Fortunately for frantically frazzled females who have phenomenally full plates, author and one- time maxed-out maven of Martha-mania, Debi Stack, has learned to purge performance and perfectionism, while piling on wisdom, warmth, whimsy, and wit. To the woman barely dangling at the end of her rope, Debi throws out a lifeline of solid Biblical insights and practical solutions for simplifying life's maze, while amplifying its meaning. This book is filled with help, hope, and humor, all borne from Debi's personal challenges and successes. Because of her willingness to change with God's help, Debi progressed from living maxed-out, to living to the max-from experiencing the fracture of many things to enjoying the fulfillment of "one thing" and the One Who really matters. Debi is an incredibly articulate, gifted writer, which is the only perfection allowed.. Martha to the Max is the maximum in reading enjoyment!

-Lynn D. Morrissey, author & speaker

There is a little Martha in all of us. In her book Debi Stack has made me realize that Jesus loved Martha too! He wants us to learn to set the right priorites in our lives and not be MAXED OUT. The book brings issues to light with humor and Debi backs up her thoughts with Scripture. Her thoelogy is sound. Her humor is pure delight! I can not wait to see what Debi will do in her next book. This book brings to light those attributes that the world views as virtues, but in reality keeps us running so hard and so fast that we forget how to slow down, and rest ourselves in the Lord. Do not miss this eye opening, rib tickling look at our Marthaness. You will be so glad that you did.

Boy, this woman is inside my head. Look in the dictionary under "Type A Personality," and you'll see my picture -- a stressed-out wife/mom/daughter/employee/volunteer/etc., etc., etc. Thankfully, Debi Stack understands people like me and has provided practical and FUNNY solutions for handling my perfectionistic madness! I really like the way she uses Martha of Bethany ("Lord, make my sister help me with dinner!") to put a non-threatening, spiritual spin on her insights.

I guess I should have known this was a great book. It's been endorsed by lots of famous Christian women authors and speakers, like Patsy Clairmont, Annie Chapman, Mary Whelchel and Bunny Wilson. They knew a good thing when they saw it, and you'll know it when you see this book, too!

Max Lucado has written a devotional masterpiece that can attract the attention of any philosopher who is searching for the meaning of life or give insight to any clergyman who is in search of material that can supplement his or her preparation for a thought-provoking sermon.

I am generally wary of those who attempt to use individual biblical quotes to postulate their personal opinions and then formulate themes that they call daily devotions. In other words, beware of those who attempt to use scripture to "fit" their points-of-view.

Lucado, on the other hand, does the opposite. He presents a variety of stories that range from moral tales to historical accounts of triumphs and disasters, all of which parallel the fables and parables of ancient times, and while reading each chapter, one should conclude that if there is any point that Lucado is trying to get across, it is not for his own personal benefit; instead, it is this: we fail to realize that there are so many modern-day events in our world that make the works of the gospel writers just as relevant today as they were in the past and that many of these happenings brought to life are just as applicable to the so-called ordinary individual as they are to the famous figures who headline our daily news.

In this Book you will find God does whatever it takes to get our attention, alot of times not in the way we would expect Him to, but He does whatever it takes to pull us back to Him over and over again.

We may never understand what it is exactly He is doing with us, but we can trust His Heart and trust Him to do what is right.

If you need a reminder of His Love and an assurance of His strength and an example of His Kindness then this is the Book for you!

You will be blessed with His Gentle Thunder!

This book and the author are anointed.Max Lucado has answered many questions for me as well as encouraged me.I am ordering this audio book for my dad.I have purchased and read at least 10 of Max's books and can't wait to read another.

You won't find any glitz or glamour in this book, just very intelligent writing about why advertising really works - and how to create advertising that works.

The wonderful part about this book is that it provides you with the key measures you need to use in seeing whether or not your advertising is/has worked. When clients want to justify their budgets, agencies can now help them do this by translating the results of their creative work into hard numbers.

For anyone serious about knowing how to create great advertising, this is a must read.

I have been consulting in the advertising business and have taught
graduate level advertising courses for over 20 years. I have never found a book that brought so much insight to the advertising issues associated with effective selling. I highly recommend this book to all.

The book dissects the advertising process and analyzes the different elements that make up the ad.

Backed by years of tracking TV commercials down under, Max Sutherland has first-hand knowledge of what qualities make an ad work and what others make no or a negative difference in the ad's effectiveness.

The book commences with an introduction to advertsing's facts of life and a clarification of what is substantial and what is not in the public's perception of the industry.

It ends with a couple of interesting chapters that introduce the reader to the basic concepts of ad-effectiveness research. All in all, a good and solid book.

It does, however, use brand examples throughout that are known only to Australian readers and primarily discusses broadcast advertising.

I met Millie once when I was a youngster, this book was of immense interest to me.
This is a very good story and it is hilarious at times.
Other times it is heart wrenching. Kind of like life.
My only criticism is that the biographer was weak in the delivery of the story.
Nevertheless, I express thanks to Mr. Evans his perseverance in writing this book. I am certain it was not an effortless undertaking.

This book is one that I will save as a gem between gems on my bookshelf.

Absolutely great book if you want to read about one of the truly fantastic madams of the recent period, read this! She crowded more 'living' into her life than most people do in 6 lifetimes. She had friends in all the right places, and knew everyone. On her own from the age of 14, she was a quick learner and knew all the 'tricks'. In fact, as she put it, "We turned a good trick". Had houses from Alaska to the bottom of New Mexico. Top notch- 5 stars.

Ignore the book's subtitle, cover and back cover copy. Madam Millie is not about bordellos or lurid sex detail. It's about a tough, wise, loveable woman. There are a few funny incidents -- as when a cat attacks a delicate portion of a bishop's anatomy -- but today they seem rather tame.
Millie's long life was never ordinary. Orphaned at a young age, she was saved from juvenile justice by Harry S. Truman, then a Kansas City judge. When her sister Florence was diagnosed with tuberculosis, Millie accompanied her to Deming, New Mexico, where she worked as a Harvey Girl at the train station.
Millie entered her new profession to pay her sister's medical bills. And the rest is, literally, history.
Readers will appreciate Madam Millie on two levels: as the biography of a legend and as a social history of women, work and early life in the southwest. Millie entered the business to pay medical bills for her sister. In one night, she would earn more -- and have a pleasanter life -- than she would in the other occupations open to women at the time.
Millie was first and foremost a businesswoman. She built her success not on her looks but on her charisma, executive skills and ability to read people. It was no accident that her houses attracted high-powered clients. She was their equal.
Millie managed bordellos but she also bought and sold real estate. If she had been born forty years later, she would be a player in business or politics -- a very different but equally challenging game.
Readers can debate the morality -- and inevitabilty -- of Millie's "business." Millie herself believed there would always be a need, whether legally met or not. As Millie acknowledged, in the end what she had to sell soon became available for free, thanks to birth control and a changing society.
Millie ran clean houses, with no drugs and no disease, and her contributions to the community must have set a record. There were no rescue agencies back then. She *was* the Red Cross. Her last houses on Hudson Street -- site of the current Silver City post offices -- closed in 1968.
Madam Millie is fast-paced and easy to read. We get a sense of her wit and style, though not a great deal of her thought processes. Then again, Madam Millie does not come across as an introspective gal. She's all action. The pictures help us see history: the "girls" come across as more humorous than provocative.
Give this book to your favorite Silver City newcomer. Buying stamps and mailing a letter will take on a whole new meaning after they read Madam Millie.

I have this book, which I got in 1995. It is Wonderful! I have read it many times and still have not lost intrest!! It is SO good, that I can not believe that it went out of print. I have also read Kevin's new book: Unfinished work. Which came out on Nov. 6. This book is beyond describing. Read it for yourself!!
Kevin Max Smith has a beautiful, amazing, God-given talent, that VERY few people have! He is wonderful at writing. And his poetry is deep and moving. I hope to see many more books from Kevin. Also , look for another coming out (sometime soon, I hope) : The London Cowboy Choronicles. These are all wonderful works of poetry!!
I also hear he
is (possibly) starring in a movie coming out some time next summer. Be sure to check that out as well.

This book was a awesome encouragement of how beautiful God can really work through just one man. Kevin is sincere and personal and his style is very beautiful.

This is an amazing book. When it was originally published promises were made that a second book would be forthcoming. So, Kev - where is it?

Very cute story about a little boy whose Christmas Tree angel comes to life to sing sweet songs to him. Gorgeous artwork brings the story to life with brilliance. I loved that the story repeated itself once the little boy grew up and had a son of his own who hears the angels music.

This is one of the most beautifully illustrated, delightful stories I have had the good fortune to encouter. Alabaster, the spirited little angel, touches the life a boy with positive results. The message in this gentle story is that when good is done, pass it on. It is so lovely, so moving that it might make one misty eyed. This book is a real treasure. Max Lucado and the illustrator have used their talents to enrich the lives of others.

This is a fabulous book that brings to mind the wonder of Christmas through a child's eyes. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is timeless and unforgettable! I read this story to my children, ages 11, 8, and 4, each year around Christmas. I even read it to my MOPS group as a Christmas reading last year. Thank you, Max Lucado, for another wonderful children's book!

I bought this book after reading all the great reviews. It is a nice book, bright colors, lots of attention to detail, silly story line, but I didn't think the areas for the child to feel were large enough. The sticky candy in Max's pajamas is just about the size of a child's fingertip, the lace curtain is just a thin slip of fabric, the lightning is a skinny zig-zag of foil and the "cookie crumbs" sandpaper is only about a quarter-inch high. There are other touch-and-feel books that provide a much larger exploratory surface. Still, this book does contain a good variety (sticky candy, rough crumbs, fur, smelly sock, etc.)I'm not sure why, but that smelly sock always seems to be such a hit!

What a joy of a book! My baby loves feeling the surprises on each page from the crumbs in Max's pockets to the gummy nightcrawlers on his feet! A sweet story with tactile turns on each page. A classic in the making, I can hardly wait for a sequel!

It's time for bed, but Max can't fall asleep in this board book for toddlers who will find here a delightful bedtime dilemma. Bright pages with tactile cut-outs attract attention with touch and feel surprises as Max faces a too-long night.

Since a class I was taking required the reading of excerpts from this biography, I decided it might be a much better idea to read the entire book. By no means was that a wasted effort! This biography is very well written and opens up new vistas to readers of great fiction from the 20s and 30s.

Perkins was the editor for Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Thomas Wolfe. These are the three which get the bulk of print spent on them. You see that Perkins was much more than an editor and went to great lengths to help these writers discover as much of their potential as possible. He never wanted to credit for these and felt that the editor should always be hidden in the background.

Aside from the authors mentioned above, I found that Perkins also assisted authors like Bourjaily, Jones ("From Here to Eternity"), Rawlings ("The Yearling"), and Sherwood Anderson (although there was a bit of a falling out).

A. Scott Berg inserts a lot of information into the text, yet it is still very readable. Even in sections when I felt there was more Thomas Wolfe than needed, I still went through the book without wanting to put it down.

Even if you are not big into editing, just to hear a "behind-the-scenes" view of some of your favorite authors will make this book worthwhile to you.

Max Perkins: Editor of Genius is one of the best non-fiction titles I've read in a long time, and will likely be one of the best books I'll ever read. Berg (with the help of his own editor) truly is a genius: he pulls us directly into the story, introducing us to Scribner's Max Perkins at the zenith of his editorial career, then plunges us into his first acquisition -- F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and Damned -- before taking us, methodically, through Perkins's life. An intrepid biographer, Berg tells us only what we need to know about Perkins's early life, getting to the good stuff: his discovery of Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe and his work with Ernest Hemingway. We also find out about Perkins's work with other remarkable authors, including Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (The Yearling), S.S. Van Dine (the Philo Vance mysteries), and Arthur Train, creator of the mythical DA Ephraim Tutt. I laughed out loud at the story about how many believed that Tutt existed after the publication of his "autobiograhpy," complete with photos.

We learn of Perkins's patient relationship with the frustrating Thomas Wolfe, a mammoth talent and physical specimen who could not contain his own enthusiasm. Berg suggests that, as Perkins discovered, Wolfe wasn't writing "books," he was writing one book, which would have encompassed thousands of pages if he had not died early -- a profound insight into the heart and soul of a dynamic author.

We learn much of Papa Hemingway as well, including some insights into the macho author's home life. Elements of Hemingway's unpublished fiction suggest that the bullfighting fan, fisherman, and big game hunter might have enjoyed switching gender roles in bed with one of his wives.

Fitzgerald comes off as one who excelled in being pathetic, a man who suffered desperately with his wife, Zelda, alcohol, and simply living large. Berg gives us a tender portrait of Perkins's greatest find.

As with all excellent biographies, Max Perkins: Editor of Genius examines only what made Perkins who he was: the editor of the twentieth century. Perkins preferred to sit on the sidelines, championing his authors. Often, he sits on the sidelines in this book as well, but this only makes sense: he was famous for his work with his more famous authors. It wasn't Max, it was his interaction with these great authors that made him all great.

As some reviewers have pointed out, Max would have enjoyed thsi book.

If you are an admirer of F.Scott Fitzgerald, Ring Lardner, Thomas Wolfe, Earnest Hemingway, Marjorie Rawlings; basically any significant American writer of fiction during the first half of this century--buy the book. Here's how I would put it: If those authors could send ONE, just one posthumous request for you to purchase a particular book, "Perkins: Editor of Genius" would be my sincerely expected choice. Why? Because he wasn't just the "editor of genius": he was their friend. Maybe in some cases like Mr. Wolfe's, the only REAL friend of a lifetime. Fitzgerald wrote in his last years, " Max, you are the only person who has never lost faith in me." Even after Scott Fitzgerald's too short existence, Max was a warrior for a reputation which he confidently predicted would survive the fads of that time. This is a study for those of us who can only regret never meeting him, a study in accepting the short-comings of others with understanding; and demanding the best from ourselves. Words are cheapened by their use in describing Max, because their cousins are seen so often where the object is so less deserving, but buy the book. Mr Berg paints a wonderous, living picture, whose thousand words I believe venerable Perkins would have approved--if somewhat sheepishly.

You can't deny the love that this book protrays. It is very warm and comforting. The analogy was good, but it was missing a very special character, Jesus. Shaddai represents God the Father, the children represent mankind, and the dark forest represents sin. These are all good representations. However, I would liked to have seen Shaddai have a Son who guides the lost boy back to the Father. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." I don't think that you can adequately represent the love of the Father if you omit His Son.

At the time that I read this I was in the middle of a missionary training school. I was learning so much. It was at night and my group was staying in our director's house. This book was on the table beside where I was sleeping. For some reason I was unable to sleep and I thought that this would help relaxe me. Instead this book made me think. I learned so many things that night about God and His great love for me. This booked put many of the things that I had learned about being God's child into ways that even a child can understand. This book allowed me to "become like a child" and come closer to Christ adn understand more of His love for me. This book is a must for anyone who is having trouble understanding why God allows some things to happen

If you are looking for a book to teach your child of the love of God, look no further. This is one of the best writings to help teach our children the plan of salvation. I want to buy this book as a gift for all of the children I love.

One of the most moving books I've ever read (next to the Bible). Mr. Lucado was no doubt God-inspired in collaborating these stories from other works into this book. What human mind could relay these thoughts in such touching fashion without the intervention of God Himself? How could anyone reject the gift of salvation after reading this book? Certainly a blessing in my life, I pray many others are touched by this work.

A wonderful book, simple in its delivery but profound in meaning. The message that God loves me and wants me for his child was just the message I needed to hear today.I had read and reread several chapters many times before I finally finished this book. Mr. Lucado makes God's love for all of us truly "The Gift for all people". I will definitely purchase several copies for friends.

I received this book as a gift and have much enjoyed it. Max Lucado has a wonderful way with words and it's apparent on every page just how much he loves God. I would recommend this book to anyone, I'm planning on purchasing it as a gift to a friend. The last chapter is especially important as he talks about what it is to be a Christian. Definitely a lovely book, a gift to us from Max Lucado and God!