If you wonder what God had in mind for you when He created you, then I suggest you read Tom Paterson's book, Living the Life You Were Meant to Live. Paterson's book is designed to be a process guide to help you gain perspective on where you have been, where you are now, and where you are to go. The goal of the book is to offer the reader a sense of direction in fulfilling God's purpose for his or her life.

Three years ago I heard about Tom Paterson's LifePlan process. Since I was in the midst of moving across the country, leaving my successful private practice as a psychologist, and getting used to being a grandmother, I knew I needed help in designing my new life season. I decided to go through the two-day LifePlan process with a trained facilitator. My experience was life-changing. When I saw my life choreographed on charts around the room, I was amazed. I gained insight about my past life experiences, both the positive and the negative ones.

One result of my time with a LifePlan facilitator was that I realized God had gifted me to use this format to help others find freedom and purpose. A few months later, I met Tom Paterson at a facilitator's training session for LifePlanners. Soon I began leading people through the two-day LifePlan process and I know it works.

When I read Tom's new book, Living the Life You Were Meant to Live, I felt like I was sitting in his workshop again, listening to him passionately explain the LifePlan process. Paterson inspires people to find their God-given inner resources in order to experience spiritual vitality in their daily life and work. He encourages individuals to acknowledge their talents, see meaning in the "turning points" of their life, identify personal core values, and then face the roadblocks that keep them from reaching their full potential.

If you are self-motivated you can work the process on your own by reading the book. After reading the book, if you find that you want a personal guide, I encourage you to get more information ( available in the book) about hiring a LifePlan facilitator to work with you in an intense and helpful two-day format. This strategic plan process will work for you, if you will work the plan. This book is a gift to us from a man who has walked with God, listened to God's plan for him, and now fulfills this plan by helping others become the men and women God created them to be. I highly recommend Tom Paterson's new book, Living the Life You Were Meant to Live.

If you have ever met Tom Paterson, you will know that the words of this book come from his very soul. If you haven't met him, you should know that he has built a spectacularly successful career of achieving results in many major corporations and organizations through his own disciplined planning process. Consequently, this is not your average self-help book written for the purpose of selling books, but rather one man's desire to share what he has learned with others. While Tom does not promise (just as Jesus did not) that, having discovered the life one is meant to live, that there will no longer be pain, suffering, frustration, or huge hurdles to surmount. What he does promise is that life is intended to be fulfilling and rewarding, and that this is possible by understanding and doing what God intends for you to do . The book follows a very Christian doctrine- that is, the belief that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. The theme of surrender to God's will and becoming Christ-centered are woven throughout the text. It might be argued, however, that the process outlined in the book could still be profoundly useful to the non-Christian through its insistence that the individual make an honest assessment of his or her life and build on personal strengths going forward. The chapters (fittingly, Tom calls them Modules) are arranged like building blocks with places to stop along the way to take stock of where you are. Follow the instructions and guidelines Tom has developed for the LifePlanning Process. Be brutally honest with yourself, and allow the book to lead you step by step to a clear understanding of your past and plans for a brighter future.

Tom Paterson is definitely leading the life he's meant to live. He is helping others find their gift and a fulfilled life by putting his "Life Planning" process into this book for all to share. From the very first page, he inspires and leads you to follow his proven step-by-step process on a path that results in a new assessment of your life and personal fulfillment. He has helped me achieve these goals, and I am recommending this book to all my friends as a "must read."

This book is based on the real-world experiences of author Dr. Tom K. Stern. It is Dr. Sterns Phillipine adventure lived through the eyes of his fictional re-incarnation: Dr. Todd Ellison. The names may have been changed to protect the innocent. The more outlandish the scenario, the more likely it really happened just as it is written. It has been said that truth is stranger than fiction. Gold Fever is a thin read (296 pages), that is fat on details. It is a tall and engrossing tale. Lots of details about the jungle rebels, etc.

Dr. Stern is just now releasing his latest book: Vatican Gold. I hope this leads to a trilogy. How about: Hollywood Gold? Gold Fever would make an excellent movie, and I imagine Vatican Gold will as well. I gave the book (Gold Fever) 4-stars because it was too short! I cannot wait for the Dr. Stern gold series to hit the big screen! Welcome to Hollywood, Dr. Ellison!

"Gold Fever." I couldn't put it down. The story and characters provide a beautiful and dangerous fantasy. The Doctor,Todd Ellison, performs a humanitarian act and discovers lust, adventure and exquisite romance in an exotic, erotic world of international politics and intrigue.

Wealth beyond measure. Extraordinary tests of character, love and friendship. Tom Stern starves a cold and serves up a feast to feed this "Gold Fever." A must read for fans of mystery, high stakes adventure and romance. This book makes you hope for a chance to test your love and courage. This author writes with an uncanny grasp of life-affirming humanity. A great story teller and a great story.

RX for fun="Gold Fever" May I suggest Russell Crow for Doc. Ellison. Enjoy!

Awesome book! I read it in one sitting and couldn't put it down. Higly suspenseful! Loved it!

It's so obvious, I don't know why someone didn't think of it before. But nobody did until Tom Jones wrote it down. Disfunctional people go to work; disfunctional workplaces result. In today's environment with the children of broken homes, and their parents, coming into the workplace; with people who have a hard time connecting with other people, managers can look over the situation and throw up their hands in despair or they can figure out how to make it work. Tom Jones helps us with the latter option. He offers practical advice on how to identify the particular disfunctions of your own work place, and how to change the disfunctional systems so that everyone, disfunctional or not, can survive and get the job done. This is a practical, how-to manual with enough insight into the psychology of disfunction, but doesn't overwhelm you with theory, to make the solutions work. You can't change the people, so change the systems.

As Executive Director of VMRC, Inc., a large social service agency, I was frustrated by a variety of dysfunctional behaviors in the organization. Several years ago I recruited Tom Jones to consult with us in establishing self-directed work teams. In the course of this undertaking, we provided all employees with a copy of Tom's first book and are now giving each new hire a copy of "If It's Broken, You Can Fix It." This book provides a wealth of practical suggestions for dealing with dysfunction in the workplace. Tom draws both from the work of others, like William Bridges and Edward Lawler, and from his own extensive experience. It is a valuable resource for experienced managers and also for entry-level professional employees. The style is direct, non-academic, and remarkably free of jargon. "If It's Broken..." is also organized in a way that lends itself to browsing--a valuable feature of any work intended for busy professionals.

Excellent book for the OD professional and the manager alike. In his usual very effective style, Dr. Jones' "lessons" are very readable, practical, and understandable, with just the right mix of humor, metaphors and stories. His use of actual experiences serve to effectively demonstrate the "real-life" usefulness and value of the techniques he describes. Every organization experiences dysfunction, to one degree or another, and can, therefore, benefit from the guidance Dr. Jones provides in this book.

What a wonderful gift Coens and Jenkins have given to us! As a Human Resource Director at a large, Midwest manufacturing facility, I see first hand the impact of performance appraisals on both the company and the individual. I have never felt comfortable with the appraisal process, but always feel responsible for assuring its proper implementation. Despite my best efforts, the process never works as it is intended. Numbers continue to get in the way of meaningful conversation, ratings are rarely accurate, people continue to feel bitter and betrayed, and managers, in general, are uneasy with the process. This book has done several things for me. First, it validates my discomfort with performance apraisals. Secondly, it explains why I feel the way I do and thirdly, it lays the foundation for the "new thinking" that's required for an organization to develop sound alternatives to performance appraisal. The authors draw effectively from the myriad of research by respected change agents such as Dr. W. Edwards Deming, Alfie Kohn, Peter Scholtes, Philp Crosby, Douglas McGregor and others. From the opening dedication ("To all the supervisors and managers who care about people and who have tried their best to make performance appraisals work") to the book's closing call to action by T.S. Eliot, ("...to make an end is to make a beginning") this book spoke to me. Coens and Jenkins have created a lasting and important contribution to the serious debate about the effectiveness of performance appraisals.

Do high performance work systems and knowledge driven work designs need to incorporate performance appraisals? As business leaders move rapidly to transform organizations,they are forced to grapple with what to do about a performance appraisal system. Tom Coens and Mary Jenkins draw from an extensive bibliography of practitioner and academic leaders plus extensive personal experience to say,"abolish it!" Yes! Abolish your appraisal system and replace it with custom-designed decoupled systems for pay coaching,counseling, mentoring,development, and legal justification of personnel decisions. This book is aimed at practitioners and leaders but should be assigned in business schools. It is a provocative and powerful counterpoint to scholarly and professional books that reinforce the old thinking of bundling everything into one appraisal system. This old style approach has plagued managers, employees, and their organizations for the last century. If you a searching for a well-written and exciting read, buy this book!

Dear Prospective Readers,

I would like to give ABOLISHING PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS by Tom Coens and Mary Jenkins my highest recommendation.

For years I have been convinced that appraising the contribution of individuals is a highly destructive organizational enterprise. I have come to this conclusion through my own experience and through the persuasive writings of Peter Scholtes (The Leader's Handbook) and W. Edwards Deming (The New Economics) and other authors.

Coens and Jenkins have written a thoroughly researched and documented text that provides a wealth of information on why performance appraisal should be eliminated, and what instead should be done to perform the functions it allegedly achieves.

Pages 306 and 307 provide an excellent summary of principles that can be used to improve organizational performance, coach employees, provide feedback, determine compensation, make promotion decisions, develop employees, help poor performers, and provide appropriate legal documentation in the event of a lawsuit.

Figure 10.1 on page 286 provides an excellent summary of the process necessary for an organization to free itself from the grip of individual appraisal and refocus its attention on improving system performance. It is appropriately called a "Sixteen-Step Program to Recovery from Appraisal".

Coems and Jenkins have made an extremenly valuable contribution to those organizations that seek to create humane work places.

Sincerely,

Laurenece J. Quick, Ph.D Associate Professor of Management Aurora University Aurora, IL.

Spiderman - The Ultimate Guide is a very thorough and informative book. New fans of comics and people who know little about Peter Parker and his alter-ego Spiderman will find this an enjoyable read and will leave it with a strong knowledge of the 30+ year history of the character.

The book covers everything from Spidey's origin and powers to his supporting cast including Aunt May, J. Jonah Jameson, Mary Jane, and plenty more. Key points in Spiderman's adventures are also covered including: the Death of Gwen Stacy, the Alien Costume, the mystery of the Hoblgoblin, and the Clone Saga. Villains and vigilantes are also reviewed like: Green Goblin, The Vulture, Sandman, Electro, Venom, Carnage, and several minor characters that you might not expect to see included in a 170 page book.

The Ultimate Guide also mentions alternate creations of Spiderman like Spiderman 2099 and The Ultimate Spiderman (my personal favorite).

If DeFalco's Guide does have a weak spot it's that many entries have captions and paragraphs that simply reiterate the same material. With two pages of information on a character this can become annoying to read the same fact three times in such a short space. Also a personal gripe of mine is that sometimes laughable characters like The Rocket Racer were included while a more common classic villain like The Shocker was overlooked. Instead of pages devoted to Will O The Wisp and Silvermane, I would have much rather preferred a more indepth look at some of the runs of Spiderman stories and the various plots they dealt with...alas maybe in Ultimate Guide #2 (hint).

All in all I recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn about the incredible character of Spiderman before the movie premieres on May 3, 2002.

This book was awesome! The illustrations and pictures were the best I've seen in a long time. It also was a very informative book. I learned more things about Spider-Man in this one book than in any other single book. It also contained very informative timelines and thumbnai pictures. I especially enjoyed the Spider-Man costumes column. This book even has blue prints for Spider-Man's web shooters! This book was very detailed and carried origins for each and every villain. I recommend this book to all who like Spider-man and want to learn more about him, or even if you know a lot and just to learn the details. This was an all around great book!

I have been a rabid Spider-Man fan, reader, and collector for the past 13 years. In that time, I've seen some of the best (1980's to 1993) and worst (Clone Saga) this hero has to offer. IN addition, I have collected every issue ever published. So, I'm very knowledgable about SPider-Man and his world. Still, this book is a delight to read. I didn't learn anything new, but it is well written, spectacularly illustrated with original comic art from some of Spidey's most legendary artists (Ditko, Romita Sr., Romita Jr., Frenz, Andru, Sal Buscema, Gil Kane, McFarlane, Bagley, Larsen). New fans will learn a lot from this book, but no matter how long you've been a fan of Spidey, this book is a treasure trove for you!!

This is one film that is ripe for a remake. But one thing should be kept in mind; even if you got Spielberg to direct it, Tom Hanks to produce it, and the most authentic WWII gear to make it look real, it would be missing the one thing the original movie has: Audie Murphy himself.

This cinematic treatment of his ghostwritten World War II memoir of the same name differs in many ways from the book. Novak is killed when Murphy was in the hospital according to the book, but in the movie, he dies before Murphy's eyes. Audie is seen at the film's beginning taking care of the family; in truth, he was in orphanages. But again, the movie has Murphy.

And for me, that's enough. Not too many heroes get to portray themselves on the screen. And Audie had enough acting ability to play himself on the screen (something Mickey Mantle or Jackie Robinson couldn't really do with all due respect).

Still, it's a fun movie and it does give viewers Murphy's war experiences in a nice digestible hour and a half. Heck, even if half of what is portrayed on the screen was true, Murphy's war experiences would eclipse 99% of all the others (the guys of E Company in Band of Brothers are included here too).

It's a good intro to Murphy's war career if somehow his book is too daunting or if one doesn't have the time.

There is something compelling about the movie version To Hell And Back which I first viewed as a boy in the 1950s. Perhaps it was the fact that the star was the hero himself "replaying" some of his own wartime experiences. Over the years, the movie has appeared repeatedly on television, and almost routinely on the History Channel. I've watched it many times. The movie, however, pales by comparison to Murphy's actual Medal of Honor citation. Now that I finally have read his book, the citation itself seems to offer only a fraction of the story behind his guts,determination, and eventually the horrible memories he endured until his untimely death in a plane crash. It makes me shutter to think of myself as a combat veteran from Vietnam compared to what men like Audie Murphy had to endure for the duration of their tours in World War II. But, it also makes me realize that war for frontline troops has changed little from one generation to the next. This ought to be REQUIRED READING for everyone who send others to war!

When are you ever going to see a great hero playing himself in his greatest moments? If "Saving Private Ryan" was too gory for you, here's a movie that shows the glory and pain of WWII, but without the gore. If your grade-school kids want to know about the soldiers of WWII without them having nightmares, have them see this film. Audie Murphy is great in this role -- even though it is his story, it becomes the story of ALL the soldiers (although Audie does have the best moments). The fight scenes are gripping, and it really does feel 'real' rather than 'staged'. I would also recommend that you read Audie Murphy's book of the same name to get the whole story. Definitely Audie Murphy was the greatest U.S. soldier in the 20th Century!

This is one of the best books to read among all the 'tell-all' novels about airlines and their managers. Unfortunately, Petzinger zig zags around characters and events that become confusing and annoying. Many of the significant facts are lost as a result and the reader must go back to truly understand particular concepts and processes of airline management.

Another problem is that the author does a tremendous job explaining the history and ramifications of what the airlines and their managers did, but only takes one small chapter at the end to explain the future of the airline industry and its new leaders.

For the size and comprehensiveness of the book, a few more pages devoted to his best estimates for the future would have only made it perfect.

As an airline professional with one of the carriers covered extensively in the book, I was skeptical as to whether any author could present a clear picture of the industry's inner workings. "Complex" is somehow an inadequate word when applied to the airline industry, especially since Deregulation. Mr. Petzinger, however, has succeeded not only in telling the story; he has done so in an entertaining style which makes for a fascinating and highly informative trip through all of the turmoil wrought by deregulation. The reader comes away with an understanding of the cause and effect of every relevant force affecting the airline business over the last few decades. This, combined with a comprehensive overview of the industry's formative years, makes this book a treasure. The book would be a 10 except for a couple of minor research errors. The content, however, is outstanding and compels me to use an overused cliche: this really is a must-read for everyone in the industry and anyone with even a passing interest in the airline business.

Mr. Petzinger makes a very confusing, controversial, and always timely subject very accessible. As the son of a long-time manager in the airline industry, I was able to track events from my childhood by different labor strikes, airline births and deaths. The attention to the founding of the industry and the always unique position held by the airlines in making America what she currently is is exceptional.

You will laugh, cry and be confused when you read this book. This book can teach you that what you think is good is not always good.

There is a boy named Peter Pan. He sprinkles fairy dust in Wendy and her two brothers. Then he shows them how to fly. He takes them to Neverland and shows them to the Lost Boys who live there. Wendy becomes their mother. She makes up rules, like any other mother would do. The boys have to follow these rules. Everything was fine until Captain Hook came with his crew to where the boys and Wendy were. While Wendy and the boys were at the lagoon, where they go every day after dinner, they see a girl named Tiger Lily, princess of her tribe. She was captured by Smee, one of Captain Hook's men. Then Peter saved her. A few days later Wendy and the boys were on their way to Wendy's house when they too were all captured by Captain Hook. Then Peter saves them. Then the lost boys, Wendy and her brothers go home. All except for Peter.

It is mostly about what the people in the book think is right with childhood. The kids in the book think that if you grow up it is bad, but in our case it is actually good.

Peter Pan is a violent book not really made for children under the age of 10 but people 10 and up can read it. It is violent because of the language that is spoken and the idea that killing could be fun. Also, the vocabulary is very difficult for children under 10 to understand. Even if you're older it is difficult to understand.

Overall, it is a good book but watch out for the violent ideas if you are reading it to little children.

This is an utterly charming work. It has been retold myriad times, but nobody else has done it as well as the original teller, J. M. Barrie.

It's difficult to know what to say about a book like this... everybody knows the story. But I guess that unless you've read this book (not just seen a movie or read a retelling), you don't really know the character Peter Pan, and without knowing the character, you don't really know the story. So read it.

By the way, if you enjoy this, you probably would also like "Sentimental Tommy" and its sequel "Tommy and Grizel", both by Barrie. There are differences (for one thing they're not fantasy), but there are also compelling similarities. Anybody who found Peter Pan a deep and slightly bittersweet book would be sure to enjoy them.

-Stephen

When talking of literature, people tend to look solely at books they read today but forget what they used to read, namely the ones we read as children. It is a common misunderstanding that children's literature is to be read by children and children only, but when we come to think of it, which one of us are not children, at least in our hearts?

One of the best books any child, young or old, can read is Barrie's Peter Pan. Although written in the past century, it has something for any generation at any time. Its humorous views at the world from a child's mind left me rolling over the floor, laughing; the exciting storyline kept me busy with reading until the end; and the serious undertone made me think of whether the world wouldn't be a better place if we realised that deep down, however deep, we are in fact all children. So if YOU are a child, which you most certainly are, get yourself a copy and enjoy your ongoing childhood.

Journey with a guy with much testosterone, but a HUGE heart. I was not looking forward to reading this book for my 18th Century British novel class, but upon starting to read I found it to be a pleasurable story. This piqaresque novel has a humor that I have seldom encountered in other narratives. What is ironic is that Fielding wrote this piece during one of the most traumatic periods of his life. His wife just passed away, his daughter was dying, and he was inflicted with the gout. One would never think it from the clever way the book is written. The point of view gives us an in so that we feel as if we ourselves have roles in the storyline. Rooting all the way for Tom despite his flaws, we find out more about human nature along the way. A good read, light a candle and sit down with some wine like they would've and enjoy this classic comical delight.

It was so hard finally putting this book down.

The friends you make!

Tom, Sophia, Allworthy, even Western himself.

But most of all, Henry Fielding.

The humor, the humanity!

What an author and what a man. And to think he
penned his comic masterpiece in his darkest days.

With all that, Tom Jones can be tough going. The
language requires you read fairly slowly. And the
novel is huge. And the plot is intricate.

You may benefit from book notes; I did, especially
during the second half.

If you love Tom Jones, check out Thackeray's
Vanity Fair. And Guerney's translation of Gogol's
Dead Souls.

While you're at it, grab The Brothers Karamazov
and go crazy.

I first picked up Tom Jones because to put it bluntly I am a bibliophile and it was a cheap book. However, I was suprised at how engaging and hilarious the story was despite the claims on the back cover, which are often far off. To tell the truth I did not expect to make it through this extremely lengthy tome, I only wanted to satisfy my curiousity.

Although I am a fan of Jane Austen I was shocked by the freshness and wit that Fielding's writing still retains. Every book in the novel begins with an essay by the author. Do not skip these, they are one of the best features of the book. My favorite is the essay before the ninth book which explains the purpose of these introductory chapters. What a riot!

The story of big hearted and big appetited Tom Jones and his adventures and misadventures is one long satirical gem. Fielding's interpretation of morals, piousness, love, and high society is still as hilarious and relevant as it was in the 18th century. For anyone who appreciates wit and history, this is a must read.

Alex "Skinnybones" Frankovitch is a memerable character from one of my favorite books as a young adult. Barbra Park delivers a story about a young boy who feels out of place and uses humor as a defense. This book still makes me laugh out loud, and I think children of all ages can relate to Alex because he is the underdog that always see to get himself into some kind of trouble. I am studying to be an elementary teacher and I planning on reading this book to my class because I know I will enjoy it as much as they will!

My 7 yr old son and I started reading this book as a bedtime story and couldn't stop. We went through half the book the first night. Alex Frankovitch is hilarious. We laughed so hard, we cried - especially at the kitty fritters story and just wait until you read the story about the leprechaun. Lucky Charms is our new favorite cereal thanks to this book. We can't see a box without laughing. This is one of those stories you want to keep reading. It's all I can do not to read it without him but I know it will ruin the laughter it brings from both of us.

Skinnybones was a very good book. If you like comedy then you should read this book. When Alex gets challenged to a pitching contest he loses and doesn't like it. Then Alex wins a kitty fritters contest and gets put on t.v. Then the kid he played in the contest gets put in the world record book. Read this book when you get the chance to you'll love it.