This book opened my eyes to a whole new perspective on finding and feeling a "win-win" attitude.

I've read many books on relationships and was expecting to read some or most of what I've read before. What a wonderful surprise! A book that's objective as it speaks first hand from both a male and female point of view. Easy to read and logical step by step advice to dispel the myths that are contaminating our most intimate relationships and making it impossible to fulfill our deepest desires. Once the many myths society throws at us are dispelled the book gets down to true to life scenarios of couples working out their day to day problems that prevent them from reaching intimacy and equality. A must read for every couple who wants to know what it takes to make a relationship work in today's worlds. The book puts true meaning and a comprehensive description to the concepts of intimacy and equality.

'Mickey Mantle Day in Amsterdam' is another gem from the pen of Jim LaBate, author of the tender 'Let's Go Gaels'. Once again, the author draws on his love of sports and the fond recollections of his childhood to evoke a bygone era, the pre-video era of wholesome heroes and hot summer afternoons when kids everywhere swarmed the baseball diamonds, gear in hand, and every patch of grass was its own field of dreams.

The generous heart of this story beats loudest and strongest in the young narrator's exuberant admiration and respect for the singularly great Mickey Mantle and in the vicarious joy the reader experiences as twelve-year-old Jumbo's ordinary world is transformed by an unexpected overnight visit from the extraordinary Yankee slugger.

This is not a story of hero worship for LaBate's Mantle is life-sized and as common as a next-door neighbor as he plays ball with Jumbo and his gang of friends. Instead, what is ennobled is the broad hearted zeal of youth and its passionate embrace of a game that once defined everything that was great about small-town America. And therein lies the magic and the pleasure of this timeless tale. It captures the beauty and joy of a young boy's heart without pretence or precocity so that, after reading it, I felt as if these boys, and the Mick himself, might have even been a part of my own childhood.

But there is a bittersweet cloud behind the joy of LaBate's silver-lined fable. Two weeks ago I made a pilgrimage back to my hometown and visited what had been my field of dreams, a broad green expanse with four full ball diamonds, one in each corner, and four full outfields converging and blending together in the middle into one calm sea of grass. It was a beautiful summer day, about two in the afternoon, when I pulled into the lot beside where the dugouts and the water bubbler used to be. On any given summer day when I was twelve, back in 1963, we might have had to rise early to be certain we could get an open field for our daily pick-up ballgames, choosing new sides throughout the day just to make it more interesting. The fields still looked healthy and well-maintained. I got out of my car, walked to home plate and gazed across the fields. There was not a soul in sight.

All right, every red-blooded American male baby-boomer dreamed sometime of having Mickey Mantle come and spend the day at his house and impress the other kids in the neighborhood. It takes an author with the incredible skill of Jim LaBate to transform that fantasy into one of the most charming books of the era. Each character is so cleverly crafted, and the dialogue so genuine, that you almost feel he is writing about real people. No single neighborhood could possibly boast of so many genuine eccentrics! (Could it?)

Thank-you so much for writing this book.This was the first book I read after learning my eighteen year old son is gay. It brought me great comfort to know other parents went through the same kinds of feelings I did. I cried and yes laughed a little with each new story. It was easy to read, like reading someones diary but with their permission. The stories were honest and heartwarming. I am in the process of reading it again. This should be a must read for all newly told parents, their son or daughter is gay. Thank-you.

As a gay guy, this book has had a huge impact on me. I am 36 years old, have been with my partner and haven't yet officially told my parents I am gay. This book has made me do a lot of thinking lately. I would dearly love to share truthfully who I am with my family but I am not sure whether it would be too destructive. My mother is 72 and she lost my dad 4 years ago which seemed to take a lot of life from her. Thanks Bryce for getting this book together. It really is one of the best books on this subject that I have read in a long time.

New Millennium Families: How you can soar above the coming flood of change offers a blueprint to rebuilding America's eroding families. Dr. Blackwell provides much needed hope that families can survive the onslaught of problems that plague our nation. As an attorney who represents abused and neglected children, I witness the devastating effects of parental substance use, indifference, abandonment, and violence. Dr. Blackwell's practical and insightful guide encourages us to proactively protect all children and zealously guard our own families and values. As the book illustrates by Dr. Blackwell's poignant stories, the task ahead is daunting. However, Dr. Blackwell's refreshing approach underscores the constant that all things are possible through God's grace. Although this book is a quick and easy read, its imprint is profound and lasting. The real challenge lies in implementing Dr. Blackwell's vision for the next millennium. New Millennium Families is an excellent resource that should be read by all.

New Millennium Families offers the reader practical, specific solutions to problems arising from the erosion of family bonds in contemporary American society. The purpose of New Millennium Families is to offer a roadmap of encouragement and hope to families facing the accelerating stress, strain, and shock buffeting them by the present culture, lawlessness, temptations, and corrosive neglect of family values that so hallmark today's workplace, school systems, communities, and entertainments. Poignant examples drive home Michael Blackwell's message of hope and healing, salvage and redemption that will lift the family from a quagmire of dissent and disappointment to a new plateau of faith, function, and familial reward.

{This is} a brief book that doesn't fetishize fifty and that collages different voices. Though its contributors rarely object or probe or mention negatives--nor ask how and why 'women' are changed into 'older women'--some present important facts and perspectives succinctly. Gwen Yeo, director of the Stanford Geriatric Education Center, notes that 'Women over fifty are less prone to epression than any other age or gender group.' Artist Claire Falkenstein, trying to undermine the prejudice that creativity wanes with age, says that before her eighties she had never been able to use 'a symbolic language in the way I do now.'

From Margaret Morganroth Gullette - Women's Review of Books

{The} candid conversations found in this volume inspire, amaze, and challenge attitudes about women and aging. . . . Skillfully woven by the authors, discussions cover sexuality and enopause, beauty, eccentricity, housing, politics, careers, mentoring, risk-taking, and more.

Despite the acknowledged lackof socioeconomic and ethnic diversity reflected here, these proceedings make an important contribution to understanding women's place in the world today. Thoughtfully designed with large clear type. Detailed participant biographies appended.

From Paulette Bochnig Sharkey - Small Press

This volume in the Coming to America series groups together three nationalities together in what is essentially a book on Scandinavian immigration to the United States. Before 1820 Scandinavians did not immigrate to other lands or explore the New World all that much (there was a brief New Sweden established in what is now Delaware for a while), mainly because of restrictive emigration laws. When a place was found in America for a Quaker church, letters describing the rich farm land in the Midwest and extolling the laws regarding separation of church and state made immigration an attractive option. Like other books in this series, this volume by Kay Melchiseedech Olson talks about Life in the Old Country (all three of them), The Trip Over, Arriving in America, Surviving in America, and Keeping Traditions from the old country alive. Obviously up here in the Northland this is the old volume in the series that local students are most interested in reading. Olson does a nice job of introducing the uniqueness of Scandinavian immigration and providing interesting details.

"Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish Immigrants 1820-1920" has sections in each chapter talk about how to make Scandinavian flags, Lindbergh's Favorite Swedish Party Cakes, and a Family Tree. The back of this book provides biographical notes on five famous Scandinavian Americans: Charles Lindbergh, Hubert Humphrey, Jacob Riis, James Arness and Walter Mondale (bonus points if you recognize the one Danish and name on the list since you already got a big hint about the one Swedish descendant). There is also a glossary, and short lists of other books to read, place to write and visit, and Internet sites. The Coming to America series also includes volumes on Chinese, German, Irish, Italian, and Japanese immigrants. However, young readers who go through this series will notice that not all immigrants were treated alike by their new nation. There can be some very interesting classroom discussions off of some of these books.

This book is a MUST read for all people of Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish heritage. Just like Grandma told me!!

As someone who is a Civil War student I have heard many accounts of battle events and the people who participated in them. Mr. Kesslers account not only shows his committment to research but he has a great gift of telling the story through the eyes of his well developed and interesting characters. Whether Mr. kessler is expressing the agony of a young mans struggle with the war and the horror related to it,family issues during that time or the warm new relationship he developes and certainly the logistics of battle you are drawn into a wonderful story told by a wonderful storyteller.

I stumbled upon this amazing book while I was searching for a gift for a friend. It sounded interesting so I ordered it. What I thought would be a dry book turned out to be an exciting adventure for me as well as the young character in the story. It provided me with the history of the Civil War through the use of colorful imagery. It's obvious that this author has done his research. I look forward to reading more from this wonderful yet unknown author. Keep up the great work! You have many fans. This is a book that I know I would want my friends to read.

When Open-Book Management was first in 1995, its subtitle suggested "The Coming Business Revolution." Well, that "revolution" has arrived and author John Case deserves much of the credit. In the Introduction, however, he makes it crystal clear that open-book management is NOT a panacea, is NOT a substitute for TQM or reengineering or any other operational overhaul, and is NOT a single system. In essence, open-book management helps companies to create a shared environment in which everyone understands that they are competing in a marketplace, trying to make money. But for whom? Frequently, effective ownership has been limited to relatively few people. In privately-held companies, usually to a single person and/or to a family. Presumably Case agrees with Al Ehrbar (author of EVA) that the traditional concept of "ownership" must be re-defined so that everyone involved in a given enterprise assumes personal responsibility for adding value. Hence the importance of recognition of peak performance but also the importance of financial incentives. "What's in it for me?" is a quite legitimate question. Given the increasingly greater impact of globalization, the information revolution, and what Case calls "entrepreneuralization", companies must find new and better ways to answer that question. For Case, each company needs a mission, a strategy. "But more than anything else it needs eager, willing employees, people who have a reason to care about their employer's prosperity and who know how to help it succeed."

Ultimately, the measurable value of open-book principles will be determined by several factors: The extent to which a company modifies them to accommodate its own circumstances; the extent to which employees in that company (top to bottom) commit to the program, once devised; and the extent to which everyone involved shares equitably (NOT equally) in the rewards.

Those who admire this book as much as I do will presumably want to read (if they have not already read) The Open-Book Field Book and The Open-Book Experience. These two books develop in much greater detail the material first introduced in Open-Book Management. Also, they provide an absolutely essential guide to deriving maximum benefit from John Case's wisdom and experience.

Case shows, with many examples from open book companies, that companies' performance really takes off (or pulls out of jeopardy) when they organize to: 1. Give all their financial information to all employees; 2. Teach employees to understand it; and 3. Give employees a financial stake in how the company performs. In summary, experience shows that employees at open book companies act like owners. Case shows exactly how to do it. Give this book to your boss!

This book was one I could not put down. I was deeply impressed with the courage of both mother and daughter to deal with each other honestly and openly, and then to share their discoveries with the rest of us. In this true story, we see the deep pain and hurt, as well as the joy that comes from such discoveries. I am thankful to Martha and her mother Marcy for sharing their story. I am passing this book along to many others I know, for the wisdom it contains.

OUR DAUGHTER MARTHA deals with a family's difficulties as they struggle to understand their daughter's journey to acceptance of herself as a lesbian. The book expresses the author's deepest feelings and fears in an honest attempt to help other parents understand and work through their concerns for gay and lesbian children. It is an interesting, thoughtful, and inspiring book.

Long after new first person books about World War II have been written, Bob Hamilton has written one that will inspire and inform the families of those who served in the Air Force during World War II, especially those who served in the Pacific.

Bob Hamilton was a navigator aboard a B24 bomber, known as the Flying Fortress. His 13th Air Force squadron flew bombing runs against targets throughout the Pacific. And many times the planes didn't come back. The mission was to destroy the Japanese installations and prepare the islands for invasion by the Allies. His ability to take one there as if it were yesterday is incredible. The book is written about real experiences by real people but it reads like a novel. Those who lived through those times will be moved by his details. Those who are younger may know why this generation has been called "The Greatest Generation".

How did Bob Hamilton recall such detail? Through the years he collected personal letters and letters written by his crewmen, logs kept at the time and research done at the Historical Research Agency at Maxwell Air Force base, Montgomery, Alabama where the author copied over 500 pages of relevant records. This material was declassified in 1983.

I would highly recommend this book not only for World War II veterans but for their families who would like to understand what that war was like and what it was like to fly when one navigated by the stars. Bob Hamilton is a gifted writer and this book is a gift to his generation...a generation fast passing from the scene

I was to young to serve in WWII, and but I have always enjoyed reading the history of the war. Hamilton's book was extremely interesting, as it presented a first person account of the air war in the Pacific, and at the same time told the experiences of young men forced to grow up too fast and far from home, while being shot at on an almost daily basis. I would highly recommend the book.