Back in 1973, my teacher would read this book to my first-grade class during "reading time." I liked the story soooooo much I asked my mom to order the book. She finally got it from Lazarus of all places and it was sent to our home in Danville, IN in hardback. The story and imagery are great (and sometimes scarrrrrryyyyyy!) I have lost that copy, but am now ordering a copy for my sons (ages 10 and 6) so that I can read to them the wonderful story of Balser and the ferocious bears of Blue River. What a treat for them! john marysville, oh

If you're looking for a great book to read to 7-12 year old kids, this is a winner. My third grade teacher read this to our class. Now, 25 years later, I'm reading it to my boys. They are loving it!

My mother "made" me read this book when I was in 5th grade -- I really had no interest in it, but once I got started, I couldn't put it down!! It's appealing to boys and girls, well written, and really exciting. A great read for kids of all ages.

.HI I AM CB;S AUNT KATHY , AND I READ THE BOOK , EVER THING IN THE BOOK CAME FROM CB HEART . IT IS THE MOST TOUCHEING BOOK YOU WILL EVER READ, ONE MIN YOU WILL LAUGH AND THE NEXT CRY,,,,, HIS LIFE WAS CUT SHORT . BUT CB DINT WANT YOUR PITTY,, HE WANTED YOU TO LEARN FROM HIM, THAT LIFE IS SHORT , AND IF YOU LOVE SOME ONE TELL THEM ... TOMORROW MAY BE TO LATE AND LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST. THIS BOOK IS GREAT AND VERY TOUCHEING .IT IS GREAT FOR KIDS TOO IT WILL SHOW THEM NEVER TO FILL SORRY FOR THEM SELF,, I HOPE YOU LOVE THE BOOK AS MUCH AS CB'S FAMILEY DOES AND THANK YOU FOR HELPING US KEEP CB MEMORY ALIVE ..THREW HIS BOOK MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL, KATHY WOLFORD ,, PHELPS KENTUCKY

I thought the book was such a insperation. this child was such a light in so many people lives, it seem:s to me c.b might not have lived long but what he did in the 13 years he touched so many people s lives and he took what years he had and lived it to it fullest. i am so glad that this small child didnt fill sorry for his self and he didnt want you to eather, the book was very moveing and so so touching,, i wish that ever body buy;s this book and even better they make a a movie of cb's life wouldnt that be great to show ever one what a gifted and loveing child he was.. lets here it for c.b. and thank god for a wonderfull child the book was a 100 in stars,,,, if i could have rated it my self . a fan of c.b.'s in kentucky

Just reading the reviews makes me cry, I can Look at the book without reading it and just cry. C.B.'s book brings faith into everyone's life, If u didn't know C.B. u just get the faith in his words, just imagine Being a close relative to him. C.B. was a gift from God he lightened everyone's day with His bright Beautiful smile. Caring for loved ones friends and strangers before himself That was C. I reccommend this book for everyone, You won't appreciate life till U read the Book and Take a trip down his road, the long struggle. Reading the book makes u feel like ur insides are tieing in knots, it makes u wanna cry most it does make cry. Even though he's gone I know the baby will watch over me and the rest of Family. And he probably will never know How Much I Love Him. And to everyone reading this, please don't take life for granite, love everyone and treat people equal. Well if nothing give respect. In Closing, C.B. I Love U.

Were Charles Conlon still alive, I would track him down and kiss his feet for capturing in such vivid detail the historic giants of baseball. The book features remarkable photos of the greatest baseball players of most of the first half of this century. Suitable for framing, the photos typically depict individual players and small groups, often in game action. The well preserved photographs provide an important window on a truly beautiful game and its players in an era when outfield fences were optional, and a "baseball club" was just that. My favorite of Conlon's gems shows Hall of Fame shortstop Honus Wagner gripping his bat. Under his fingernails is Pennsylvania coal dust. His chipped, oversized piece of lumber looks unwieldy by today's standards. And his sinuous forearms are testament to the power that we remember him by. Other photos are paired to show the dramatic impact of age and the outfield sun on players of yesterday. Picture Wes Chandler spunky at 25 and then battle weary at about 50 and you'll understand why so many players strive so hard for a moment in the sun: they want to enjoy it before it's all gone.

I have been a reader of baseball history for most of my 45 years, and I never heard of George S. Conlon. I know him now. This book is nothing less than fascinating. The photos are marvelous, but every printed word is interesting, starting with the preface. I could not put it down.

The centerpiece of all baseball photography books. You read about them. You marvel at their feats and accomplishments. So few photographs exist about them. What do they look like? Charles Conlon did history a service by just following his hobby. Truly a magnificent masterpiece. Not just photo's...History! We are all so very lucky to be blessed with such a collection. For those interested, there is a collection of hundreds of baseball cards featuring the photographic genius of Conlon. They are out of print now, but can still be found. The Conlon Collection from the Sporting News. You owe it to yourself to check it out. You owe it to yourself to own this book.

This was the only way to wrap up the Sandman series - a wake. Morpheus is dead, driven by a complex set of events ending with the Furies decending apon the Dreaming.

Characters from the series collect in the Dreaming to share memories of Morpheus. The first few books of this collection are exactly what the title implies - a wake. The stories of the Sandman collection receive their final detailing and a new Dream (yet, oddly the same Dream) assumes the throne.

The final two books are my favorites, though. Hob, Dream's human friend of the past few hundred years, tries to deal with the loss of his friend while attending a Renissance Fair with his girlfriend. Combined with the sorrow of the loss, Hob is also starting to feel his age and is wracked with guilt about his past. At the height of this, he gets drunk and has a conversation with Dream's older sister.

The last story stands on its own: a wise man's journey through a Shifting Zone, done in a style unique to the story.

This collection gives a sense of closure, and is probably the best installment since "Doll's House" or even "24 Hours". A must-own.

A fitting title to one of the best comic series ever printed. The reader who has followed the Sandman series finally wakes up from the incredible 5 year 'dream' saga. It is not as heavy to read as some of the other earlier collections since it is made up of short stories. This collection wraps up the loose bits and pieces to the Sandman series. The first part sees the wake for Morpheus and Daniel taking up the mantle as the new Dream. The rest are individual stories. We see Hob's reaction to the departure of his friend, a story of a traveller trapped in The Dreaming and finally concludes, appropriately, with Neil Gaiman's take on Shakespere's "The Tempest". To really understand and appreciate this book, the reader would be have to have read at least "The Kindly Ones". As for me, I really liked this book and would have given it a 10 if I didn't have to wake up from this fantastic dream Gaiman has taken me, and countless others to.

First off, I'll just say that I think the wake has the finest art of all the SANDMAN collections, save for maybe Season of Mists.

The Wake is a story about death and endings and farewells, and it is an end to the series, but only in the sense of the Death tarot card: representing transformation, rebirth, the closing of a door and the opening of a window. As Dream told Orpheus: "You attend the funeral. You bid the dead farewell. You grieve. Then you go on with your life." That's what the characters are doing in this book. It also contains the story of another wanderer in the shifting zones, (a parallel to "Soft Places"), and the writing of Shakespeare's last play (a parallel to "Midsummer Night's Dream.") All told, The Wake is a graceful coda to the bittersweet symphony (so shoot me for the reference) that is SANDMAN.

The king is dead. Long live the king.

I noticed that my mother was using the paperback edition of this devotional to write little prayer requests and thoughts in the margins. This prompted me to buy her the journal version of the devotional which gives her much more space to write and includes the same powerful devotionals. It was a great gift!

Another great idea is the "Devotions for Morning and Evening With Mrs. Charles E. Cowman : The Complete Daily Devotions of Streams in the Desert and Springs in the Valley". Even though it is a little harder to find, my mother claims that the evening devotionals which are taken from Cowman's "Springs in the Valley"
are just as moving as the Morning devotionals (taken from "Streams in the Desert"), if not more so.

I have been reading the paperback devotional and I enjoy it greatly. It is non-judmental and very loving. My fave devotional!

I have been reading the paperback devotional and I enjoy it greatly. It is non-judmental and very loving. My fave devotional!

I noticed that my mother was using her copy of this devotional to write little prayer requests and thoughts in the margins. This prompted me to buy her the journal version of the devotional which gives her much more space to write and includes the same powerful devotionals. It was a great gift!

Another great idea is the "Devotions for Morning and Evening With Mrs. Charles E. Cowman : The Complete Daily Devotions of Streams in the Desert and Springs in the Valley". Even though it is a little harder to find, my mother claims that the evening devotionals which are taken from Cowman's "Springs in the Valley"
are just as moving as the Morning devotionals (taken from "Springs in the Desert"), if not more so.

I noticed that my mother was using the paperback edition of this devotional to write little prayer requests and thoughts in the margins. This prompted me to buy her the journal version of the devotional which gives her much more space to write and includes the same powerful devotionals. It was a great gift!

Another great idea is the "Devotions for Morning and Evening With Mrs. Charles E. Cowman : The Complete Daily Devotions of Streams in the Desert and Springs in the Valley". Even though it is a little harder to find, my mother claims that the evening devotionals which are taken from Cowman's "Springs in the Valley"
are just as moving as the Morning devotionals (taken from "Springs in the Desert"), if not more so.

I have been reading the paperback devotional and I enjoy it greatly. It is non-judmental and very loving. My fave devotional!

Archbishop Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. has written a five star book that tumbles me and splits me apart. I am the "cafeteria Catholic" he chides, the one who chooses to separate himself from the "structures of authority in the Church."

The subtitle to his book is "Rediscovering the Basics." I had high hopes that the basics would be in the realm of affirmation of life and a restatement of the love Christ said to us. I must give the man (Chaput not Christ) credit for saying lots of things that do the work of lifting my bruised spirit, but unlike Christ, Chaput takes back what he gives.

This is first seen only three pages into Chapter One when he says, "Becoming a Christian is never merely an act of loyalty to an institution, or agreeing with a body of doctrines." I like this--it sounds like Thomas Merton to me. But then two sentences later he takes it all back with this bit of orthodoxy: "We can't claim to be part of the People of God, but separate ourselves from the structures of authority in the Church." p.16

How do I give this book five stars? It does what a book should do for you, it gives you a workout. Traditional Catholics will get a rosy feeling reading this book, but the rest of us, the ones to whom Christ might have said "Get behind me Satan." will wonder what their Christianity is all about when they read the book. Chaput says "God is personal", but suggests over and over again that the Catholic Church, stepping in for God, is not.

If we had more bishops who present the faith with such fervor, fullness, and fidelity, the Church would not be mired in the scandals that plague it: the sexual abuse scandals, the scandals of pro-abortion politicians who publicly claim to be Catholic, and the scandals of liturgical abuse and doctrinal dissent.

Archbishop Chaput fully presents the challenge of Catholic moral teaching. For example, unlike many others, he does not shrink from vigorously presenting the Church's teaching on contraception. Catholics who read this book will be reinvigorated in the practice of their faith. Non-Catholics will see the attractiveness of the fullness of Catholic teaching.

If you've followed this bishop's talks and writings, you already know he's got a lot to say, and he says it very well. If this is your first encounter with his thinking, you're in for an inspiring read. Chaput has a friendly, vivid way of preaching and teaching that makes difficult ideas easy to understand. This is a great book for everyday searchers who want to make sense of the Gospel and the Church. It's the best introduction to Christianity and the Catholic faith I've come across in years. Highly recommended.

Jesus said the greatest commandments are to love God and to love one another. While loving one another is not easy, at least it is somewhat tangible. However, loving a being that you cannot detect with your five physical senses such as God can seem almost impossible. Charles Colson, former Nixon henchman during the Watergate scandal and now current leader of Prison Ministries, writes a wonderful book about what it means to be a Christian and how we can learn to love God. Charles Colson is a gifted story teller who relates beautiful narratives about the truth of Christianity and the power of loving God. This is definitely a book that I highly recommend. It is in the top ten list of many Christians who have had the pleasure of reading it. God bless.

Jesus said the greatest commandments are to love God and to love one another. While loving one another is not easy, at least it is somewhat tangible. However, loving a being that you cannot detect with your five physical senses such as God can seem almost impossible. Charles Colson, former Nixon henchman during the Watergate scandal and now current leader of Prison Ministries, writes a wonderful book about what it means to be a Christian and how we can learn to love God. Charles Colson is a gifted story teller who relates beautiful narratives about the truth of Christianity and the power of loving God. This is definitely a book that I highly recommend. It is in the top ten list of many Christians who have had the pleasure of reading it. God bless.

Jesus said the greatest commandments are to love God and to love one another. While loving one another is not easy, at least it is somewhat tangible. However, loving a being that you cannot detect with your five physical senses such as God can seem almost impossible. Charles Colson, former Nixon henchman during the Watergate scandal and now current leader of Prison Ministries, writes a wonderful book about what it means to be a Christian and how we can learn to love God. Charles Colson is a gifted story teller who relates beautiful narratives about the truth of Christianity and the power of loving God. This is definitely a book that I highly recommend. It is in the top ten list of many Christians who have had the pleasure of reading it. God bless.

This book shows a side of Robert E. Lee that seems to have been lost in the history books. After the end of the Civil War, we hear little or nothing about General Lee. In truth, he died five years after the war ended, but he made the most of that time in trying to repair the damage done by the war. This book is an excellent chronicle of those years.

Lee lost most of his property during the war. He was a career soldier, and didn't have many prospects for employment. He hoped to move onto a farm and to live quietly in the country.

However, other plans were being made for him. The trustees of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia, voted unanimously to offer him a job as president of the college. Lee was not a professional educator (although he had served as superintendent of West Point), but the trustees believed that his leadership and integrity were just what the college needed to survive the harsh economy left by the war. For his part, Lee saw this as an opportunity to help young Southern men to become productive citizens.

The college's wager paid off. Enrollment grew each year that Lee spent at the helm. The college developed new programs, and Lee's stature and good reputation were such that Washington College received large donations from philanthropists, even in the Northern states. Lee took a personal interest in the students, learning to address them by name and taking responsibility for disciplinary measures.

Yet Lee's last five years were not years of unabated bliss. His health declined steadily, his wife was an invalid, his brother died, and his reputation suffered from some unjust attacks in Northern newspapers. Throughout it all, Lee held his head high and maintained his dignity, his character, and his principles.

Lee put much effort into healing the wounds left by the war. He appreciated the esteem in which he was held by his fellow Southerners, but he encouraged them to be loyal citizens of the United States of America. He never said a word against General U.S. Grant, and even rebuked an employee of Washington College who did. One of the most fascinating (and mysterious) episodes in the book is Lee's trip to Washington, D.C., to visit President Grant in the White House. No one else was present for the meeting, and so no one really knows what they discussed.

The book ends abruptly with an account of Lee's death, without going reporting on his funeral and his family's life without him. Even so, this book makes great reading and has fascinating insights into the private life of an American icon.

I have a real passion for the American Civil War and, if truth be told, I usually enjoy reading about it from a Southern perspective. I am though no Robert E. Lee worshipper and can see the good and the bad in the man and the soldier. He was not the perfect general and he did make mistakes (some very costly) but he is a fascinating character and any understanding of him leads to an appreciation of duty and honour. In those respects he was a paragon of virtue.

I'd read so much about Lee during the war that I needed something more, to find out what happened to him after the war. Charles B. Flood provided that "something" and I am so happy that I decided to go for this purchase. It was a snap decision but one I shall never regret.

The first ten chapters of the book are worth the price of purchase on their own, dealing as they do with the surrender of the marvellous Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox and the subsequent weeks and months as Lee made his way back to Richmond and waited to see what fate awaited him at the hands of the victorious Union.

I don't believe Flood was laying it on too thickly but the devotion felt towards Lee by his old soldiers (Pickett excepted of course) and the civilian population of the South are incredible. The stories of soldiers coming to see him before they set off on foot to return home are just so moving and Lee will not say no to anybody who wishes to see him.

After those opening incredible chapters things slow down somewhat and we learn of Lee's transition into what could be called a 'normal' life which sees him take up the presidency of the Lexington College in Virginia. It's not rivetting stuff by any stretch of the imagination but it's interesting and we gain a greater insight into what drives Robert E. Lee... duty and honour. He could have cashed in on his name a thousand times to retire a wealthy man, but he would not sell out and knows that his example, a dutiful one, will be followed by so many former Confederates in those dark post-war days.

Lee also refuses to incriminate his former comrades when pressed to do so and it is a measure of his standing even in the North that no-one dares to bring charges against him, despite the clamour from some sections of society that he be tried for treason.

The picture that Flood paints of Lee is not always flattering though. He is shown to be a stubborn man in some respects and his family are always in awe of him, especially his daughters, of whom he is extremely possessive. So much so that all three will die spinsters!

One of the last things that Lee does before his death in 1870 is to go on a short trip into the deep south and that again provides an incredible picture of his standing in the old Confedracy. Though he craves privacy word gets out that he is on a train and telegrams break the news ahead of his journey. Consequently, thousands turn up just to get a glimpse of him, with old soldiers bringing their children (man of who have been named after Lee). It is a very moving account of just how deeply his people felt for him.

My only complaint is that I would have liked just a little more reaction to lee's death around the South. How did the people react? What did the papers say? That sort of thing. An omission that could easily have been avoided in my opinion.

All in all though a hearty well done to Charles B. Flood for an excellent biography of Lee's last years. If my review sounds a little soppy then believe me, the book isn't. It is a solid, fair and well constructed picture of the last years of Robert E. Lee's life. It may move you in ways you weren't expecting though!

This was a passionate story of the last five years of the life of one of our greatest American heroes. Finally, we have a look at what Lee accomplished AFTER the war! From the first chapter to the end, I was enthralled with the story of Lee's dedication to God and country. The author used interesting stories to detail Lee's character which made the book easy to read and immensely enjoyable. I judge this to be one of the very best biographies I've ever read.

Stanley's book is based on important reminders that ultimately our successes should be characterized by goals set with God in mind and that it is too legalistic to apply a cookie cutter mold and say every Christian will become a pauper or must be poor in order to be humble. Clearly being a servant doesn't always mean that we must be struggling financially as well. The important thing to remember is that success in the eyes of the world however is measured differently than in the eyes of God and Stanley does a good job of reminding Christians that if you approach your faith in a way that you are determined to define your successes in a way apart from considering what God wants for you life than we still hold ourselves to be the centre of the universe and not God. I give it four stars only because i try to reserve five starts for my favorite books, but this is definetly a worthwhile read.

This book bring the prosperty message into balance. It has made a life changing difference in my life. This is a must reading for all Christians. It makes so-o-o much sense! Dr. Stanley gives the Scriptures to back up what he is saying. Read it without religious traditions and preconcieved ideas.

I really enjoyed this book! It was more of a devotional book than anything else, touching on the principles of reaching true happiness, success, and evils such as greed and being negative. Success God's Way reminded me that in order to have true success one has to put God first and everything else will fall into place. I have now adapted one of the techniques that Dr. Stanley stated in the ladder part of his book, which is prioritize the initiatives and goals that you want to accomplish for the next day on a flash card before you go to bed and then put it in your pocket throughout the whole day. It is amazing how much more one can stay on task. The true examination I believe that this book illustrates is are one's goals Godly purposed goals striving to go along with God's plan, or are they individualized goals that do not fit in God's initiative, which makes their purpose lost and unmeaningful? Definately read Success God's Way!!!!!

A perfect blend of of travel journal and salute to public golf. Anyone with a high handicap, who has played with bare-chested strangers with even higher handicaps, on crowded bald fairways with bumpy greens, will appreciate this book.

slack is no slacker when it comes to writing about golf.....watching the americans come back at the ryder cup may have been more exciting, but nowhere near as entertaining as slack's masterpiece. i truly believe there is a medal waiting for him in stockholm thanks to his words in this book.. thelast book i read that came close in terms of sheer insight, humor and wit was james solomon's real world book of a couple of years ago. this should be mandatory reading for anyone who plays golf, knows someone who plays golf, or knows someone whose father once knew a guy whose buddy played golf. a must read.

If you've ever topped a drive off the first tee or missed a three-footer on 18 while trying record your career low round, you'll be able to identify with Charles Slack's golf game. When it comes to writing, though, he's scratch. One brief example will suffice. Describing the contrast between the front and back nines at the Ponce De Leon course in St. Augustine Florida, he says, "The back nine plunges into the jungle with the suddenness of a Disney ride, into a lush, dark, secretive world of mangrove swamps and ponds curving tantalizingly like lost lagoons. Moving from the ninght to the tenth holes is like putting down a volume of P.G. Wodehouse and picking up Heart of Darkness, all in one morning."

The book is filled with wonderful insights like that one and reminds us on nearly every page of the real reasons why golfers love this sometimes maddening, often magical, game. For those of us who never will have the pleasure of sharing a round with Charles Slack, this book is a delightful substitute.