I originally bought this book for some older friends of mine. I ended up reading it all the way through before giving it to them. The stories touched all of my emotions and reminded me of my wonderful grandparents as well(my grandparents raised my sisters and I thru much of our childhood). This is a great book for anyone and everyone-don't pass it up.

Readers who haven't received a recent dose of "Chicken Soup for the Soul," shame on you. In "Chicken Soup for the Golden Soul," Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield, Barbara Chesser, Amy Seeger and Paul Meyer present us with one of the best of the series.

I say it is a must-read for anyone on either side of 60. It is a timeless, energized, enthusiastic, motivational book written with golden years in mind, but filled with stories all can enjoy. Will be a great holiday gift for lots of folks on your list.

When I am a old lady I shall wear purple........ Remember that poem. Author unknown to me. When reading this book, I cried, laughed, remembered and decided to live for the moment. Life is such a joy, and this book made me remember that.It is a must for all of us old goldies. A great gift for one to take for every occasion....birthday, shut-ins, loved ones and etc.

I bought this book from a second hand store in Australia and loved it! In a space of 3 months I have read it 3 times and refer to it almost daily. It is inspirational, and as a result of this book, I have achieved quite a few goals I had previously thought impossible. If you are in need of some inspiration. positive thoughts and a general "feel-good" read. this is the one. I have since bought a book as a git for a friend who has been feeling miserable - she now has a spring in her step again! Do yourself a favour - read it - every day!

I bought the book when I was stranded in a small airport with nothing to do and nothing to read. The stories seemed to reach into the dark corners of doubt and I felt an enourmous release. I was going to present new material to an important client and I was extremely nervous. I found that the book made me focus on what I did well, and I found "delight" in the people that I was dealing with. What a difference it made! I now give the book to friends who need to find the balance and delight in their lives.

'Out of the Blue' is uplifting and full of everyday wisdom, my favorite kind of book. It is a book that falls open at just the right passage to provide valuable insight on whatever is concerning you at the moment. It is also quite capable of jumping off the shelf into your hands if you are browsing while thinking about some problem.

Although billed as a "textbook," this book is actually for anyone -- parent, teacher, interested adult -- who wants to know how various media affect kids and what we can do about it. Fed up with what you're seeing on TV and at the movies? Read this book! Concerned about school shootings and their link to media violence? Read this book! Want some ammunition to fire back at Hollywood producers who shrug their shoulders? Read this book!

I've always liked 'Chicken Soup' books, and this one is one of my favorites. There are many stories in the book, each written by a different author sharing his or her own inspirational experience. Because each story is written by a different author, they each have their own distinct characteristics. I really enjoyed the story about an elderly lady who lost her husband and received long-stemmed roses from him for Valentine's Day after his passing. That story, along with many others in this collection, will help to ease any doubt for those who may believe true love is out of reach. I also highly recommend 'Open Your Mind, Open Your Life: A Little Book of Wisdom' by Taro Gold.

I read Chicken Soup for the Couple's Soul. This is the book you want to read if you are looking to cry, laugh, and a lot of comfort and reassurance. If you are a real romantic like me I would definitly recommend reading this book. It tells stories about new beggings, old lovers, love that last forever, fate, destiny, and more. Some of my favorite love stories are the ones that last forever. It kind of gives me hope that I will find the right man some day and I will have the same kind of love that they talk about. Every story in the book touched my heart, whether it was a death story, lost love, or a reunion, I cried. Many people have read these books and have loved them. So if you have not discovered the Chicken Soup books, I recommend reading one. The thing that I love the most is that they have many different sayings that really make you think about things. One that is my favorite is from 1Cor. 13:2 - I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets, I may have all the faith needed to move mountians - but if I have no love, I am nothing. I think this has a lot of truth to it because nobody ever feels whole unless they are truly loved. This book is for anyone who's ever been in love, is in love now, or hopes to be in love in t the future. So if you want a good book to read with real stories, read Chicken soup for the Couple's Soul.

I've always been in love with the Chicken Soup books, and Chicken Soup for the Couple's Soul is my absolute favorite. Each story in the book is written by a different author, each sharing his or her own unique inspirational experience. And because each story is written by a different author, they each have their own distinct characteristics. The stories are separated into several categories, just like in the previous Chicken Soup books. Each section offers many stories, and each story is inspiring. In particular, I really enjoyed the story written about the elderly lady who lost her husband and received yellow, long-stemmed roses from him for Valentine's Day after his death. This story, along with the many others in this collection, will surely erase any doubt in those whose belief in true love has weakened. It is not just the content of this book that will keep readers from putting this book down, it is the feeling that one will attain from the stories. It's not all about love and romance, and that is why this book is also well-rounded (although the stories are limited to relationship-related issues). I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I recommend that everyone gives it a try.

I agree with the Midwest Book Review's assessment of Barbara and Victor Medina's "Southern Appalachian Wildflowers." Far from being "plagued by problems," as a reader from Ohio stated, I think the layout and photos are beautifully done. A lot of guides I've seen are so crammed and busy that they're confusing to read. The fact that the Medinas' books use white space is a huge selling point, not a disadvantage at all. The photos are consistent and clear, and the text is informative. It's disheartening to think that an unknown curmudgeon can come along and make claims that might steer flower enthusiasts from an exceptional guide. If readers pick up the book and see for themselves, chances are high that it'll be welcome addition to their collection.

"Southern Appalachian Wildflowers" is not just a beautifully illustrated field guide, but one that is a joy to use! It is organized in a very intuitive and easy-to-use manner -- grouped by the colors of the flowers. The descriptive texts that accompany the wonderful photographs are really informative and clear. This is the only guide I found with information on when (blooming seasons) and where (habitats) to find wildflowers and with references (including contact information) on parks throughout the region. This was incredibly useful for planning a trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Another great feature is that this is a hardy, really practical field guide to take along on those long rambles -- sporting a compact size and water resistant cover. I recommend this wonderful field guide to anyone visiting the Southern Appalachian region - novice and experienced wildflower enthusiasts alike!

The descriptions and photographs in the book have been useful to us in identifying local flowers in Maryland. Many of the same plants that grow in the Southern Appalachians grow east of the Maryland Appalachian Mountains where we live.

This book was indeed quite a challenge to finish and would have been greatly improved by a more rigorous editing job. The writer's transitions between ideas were practically non-existent -- a frequent tactic of the author's was to describe an anecdote and then "analyze" it, but the analysis often left me totally baffled, since the writer did not take the time to explain why she came to her conclusions -- as if describing the anecdote was enough to make its (apparently one-and-only) "meaning" obvious. And I deeply distrust any biography that describes what the subject was thinking when she was alone, especially when the subject did not cooperate with or directly contribute to the writing of the book. And Ms. Victor got several of her facts wrong, which does not lend credence to her speculations -- "You Must Love Me," for example, was written for Madonna in Evita, and so it sounds silly for the writer to say Madonna made it her own, since she was the only one who has performed it so far. The writer also defines "los descamisados" as "the shiftless ones," when it actually means "the shirtless ones," although that could have been a typo -- again, something that careful editing would have caught. Evita, in fact, is referred to on almost every page and the writer's comparisons of Madonna to Eva Peron run the gamut from tedious to unintentionally hilarious.

I also bought Andrew Morton's book, and it will be interesting to read the two biographies back-to-back.

For any Madonna fan, or anyone fascinated by the phenomenon.
I loved this book. It is filled with insights and details from
Madonna's life that the other books missed or simply left out because they only
want to praise the Material Girl. The information from Madonna's family is worth the price of the book alone. Victor also draws amazing parallels between
Madonna's life and Evita's, but she adds many more helpful
comparisons and critiques that make this book the one to read. It's the best of both worlds--dishy and smart.

This is one of the most unusual show business biographies I've ever read. I loved it. Somehow this writer makes you understand how a phenomenon like Madonna happens, and then makes you feel as if you really are inside Madonna's head, experiencing her life as she lived it. The book has lots of gossip, but it has something I liked even more, which is a bigger picture of how Madonna reflects what's happening in the world around her, which made me understand completely the loyalty of her fans. The personal story is really moving. I especially liked the section about how the loss of Madonna's mother affected her and the direction of her life. Most books about stars don't really tell you much about the star, or how we relate to them. This one does both. It's fun to read and when I finished it I felt like every second had been worth it.

Aside from including obvious historical mistakes in her book (such as stating that King Abdullah of Jordan is the uncle instead of the grandfather of the present King Hussein of Jordan and that the Balfour Declaration was signed in 1921 instead of 1917) Barbara Victor paints an image of a self-centered and calculating Hanan Ashrawi and offers a biased portrayal of the Palestinian people's plight. Mrs. Victor prefers to dedicate an entire chapter to the "latest gossip in town" concerning Mrs. Ashrawi rather than give the reader an insightful perspective into the ideas, goals and work that make Hanan Ashrawi a voice of reason. While Barbara Victor's depictions of Palestinian treatment by Israeli forces seem to be continuously justified by vivid descriptions of alleged Palestinian brutality towards Israeli civilians, not once does the author offer the reader a realistic insight into the hardships, injustices and abuses faced by the Palestinian population at the hands of the occupier. The reader therefore remains unclear as to how and why Mrs. Ashrawi constitutes a voice of reason amidst the hopelessness of the Palestinian plight. Unlike "A Voice of Reason" by Barbara Victor, "This Side of Peace" by Hanan Ashrawi gives a far more insightful and honest account of the Mideast Process, allowing the reader to judge who Hanan Ashrawi is, what her true motivations are and what life is really like for a Palestinian under Israeli occupation.