Robert explains intricate and complicated subjects in a very clear and direct manner. There are lots of case histories that give more meaning to highlighted subjects. This book covers the whys and wherefores of dowsing, looking deeply into fears to uncover the real truths that can prevent us from living our truest potential and finding our life purpose. A book that will be used as a research manual and good reading. Robert's passion and understanding of the human condition comes through with compassion and clarity.

I read this book *ages* ago. Then I promptly bought a copy. This book is *so* good there are just not enough words. It made me feel sad, and glad, and noble and young all at the same time. The book is wonderful for anyone, especially young ladies who happen to like dogs -- especially golden retrievers. :-) Marvelous.

This is a great little book and a super gift idea for teachers. Its true-life stories are punctuated by a balanced dose of humor and reality and offer encouragment and hope to any teacher who has wondered, "is teaching really worth it?" No matter the level of education or the environment, there's an encouraging word for all teachers in Bob Bittner's book!

I just received this book and can't wait to try some of the ideas presented. The book covers everything from simple (heart-shaped) designs to shadow trapunto to more complex quilting designs. The projects are very well presented. Each chapter builds on the techniques presented in the one before. The book is very well organized and contains beautiful color photographs of finished quilts that are sure to inspire you. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to try machine trapunto.

This is an incredible book co-authored by Bob and Elizabeth Dole. The book is very honest and heartwarming because they each get a chance to tell their side of the story. I know that Mr. Dole has a hard time when it comes to talking about his injury during World War II and in the book, he describes what happened in Italy in 1945 so vividly that I thought I was watching the whole thing happen all over again while I was reading this book. I admires Mrs. Dole for being a trail-blazer as one of the few women to graduate from Harvard Law School the the mid 1960's when women were expected to go to school and learn how to be homemakers and they were expected to settle down, get married, and raise a family. Instead of following the conventional rules, Mrs. Dole goes out and overcomes many obstacles. I admire the Doles for sharing their story. I brought this book in the summer of 1996, just a few weeks before the Republican Convention and after reading this book, I realized that this is a side of Bob and Elizabeth Dole that the media does not show. The book was well worth it!

A Woman's Place is a vivid account of working-class women's working and family lives in three early twentieth-century English towns. Roberts researched the subject by interviewing dozens of elderly women and men, and she includes long quotations that lend poignancy to her work. The book focuses on the details of everyday life (like how to scrub a stoop and how teenagers networked to find jobs), but I was also intrigued by Roberts's argument that working-class women perceived class conflict rather than gender conflict to be the flashpoint in their lives.

One of the surprises of this last week for me was the gift of this book from a close friend who had just returned from a publishers' convention. Knowing me as a Russophile (someone who enjoys Russian culture), he purchased this short little book (64 pages), which bills itself as:

"An irreverent look at the beliefs and foibles of nations, almost guaranteed to cure Xenophobia."

The basic gimmick is to describe a country and its' culture through the use of sarcasm and humor. It really works! I laughed out loud several times while reading it.

I have spent the better part of a lifetime studying and living Russian culture and this little book did an incredibly humorous and enjoyable job of describing it. I think that if I ever return to higher education, I'll use this book along any introduction to Russian language, literature, or culture.

Here's a short excerpt (rear cover):

"Russians treat the law like a telegraph pole: you cannot jump over it, but you can go around it. It does not matter in the least what the law is about, because laws in principle cannot be good or useful to the man on the street. This is probably the only law every Russian would agree with. So, when you absolutely must not, but want to very much, you may."

The whole book is just as humorous with little mini-essays about a variety of topics including: character, attitudes and values, manners, custom and tradition, and many many other topics. This small little book would probably be much more useful to a businessman or tourist wanting to get more out of a visit to Russia.

I highly recommend this humorous little book.

Review by: Maximillian Ben Hanan

This book has helped immensely with my anxiety disorder. When it first hit me I had no idea what was happening. If I did not acquire the book and follow the steps outlined in it, I would be incapacitated by now. I confronted the fear--it was tough--but succeeded and am so much better off because of it. I highly recommend this book for anyone who suffers from any kind of anxiety disorder.

Very helpful. Clearly written, good practical advice. Relates the importance of facing anxiety. The authors explain that denying or trying to minimize fears actually make them worse. The trick is to explore what is behind the anxiety and allow yourself to experience the fear. This can be done with small managable steps. The fear then loses its power over you. Also contained are helps and guidelines for support people. This book lives up to its name and is recommended.

I have just recently acquired this book, and within an hour I felt like I was on the right track to deliver a knock out punch to this little dragon that has been messing with me for many years. I fully expect to win this one, and as I progress, I'll tell you more.

What a delightful introduction to Elizabeth Berg. I was completely captivated by the author's loving descriptions of childhood. The heroine was so wonderfully created I could see her, at times even smell her. The author does a tremendous job of creating a place and a time and a family shaded ever so carefully by memory -- the perfect blend of nostalgia and sentiment. If you are a boomer, you'll be able to identify with much of this book, especially that special feel of a 1950s household with the stay-at-home mom, the at-work dad and the unvarying but oh-so-comforting routine.

After all that, however, I was disappointed in the conclusion of this book. The reason for the heroine's estrangement from her mother seems rather minor when it is revealed and the ending seems a letdown, very movie-of-the-weekish.

But that is actually a very, very small part of the book. Don't let it keep you from reading it. It's perfect for your airplane trip or to stash in your beach bag. And it just might get you to call your sister!

As a daughter and mother of a daughter, I am always intrigued by the thought of a book which explores the nuances of these relationships. But if I was looking for a sweet read depicting mother knows best and daughter is listeneing, I should have read something else. For in What we Keep, the author relates the story of a mother and her two daughters in an overwhelmingly sad story.

The opening pages of this book begin on an airplane ride as Ginny, Marion's younger daughter and sister of Sharla, explains to another passenger the nature of her trip West. Ginny is meeting up with her sister to visit the mother they haven't seen in 35 years. Then in a series of Ginny's reflections throughout the plane ride, we learn the how and why Marion left her daughters when they were only 14 and 12. Naturally thoughout the book we hear and feel Ginny's struggles with this trip, her recollections of their family life and how she will ultimately feel about her mother.

I found this to be one of Berg's more difficult books for me to read perhaps because I had such a wonderful bond with my mother. And I found msyelf dragging through the book not because I didn't want it to end but because it was so painful for me to think about what Marion did despite the fact that I somewhat understood her actions. And at the end I was waiting for parts of the puzzle to be solved and it finally left me wondering why this happened and what the future held for these three women after this meeting.

I did find this book evoked some of the same feelings I found in other books by Elizabeth Berg like Durable Goods which explored feelings among siblings and Joy School which described the painfgul days of a first love. And sections of it detailing what its like for a woman to grow older and what we expect from mothers were so beautifully written that I found myself crying.

Although this wasn't one of my favorite books written by Elizabeth Berg, pleae do read it and decide for yourself. Even a book by Berg which I liked less than her others is still a most worthwhile read.

I have read most of Berg's novels, and never sure why I hadn't picked up this one yet I snatched it up for a vacation read. I was so happy (aside from not wanting to put it down and enjoy vacationing) with the results!

Berg takes you on a trip of a young girls life as she remembers it as a woman, going to visit her mother and sister. Memories (written in present tense as she viewed it) teach you of love, family pain, parental approval, mother's depression, and so much more subtle and poignant lessons we so often over look and don't even realize we have learned them. What is so liberating is that you believe you have the book figured out, and then Berg throws you just the slightest curve ball which breaks your heart and leaves you asking.....who have I judged unfairly in my life???

This is a book well worth buying, reading, sharing with your girlfriends and discussing with your book clubs. Elizabeth Berg doesn't disappoint, but this book, for me, went above and beyond the mark. I highly recommend if you enjoy 'women' reads and never tire of reading the simple, heartbreaking daily tests life throws our way that strike a deep chord every time. It seems at one point I almost felt angry and disppointed with a character or two, to the point that I wondered if I should even finish the book....but I promise you, it all ties together in the end and you will walk away wiser for having read it.