Patricia Craige, who ranges from top Norweigan Elkhound breeder to top dog show competitor, shares her insights in the canine field to a new audience eager to eat her every word. Why do I give this author such high acclaim? For three simple reasons:

a). Mrs. Craige shows the reader many examples of dogs who have succeeded inm both the show ring and the whelping box. Many dogs, ranging from the top-producing dog of all time to the dog with the most Best-In-Shows (the highest honor at any dog show), are shown, with in-depth study on how the greatest of dogs made their way to the top.

b). The book is very well understood thanks to the authors' personal experience. Mrs. Craige is an owner-handler, the lowest on the totem pole in the canine realm. However, one of her glorious Elkhounds became the top dog all breeds in the year 1970. This astounding tribute to the hard work and dedication she put into breeding and raising top dogs is followed up with a string of top dogs of any breed. She also bred, owned, and handled the top Elkhound of all-time and one of the top winning hounds of all-time with sixty-six all-breed Best-In-Shows. Her last big winner was shown from 1993-1995, daughter of the top winning Elkhound and two-time Westminster Hound Group winner (Winning at Westminster is the highest honor any owner, handler, or breeder can aspire to). Despite all of this, the author's down-to-earth writing style solaces the reader, allowing the reader to thoroughly enjoy the book.

c). Why don't you tell me? THere are so many reasons to applaud this book. I am sure that if you were to add it to your collection, you'd find your own reasons to back up the notion that this book truly is BORN (err, published) TO WIN!!

A magnificent source of history, technique, philosophy and guidance for the serious dog breeder and exhibitor. Examines history and trends in many breeds. Acquaints you with the greats on four legs as well as two. Not a light read, but definitely worth the effort.

This book has taught me and has had me understand just what it takes to be BORN TO WIN :BREED TO SUCSEED a must read for all dog people of all experiences.The way Mrs. Trotter has wrote this book anyone can understand just how to get the job done.

The creators of Essence magazine have put together a beautiful, informative coffee table book for black women to better their mind, body and souls. Filled with exquisite color photos and easy to understand information will keep you reading in one sitting.

A must-have for the Essence woman's bookshelf.

I love it!

Finally a book that celebrates the beauty of Black women in every shape, size, and shade. This book, filled with stunning photographs of beautiful Black women, offers practical advice on hair care, skin care, nutrition, exercise, and self-care. Not just a cosmetic make-over, but a total body make-over. There are recipes and tips for creating a luxurious in-home spa environment with ingredients you may already have in you home. It's like having the indispensible information in every issue of Essence, right at your finger tips.

The Essence Total Makeover book is wonderful. It provides all kinds of insights into black skin and hair care. The illustrations and pictures are great. I have always had questions about my skin and how to care for it. I have finally found the answers to my skin and make-up care questions. Thank you, Essence, for writing a beauty book for African American women.

Having gone through a non related medical problem with a close family member I could really relate to this book and only wish I had known about it sooner. There were so many things that I wished I had Patricia Footes advice on. The check lists were really helpful and I actually made copies of them to share with my family members and take to doctors visits.

Get this book now! When faced suddenly with a bad lab result or those dreaded words, "The doctor would like you to come in for more tests," few of us have the wherewithal to be objective about what is happening. Fear and dread freeze our thought processes, leaving us at the mercy of experts. This woman has been there! Her book is like the hand of a friend, calming us, offering the reader practical advice and restoring our objectivity and humor. Don't wait until you--or someone you love--needs it. Keep one on the shelf.

Ms. Foote's book is an informative and inspirational read for anyone who has dealt with a medical crisis, misdiagnosis or management of a chronic illness. The author provides the reader with emotional support and practical advice on conquering the mystique of the medical community and emerging as more than a survivor. Purely positive!

Ask most parents what they think of when they think of the elements of a children's story and you're very unlikely to get the following: a jaded Vietnam vet and an elderly, slightly "off" homeless woman who hang out in a city park in Oakland; a "throwaway" child who is on the verge of getting lost in the system; a blind goose -- not the kind who wears granny spectacles and a yellow bonnet, but one that is very seriously disabled. And yet, here they are, right in this children's book, which just so happens to be a favorite in our home.

Perhaps this book has been important to my children because it represents a more realistic slice of life to them -- before we were a family, they, like Fondo, were lingering in the foster care system. And, every day where we live, we see homeless people and folks who exist in their own version of the world.

For some children (and some parents), this might be an "uncomfortable" book, but I think it's an important one for kids of all backgrounds, especially when parents and kids can read this book together and talk about the "differentness" that is represented there -- not just in terms of Fondo and his plight, but also in terms of the supporting characters and the ways that they make a place for themselves in this very real world.

As an elementary school librarian, I had the pleasure ofintroducing this treasure to many classes the last few years. All ofthe above reviews are valid for me. While discussing how unique each person is, I always get asked about Stephanie. I promised the students I would go to Lake Merrit and look for her, see if she truly exists and if so, if she's still there. Yesterday (5/22/00) was the magic day. She and Ms. Polocco have been close friends for years, and it was right that the author write about the warmth of Stephanie's character. I could not have been welcomed more graciously, and Stephanie, on her own time, will be meeting with the students at my school. I also learned that the other main character, Fondo, is connected with Ms. Polacco's nephew to whom the book is dedicated. If you can take only one fiction (?) book with you on a desert island, each time you reread this, you will have new joy in your heart.

This book is a great book for starting discussions in literature circles. It pairs nicely with other picture books like Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting and Way Home by Libby Hathorn (unfortunately out of print). Paula Fox's chapter book "Monkey Island" also connects nicely.

I read this in early 1996 in the 6th grade. I still remember how I read it so many times and was fascinated and chilled by what it told. I'm in the 11th grade now, more than 5 years later, (a lot in a child's growing mind), and one of the few things I remember is reading that book for a whole semester, over and over again. The intrest stayed with me, and I have searched and learned as much as I can about this. I visited Salem itself in 2000 and saw the museum and memorial park. This year my term paper focuses on Salem Witch Trials relations to modren situations, like McCarthyism. I also just finished assistant directing a full performance of The Crucible. I'ver read so many books on the subject, about it and other witchcraft cases. I've even learned to preform an exorcism! Still, this book is the starting point in my memory and I learned more from it than all the texts and biographies. I have a fond spot for this book, and wish I could find that old copy I flipped through so much. I hope more people read this and relize it's not just a children's book, but a fascinating story you can't think is history.

This is a beautiful book. it's written in the narrative form of a young girl in Salem, who finds the courage to stop helping in the accusation of inocent women as witches. If you are looking to research the Witch trials of 1692, or just to enjoy a touching book, this is a book you have to read.

This is an excellent book! Very gripping. An wonderfully written account of the Salem Witch Trials. This book never gets boring. I couldn't put it down. The mian character is wonderfully portrayed. Her struggle with what is happening in here town, and with being a part of it. She must decide to tell the truth, or to keep quiet and go along with the other girls. She knows if she tells the truth, she could be condemned as a witch herself. This is a book you will never forget, and will want to read over again. A definate "DON'T MISS".

The Chronic Illness Workbook is a valuable contribution that will be welcomed by the many sufferers of chronic diseases. It is of the greatest importance that patients learn to cope with the problems that cannot be remedied. Pat Fennell's book provides an original and incisive approach to coping with chronic illness.

If you want to recover not only from your symptoms, but also from the way society has treated you as a person with chronic illness, keep this book by your bed with a highlighting pen. You'll think Ms. Fennell has read your diary, and you'll know she's on your side.

The Chronic Illness Workbook takes its readers on a journey of self-discovery, enabling them to overcome the challenges of chronic illness and learn how to live a life bursting with self-compassion and fulfillment...Ms. Fennell delves into every aspect of this subject and provides her readers with an in-depth, practical, self-explorative way to learn how to live a 'full new life'.

In the fall of 1988, Patricia Brown Coughlan enrolled as a graduate student at Sonoma State University, and found herself drawn to classes dealing with gerontology, the study of aging. As part of her studies, she began attending meetings of a Santa Rosa-based Alzheimer's support group.

A dozen years before, Coughlan's grandmother had begun to show symptoms of Alzheimer's, a neurological disorder with psychological fallout. Already sensitized by her own personal experience, Coughlan was touched and inspired by the compassion, bravery, humor, and sheer practicality that characterized the women in the support group.

She requested permission to interview some of them for her master's thesis on women in the caregiving role. Her extensive interviews with eight of the group members eventually became "Facing Alzheimer's", a remarkable mixture of oral history, demystification, and practical information for anyone dealing with the disease. Although the book deals primarily with women, specificaly wives, as caregivers, much of the information it contains is applicable to anyone placed in a similar situation.

In spite of its sobering subject matter, Coughlan's work is never grim nor gloomy. In fact, once one has taken the mental step of deciding to "face Alzheimer's", the book is pretty much of a page-turner, as the reader connects with each of the eight storytellers, becomes familiar with her situation, and begins to understand the indomitable spirit that, in spite of varied life circumstances and personality differences, characterizes all of these women.

On one level, this is a rich emotional document, with the words and stories of Aileen, Mary, Bonnie, Helen, Irene, Edith, and Angie woven throughout the text to give the reader a deep and personal look into the actual life of an Alzheimer's caregiver. In chapter after chapter, we see through these women's eyes, following their stories from the first appearance of symptoms in their husbands, through diagnosis and attempts to learn abot the disease, through responsibility-shifts and mutual emotional turmoil when a once-independent spouse can no longer drive, deal with finances, find his way home, use the toilet. They speak of their own struggles with practical matters, their own emotional changes, their widowhood, their grief, their healing. Their words are ordinary, their spirit astounding.

On another level, by means of text that interacts with these stories, Coughlan traces the emotional and social factors that affect Alzheimer's patients and caregivers, and offers information and coping techniques for every step of the way. There are clearly laid-out sections for identifying early signs of the disease; dealing with its advancing stages and gradual physical and mental degeneration; managing day by day; handling friends and relatives; understanding changes in marital roles, sexual relationships and fiancial responsibilities; and maintaining through death, bereavement, and beyond.

On yet a third level, "Facing Alzheimer's" is a practical and accessible handbook for caregivers, providing informatin about dealing with doctors, nursing homes, family complications, financial matters, and legal considerations. It includes overviews on coping strategies, information on support groups, interviews with support-group leaders, an appendix of resources and recommended reading, an exhaustive bibliography, and a comprehensive index.

While there's a lot of information in the book, Coughlan emphasizes that "I'd like to make it very clear that this was never meant to be a scientific or sociological study. There are plenty of those out there", she says, "and while they serve a valuable purpose, most of them really aren't that helpful for people dealing with the disease on an everyday basis. I wrote this book primarily as a way to pass along the enormous quantity of information these women had acquired just by making their way successflly through the Alzheimer's scenario. I wanted to write something that other people in the same situation could use, and that someone unfamiliar with Alzheimer's could learn from."

Typical of Coughlan's approach is one of the more telling chapters that reveals the limitations of the medical profession in dealing with Alzheimer's. Since there's currently no cure for the disease, many doctors feel defeated and frustrated by Alzheimer's patients. In addition, Coughlan notes, they are often dealing not only with harrassed and bewildered caregivers, but with patients who may be in full denial and whose grasp on reality may vary widely from visit to visit.

Acknowledging the sources of both doctors' and patients' frustratons, Coughlan writes: "What is necessary for effective caregiving is not an adversarial relationship with medical personnel, but a recognition of the inherent limitations of available treatment." She does point out, however, that it is often in dealing with doctors and nursing-home personnel that women begin to emerge from frightened and passive roles and begin to take charge for both themselves and their spouses. Helen, faced with her doctor's unfeeling attitude, finally took action:

Helen: I reported her. I did. I just thought, I didn't want anyone else to get that sort of treatment. I can remember thirty or forty years ago I would have been a whipped puppy, with her attitude. Not any more.

The chapter suggests ways for caregivers like Helen to become the patients' advocates, asserting temselves appropriately when necessary and working with doctors as partners, rather than adversaries. It also includes such information as standard procedures for a good and complete diagnostic work-up for Alzheimer's.

Equally eye-opening are two chapters dealing with the heartbreaking issue of putting an ill spouse into a nursing home. Once again, Coughlan lets her narrators tell their own tales of making decisions and surmounting difficulties, and then quietly supplements them with the kind of information and criteria that can make those processes much easier to deal with.

Coughlan is, in fact, the ninth remarkable woman in this book. her clear and compassionate eye, her extremely readable writing style, and her crisp and cogent presentation of facts and information surround and reinforce her interviewees' stories without ever overwhelming them. In the end, in spite of its practical nature, "Facing Alzheimer's" has an almost tribal feeling to it, as the voices of these kind, strong, and very human survivors unite to pass on the hard-won knowledge that will enable others to survive as well.

A man with Alzheimer's disease was making his wife crazy, every night getting out of bed and dragging his pillow and blanket to the floor. Awaking several times throughout the night to return him to bed was ruining her sleep, she said, as well as his.

Finally, another woman in her support group spoke up to say she saw nothing wrong with him sleeping on the floor, if it made him happy. The exhausted woman thought about it and, gratefully, agreed.

Anyone who has ever scoffed at a support group doesn't understand that such a gathering may be the only place where a person in crisis can get advice like that. It is also the only place you'll come across a collection of people like the eight women profiled in "Facing Alzheimer's" by Patricia Brown Coughlan.

People whose worlds have been turned upside down by a loved one's dementia learn that coping calls for creative and unorthodox measures, often different from what medical professionals might suggest or the neighbors approve of. The best instructors are often people with 24-hour experience, like the ones in this book, women who took over the primary care of husbands diagnosed with the progressive brain disease.

The book grew out of Coughlan's graduate studies in gerontology at Sonoma State University and her personal experience with her afflicted grandmother.

Coughlan's women talk about how it is to suffer the loss of a mate to Alzheimer's disease, what some call a "never-ending funeral."

"He's here, but he's gone," says Angie, of Hugo, her husband of 30 years and a once-successful businessman. Bonnie, whose husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at age 60, shares the despair of being with a partner who still looks the same, but whose personality has disappeared. "I still wanted him to talk to me, and the poor man couldn't. And I'd just plead, you know, 'Please, Henry, talk to me.'"

But, just as the women counsel others in their situation, they learned how to move beyond despair and dread in order to care for their husbands and save themselves. They represent a generation of women raised to be "nice" and "not complain". Yet, when their husbands got sick, they got tough. They became ferocious advocates, taking on unfeeling doctors, surly nursing home attendants, rude health insurance processors. Caregivers, says Coughlan, eventually recognize that they know better than the professionals how to individually handle thier Alzheimer patients.

Sonoma County readers can take pride in this book, not only because the author lives in Sebastopol, but because her eight wonderful subjects also live in the region. The agencies and programs they turned to for support are local, including the Sonoma County Alzheimer's Task Force, Catholic Charities Alzheimer's Respite Center, and the Sonoma County Ombudsman Program. Surely there will be many people across the country who will read this book and wish that they had the same kind of services in their community.

All the caregivers in her book are women, and Coughlan explains that reflects reality. "At the present time, caregiving is still something that falls most heavily upon women." She does, however, note that there are many men who provide care for their sick wives and parents, including her own grandfather. No matter who does it, it's a full time job.

Not only is Coughlan respectful and admiring of her subjects, she obviously likes them. So will the reader. After all the nightmare years ending with her husband's death, Bonnie wishes her late husband well. "I hope Henry's in a great body somewhere, having great sex."

The women were obviously willing to speak frankly, on just about every subject. "Have I ever had self-pity? Yes. I felt cheated, and abused, and all the other unpleasant emotions", says Mary.

As much as the women show great sensitivity for their husbands' tragic changes, so does Coughlan sympathize with the women. "If Hugo's vision of his future self was destroyed by the specter of an incompetent man being pushed in a wheelchair, then Angie's vision of her future self was destroyed by the vision of a woman pushing one."

Coughlan also interviewed leaders of Alzheimer support groups who offer special insight into how this memory-robbing disease is different from ordinary forgetfulness. "It's not: 'I've lost my keys'; it's 'What do keys do?'"

The book includes a list of Alzheimer's organizations, how to do a living will, financial planning strategies, and a good bibliography of other resource books on Alzheimer's.

There's also a reminder to enjoy the present, because while these eight women are very special there is nothing exclusive about a disease that affects more than 4 million Americans. Aileen's advice: "Take time to do what you want to do. My neighbors, ever since Louie got sick, and they saw what happened, they go on a cruise every year."

On a personal note, I'm familiar with the Santa Rosa Alzheimer's support group and recognize some of the women in this book. The first time I met the group I was a reporter doing a story on the disease and how it affects families. A year later I was back, sitting in the same circle, minus my notebook, not a journalist but the daughter of a newly diagnosed Alzheimer patient. I'm not sure if it was Mabel or Mary, but someone very kind passed me the kleenex.

The fiber of this excellent book is woven together with the voices of experienced family caregivers. In chapter one, we are introduced to eight such family members and follow them throughout the pages; examining different aspects of the disease process and individual coping skills for the evolving issues. For instance, during a discussion on sexuality, caregiver Bonnie responds, "As far as the body next to me in bed, my main concern was that he not wet it!", while Mary is quoted as saying, "There's the void. The feeling that there's a huge chunk of your life that's been plucked out, and has ceased to be a comfort and joy. It becomes either something that's mechanical, or nonexistent, or an added frustration."

This book is never preachy and always compelling. It is a warm marriage of factual information and anecdotes that are at once witty, emotional, and realistic.

In "Facing Alzheimer's", Ms. Coughlan has presented us with a clear outline of disease stages while taking a step beyond the usual textbok approach to caregiving. Her commonsense outlook in a chapter addressing "The Basis of Coping" is typical of the entire text. Coughlan states:

"A person who insists that everything must be done in a certain way will have a harder time dealing with a dementia patient than someone who is willing to be flexible and overlook unimportant things. If the dementia patient is sitting quietly in a chair looking at a book that is upside-down, the flexible caregiver will forego acting on her own response. She will not risk a bad reaction by going over and turning the book right side up. The more she is able to overlook, the more contented everyone will be. Finding new ways of doing things, and working with the patient, rather than against him, facilitates daily management."

An omnipresent theme is the need to care for oneself in order to be the most effective caregiver possible. The families herein openly discuss methods of dealing with stress in order to caregive more salubriously. The personal accounts are interspersed with Coughlan's text:

"At that time Louie was very combative. In the middle of the night he would, if I would get up and say, "Louie, come back to bed", he would just grab my shoulders and he'd say, "What are you doing in my house?" He thought I was an intruder... Oh, it was terrible. And my son thought maybe one night I wouldn't be able to get through to him who I was, and he might hurt me..."

"In order to do what is truly best for her husband and for herself, a dementia patient's wife must develop the ability to rely on her own determination of what is correct. Perhaps what makes placing a spouse in a nursing home the hardest decision of all is that she must learn not only to rise above the judgments of others, but above her judgments of herself, as well. She must grant her own needs as much legitimacy as those of her husband, and this is something that is virtualy impossible to do in any rational, systematic way."

Family caregivers, support group leaders, dementia specialists and listeners... all would benefit from adding "Facing Alzheimer's" to the bookshelf. Remember to pull it out frequently as a quick reference as to why he behaves as he does and as written validation of your own caregiving skills.

When you probate an estate yourself, you're your own lawyer. Fortunately Nissley, et al, and the State of California have made this possible for typical small family estates. Working through our own actual situation, with the help of this book, provided a much-needed education about what to do and what not to do in planning my own estate matters. What the book doesn't address is the difficulty the Executor or representative faces in managing through the attitudes, complaints and opinions of the others affected by the death of a loved one.

This edition seems to have been edited piecemeal to keep up with changing laws and tax matters, and some of the references within the book are incorrect. But my main objection is the unhappy practice in the book of requiring the reader to keep referring to other sections of the book to complete a form or prepare for a filing.

You can buy this with your eyes closed. I'm ain't loaning this one out.

Probate isn't the most exciting subject matter but Nissley will tell you what you need to know to get through it.

I also recommend Mary Randoph's "8 Ways to Avoid Probate".

I ordered several books on estates and what to do after someone passes away; after reviewing all of them, this is THE book I really used. It was the most complete, helpful, and accessible book on the topic. Also, note that it does NOT just deal with Probate -- my situation did not involve probate (fortuntaely!), but I still found this book invaluable in helping me know what to do about all the various matters after my mother passed away. I highly recommend this book.

Chapter Four of this book gives particularly meaningful ways to create positive change in one's outlook and attitude towards one's work life. This chapter has helped me step back and see the larger issues which truly affect the day to day detail of the workplace. One reading of this book is not enough as each chapter is packed with so many ideas and detailed suggestions for improving one workplace environment. I need to reread this book several times to take it all in. I plan to keep this book handy as a reference and motivator to put as many of the suggestions into practice as possible. Improving the quality of one's work-life and consequently home-life is a goal that I believe this book can help with.

This book was worth so much more than money. It has taken pressure off of everyone in our office, not to mention our family members. The techniques for speed reading were worth there weight in gold, considering the ever increasing need to read faster with the flood of information we get everyday. I am personally grateful that I bought this book. I have decreased my stress level ten-fold. Thank you Patricia! for your dedication to writing such a fantastic book!

My company loves this book. the management bought each of us a copy and we read it at lunchtime. we are applying many of the interruption techniques and have proposed a new work flow strategy to the management as a result of what we are learning. a must for all working people today.

Of all the books lying on the desk for review for this issue, Blush of Winter Moon is easily the most beautiful. With its soft mauve cover, readable but very artistic fonts on quality paper that softly glows between the well-set poems and Machmiller's expert use of Mary Hill's simple, but expert sumi-e artwork, this book radiates quality and care. The addition of Kiyoko Tokutomi's translations set into kanji calligraphy adds to the strong Oriental feel of the book.Patricia Machmiller is one of the last of a vanishing breed - those who still write haiku in five, seven, five. Often she can make her rule work for her:. . . and now the cat comes
in moonlight his shadow
darker than himself
And even when she extends the verse to fill up the syllable count, one wants to forgive her for the excessive punctuation.
winter rains - late;
I crack the patio door
to listen, listen . . .Yet one cannot argue with her ability to observe with the fastidiously correct haiku awareness that is missing in the work of so many new to the scene. Even Machmiller's written poems have the patrician dignity, authority and mounted grace that her voice carries when she reads.
wave on wave - purple -
purple on blue - a rippling -
dark sea - winter sea -
Review first published in LYNX 17:3 on AHApoetry.com

Patricia Machmiller is one of the foremost English-language writers of traditional-form haiku. Each of her poems contains a reference to a season and is written in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Ms. Machmiller deftly uses the seasonal reference to underpin the mood of a poem. Each haiku in this beautifully produced book invites the reader to share the author's deeply felt experience. This book will bring joy to experienced and inexperienced haiku readers alike. A few examples from the book follow:

just looking at it
you wouldn't guess there is a
dark side -- winter moon

closet of white clothes
whiter in summer moonlight
whiter than a vow

late night eatery --
neon lights give the waiter
the look of winter

Yep, I really mean it. I have read this wonderful book 3 times and each time brings me more pleasure. The author is a master at the art and craft of this most delicate form of poetry. It is sheer beauty laid gently down on a piece of paper. This book was a gift from a friend and I must say it has reawakened my interest in poetry after a long dormant period. Don't wait - beg, borrow or steal a copy. It is an especially good read on these cold winter nights when you see a "Blush of Winter Moon".

blushing winter moon
revealed by floating clouds
awakens my interest

This haiku is not from the book. Rather, it is my feeble attempt to pay some tribute to the author. I am without talent, but greatly inspired.