"The Man Who Planted Trees" is a wonderful short story about the fictional life of a man who singlehandedly restores a valley to life by becoming the Johnny Appleseed of Trees. More importantly, its about a man who, having suffered the loss of his wwife and only child, chooses to live a simple life in anonymous service with little but his own resources and his love for trees. The short-term effect is almost unnoticeable; long-term its staggering.

The wood engravings that accompany the text stand out and mirror the book's theme of asutere simplicity quite beautifully. Its a wonderful book for children, nature enthusiasts, gardeners and those looking for hope that follwoing one's heart and living out of love, rather than fear, can ultimately make a difference.

The Man Who Planted Trees is the tale of Elzeard Bouffier, a man who, after his son and wife die, spends his life reforesting miles of barren land in southern France. Bouffier's planting of thousands and thousands of trees results in many wondrous things occurring, including water again flowing in brooks that had been dry for many years. The brooks are fed by rains and snows that are conserved by the forest that Bouffier planted. The harsh, barren land is now pleasant and full of life.

Written by Jean Giono, this popular story of inspiration and hope was originally published in 1954 in Vogue as "The Man Who Planted Hope and Grew Happiness." The story's opening paragraph is as follows:

"For a human character to reveal truly exceptional qualities, one must have the good fortune to be able to observe its performance over many years. If this performance is devoid of all egoism, if its guiding motive is unparalleled generosity, if it is absolutely certain that there is no thought of recompense and that, in addition, it has left its visible mark upon the earth, then there can be no mistake."

The Man Who Planted Trees has left a "visible mark upon the earth" having been translated into several languages. In the "Afterword" of the Chelsea Green Publishing Company's edition, Norma L. Goodrich wrote that Giono donated his story. According to Goodrich, "Giono believed he left his mark on earth when he wrote Elzeard Bouffier's story because he gave it away for the good of others, heedless of payment: 'It was one of my stories of which I am the proudest. It does not bring me in one single penny and that is why it has accomplished what it was written for.'"

This special edition is very informative. Not only does it contain Giono's inspirational story, which is complemented beautifully by Michael McCurdy's wood engraving illustrations and Goodrich's informative "Afterword" about Giono, but it also contains considerable information about how wood and paper can be conserved in the section "The WoodWise Consumer." Goodrich writes about Giono's effort to have people respect trees.

"Giono later wrote an American admirer of the tale that his purpose in creating Bouffier 'was to make people love the tree, or more precisely, to make them love planting trees.' Within a few years the story of Elzeard Bouffier swept around the world and was translated into at least a dozen languages. It has long since inspired reforestation efforts, worldwide."

The Man Who Planted Trees is not only a wonderful story, it will inspire you and your children to care for the natural world.

-Reviewed by N. Glenn Perrett

Jean Giono's inspiring story of the "man who planted trees" reached me some days ago as a birthday gift from my two sons.They thought it an appropriate gift for me probably because I am now engaged in an effort to grow trees in some land which I bought as a barren waste land. I found the book extremely inspiring.The interesting thing is that there indeed are unsung heroes and heroines in many parts of the world who do do such inspiring work without thought of reward.Some months back I read in Indian newspapers about a poor couple in the Karnatak state of India who decided to plant trees to assuage their sorrow in being childless.As they had no land of their own they decided to plant trees on the roadside.And ended up with magnificent avenue trees on miles and miles of the road near their village. There still seems to be hope for mankind!

I just read Michael Brown's autobiography, What color is your scarf? It is always interesting for me to read about other gay men's expierences with what life throws out at them as gay people. I had to first of all laugh at the title. Being a late bloomer myself, it took me years before I could begin to understand all the meanings of all the various colors of handerchiefs, or in this case, scarfs!! The book made me laugh. There are some very funny scenes described in this book! Like the heterosexual world, we have our differences, but I think any gay man who reads this autobiography will find Something he can relate to in his own coming out journey. I certianly found myself more then once smiling and thinking that I certainly can appriciate Michael's feelings about this or that, and, other situations that were totally different for me. The reading is so so easy, and at times it felt like Michael was sitting next to me telling me his most intiment secrets!.

The perfect road map for the mature man's journey into the gay community is Michael Brown's book "What Color is Your Scarf?" It proves to be an excellent tool for those individuals whose coming out process didn't begin with the onset of puberty, but instead after age 40. Michael Brown's book answers a lot of the questions that many may be too embarrassed to ask. It is written in an informative, yet witty style that makes one feel right at home with the subject matter. It's a book not only for the individual who is searching for love and acceptance within both gay and straight communities, but for their family, friends and loved ones. Buy it for a friend!

Michael delivers an honest and courageous tale of a gay man acknowledging his sexual identity late in life. He is a talented writer who infuses humor with mixed emotions to illustrate the joys and pitfalls in an unaccepting, non-conformist world. I recommend this book as a must read for gay, straight, whatever!

A fantastic story told by the man for whom it was a reality Leo Bretholz set out to write a book, not because he is a bookwriter, but because he has a story to tell. His childhood in Vienna, living the holocaust as a life event, loss, danger and the exhileration of escape and survival unfold with the suspense one usually expects from a fictional thriller. The thing that makes this book important it that it is the truth. Highly recommended for those interested in this period of history, and equally as a good read for for everybody.

I came across this book at a Baltimore bookstore on the day the authors were doing a signing, and was very pleased. This is the story of a young Jewish man and his flight for life across Europe during the Nazi invasion. The book is gripping as Mr. Bretholz is dealt one fate after another during his many attempts to outrun the Nazis. The tension mounts as you follow Mr. Bretholz through the horrifying adventure of Nazi Germany and run in his footsteps. I've read numerous books about World War II, but this is the first that to give me a true sense of seeing the horror first hand as it unfolded. It is a tragic personal adventure that will bring you to tears as you experience the inhumanities and tragedies of the war and then share in the author's final triumph of coming to America. I've read two memoirs this year, this one and Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. While they are two very different tragic stories, they are among the better books I have read in quite some time.

This is one of the best written stories from the Holocaust. It details one young mans experience in running from the Nazis. The moral courage, love of life and family shows throughout this book.Bretholzs' detail in recall is outstanding. Everyone with a Holocaust interest must read this book.

Lem borrows deftly from the languages of medicine, mythology, physics, and engineering in weaving a spellbinding tale of earnest but fallible men travelling to a distant planet. As the title suggests, things go wrong with alarming and often comical regularity; Lem simply refuses to take for granted some utopian future in which everything-- machines, ideas--work flawlessly. Compared to his American counterparts, Lem strikes one as decidedly "old school:" how many works of this category portray with sympathy and understanding a soldier or a Catholic priest? The style is surprisingly polished considering the spotty quality of some of Lem's other endeavors. A book of philosophical debate as well as an adventure story, but without the benefit of character development, it almost qualifies as literature, and it is quite possibly the best science fiction novel ever written.

The finest example of science fiction in the world. Kandel does his usual acrobatics in rendering Lem's Polish into English. Lem has obviously learned much from Olaf Stapeldon; if only other writers would do the same, sci-fi would not be such a disappointing genre. Instead, sadly, Fiasco and Stapeldon's sci-fi books seem to be out-of-print.

Fiasco is simply astonishing: a meditation on the nature of intelligence, culture, technology. Lem often parodies science fiction while writing serious literature, but with this novel he and translator Michael Kandel outdid all previous efforts.

While The Futurological Congress remains my favorite Lem book (personal taste), Fiasco is the best Lem book in English, followed closely by the 'lectures' of GOLEM the computer in Lem's Imaginary Magnitude.

Stanislaw Lem's novel asks several questions: What happens if we meet intelligent beings in outer space and they don't want to talk to us? Do we write off a multi-billion-dollar space mission and go home, or do we try to communicate with them by any means necessary? And what business do we have interfering with them in the first place? "Fiasco" is aptly titled: the space crew decides to engage the aliens in dialogue, with disastrous consequences. The theme crops up very often in Lem's work: the concept of aliens who are so different from us that communication is difficult or impossible. In fact, it is the humans who come off as aliens in this novel. The book manages to be two things at once: a 'hard' science-fiction story and a moral meditation. Usually those two things seem mutually exclusive, but here it works very well. In fact, a member of the ship's crew is a Dominican friar (Father Arago) who is also a priest. I understand that Lem is sort of a nominal atheist with theological leanings, but he was also a friend of Karol Wojtyla before he was elected Pope, and Wojtyla's character seems to have left its impression on Arago. And one of the most affecting scenes in the novel is when a hard-boiled member of the crew sits alone and weeps over the destruction that he and the crew have inflicted on the alien planet. The overall tone of the novel is dislocation; the protagonist is a man who has been reanimated several hundred years after his death and no longer remembers who he was. He awakens aboard a spaceship, among recognizably human beings gifted with God-like technological abilities but cursed with human failings. And when they finally reach their destination, the alien culture is so inexplicable that several members of the crew argue that they might as well go home. What to do? There are certain artistic achievements that deserve their own genre, in my view: "2001", "Apocalypse Now", "The Lord of the Rings", etc. As far as I'm concerned, "Fiasco" is one of them. It's a science fiction milestone, and although the story line is very negative, Lem leaves some hope in the sense that things might have worked out otherwise.

As big basketball fan, not to mention being a Jordan fan. Genie Saint Louis has hit the nail on the head. It's as if she has known Jordan all his life and with all this speculation of his return to the game this is a MUST read. Can't wait for the movie.

After all the controversy of Michael Jordan returning to the NBA, this story makes me a believer that he will really carry out his plans and help the Wizards become a decent team for a change. Of course, like any other book, there are somme haters that will poke fun of this book. How can you judge a book if you so not know what the book is about. I let my friends skim through the story, especially the basketball players and they said after reading this book, it is possible that he will return and lead the Wizards to their first of many championships. Read the book. It won't disappoint you.

Michael Jordan Returns to the NBA is both entertaining and easy reading that outlines humorously the how and why of his return to the NBA. History has shown that even a superstar's fifteen minutes of fame is fleeting. And even though Michael has taken a behind the scenes leadership role with the Wizards it doesn't fulfill his ingrain competive spirit.

As Michael hears youngsters saying,"I want to be like Koby when I grow up," his overpowering need to prove that he will always be an icon gets the better of him and once again he dons a basketball uniform because as the author, Genie Saint Louis, stated, "Jordan doesn't need the money or the power. He wants to mold a whole team."

This book meets all of Micheal's die-hard fans' needs. We want to hold onto the thought that we will be able once again to be mesmerized by Michael as he glides through the air proving that he alone can do the impossible - guide one of the worst teams in NBA history to championship status.

Come on back, Michael, this book paves your way.

This is not your average "read-about-a-successful-athlete" book just for the sole purpose of some inspiration for track and field or just for dreaming about being like Mike, or any other athelete. It is much more. Michael Johnson takes his struggles and triumphs in his life and relays to the reader how he learned proven success principles that helped him accomplish the tasks that he had set out to do and has done a fantastic job in giving the exact same principles in everyday, easy to read and understand language. He even states in his book that these principles can be applied to whatever goals or tasks or dreams you want to achieve and puts them in an excellent sequential form from the start of the pursuit of one's dream or goal, to making a plan of action to reach them, along with what to do when disappointments;failiure;set-backs;distractions in life come along (and they will) and how to overcome them, and then finally, to making those dreams and goals a reality. To the reader of these comments, I think the point has been made clear. GET THIS BOOK, PERIOD!!

I've got to admit, Michael Johnson is my all time hero. I'm a big track and field enthusiast, and I just had to get my hands on this book. I want to take my track and field career to Michael Johnson's level of greatness. I was surprised when I started reading "Slaying the Dragon." I was ready for some great training techniques to improve my physical strength and endurance; but this book goes so much deeper then that. It's really a counselor in disguise as a book. It helps you improve your everyday life from all aspects. It gives you good ideas on how to set goals, and achieve your objectives. I found that you can apply this book to just about anything and it will produce results; whether it is on the track, in the classroom, or at the office. I will use this book to help me balance my sports career with the classroom. After reading this book I now have a direction and destination to strive for. No matter what your "dragon" is, this book can help you overcome it. If you give this book a chance, I gaurantee success in all aspects of your life. It's a must read book.

Michael Johnson is undoubtedly the greatest long-sprinter EVER. In fact, his 19.32sec world record in the 200M is in my humble opinion the single most mind-boggling race ever, and qualifies Mr. Johnson as one of the greatest track and field stars of all time.

What is often overlooked, however, is Mr. Johnson's consistency over his career. He once had a consecutive win-streak of 400M races that spanned a number of *years*. Quite simply, he very rarely lost any of the races he entered.

This book offers great insight into Michael Johnson's mental toughness, and explores the mindset of what made him great. True, this man's single-mindedness and no-nonsense determination may come across as slightly monomaniacal and somewhat opinionated to the average reader, but for any athlete that has dreamed of excelling, his words are truly inspirational.

I really enjoyed this book because of how accessibly it was written. You don't have to be a track and field fan to appreciate the universal message Mr. Johnson is trying to get across. This book can be used as a motivational tool, and I think that any book that you can read and then come away with something is a book well worth reading. And this is such a book.

Track and field athletes are not usually known for their intellects or even candor (with the possible exception of Carl Lewis), but Michael Johnson also succeeds here in impressing how much of an intelligent, well-rounded man he is... there is no doubt that he will succeed in his life after his track career has ended. Although supremely confident in his racing abilities-- and who wouldn't be?-- Mr. Johnson never comes across as arrogant or condescending. What I like best about this book is how it almost seems as if it were written purely for the benefit of the reader, as if Johnson had something that he felt he could share, to be read by others for their own benefit. In fact, 'Slaying the Dragon' feels like a message that Mr. Johnson felt compelled to share, and it is written in the humble spirit that he has simply worked very hard to get where he is.

I have to like such a humble message coming from such greatness. We will not see another sprinter like Michael Johnson for a long time. But we can still enjoy his words and his message, which were written in such a helpful and giving way. I came to this book in awe of this man's accomplishments, and came away with a respect for his character.

I just wish this book gave information on where he can receive fan mail!

This outstanding book explores Spirituality and the author's Spiritual Journey from the perspective of Lakota (Native American) ceremonial practices. Michael Hull describes how the Great Spirit, God, revealed himself and became an active part of his life and spiritual path, the Red Road. The book shows that through the teachings of his Lakota friends, and following Spirit's direction, the author has become a teacher and healer of others, and a Sun Dance Chief of the Sioux nation.

Reading Sun Dancing took me to another level...the book goes beyond the issues I expected it to, and without lapsing into shallow debate, addresses issues of universal spirituality, race, redemption, and the search for meaning. The Native American presence is such a strong undercurrent in American culture, and Michael Hull's journey speaks to this, and at the same time is authentic and truly inspiring.

While reading this book it struck me that despite it's listing under Native Spirituality, it was ,as well, a book of inspiration, self-help, biography, and deep spirituality. I found Mr. Hull's self-disclosure and honesty refreshing without being offensive.His self revelations were helpful in leading me to inspect myself more deeply and affirming my own human nature as a gift to be learned from instead of suppressed. I am grateful that Mr. Hull has continued to live his vision and as a result written a wonderful book which can help those involved in their own healing and spirituality.

Michael Patrick Hearn really has done a grand service to the American literary world. While the book Wizard of Oz in itself will be a classic of all time, Hearn's annotations breathes life into this book like nothing else I've ever read.

His exhaustive, extensive research illuminates this classic, and brings us into the life of L. Frank Baum in connection with his writing of this story. I also loved the reproductions of the the original color plates from the first printing, which Baum painstakingly wanted.

As a true devotee of the film, and a casual devotee of the book, I now considered myself converted and find joy equally in both, due to the reading of this new classic.

Take advantage of this low price while you can still get it!

I don't need to tell you about the Wizard of Oz - you already know the story.

What is amazing about this edition is that the original story is completely reprinted in it's original form. That means that all of the illustrations are included with the text arranged exactly as it should be, something that almost no edition has done correctly.

Believe it or not, it makes a difference. The text makes a bit more sense, as the illustrations are integral to the text. The illustrations actually flow INTO the text! It's hard to describe, really, but there is an interaction. This book was a collaborative effort between Baum and Denslow, who split the profits evenly.

Okay, so that's it for the actual story.

The forward gives a brief but very readable biography of Baum, and the annotations are also quite good. There are a number of color pictures of rare Oz Ephemera, and many good black and white pictures of film and stage productions as well.

The type is clearly set, making this book very easy to read.

The only faults with this book are that it's a bit heavy for casual reading, and the annotation sometimes severely impact the flow of the story. These faults are easily overlooked when the material is so good!

If you've ever read this story and thought that it was merely okay, you really should read a good version such as this, it will change your preception radically!

Enjoy!

I believe the Wizard of Oz is one of the greatest children's novels ever written. It has fantasy, horror, beauty and fun characters, but it also has some wise comments about life. (The scene where Dorothy unmasks the Wizard as a fraud and they chat about life back home and his life in Oz is one of the most touching conversations in children's literature. When the Wizard floats off and abandons Dorothy, we feel, as she must, the pain of disappointment.)

If you are reading to your children, this book is a top choice. Kids who are read to become better readers. And what can be more quality time that hearing the loving voice of a mom or dad or even elder sibling, reading an exciting tale?

The centennial edition has 70 pages of biographical information about Baum, info on the entire Oz series (it's quite a number of books), a section about W. W. Denslow's beloved illustrations and much more. This makes the book not only a great family gift but also a good present for a child to treasure for his or her entire life. I still have my copy of Wizard of Oz, complete with a torn page (the pretty picture of Glynda on her throne), a souvenir of my baby sister (oh well) and I would NEVER part from it. This is a gorgeous edition and should be a top choice for your shelf of good children's literature.

This was the first btech novel I read. Although i found it hard then, to understand this book, i wouldn't reccomend to first timers. It took a few more novels until I read it again and loved it. The effort stackpole has put in this novel is amazing. The characters eg, Vladimir ward, Phelan kell and Kai Allard are exceptionally well. Vlad's brute force, fiendish mind and role as the heel made him my favourite in the novel and still is throughout all Stackpole's novel's. This novel and the trilogy should definately be made into a movie. It would surely please the current fans of the series and no doubt bring hundreds more. This trilogy is one of the more keypoints in the battletech world, with the coming of the clans. a movie made from this would be easily possible with the support it would be shown.

A great book. Stackpole did a great job of an intro into the clan invasion. He created two of the best characters i've ever read in Phelan Kell and Victor Davion. It's also great reading about Hanse and Melissa Davion. Everything great about the Federated Commonwealth and Battletech is in this book, from nonstop action with the clans, to the 1st Kathil Uhlans and Andrew Redburn. Stackpole does a great dramatic job aside from all the action. Read it!! And then the others in the trilogy!!

Yeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! This is an awsome book from Stackpole. THE CLAN INVASION! this is the first book including the tech and mech superior clans.It as plenty of mech action and 1 thing there has never been before! The Inner Sphere Uniting? i recomend this book to everyone who enjoys battletech

I found this book hard to grade, but easy to read. Stories are the best way for people to learn, and this book has six interesting ones (about Josiah Wedgwood, H.J. Heinz, Marshall Field, Estee Lauder, Howard Schultz, and Michael Dell) describing entrepreneurs pulling themselves up by their bootstraps to create major brands. As a book of engaging business stories, this is a five star book. In terms of the insight you will get from these stories compared to the potential insight you should get, this is a three-star book. I compromised the two to come up with my grading.

If you want to learn about today's brand-building challenges, other books handle that subject much better. If you want to learn about how the Wedgwood, H.J. Heinz, Marshall Field, Estee Lauder, Starbucks, and Dell businesses got started, this is your book. The material is handled much like historical fiction (except the facts are meticulously gathered and documented), and you will find the going easy and pleasant.

If you like Horatio Alger stories, you will find those here as well. I suspect that exhausted entrepreneurs on long plane trips where their computer batteries have run out will find this book helpful in recharging their personal batteries. As Winston Churchill once said, "Never give up." That's the key lesson here. Through trial and error, these entrepreneurs kept trying until they found formulas that worked.

The choice of examples is a little flawed. Five are consumer branding examples and only one is a business example (Dell). Of the consumer branding examples, you will find that most are about selling to the higher income people. That gets a little repetitive.

The explanation of the examples is also incomplete. Considering that this is a business book, there is relatively little financial information other than annual sales and occasional asset turnover ratios. Qualitative example are helpful, but they are more helpful with more pinning down. For example, when you see the profit margins that Wedgwood had, that explains a lot about why the company could afford such lavish promotions. Without similar information on Heinz, you wonder why he was so successful in making sales but went bankrupt. Presumably, he had low margins.

The photographs and maps in the book are a plus, and I enjoyed them very much. The book was printed on such high quality paper (similar to that used for diplomas) that the images are on the same paper as the text. This permits the book to have many more illustrations than similar-sized business books.

The point about earning trust in the book is easily explained. At the time when these entrepreneurs were getting started, their largest competitors usually provided poor quality products, sometimes had inappropriate brand images, often failed to offer decent guarantees, and typically acted in self-serving ways. Earning trust isn't too hard if others are scoundrels or incompetent. Above all, these entrepreneurs stood for decent human values, and got that point across in one-to-one situations. I'm not sure that point comes out clearly enough, even though it is certainly present in each example.

Those who think the Internet age is unique will find the comparisons to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in England and the transportation improvements in the United States to be valuable contrasts. But each age brings its unique changes. Entrepreneurs should seek to grasp those changes, but also see what others have missed. I think that the Starbucks concept could have been successfully innovated in the late 1950s. It's just that no one did it then.

After you finish enjoying these stories, I suggest that you think about the values that your organization stands for. Are those values presented and delivered in ways that make your organization more trustworthy than any other? How else do you have to be superior in order to establish a burnished brand image?

Be serious about giving people the best you can possibly provide!

Brand New is a brilliantly written book about entrepreneurs, brands, consumers, business history, and socioeconomic change. The book explores these subjects through the examples of six entrepreneurs-Josiah Wedgwood, H. J. Heinz, Marshall Field, Estée Lauder, Howard Schultz of Starbucks, and Michael Dell-and the brands and companies they created during times of economic and social change: Wedgwood during the Industrial Revolution, Heinz and Field during the Transportation and Communication Revolution of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and Lauder, Schultz, and Dell in our time.

Koehn is a perceptive historian and biographer as well as an astute analyst of brand creation, entrepreneurship, and organization-building. She explains how the entrepreneurs in her book were able to understand the economic and social change of their times and anticipate and respond to demand-side shifts. This understanding, she argues convincingly, enabled these entrepreneurs to bring to market products that consumers needed and wanted and to create meaningful, lasting connections with consumers through their brands. Koehn also focuses on the importance of these entrepreneurs as organization builders who understood that their success depended on developing organizational capabilities that supported their products and brands. Her book is very well-researched throughout, and uses primary archival documents extensively in the historical chapters on Josiah Wedgwood, H. J. Heinz, and Marshall Field. Koehn also brings her entrepreneurs and the stories of how each built his or her company and brand to life with her talent as a biographer and historian.

The book's emphasis on drawing lessons from both past and present offers many valuable insights for those interested in coming to a better understanding of brand creation, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial management, and organization-building. Koehn's emphasis on the demand side of the economy and on entrepreneurs and companies making connections with consumers through the brand distinguishes her book as an important work of business scholarship on brands and entrepreneurship. A lively, interesting, and engaging read, Brand New is also valuable reading for anyone interested in business, economic, or social history or biography of business leaders. I highly recommend it!

This highly readable business book profiles six successful entrepreneurs from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. Each profile (Josiah Wedgwood, Henry Heinz, Marshall Field, Estee Lauder, Howard Schultz, and Michael Dell) details the milieu of the era and offers insight into the environmental business factors that each of these business builders faced.

It is this holistic approach to the subject of each profile that makes the stories so compelling. Using her command of history, Ms. Koehn outlines the period view of each of the products (pickles to perfume) and vividly draws the reader into the strategy of each of these entrepreneurs' approach to the market and building their brand. It is the power of these stories that gives the brand message such import. All of these people had a great number of competitors in their market niche but their focussed approach to the brand associated with their goods or services is what set them apart.

Ms. Koehn uses some excellent demographic and financial information (indexed to today's dollars) that provide the backdrop for the scale of the success each of these entrepreneurs' achieved. This provides just enough quantitative information to provide texture without clouding the real story in statistics.

As an executive in the software business today, I found a great deal of comfort in the fact that the challenges I face in today's competitive marketplace are not new. In fact, with great courage and resolve, they have been solved again and again in differing but similar ways over centuries.