Thanks to the success of her newest series, featuring Olivia Brown (Free Love, Murder Me Now), the publishing world has rediscovered Annette Meyers and is reissuing her classing Wall St. series - the "Smith & Wetzon" books.

The Big Killing, the first in this series, and arguably the best, was first printed in 1989 and led the way for a view into the fast-paced, self indulgent world of wall street traders and the executives who "headhunt" them for New York firms. Meyers inserts her personal knowledge of Wall St. and couples it with her fascination and experience in musical theatre. Both Wall St. and Broadway are caricature settings for excessive behaviors, and you will find a lot of caricature characters in Meyers' series. Leading the way is Xenia Smith (a quote: "It's about money, it's always about money"), partner in executive search with Leslie Wetzon, a former Broadway dancer. Smith is amusing and always entertaining, with her series of rich paramours and her need to stick her nose into everyone's business, especially Wetzon's.

More finely drawn are the characters of Wetzon, Silvestri (think George Clooney in need of a shave) and Carlos Prince, who can literally jump off the pages of these books. New York city sights also play a starring role, and Meyers delights in refamiliarizing those of us no longer in the city with descriptions of local landmarks that make the books come alive. My favorite? Steven Sondheim's residence, at which Wetzon always pays homage by the tip of a beret.

The Big Killing starts off with a "bang", as Barry Stark, eager to jump to another firm, gets killed at the site of a clandestine meeting with Wetzon. Shocked by the incident, Wetzon gets drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery, which stays a mystery until the final pages of the novel. Readers will be moved by the need and the caring that is generated by the Wetzon-Silvestri relationship, no matter how many times Wetzon gets involved with another man.

Read the Big Killing, and then enjoy the rest of the series (starting with "Tender Death") as they are released again for new fans of this interesting author. Enjoy!

Anette Meyers' description of characters is so colorful and complete that you can actually see the characters. She has an uncanny way of describing each situation and feelings that she makes you feel as though it were happening to you. "The Big Killing" is a story about the stock market, stock brokers, head hunters and murder. The twist and turns in the plot makes it difficult to put the book down. It's a story about strong willed women in a man's world. It makes you want to be like them when you grow up, even if you're over ninety. For the mystery lover, this is a must.

I gave copies of this book to a 6 year-old and a 12 -year old. Both loved it. It is a really well-researched and cleverly put together book, a great idea done well.

I bought this book largely because of its gorgeous, highly reflective cover. A true whim, particularly as I do not have children. However, as soon as I started to turn this highly engaging volume's pages, I found myself riveted. Hainey is a master at fascinating minutiae. He takes a simple topic--the color blue--and relates it to myriad topics ranging from animals to music to history. Kids will devour it. And this adult loves it.

The chapter "American Girls, Raised on Promises" is fantastic. It's a critical look at the differences between the way culture and gender have been viewed through the lens of rock music lyrics in the 80s compared to the 90s, then extended to views of women and bodybuilding. In particular Ms. Haywood focuses on the poignant and ironic song "American Girls" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and how Petty manages to describe to perfection the way young women in America, esp. the 30-somethings, feel about the gap between what we were raised to believe we could do and the hard realities of the world. I keep coming back to this essay again and again because it says so much about me, like a little wound that needs licking.

Leslie Heywood examines the forces which shape the aesthetics of womens' bodybuilding. Her vision goes deep; she lives what she writes about, and her criticism of the movers and shakers of the bodybuilding scene is right on. Especially interesting is her comparison of photographers Bill Dobbins and Bill Lowenburg. Dobbins' work stereotypes and fetishizes; Lowenburg's questions. The truth, according to Heywood, lies somewhere in between.

"Breaking the Cycle" is a much-needed antidote to the "We are the world syndrome" which compels otherwise well-intentioned liberals to believe that dropping western troops into nasty third world impasses with no defense apart from sidearms, blue helmets and harsh language is an adequate approach to peacekeeping.

Just inventing a new term or two (such as "Operations Other than War") will not suffice - if we are to continue trying to cut Gordian knots such as Kosovo, East Timor and Rwanda all over the world, we have to develop an approach which both works and is logically consistent. That is the task undertaken by Breaking the Cycle's editors and their co-authors, a number of young military officers and political theorists - they have developed the available knowledge and thinking about peacekeeping operations into a phenomenology of political unrest which causes nations to devolve into chaos and a methodology of how to arrest the chaos and restore nations to peace.

The most admirable tenet in common to the phenomenonology and the methodology developed in this book is the long-needed observation that before the peace can be kept, it must be made. And given co-editor Roderick von Lipsey's occupation (he is a serving officer in the United States Marine Corps), it is comforting but scarcely surprising that the methodology described in Breaking the Cycle for peacemaking involves the same theory that rests at the base of recent American military thinking - bring more than enough troops, weapons, and logistic support to do the job - to subdue ALL of the warring parties in the regional conflict being considered - and make sure that the political support necessary to support the peaceMAKING operation exists BEFORE committing troops to action.

After the salient points of the theory of how regional conflicts occur are considered and the new theories of how to end these conflicts effectively are outlined, the remainder of the book is given to chapters (each written by an individual co-author or co-editor of the book) describing actual attempts at peacemaking and/or peacekeeping from recent history. These analyses are consistenly sharp and cogent and serve admirably to illustrate the points made in the earlier discussions.

Even though I had issues with some of the discussion chapters, I gave this book a perfect score because its central premises have been too often neglected by people in decision-making roles. More books of this sort are badly needed, and more people need to read them.

The people who design and control "peacekeeping" operations overseas should have to read Breaking the Cycle and tested on its contents before they are allowed to put troops in harm's way. The rest of us should read Breaking the Cycle because it gives the careful reader such a clear picture of how nasty regional conflicts evolve and how they must be handled.

Truly, a try-before-you-buy look at a serious scholarly work. A cutting-edge idea in book marketing. Go see this book at www.breakingthecycle.co

Personally i found that this book is helpful to me. Actually I went straight into 2 chapters the section on counselling adults and decision making, i think. The topic on "Discovering the Career within you" is very well written. It let's me rethink how I decide upon a suitable career through having good knowledge of the environment and yourself. The author gives very practical and down-to-earth guides. It helps us clear some misconceptions of calling from God to a particular vocation. I also liked the part on decision making and the "4 foundation principles for discerning guidance" . Overall, it is a good well written guide to career seekers.

Chap 1: The World of Work (the meaning of work; the purpose of work; a job provides survival; work as security; work as a source of appreciation; work as self-achievement; work as self-actualization; the role of vocational counseling) Chap 2: God's Will, Calling, and the Career Journey (pitfalls in seeking God's will: dependency, confusion and paralysis, intuition, careful planning; the call to ministry, Christian biographies as a tool, answering God's call) Chap 3: The Power of Family in Career Development (family rules; family roles, family triangles; the genogram: a tool for understanding careers and family; mapping the family structure and relationships; interpreting the impact of family themes on career development; implementing plans against family traditions; family impact on individual career development styles) Chap 4: Applying Biblical Insights to Career Counseling (applying biblical stories to the career journey: Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses) Chap 5: Teenagers and Career Exploration (developmental tasks of adolescence: forming ways of thinking--from concrete to abstract; forming ways of caring -- from rules to respect; forming a faith -- from acceptance to questions; forming a path for the future -- from fantasy to reality; hazards in teenage career development: negative identity, identity diffusion, identity foreclosure, moratorium on identity; counseling strategies: pinpointing level of maturity, being prepared for egocentric attitudes, affirming their need to be separate, recognizing the limited time perspective, helping to create a coat of arms, facilitating realistic appraisal of abilities, facilitating reflection and evaluation of personal values, encouraging practical experience, providing support for immediate decisions, helping parents support their adolescents' dreams) Chap 6: Young Adults and Career Decision Making (developmental tasks of young adults: clarifying purpose, achieving competence, managing emotions, becoming autonomous, establishing identity, freeing interpersonal relationships, developing integrity; hazards in young adult career development: premature stabilization, dichotomous thinking, external locus of control; counseling strategies: pinpoint career decidedness, construct a family genogram, conduct personality, interest, and skills assessment, facilitate career information counseling groups, decrease anxiety, foster a compelling personal vision, help clients

initiate mentoring relationships and internship experiences, help clients develop job-seeking skills) Chap 7: Midcareer Change (developmental tasks of adults in transition: achieving intimacy through establishment and self-extension, achieving generativity, achieving integrity; types of midcareer transition, motivation for midcareer transition; hazards: ambivalence toward change, job obsolescence, unfulfillment; counseling strategies: know the stages of transition, capitalize on readiness for change, examine life-role conflicts, evaluate the current career circumstances, prescribe a client autobiography, guard against age bias) Chap 8: Postretirement Adjustment (developmental tasks of older adults -- retirement adjustment: stages, styles, emotional tasks; hazards: loss of meaningful social network, loss of life direction or purpose, negative or ageist self perceptions; counseling strategies: assist in planning, clarify affective reactions to retirement, assist in finding part-time or volunteer employment, make referrals to community agencies, encourage information interviews with retired acquaintances, minimize use of tests and assessments, conduct a structured life-review) Chap 9: Surviving a Career Crisis (Anatomy of a career crisis, types of career crises, types of unemployment, impact of unemployment; hazards in career crisis adjustment: career burnout, psychological and physiological costs of job loss; counseling strategies: prescribe a journal, provide support dealing with loss, create a network of professional support, help maintain preunemployment activity and daily structure, help the client overcome learned helplessness, establish links with community resources, sustain commitment until the client is reemployed) Chap 10: Women and Career Development (developmental tasks for women, traditional stage models of adult vocational development, gender differences in life orientation, vocational patterns of women, women's vocational patterns versus the traditional stage model; hazards: dual roles, the identity tension line, the glass ceiling; counseling strategies for women: support clients in managing dual roles -- homemaker and worker, design strategies for combating harassment, work to uncover role models, help women develop and value independence, guard against gender bias, help working women deal with stress) Chap 11: Special Population and Career Development (vocational counseling with minorities, specific

problems and needs of American minorities; counseling interventions for minorities, vocational counseling for individuals with disabilities, specific problems and needs of individuals with disability; counseling interventions for individuals with disabilities) Chap 12: Assessing Personality, Interests, Aptitudes, and Abilities (assessing personality: California Psychological Inventory, Edwards Personal Preference Schedule, Myers-Briggs, assessing interests: Kuder Occupational Interest Survey, Strong Interest Inventory, Self-Directed Search; assessing aptitudes and abilities: Differential Aptitude Tests, General Aptitude Test Battery, Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery; giving feedback to the client) Chap 13: Equipping for the Job Search (job search strategies: getting organized, researching companies, learning to network, searching the hidden job market, being persistent; resume writing; the cover letter; interviewing skills) Chap 14: Developing a Career Resource Center (what it is, how to start one, occupational information, armed service information, information about colleges and universities, information on technical and professional schools, financial aid information, local job and internship information, job-search information, resume preparation resources, information on job interviews, career planning information, Christian career planning) Chap 15: Keys to a Successful Career (job burnout, avoiding burnout, the quiet joy of work, the work we love, the need for others, others' need of us) Appendix A -- Career Maturity Profile Appendix B -- Social Network Questionnaire Appendix C -- Strong Interest Inventory Summary Evaluation Form Appendix D -- Sample Resumes Appendix E -- Sample Cover Letter Appendix F -- Career Management Organizations

I was leafing through a stack of books at a thrift store and this book caught my eye. It was a paperback edition that looked well-loved and well-worn, but the beauty of the illustrations was not diminished in the least. The cats look real enough to touch. This book is a treasure for any cat-lover. I like it so much that I ordered the hardback edition. I have to say, the print quality of the hardback edition doesn't do the illustrations justice. I would recommend the paperback edition - the pictures just "pop" with color and warmth. Really makes a difference. Either way, this book is a keeper.

The best of both worlds for cat-lovers and quilters - cats prowling thru the best places to play, sleep, and have kittens. Each page is beautifully bordered with quilt patterns, vines, and/or cat designs. A quiet, yet colorful book to share with children.

It's rare that a historian will lay aside partisan, deeply held beliefs to render an accurate picture of early Christianity. Hardinge succeeds, inasmuch as the scant information on the Celtic church in Britain allows. One comment that struck me as particularly insightful was Hardinge's quote of a twelfth century Catholic biographer of an earlier Celtic saint. The biographer lamented that the "life of so priceless a prelate" should be tinged with heresy. So, he rewrote the story, seasoning "the barbarous composition with Roman salt." Even if this biographer was sincere (and it appears he was), he, like many others, clouded and obscured the little historical information that we do have access to.

Unfortunately, Hardinge does not spend any time researching some of the earlier records of Christian missionary work in Celtic Britain. "Christianity crept quietly into Britain," he says. Nothing could be further from the truth, as any reading of even Catholic historians such as Baronius will attest. Even if the records of Joseph of Arimathea's mission to Britain in 37 AD is considered legendary, Hardinge could have at least mentioned it. In fact, there's more evidence that Joseph of Arimathea went to Britain than that Columbus discovered America in 1492. Nevertheless, other books (such as "Drama of the Lost Disciples" by Jowett and "St. Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury" by Smithett-Lewis) more than make up for this lack. Hardinge definitely has his place among those who tirelessly searched out the dusty records of Christianity's passage through time. And, definitive or not, we owe him a debt of gratitude for his pioneering work in the early Medieval British Isles.

Through painstaking research, Mr. Hardinge has captured the ancient aspects of true Celtic Christianity. Much has been recently written about Celtic Christians and about the British Isles in general, but Mr. Hardinge's meticulous devotion to original sources and quotations from the ancient enemy of Celtic Christianity (Roman Catholicism) have served to give a highly accurate and engaging outline of how ancient Celtic Christians must have evangelized, preached, lived their lives, showed their devotion to God and generally defied Catholic authority during their time.

If its implications are understood correctly, this book will throw much of what goes as "church history" on its ear. Patrick a seventh-day Sabbath keeper? The ancient Celts defiant toward Augustine? True historians will take note of this book.

In this concluding book in a series of four about the history and products of the Chase Copper and Brass Co., the authors present the first (1933) and last (1942) catalogs of Chase's consumer products...and a wonderful surprise. The catalog pictures are crisp and clear, and the contrast between the early and last product offerings can be easily compared. But the first publishing of a series of pre-1933 "flyers" that were Chase's first "catalog" make this a must-have reference for collectors. Nine new pieces are shown, and new, additional information is provided about several other items previously attributed to Chase. Definite 5 star kudos to the the authors, Don Johnson and Leslie Pena, for this wonderful resource.

This book is the final of four outstanding books by these two accomplished authors. Any Chase collector or deco enthusiast should have them in their reference library. This book features reprints of original 1933 and 1942 Chase catalogs, factory information, and pre-1933 reprints of Chase Specialty flyers, some of which have never been published before. Pictures of newly discovered Chase products will be a great help to Chase collectors in identification of their wares. This book is a must for all those who appreciate the fine craftsmanship that came from the Chase factories. Donald-Brian Johnson and Leslie Pina should be commended for putting together this four part Chase reference set, this book being the final one of the four. Highly recommend!

I love this cookbook. The recipes are easy, elegant and tasty. I got this book in 1988,when it first came out and I still use it all the time. The recipes are unique and all can be prepared quickly. I am so glad it is still in print. I plan to buy several to give as gifts!

This is without question the best cookbook that I own. The recipes are very imaginative and delicious. I have prepared 20 of the recipes and I have found them all easy and quick to prepare. Some of our favorite recipes are found within this book. I have not seen these recipes anywhere else. Leslie Bloom is a chicken genius! I like the book so much that I have ordered 4 more to give to family members. You can't find a better cookbook!!

I can't seem to find the area to post recommendations for the company I bought this book form. Mindspring.com. They were very prompt in mailing this book to me. My child has started using it yet, but the promptness of the delivery was very important to me. Thanks

hello i love the book because it explains you alot of things and it helps you to understand.it is a good book because with the pictures you understand better the lesson an this book has a lot of pictures