This is a book about coming to terms with one self. It incorporates the 12 step recovery program. If you are on a spiritual journey this is a must read. Jess Lair bares his soul in discussing his journey from a man of materialistic ambitions who is driven to suceed as a business man (and nearly dies in the process), to a man who finally is able to see just what is important in life. It is about living in the moment and appreciating the gifts that each of us have and the joy of living in acceptance of ourselves. Several sequels to this book are still available and are equally gratifying.

I don't think this book has gotten the recognition it deserves. Jess Wells is a well-known writer and editor within the community, and this book of essays from glbt parents and activists dares to be controversial. It asks difficult but necessary questions and doesn't pretend to come up with easy answers. I hope Wells writes/edits more on this issue.

I read this book years ago and found it extremely hard to put down! Taylor Caldwell was very much a skeptic about reincarnation, but under hypnotic regression she revealed some very interesting past lives that explained why she wrote some of the books she that she wrote and where the knowledge of those periods of time came from. I didn't really believe in reincarnation before reading this book, but found it hard not to after reading it. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in this subject.

From the 30s through the 60s, Jack Woodford (Josiah Woolfolk)was an incredibly prolific author of sex novels (very tame when read today) and he tapped into an incredibly lucrative sideline in 1933 when he wrote Trial And Error, his bestselling nonfiction classic for [aspiring] writers. Woodford followed that with about a half-dozen other books for writers, each one increasingly caustic and realistic about the wrting biz and its aspirants.

Jack Woodford on Writing is an excellent anthology culled from Woodford's several books on writing, and even includes his penultimate work, Writers Cramp, in its entirety.

Woodford was an ill-starred man. His Hollywood career collapsed, his daughter became schizophrenic, Woodford served time in federal prison, and eventually he died in a state asylum.

He was described by a Hollywood colleague as an angry man. He was, and his writings about writing deserve to be rediscovered for his highly entertaining, no BS approach to life and writing.

"Jess" was first published in the UK in March 1887, and was H. Rider Haggard's 5th novel out of 58. Haggard wrote this book toward the end of 1885...and, remarkably, in just nine weeks! But then again, this is the same man who, earlier in 1885, was able to write the astounding sequel to "King Solomon's Mines," "Allan Quatermain," in just 10 weeks, and who, in 1886, wrote the seminal fantasy "She" in just six! Haggard has been accused of being a careless writer, but that is certainly not the case with "Jess." It is an elegantly written novel, sometimes even poetically written.
The story takes place during the time of the first Boer War, in 1880-81. Captain John Niel comes to work on the Transvaal farm of a fellow Englishman, Silas Croft, and becomes involved in a love triangle of sorts with Croft's two nieces. One of them, Bessie, is a pretty, hardworking blond; the other, Jess, is plainer looking, intellectual, and deep thinking. Niel becomes engaged to Bessie, but after being trapped with Jess in the siege at Pretoria, realizes that he is in love with her. This makes for quite a mess for these people of high honor. To add to the problems, Haggard throws in one of his best villains, Frank Muller, an Anglo-Boer who has designs on Bessie himself and who wants to kill off the rest of her family, steal their farm, become a great Boer leader and ultimately rule all of South Africa as some kind of monarch. Muller is a truly memorable and hissable villain; extremely handsome, and with a flowing blond beard, full of contradictions and yet quite intelligent, he really does impress. "Jess" contains none of the supernatural or lost-race elements that many Haggard fans have come to expect from his novels. It is rather an extremely believable adventure and love story. This is not to say that the book is short in the action department, however. It does take place, after all, in the middle of a war, and features many scenes of fighting, attempted murder by that hissable Muller, a deadly fight with an ostrich (sounds funny, I know, but it's not), wild-game hunting, and so on. Haggard himself lived in South Africa during the time of that first Boer War, and was also an ostrich farmer for a short while, and those six years that he spent in the country (from 1875-1881) really gave him the tools with which to authentically depict his stories. It might be a good idea for a reader going into this book to do some minor research on that first Boer War--nothing too serious; just a little background work--for a fuller appreciation of the authenticity of this novel, but it isn't absolutely necessary.
Besides showing Haggard's great gift for adventure, action, romance and historical retelling, "Jess" also amply displays the author's gift for what I guess might be called poetic metaphor. Consider this paragraph, in the book's first chapter, in which Captain Niel watches a small whirlwind on the African veldt and compares it to his own life: "It's just like a man's life...coming from nobody knows where, nobody knows why, and making a little column of dust on the world's highway, and then passing away and leaving the dust to fall to the ground again, and be trodden under foot and forgotten." "Jess" is full of beautifully written passages like this one, as well as many of the author's side comments on life and death. The book really does have something in it for everyone, and it is no mystery why the book was a huge best-seller in its day. Now, the book is all but forgotten, and even many fans of H. Rider Haggard have not had a chance to discover its many fine qualities. But it is a book that will amply reward anyone who takes the trouble to seek it out. I more than highly recommend it.

very good for the textbook of primary school !

this book was my absolute favorite in the whole series. i loved jess's character. i loved the gymnastics. it was full of action and although it wasn't quite as "subtly preachy" as the other books, it still taught me something about the value of faith and family. it was the best ever.

The Law and Your Legal Rights should be part of every Hispanic family's personal library. The book provides an easy to understand guide to the rights and responsibilities of all U.S. residents. Its explanation of the U.S. court systems is clear and concise, as well as its narrative of immigration and labor laws. The book's ability to "speak" in two languages--English and Spanish-- is one of its best features since it will help imigrants to obtain a basic understanding of their obligations and rights. Jess Araujo, Esq., has provided the Spanish speaking American with a valuable tool. The book should be read by all American students in middle school and/or high school.

The Players Guide to Laws of the Hunt was a great update from the old Laws of the Hunt. In this you not only get expanded rules on how to play a hunter, but a mummy, sorceror, and many many other great things! This is an excellent expansion of different characters for any live action roleplayer!

Having known Jess Stearn for many years, I'm always surprised at how great his memory is. He pulls innumerable names and facts out of thin air when recounting his days as a reporter. I guess this is what makes him such a valuable writer for our times. The stories in this volume are interesting, and they show a human face to many famous people. Imagine meeting Grace Kelly before her film career took off, or interviewing Elvis before he became a legend. Or the famous generals, heads of state, etc... The feeling I got from the book was not one of Jess saying "Hey, look who I met, I must be pretty important," but rather that he came away from his "meetings" with an appreciation for the workings of something larger than himself. And in his long life, I know that this has served him well. A terrific book!