From a written review, posted here by the author's spouse: I found your book striking, imaginative and original Michael J. Major, Writer, Anacortes, Washington.

From a written review, posted here by the author's spouse: Children will not get a "descriptive" look at the alphabet. The use of adjectives and verbs to represent some letters is unique! Ruth Jordan, Director, Student Support Services, Ypsilanti Public Schools, Michigan

From a written review, posted here by the author's spouse: I loved this Alphabet Book! It's as intriguing as a video alphabet game. Somehow, the author/illustrator managed to get allof the sensens involved-- no mean feat in the medium of the printed page. You can feel the texture of the lace, hear the crackle of the ice, see the wiggle in the worm. Little ones will want to experience it over and over again. Diane Geherin, Principal, Erickson Elementary School, Ypsilanti, Michigan

I used this book in an elementary classroom. When the children came in each morning, they would look at the board to get the day's riddle. They had fun and I got a couple of minutes of peace in the mornings. They felt SO SMART when they solved each one. They even started to make up their own riddles to put on the board and got such a kick out of letting their classmates in on the answers.

I used this book when teaching a high-school level English class in France. I wrote the "sentences" on the board and had the first person from each team run to the board to write out the sentence completely. It was fantastique! They loved it. I'm sure it could be put to good use in an American classroom too. Great fun!

A gift at 16, I laughed at every page... at 42, I am ordering 4 copies...a difficult book to review as you really have to see it to believe it. So order one up, and one for a friend. Enjoy, laugh and learn to C D B.

Little Fur Family was originally published in 1946. It was written by Margaret Wise Brown (Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny) and illustrated by Garth Williams. The book tells the story of a day in the life of a litle fur bear who lives in his little fur world. The text is told in a rhyming format adored by most young children. Its miniature size appeals to those who are miniature themselves! In addition, you should purchase the copy that has the faux fur cover. It makes the book as sweet and comforting in texture as it does in content. A great stocking stuffer and a wonderful present for any time of the year...Little Fur Family is a sure hit.

The Little Fur Family is the best of childhood, remembered as wild sights and cozy feelings. To be able to boil the spiritual and emotional experience of raw child-ness down to the essential syrup is the perfection of Margaret Wise Brown. The best comparison would be having to condense a biographical novel to a haiku, and Brown does it in the same seductive style as the sea to draw the eyes, a river to the ears, and a blue sky to the deepest imagination. The story is told through the mind of a little fur child, who lives with his family in the wood. As he travels in his world that day, little wonder that it takes the reader, child or adult, to their own memories. Even though my bookshelves house books by Chomsky, Foucault, and Mahfouz, The Little Fur Family is always my heartfelt favorite. This book is a sweet story without having the backlash of crawling around in the muck of saccharine characters or the rabid commercialism of children's stories that have action figures or theme parks. If this story stimulates your appetite, I also recommend Goodnight Moon, another Margaret Wise Brown classic

One of the greatest joys of my life was sitting at the dining room table watching my 7-year-old granddaughter reading The Little Fur Family to my 4-year-old grandson while the two older grandchildren joined in singing the little song. I shall never forget how much love they showed for each other as so beautifully depicted in Margaret Wise Brown's extraordinararily charming little book. There is no other children's book quite like it.

It's a tough business to tell a child a favorite story again, and again, and again, both for the storyteller who's tired of telling it and for the child who has, like a true die-hard fan, grown into a very devoted yet demanding critic. The story must be told "just-so", exactly the same way it's been told before and at the same time fresh, new, and even better than ever. Wolf Story is a story about telling a story, and both a parent and their child will recognize themselves in 5-year-old Michael and his father as they share the ritual bedtime story, a story about a very nasty wolf named Waldo. Little Michael seems to "know" the story even before he's heard it, but he isn't altogether conscious of this. He knows it much better than the tale's storyteller/author, his father, and isn't shy at all offering suggestions when his father doesn't tell it right.

Guaranteed this clever book will have you both laughing out loud at times, but I was also very pleased to find an amusing children's book that manages to operate at different levels without the wisecracking or cynical tone so common in children's literature now. Children can easily see the story from the point of view of the father, of little Michael, the scary wolf and the little farmer boy, Jimmy, who stands up to him. This makes the story all the more delightful for them. What a treat!

My favorite book as a child. My father read it to my brother and then to me, in chapters much like Michael's father tells him the story, until we were old enough to read it to him. It's so much a fairy tale but, at the same time, Michael's father loving him so much he creates this wonderful story off the top of his head combined with the father's slight impatience or perhaps the father and son's different priorities make it believable. The under-his-breath sarcasm/innuendo in the father's voice adds a little reality check for parents reading the book to their children. I am constantly on the look-out for this book so I can share it with my grandchildren (since I won't let go of my only copy) and my friends' children. I thought it was out of print and can't believe my good fortune in finding not only a printed copy, but an audiobook as well. I think this is the first thing in my childhood that really showed it was okay to think "outside the box". I could probably stand to re-read it more often to remind me of that early lesson and it's a good lesson for kids, too.

Every year I read Wolf Story to my second graders and at the end of the year when I ask them their favorite chapter book read to them, Wolf Story is chosen every year to be the favorite. They love to follow the adventures of Rainbow and Michael. When you complete Chapter 1, the kids are hooked. They can not wait for the next day. I have even had kids who have been sick ask if I can re-read a chapter that they missed or if they can stay in at recess to read the missed chapter on their own.

Wolf Story is wonderfully written and captivating to young children. Every year I can not wait to read the book. I find myself anxious to share the next chapter.
When my own children have children, Wolf Story will be the book that I can share with them. I strongly recommend this book to every child and to every adult who enjoys reading to their children at bedtime.

I read "High Tech Jobs for Low Tech People" near the start of my job search. I want to change industries, and there is a lot of growth in High Tech near me. I was somewhat frustrated by the use of on-line job searches, where you send in a resume electronically and get an electronic response. Job fairs seemed even worse, because although I had been a vice president of operations in a healthcare company, the recruiters felt I had no skills they could use. Mr. Schaffer's book convinced me that I was getting a typical response to these approaches, and reinvigorated my search. By the time I completed his book, I had two informational interviews with target companies, and a plan to try temping to get in the door. I have a much better idea of what I can expect, and how to hopefully convince people to give me a try. The resume examples were helpful, reinforcing how to highlight skills rather than inappropriate job history. I think any low tech person would benefit from this book, as well as new college graduates.

I strongly recommend this book. I decided to make a career change into the high tech field three months ago, and the first and best thing I did was read Bill Schaffer's book. I'm extremely grateful I did because he saved me time by bringing together information that I was only finding piecemeal spread over several career websites. His listings and descriptions of low-tech jobs available in high-tech companies is priceless as he details job in the computer industry without going over the head of a low-tech like myself. It's a book you can easily and quickly reap practical information from without having to read the whole book, which was great for a time-crunched, job-hunter like myself. This book helped me focus my job search into the technical writing field. I am successfully networking and doing informational interviews, just as Bill suggests in his book, and am positive the industry relationships I am building will help me land a job by this spring. I feel like I have a leg up on anyone who hasn't read this book.

The book, "High-Tech Careers for Low-Tech People" is useful to anybody who is intimidated by the impenetrable stonewall of High-Tech industry. I would definitely suggest them to read this book. It takes you step by step on how to approach for a job as a non-tech person focussing on the areas of your expertise in a high-tech field. The book helps in every aspect from how and whom to submit your resume to a list of frequently used computer jargons. It really boosts your self-esteem.

Fascinating personal day-by-day account of the journey of Lewis and Clark through the Louisiana Territory. As you read, you feel yourself slowly seeing the American west as it was seen by those who first wrote of its magnificence, the customs of the natives, the wildlife, and climate. You see it for what it was, and for its possibilities. This edition has been edited from the individual journals of both Lewis and Clark and some of the others. It has been made more compact by putting in only passages that tell the story, but with no sentence restructuring or spelling corrections. Sometimes this requires you to figure the meaning out, but is never a big problem. The chapter length was perfect for reading a chapter a day which means 33 days. The only bad chapter was 31, which was a summary of one leg lifted from DeVoto's The Course of Empire, which I felt was harder to understand than the journals. The appendix includes Jefferson's Instructions, list of personnel, and specimens returned.

There is not much new that I can add which has not already been said of the Journals. Simply put, fantastic! I have read some excellent books regarding the Lewis and Clark Expedition, but reading the actual journals themselves makes one feel as though they are right there alongside them. Names such as John Colter, the Fields brothers, George Drouillard, Peter Cruzatte, Touissant Charbonneau and his wife Sacajawea, John Ordway, George Shannon, and many of the others in the journal become so familiar, it's as if the reader is a "fly on the saddle" (so to speak) during the entire expedition. Every chapter, every leg of the journey, has something relating to the hardships, sacrifices, conjectures, speculations, survival strategies, Indian confrontations and appropriate manners of behavior, along with wonderful descriptions of landforms, Indian culture, animals, plants, climate, etc. A truly gripping, meaningful look at early western U.S. exploration. DeVoto's introduction and editing is extremely well done.

This is an excellent book. It is hard to imagine the hardship these men had to endure on their trip across the nation, but by reading this book you get some kind of idea. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is even slightly intrested in the history of the Lewis and Clark expedition. This book tells it exactly how it happened, from the men who were there. I strongly believe that books like these should be required reading in schools....who knows what this country would be like today had it not been for those brave men.

I purchased this book when it was first published, and I still use it today. My first copy was so well used, I recently purchased a new copy (it would be great to have a spiral bound). I've experienced back pain for over 15 years. Doctors suggested surgery, which I declined. I've seen over a dozen chiropractors over the past decade, some seemed to help, some did not. As I do not expect any doctor to "cure" my backpain, neither do I expect this or any book to "cure" it. What I have learned from this book has helped me to help myself. I have improved my posture, greatly reduced my backpain, and have begun taking yoga classes. I'd like to thank the author for writing this very helpful book, and I look forward to any new titles that may be released by Mary Pullig Schatz in the future.

I am really learning a lot from this book. I have had problems with my back and neck since I was very young, mostly muscle tension, which was complicated by a repetitive stress injury from working on the computer. The pain has been pretty constant for the last eight years, and I finally had to stop using ibuprofen to avoid toxification. Yikes! I thought I knew something about relaxing, but the breathing technique recommended by Dr. Schatz has given me a sensation of relaxation I had never felt before. The evaluation section helped me to isolate my problem areas and determine which yoga exercises I should do. The exercises are simple and effective: my energy level is increasing and I am not in as much pain.

I had heard lots of wonderful things about this book for the last few years. Then I bought a copy. The results have been nothing short of amazing. Dr. Schatz has compiled a book which is a must for anyone with back pain or neck pain.

Her diagnostic tests allow you to immediately identify your problem areas. The recommended exercises are clearly illustrated. You get exercises that are custom-made for your body.

Of course, the magic happens when you actually do the exercises. I saw remarkable results in my posture the very first day I started doing the exercises. The neck and shoulder tightness has also improved.

Dr. Schatz is an expert in this area, and this is not designed as "quick fix." This is a sound program to be followed over time. However, I must admit I was astounded at the speed at which I saw improvement.

If you have any back or neck pain, or poor posture, you absolutely must get this book. It will improve your health dramatically. Thank you, Dr. Schatz for this magnificent book.

British General William Slim commanded English/Indian forces during most of the "forgotten" war in Burma from 1942 to 1945. Slim is now regarded as the finest English general of the Second World War (yes, better than "Monty"). In this book, written some time after the war ended, Slim tells the reader about the early mistakes which lead to the near total defeat of the English army in Burma in 1942. ----- Slim's efforts to rebuild his army and then take the offensive against the Japanese comprise the majority of the book and it makes for a very interesting story. Considering that the terrain over which most of the fighting occured was even worse than Vietnam, I learned a great deal. Contrasting his experiances in Burma with the U.S. war in Vietnam is a good thought experiment. ---- Of most interest to military historians and people interested in the Second World War. As to personal matters the book is almost completely devoid of details. Slim was very much the English Gentleman and all the interesting personal details of his life you will have to find elsewhere. ---- P.S. It contains an interesting side note about the father of the Burmese Nobel Peace Prize winner: Aung San Suu Kyi. Her father fought against the British in conjunction with the Japanese but later turned against the Japanese when he discovered that they were just going to be new imperial masters, even worse than the English. ---- Colin Glassey

William Slim is virtually unknown today - even among the history buff circles, he is a rate footnote. Yet, among those who have studied World War Two - and those few remaining who had direct experience beyond a limited theater view - Slim is regarded as one of the finest army commanders to have served on any front during the course of that war. Slim was among the few that endured defeat in the war's beginning - the agonizing, protracted withdrawal of Burma Corps over a thousand miles of jungle, mountain, swamp and river terrain in Burma and India in 1942 - and survived and had the opportunity to lead revitalized forces to victory in the end (British 14th Army). Revenge was sweet. Slim's memoirs are a treasure - full of criticism and praise in fair measure - with intelligent and honest commentary throughout. His assessments of the critical elements of a successful campaign are worthy of textbook study. Not only did Slim's men have to fight a fanatical, relentless foe in the Japanese - he had to contend with debilitating tropical disease, lack of air and land transport, non-existent infratstructure, shortages of all types of food and supplies, as well as neglect from his own country and army. Burma was in many ways the forgotten theater. Controversial figures such as the American Stilwell and the British Wingate are men that Slim knew well in Burma - and he does not shrink from giving his candid assessment of these figures - strengths and weaknesses. Above all, Slim's book is a testament to the courage, intelligence and fortitude of the fighting men - soldiers, airmen and sailors - of all nationalities (majority of the fighting on the Allied side in the Burma-India theater was by Indians). His comments on the nationalist movements of the Burmese, Indians and Chinese are also of interest, in view of post-war events in these countries, including the expulsion of British rule. Slim was a rare figure - an Army Commander bent on winning for all the right reasons - while always maintaining his touch with the front line solider. He was eager to assign glory to those that deserved it - those that did the fighting as well as those that toiled anonymously behind the lines to keep the forward troops supported. He was also rare in that he was ready and willing to admit mistakes were made, and how those mistakes were overcome. With so many critical decisions to be made in such desperate circumstances with such limited information - it is a wonder that any informed directives could be issued at the command level in that environment. His perspective on the Japanese is also worthy of further study. Slim had a distinguished war record prior to World War Two - he had served in several operations in World War One, in the Middle East between wars - he was familiar with how soldiers fought and died all over the world. His contempt for the Japanese - the atrocities they committed on a routine basis against not only captured, wounded soldiers but civilians held helpless in conquered territory, and the unconscionable treatment of prisoners by Japanese - was thoroughly justified by his experiences. His willingness to continue to fight and kill Japanese and his refusal to treat defeated Japanese with anything other than contempt (he ignored MacArthur's accommodating gestures after the surrender) were measured responses - a reading of this book communicates that point very well. Slim understood his assigned was role was not just to retake Japanese held territory, but to kill Japanese soldiers - destroy Japanese armies. He was the man for the job.

Awhile ago, I read QUARTERED SAFE OUT HERE, the wartime memoir by George MacDonald Fraser detailing his experiences as an infantryman with the 17th Division of the 14th Indian Army as the latter pursued the retreating Japanese through Burma during the closing months of WWII. He had nothing but high praise for the army commander, Field-Marshal William Slim. This prompted me to purchase and read Slim's own account of the time and place, DEFEAT INTO VICTORY. The two books are a perfect pair for anyone interested in the India-Burma Theater of the war - perspectives from both the top and bottom of the British Army's command structure.

Slim's memoirs, first published in 1956 while he was serving as Governor General of Australia, begin with his assignment to command the 1st Burma Corps during it's desperate fighting retreat from Burma into India in 1942 after the Japanese captured Rangoon. Then later, as chief of the 14th Indian Army, he oversees the regrouping and rebuilding of the force that finally decimates the Japanese invaders at Imphal in northern India, and subsequently chases the fleeing enemy back south through Burma.

One of Slim's most notable characteristics is his evident lack of an overbearing ego. Several times in his book, he makes reference to his mistakes, errors in planning or judgement, and his deficiencies as a military commander. (Imagine that other famous British Field-Marshal of the war, the prima donna Montgomery, admitting such!) Much to his credit, Slim apparently learned hard lessons as he went along, and emerged as the better man and general for it. This, combined with his great concern for his men's morale, health, training and supply, justifies the high regard in which he was held by "rankers" such as Fraser. Churchill was wrong when he remarked, "I cannot believe that a man with a name like Slim can be much good."

The author's history of the Burma war is comprehensive - perhaps excessively so for the casual reader such as myself. His narrative includes the movement of troops as far down as battalion level, which is way more than I needed to know. Because of this, I might have awarded 4 stars instead of 5 had I been less mindful of the contribution Slim's memoir makes to the history of an almost forgotten theater of the global conflict. A keener student of the Burma campaigns is certain to appreciate these details more than I did.

Finally, there is the Field-Marshal's dry British wit, which shows all too infrequently. For example, when discussing his opposite number in the Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Kawabe, Slim writes:

"I did, however, manage to get a photograph alleged to be that of Kawabe. It showed what might have been a typical western caricature of a Japanese; the bullet head, the thick glasses, and prominent teeth were all there... When I needed cheering I looked at it and assured myself that, whichever of us was the cleverer general, even I was, at any rate, the better looking."

My North Carolina grandmother, born in 1888, read the 12 Miss Minerva series books to me when I was a young child in the 50's. She brought the antics of William Green Hill, Jimmy Garner, Frances, Lina, Wilkes Booth Lincoln, Aunt Cindy, Pilljerk Peter, Aunt Peruny Pearline to life, and I can still hear the words ringing in my ears as she read this book in the dialect of the southern Negro. Some feel that these aren't politically correct books for today's youth, but I feel that there are some innocent truths to be learned from reading these books, that come from the mouths of the children in them. They show how easily children of all races get along when the prejudices of their elders aren't present. The real life character upon which these books are based is William Green Hill who died at 64, the son of a prominent Tennessee physician Dr. Lafayette Hill. His sister, Mrs. S. A. Hamilton had not seen her brother in 15 years when he died of a heart attack alone and penniless in an empty railroad coal car on the outskirts of Pueblo, Colorado. My grandmother clipped the small article from the newspaper about Mr. Hill, which I have kept in my copy of the first of the books which were written about his life. The first book, Miss Minerva and William Green Hill, was originally written by Frances Boyd Calhoun who died, and was continued by Emma Speed Sampson, who wrote the sequel Billy and the Major, Miss Minerva's Baby, Miss Minerva on the Old Plantation, Miss Minerva Broadcasts Billy, Miss Minerva's Scallywags, Miss Minerva's Problem, Miss Minerva's Vacation, Miss Minerva's Neighbors, Miss Minerva's Mystery, Miss Minerva Goin' Places, and one other title. There also is a book named Miss Minerva's Cookbook which was so rare that a copy of this book is going for $1,000 at rare out of print used book stores. I certainly love to see that the University of Tennessee has brought back the first of this series, and I would love to see them bring back to print the rest of the series for a new generation of children to enjoy and understand the happiness and delicate, intricate balance that exists in childhood play between children of all races.

This book is written about a real little boy who lived in Covington, Tennessee. It was written in the dialect of the time but can still be read with enjoyment. The writer, Frances Calhoun died after writing the first book. Emma S. Sampson wrote the rest of the series. William Green Hill is buried in Covington, Tennessee. He was a distant relative of mine, making the books that much more interesting to me.

I read all 9 books in this series and enjoyed the humor of Billy's exploits with his Aunt Minerva and the neighborhood children. The children of this era made their own entertainment, played "pretend" and spent a lot of time outdoors-life was rather pastoral. However, Billy managed to keep everyone hopping. I'd describe the book as an early "Little Rascals" of the South. Well written, humorous and filled with the innocence of the era. Billy and his friends seem to have to learn everything the hard way!! Historically, it occurs in an era of segregation; however, it also demonstrates that children accept each other far more easily than adults do.

The one minute manager's symbol, a one-minute readout from the face of a modern digital watch, is intended to remind each of us to take a minute out of our day to look into the faces of the people we manage. The monkey manger's symbol a stressed manager overwhelmed by a desk full of problems, is intended to remind us to constantly discipline ourselves to invest our time on the most vital aspects of management rather than dilute our effectiveness by "doing more efficiently those things that shouldn't be done in the first place." What follows, is a story of a manger who worked long hours and never seemed to get caught up with all the work he had to do. He learned about monkey management and how not to take initiative away from his people so they can care for and feed their own monkeys. In the process, he learned to be more effective in dealing with his own manager and the demands of his organization. The performance of his department drastically improved, as did the prospects for his career. The authors hope is that you will use what you learn in this book to make a difference in your life and the lives of the people you interact with at work and at home.

Many people in an organization focus on managing the boss rather than doing their own job. What better way to manage the boss than to constantly seek her/his guidance on everything? Then, the boss can be flattered that you want his/her help, and will also take the blame if anything goes wrong. Insecure bosses like to be involved, so that fewer "errors" occur.

This wonderful book points out that no one can learn without making errors. Also, if you and your subordinate are doing the same job, one of you is superfluous. A common source of stalled thinking in this area is focusing on the fact that you, as manager, can do the job better and faster than you can teach the task or job to someone. What managers fail to realize is that someone closer to the source of the problem should be able to come up with a better solution. Also, the time taken to teach someone else to do the task is usually much less over a year or two than the time taken to help someone learn the task.

The key problem is that we all like to fall back on doing what we are comfortable with and are good at rather than new challenges where we are not so competent. Banish that feeling!

This book gives you lots of practical ideas for how to respond to efforts by your subordinates and colleagues to delegate their work and responsibility to you. You will learn how to see them coming and to keep the monkey where it belongs: with them.

If you find that you are pressed for time, this book is an important source of ideas to free up your life to have less stress while you and your organization both accomplish more.

Good luck with taking care of your monkey business! It's an important step toward developing an irresistible growth enterprise.

The One Minute Manager's symbol- a one-minute readout from the face of a modern digital watch- is intended to remind each of us to take a minute out of our day to look into the faces of the people we manage. And to realize that they are our most important resources. The Monkey Manager's symbol- a harried manager overwhelmed by a deskful of problems- is intended to remind us to constantly discipline ourselves to invest our time on the most vital aspects of management rather than dilute our effectiveness by "doing more efficiently those things that shouldn't be done in the first place." What follows is a story about a harried manager who worked long, hard hours, yet never quite seemed to get caught up with all the work he had to do. He learned about monkey management and how not to take initiative away from his people so they can care for and feed their own "monkeys." In the process, he learned to be more effective in dealing with his own manager and the demands of his organization. The performance of his department drastically improved as did the prospects for his career. The authors hope is that you will use what you learn in this book to make a difference in your life and the lives of the people you interact with at work, and at home.