons like Rob who struggle against diseases like MS and the caregivers that give them love, care and a dignified life. Furthermore there are some charming insights to living in Calgary, particularly its lesbian community. If you're in the mood for a good tear jerker, Coming Home is worth your while.

This was one of the most captivating books I have ever read - Lois Cloarec Hart tells a beautiful story. The unusual love triangle tugs at your heartstrings while compelling you to continue to read. There are no "bad guys" in this story - only three people who, due to circumstances beyond their control, are thrown together in friendship and in love. An emotional must-read!

In 'Coming Home' the author spins a wonderfully emotional tale that just so happens to include one of the best love triangles that I've ever read. A middle-aged, married couple (Jan is the devoted full-time care giver for her husband, Rob, a former fighter pilot, who is now wheelchair bound due to MS) is befriended by their mail carrier (a young woman who is an aspiring novelist). Things grow complicated when the women's feelings for each other move beyond simple friendship, but, because of the love and affection both characters have for Rob, they know their relationship can never go any further. There are no easy answers, shortcuts, or bad guys in this story. Instead, we are treated to believable characters dealing with the sometimes heartrending choices that life presents. "Coming Home" is a well-written page turner that will make you glad you bought the book.

I have read "The Coming Home Place" over and over and fall in love with James and Elizabeth each time.What a lovely woman Elizabeth is.This is my all time favorite. Keep the tissue handy. Would like to see a story about 'Nathan'

i'm speechless... i've just finished reading this novel and had to come on right away to see what else mary spencer has written. this book was just amazing, one of the best i've read all year. (and trust me, i've read alot!) the plot was original, and the characters incredibly realistic. this book was a real tear jerker i'll warn you, i think i used up half a box of kleenex reading it. but that tells u how u just get drawn into the story, until u feel everything the heroine and hero do. i don't want to give anything away, so i'll end this now. this is a must read book!

Young Elizabeth had lost everything moving west.....James had lost his childhood sweetheart in a train wreck. James talks Elizabeth into marrying him and building a home and family together. This books is a heart wrencher!!!!!! Some chapters I had to read twice to be sure what I read really happened. It is wonderful, Mary Spencer never fails to give her readers tears and smiles!!! I loved her writing under Susan Spencer Paul for Harlequin Historicals now I am trilled to find she writes under Mary Spencer also!

I've opened this book from my desk at work, at a stoplight in the car, by candle light in the bathtub, walking in the rain for coffee on a Saturday morning. Each time a passage speaks to me and soothes my soul. I've read passages over several times, sometimes getting a bit of a different meaning as I personalize it. The pages are dogeared, tagged with post-it notes, and many of the passages have been shared with friends and family to engage introspective discussions.

marion woodman and jill mellick have brought so many of marion's finest writings into one place, so that we can benefit from the imagery and wisdom of this wonderful woman....i highly recommend this to anyone interested in bringing images, dreams and spirit into daily life

This book makes more accessible many of Marion Woodman's ideas, observations and stories found in her previous books and audiocassettes. Jill Mellick has sensitively gathered Marion's words, organized them by topic, and formatted them in a pleasing visual style, adding her own watercolor illustrations. This is not a book to sit down and read from cover to cover; rather it is best used for dipping into, perhaps at random, perhaps as a starting point for daily meditation. Readers do not need to be familiar with Marion's other books to enjoy these extracts, but may find they wish to look further at her work after this taste.