This is a grreat book. Short, but full of information that in very important to a business owner or potential business. Plain spoken, honest and open...Flows well. Read the book..then attend one of his workshops. Did both..... GRRRREAT STUFF! This is by an ordinary man who did an extra-ordinary thing... Started his own business, which is the "American Dream". This is his joureny into the independent business owner world. His failures, his successes, his hopes and aspirations. He writes straight from his experiences, no fluff,no fillers.. Great motivator....he may even be the next Zig Ziglar....

I have been looking for good guidance on running your own business. As the author points out, most small business books aim to tell you the stuff you already know -- dress smartly, write your correspondance with correct grammar, etc. What this book does is present the advice you seek without talking to you as if you've never been to a business meeting before. Sage advice about how to conduct business on a low budget, how to promote yourself through effective PR, how to think about using friends and family in your business, etc.

You will not be disapppointed with this book.

Venturing out on your own into the business world can be a very scary and overwhelming endeavor. No one can prepare 100% for the obstacles they will encounter along the way, but by reading Mark Csordos' book, "Business Lessons for Young Entrepreneurs", the young business leaders of today can give themselves an invaluable head-ups on the reality of the business world.

The book is comprised of thirty diffenent chapters, each of which centers around the authors own personal experiences as a young struggling business owner. As a freshing and motivating bonus, the beginning of each chapter is started with a quotation or anecdote that is appropriately selected for the topic of each chapter. All of the quotes and stories are up-lifing and inspirational. The chapter subjects range from the more conventional topics of business, such as "self promotion" and designing a business plan, to the more unconventional side of business such as the personal fears, hopes, expectations, and occasional failures one might encounter along the way.

Each chapter is filled with immeasurable insight that one can only truly gain through personal experience. The lessons in this book are universal and can apply to anyone at almost anytime during the building of one's business. You can't find this kind of first hand, real life information in most business books.

I was especially inspired by the chapter entitled "Dare to Dream". In this chapter, the author encourages his readers to shoot for the stars and to never give up no matter how unobtainable his or her dreams may seem. To provide his readers with additional motivation to strive for success, the author gives numerous examples of ordinary individuals who defeated the odds and became people that we can all recogize today such as Bill Gates and Dave Thomas.

For anyone wanting to start his or her own business, this book is an excellent real life handbook of the ups and downs of being your own boss. Read this book and use it to guide you during your jounery. The author leads you in the right direction and is with you every step of the way.

In this book, Mr. Alster uses language that is easy for children (the intended audience) to understand. The art in the book is stimulating! Not only does he give easy-to-follow advice, he gives pointers and tips throughout the book that readers may find quite helpful. Jason's no-nonsense approach is a breath of fresh air. I urge anyone interested in this book to also check out "Being in Control", also by Jason Alster. Together, these two books are sure to encourage any child to be creative!

Creative Painting is a book for reluctant young artists of all ages. Written by a multi-talented author who has a treasure box full of affirming tips and techniques, this little book will inspire you to dive head first into art. Go ahead, take a chance. "The most valuable coins and stamps are the ones double minted by mistake. So don not try to please everyone, just yourself first." This is one of the most empowering statements I've read.

You'll find tips, techniques and affirmations to encourage your child (or you!) to muzzle negative thinking and replace it with positive affirmations. You'll read how the author began exploring the world of art, and suggested stepping-stones to begin your own journey.

This is a nice, neat and colorful book to own. You'll find yourself referring to it often.

"Creative Painting for the Young Artist" is an excellent guide for teachers of art students of any age. The book presents a comprehensive outline that instructors can adapt to the age and experience level of students in a particular class. Each principle has helpful illustrations included."

To put a long story short, this is a great book. At age 23, I'm out of my teens and just beginning my journey into the dullness popularly referred to as "adulthood".

I must admit to never being an aficionado of poetry, but this book I enjoyed greatly. Every time I read them, poems like "Exasperation" and "Following directions" take me right back to being 15, with all the rage, joy and pubescent angst that comes with it.

Layout-wise I have no complaints. The colors were well chosen, and the illustrations were great :-)

I really loved the whole idea of the book; there is nothing like being a teenager, no matter what decade the feelings are the same. It is indeed painful..but delicious.

I grew out of my teen angst as I grew out of my Cure T-shirt. Where I used to get lost in poetry, now I'm lost in biros and bankstatements. Still-and I don't understand it-'The Pain Tree' is simply my favorite book. Handy-sized, softback, unassuming-and chock full of illustrated treasures!

Reading it takes me right back-in palate, in texture, in sureness of purpose-to my old bedroom, where a young me, loose-limbed and eager, hunches over an inky poem. And probably every one of the twisted illustrations (from the robot in underpants to Ms Watson's vicious spiky boots) is tacked to the bedroom wall.

Yeah, that's what it's like.

Well, I bought three copies. And I don't even know any teenagers. Not a one. But if I get to, I'll give them a copy. I will.

"Ultimate Spider-Man" is more than a re-imagining of the Spider-Man saga from the very beginning. Informed by our knowledge of what happened in the first decades worth of issues of "The Amazing Spider-Man" writer Brian Michael Bendis has heightened the intensity by collpasing the time frame. Even though there is never really a self-contained story in the mix, things are moving very quickly and Bendis is constantly pouring on the problems for our favorite webhead and his teenage secret identity.

"Public Scrutiny" is the fifth trade paperback collection of "Ultimate Spider-Man" comics, this time around including issues #28-32. Previous collections have focused on story arcs involving particular super villains (last time around it was the new and evolved Green Goblin). But one of the strengths of "Public Scrutiny" is that Spider-Man never fights one super villain in the entire book (even though he certainly wants to). The other is that the main focus is on Peter Parker being Spider-Man, an issue that is addressed on multiple levels, from Peter being distracted at school to Mary (Jane) having a hard time handling being constantly worried about Peter getting hurt (not calling her Mary Jane is the biggest problem I have with these revisions). This latter point comes to a head after Spider-Man has a bad encounter with the police who are gunning for him because he has been robbing banks and killing police officers. Actually, it is somebody impersonating Spider-Man, which is just another part of the growing headache for our hero.

Bendis is taking pains to explore what it means to be a superhero when you are sixteen years old and in love with the girl next door, who is ticked off that Gwen Stacy has moved in with the Parkers. Meanwhile, the whole bit with Nick Fury and the rules of superheroes in the brave new Marvel universe continues to present intriguing possibilities for the future. Again, Bendis and artist Mark Bagley are taking there time with this one; 32 issues into "The Amazing Spider-Man" Peter Parker was a freshman at E.S.U., while here he is only a sophomore in high school. We can only imagine what he is going to go through before he reaches graduation day. "Public Scrutiny" is as good of a story arc as "Ultimate Spider-Man" has presented to date, even without the standard knock down, drag out fight with a super bad guy.

Note: Harry Osborne is back and is apparently applying for the role of Pacey in the "Dawson's Creek" parallel that is clearly at work here (Peter is Dawson, Mary is Joey, and Gwen is Jen). I swear, Bendis knows exactly what he is doing with this one. This trade paperback have just about gotten me up to speed on "Ultimate Spider-Man," which has proven to be an integral part of the Spider-Man renaissance.

This is a great story it is not as actoin packed as Vol 4 Legacy, but still a great story. Someone is dressed up as spider-man and commiting crimes. As if spidey's name wasnt already bad. It is the first time he gets shot and has the tragic death of Captain Stacy during a armored car chase. I will not reveal the culprit. It could be the cameleon or just some crazy kid you decide.

these ultimate spidermans just keep getting better and better. # 4 was awesome and this one definetly rocks. read this!!!

I liked this book because it is a good story of a girl who visits her neighbor who is old and lonely. This lady (Miss Maggie) tells a story to the little girl who visits her (Ellie) about a doll that she had when she was a girl. For her Eighth Birthday she got a doll with big blue eyes. She laid her doll on the hallway table. Then when they heard a crash. It was the doll. Her Birthday was coming up and they bought a present for her. What happened to the doll? To find out what happens next read this book.

Call me sentimental, but there's something to this story that tugs at your heart strings every time you read it. And I've read this at least a dozen times.

The story tells of the relationship between Ellie and her sitter Miss Maggie and of the very special birthday gift that Ellie gets for Maggie out of "pure love."

The illustrations are quite beautiful and complement the story very well. A tender story creates a tender heart. This is the best book in the Chicken Soup for Little Souls' series.

Outstanding account of how a young 13-year old Belgian girl decided to fight the German occupation of her country. She had no training, no background but committed herself to fight the evil Nazi menace in the only way she knew how, helping her brother who was an "eminence grise" of the shadowy and dangerous resistance community. These courageous acts brought arrest, torture and she was sent to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp, north of Berlin. Mark Bles has done a fantastic job of research, bringing to life this fanatastic true life account.

Comming from someone who has read extensively on resistance movements during WWII this is by far the best account. It is inspiring as well as informative. The text comes alive, and the reader is transported to war torn Belgium. Someday this book will be recognized by scholars as the difinitive account of the Belgian Resistance.

The story turns upside-down, with a normal boy like yours and mine finding himself befriending oddball characters and fleeing from goblins and ghouls. Our kids found themselves enmeshed in an imaginative plot filled with both dark and funny characters, wondering how Dario would get out of ... or into ... his next escapade. That it keeps a youngster reading avidly while it creatively depicts the battle between evil and good is what a parent likes. That it is an intriguing, engrossing story is what the kids liked! Best for older pre-teens.

This book is cool. I especially like the dog. It also has an annoying sister, so that's realistic. The monsters are cool, too. This is the second book I've read by Mark Harris and I can't wait for the next one. My friends always want to borrow these books when I'm done.

This is a wonderful read, you start out with the Flash going ot his grandfathers place and while looking at his old pictres he thinks back to his first year as "Kid Flash". And that's where the story takes place, it shows you how he got his powers and his adventures with the Flash (then Barry Allen) facing people like mirror master. I just love this story because it's fun and you get a to see a New Barry Allen story and if your a fan you can't miss. A fun read tht has it's share of drama, if your a flash fan please get this book because you will love it like i do.

If you love Flash,you can't miss this saga. Almost everything you want to know about Wally West first years, as a Scarlet Speedster, is here. But the best part isn't past memories: you will finish it, and you wanna read more... it's seems a thunder can strike twice in the same place!

Gerald Locklin's written words never fail to provide humor and insight in the reader's life. His versatility is unique and covers years of careful observation tempered with a tongue-in-cheek attitude. His short stories cover a wide range of humorous occurrences, incidents which could be imaginary colorings, or real life stories, but each will bring a tiny gleam to the reader's imagination and eye, as they remember similar happenings in their own lives. Locklin has just the right touch, has his finger on the pulse of reality. Mark Weber did an excellent editorial job on the compiling of this long list of selected writings by Gerald Locklin. As a poetry editor and the publisher of JVC BOOKS, I personally know both of these very talented men and I am continually astonished by the still over-flowing out-pouring efforts of both. If you have never read Gerald Locklin's work, this is a prime book for you for it encapsulates both his poetry and his short story writing abilities.

Gerry Locklin is one of the most sensitively brilliant writers I've ever read and this book gives a comprehensive review of his life's work up to publication. He's funny and sad and taps into the true poetic essenc,. A writer that writes the truth of life and all it's quirky out takes. I've read that his poems were written for people that don't read poetry, this exemplifies his universality but with that even his work is not trite or badly commonplace, but rather insightful and pretty rock and roll in his own way. Bukowski endorsed him before he died to me that's a pretty heavy reason to read Gerry. Locklin is amazing as is this book. And if you hate Bukowski (as some out there do), don't pass Locklin or this his only worthwhile compilation other than the Firebird poems.

This book is definitely helpful if you are single and just out of school. It's easy to find women to date in college because there are so many social events to meet people. But after college, the game changes a bit and you have to be more creative. I was impressed with the amount of practical information in the book I could use right away. The author's use of personal stories make this book interesting and fun to read. I wish it was just a bit longer - I was left wanting more. Hopefully the author decides to write a follow-up book.

This book is fantastic! The Playbook showed me, in a humorous way, what it takes to succeed in the world of dating for young professionals. It is tough finding quality women, approaching them, asking them out, and dating them after you get your diploma. It feels like the dating pool has dried up and become this big desert. Where did all the hot babes go? The Playbook showed me how to play this new game smart, and save me time that I would have otherwise wasted making rookie mistakes.