Book Description
Mary Kay may be the most successful woman entrepreneur in the world today, but she started her company as a single mother supporting three children—using her total life savings of $5,000. Following her priorities—God first, family second, and career third—and some sound, savvy business strategies, she managed to create a multibillion-dollar international company as well as a fulfilling life that reflects her values. Here she reveals to you how she did it, how thousands of other women have done it, and how you can do it, too!
Mary Kay accomplished all her goals without any special advantage—without trying to be a "superwoman." Instead, she rediscovered the timeless secrets of true success and happiness and applied them in her life. These are the secrets she now shares with you.
In Mary Kay: You Can Have It All, you will discover how to:
• Become more confident personally and professionally
• Deal with the male ego
• Plan your work and work your plan
• Do well by doing good
• And much, much more!
Mary Kay will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book to the Mary Kay Ash Center for Cancer Immunotherapy Research at St. Paul Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
Mary Kay Ash is the founder and chairman emeritus of Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc., listed among Fortune magazine's Most Admired Corporations in America and boasting annual retail sales of more than $1.5 billion.
Also available in Paperback.
Customer Reviews:
self-endorsement.......2007-01-02
This book is all about how great Mary Kay thinks Mary Kay is. Though I was interested in learning more about the company (I even was a Mary Kay consultant for a little while), the self-proclamation factor proved too frustrating. I could not even finish the book!
A Very Inspirational Book.......2006-02-28
What a great book, a great lady, who had a great business philosophy. A must read for anyone who wants to do their own thing.
AWESOME AND POWERFUL.......2003-02-09
I AM A MARY KAY CONSULTANT.I WAS A DEVOTED CUSTOMER FIRST.ONCE I WAS ON HER CUTTING EDGE COSMETICS, I DECIDED TO OFFER THE OPPORTUNITY TO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS. THIS BOOK GIVES YOU ALL OF THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO MAKE IT IN ANY BUSINESS. SHE GIVES YOU INSPIRATION AND MINDSET YOU NEED TO MAKE ALL OF YOUR DREAMS A REALITY. IF YOU BELIEVE IT, YOU CAN ACHIEVE IT. I AM DOING THAT RIGHT NOW.REDUCING MY DEBT, INCREASING MY SELF ESTEEM AND SELF WORTH.DEFINATELY A MUST READ
anonymous.......2001-08-16
Mary Kay Ash is truly an inspiration to all women. Not only does she succeed she lets you know that there will be obstacles to overcome, but you can and will succeed if you keep your priorities in order GOD,Family, and career and work hard. Nothing comes in life easy and through perservence and a dream and goal setting there is nothing you can't do. I LOVED IT!!!
Changed the way I think!.......2001-01-19
Thank you Mary Kay Ash for writing the words that I needed to read! Mary Kay's ideas may seem old fashioned to some, but I found them to be refreshing. It's nice to be reminded once in a while that God and Family should come before Career. This book is an inspiration to all women (not just those who like cosmetics and skin care) who want to be the best they can be at whatever it is that they do. The book will keep all women grounded!
Book Description
A detailed look at the worst M&A deals ever and the lessons learned from them
It's common knowledge that about half of all merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions destroy value for the buyer's shareholders, and about three-quarters fall short of the expectations prevailing at the time the deal is announced. In Deals from Hell, Robert Bruner, one of the foremost thinkers and educators in this field, uncovers the real reasons for these mishaps by taking a closer look at twelve specific instances of M&A failure. Through these real-world examples, he shows readers what went wrong and why, and converts these examples into cautionary tales for executives who need to know how they can successfully navigate their own M&A deals. These page-turning business narratives in M&A failure provide much-needed guidance in this area of business. By addressing the key factors to M&A success and failure, this comprehensive guide illustrates the best ways to analyze, design, and implement M&A deals. Filled with in-depth insights, expert advice, and valuable lessons gleaned from other M&A transactions, Deals from Hell helps readers avoid the common pitfalls associated with this field and presents them with a clear framework for thinking about how to make any M&A transaction a success.
Customer Reviews:
Good insight into what NOT to do in a merger!.......2007-07-19
Easy read, with case studies of failed mergers and acquisitions contrasted with successful M & A. Allows the reader to get a good overview of causes of failures in M & A without getting too technical.
Informative but sometimes organized confusingly.......2007-03-03
"Deals From Hell" contains a lot of very useful information, but it is sometimes organized in ways that distract from, rather than augmenting, the material. For instance, I couldn't bring myself to buy into Bruner's metaphorical assertion that all mergers and acquisitions are local, which he uses as the foundation of a framework for evaluating "the neighborhood" in which a merger takes place. Also: while each of the case studies is interesting, some support his themes better than others. One or two of them seem out of place in this book.
The author does a great job of driving home his six factors present in most failed mergers, providing examples of each of those factors in the case studies he provides.
Don't let the criticisms keep you from reading this informative book.
Great analysis framework, good case studies.......2006-10-14
This is a very great book. After a few chapters about the major common mistakes in M&A where he provides a framework for M&A failures, he studies a few cases i ndetail, why these M&A did not work. And he always gives a counterpoint, an example of a M&A, in the same conditions, where they worked. Very interesting!
A quick read for a practioner.......2005-09-26
For anyone who has been in thegame for a while, it brings back memories. It is a quick read and a wonderful refresher. I highly recommend the book.
Andrew M
From an M&A pro, this is worth reading--.......2005-08-22
I'm an M&A pro with 15 years and 30+ deals.
This book is easy to read and offers some good ideas. Most importantly, he pushes back against the common wisdom that "most deals fail", on the premise that analyses of failure are often simplistic and quoted without understanding the causes of failure. His view is that the deals that fail do so because of "perfect storm" events, where multiple problems conspire to knock the underpinnings out of what the dealmakers thought were best laid plans. To set up his ideas, he uses as examples some great disasters, such as Bhopal, Chernobyl and a few others, where a sequence of individually avoidable errors was required to ultimately cause the disaster. He discusses the errors by type and gives key points to consider. It's not nuts and bolts - his issues are at the "you're-in-charge" strategic level.
The book is built in three distinct segments. The first section, heavily footnoted, reviews a lot of the academic literature about why certain deals fail. But wait - don't nod off yet. Bruner organizes his thoughts to keep it focused and accessible: this is written for people who do deals, not those who pontificate about them. He sorts the analyses into about 20 variables that individually may not matter a lot. But, as they line up against you, the deal begins to list to leeward more than a few degrees. A lot more.
So how is this useful, beyond giving us some thoughtful warnings about structuring deals? Well, consider that we all work with executives and investors that don't do deals every day. Convincing them, with confidence, that deals can be structured to work can be tough. This section not only gives you a list of good ideas, it supports them with reference to studies. And most importantly, it gives support that more deals do well than everyone thinks, and that focusing on certain items improves the likelihood of success. No, you don't use it to cite a paper to the CEO (good luck with that, my friend), but you can say, for example, that using earnouts drives statistically higher deal returns, even as your Counsel argues against them "because you always get sued".
The second section is case studies of failed deals. Again, don't run screaming from the idea of returning to B-school a bit. They read more like war stories than cases (thank goodness). From the Columbia-Sony deal, through AOL-Time Warner, to Tyco's acquisition program, these are readable, and best of all, you don't have to submit an analysis to the prof. Bruner reviews each one, discussing the events that sank them (and sometimes their companies) and finding common threads that give plenty of food for thought to the M&A pro.
The last section is "How to Avoid the Deals from Hell". Helpful summary, but I'll leave it to those who are interested enough to buy it and read it. Suffice it to say, the book gives a lot of good, if general, ideas for the practitioner.
And even if you're too busy or lazy to read it, it's a great conversation starter as it sits on your desk.
Average customer rating:
- be careful about used copies
- X-Men comic books
- This is what the X-Men are all about!
- A great glimpse into X-men history.
- Classic X-Men material
|
X-Men: From The Ashes
Chris Claremont
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0871356155 |
Customer Reviews:
be careful about used copies.......2004-07-02
Be careful with used copies, especially from sellers who do not specialize in comics.
I ordered a used copy of this and got a tiny black and white paperback that was not even the FROM THE AHSES story.
Make sure you know what you are getting. These xmen books must come in a variety of editions...or at least the one seller I went through was confused.
Worth getting this one.
X-Men comic books.......2004-05-15
This is an incredible volume of the X-Men. Big highlights? The introduction of Lockheed and the New Recruits, Rogue's joining the X-Men, Ororo's personality change, Scott's courtship and marriage to yet ANOTHER reincarnated Jean Grey, Madelyne Pryor, Logan's tragically failed wedding to Mariko, Ororo's new leadership over the Morlocks and Caliban's crush on Kitty. It truly is a great addition to the collection of any X-Men fanatic.
This is what the X-Men are all about!.......2004-03-01
Ask any comic reader who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s to name their favourite X-Men stories of all time and you usually get the usual "Dark Phoenix Saga" or "Days of Future Past". But if you really want to know the REAL reason why the X-Men were the hottest comic characters in those decades, you gotta check out this volume. It has everything that makes the X-Men what they are. Great character moments, milestones, multiple plotlines, fantastic action and camaraderie. This volume highlights creators Chris Claremont and Paul Smith at their best. We get Wolverine's wedding and rejection by Mariko, the Silver Samurai Saga, Rogue's entry into the X-Men, the first (and best) Marauders story with Storm winning the leadership from Callisto, Caliban's crush on Kitty Pryde, the first appearance of Lockheed, Kitty's pet dragon and finally, Madelyne Pryor's first appearance and wedding to Scott Summers. Is that enough for you or not? Read this again and see why the X-Men comics were the most potent "drug" on the newstands in the 1980s!
A great glimpse into X-men history........2003-08-18
This novel shows one of the highlight eras of the X-Men. From Lockheed's debut, to Rogue's joining of the X-Men, to Cyclops' marriage to Madeline Pryor, to Ororo's personality change, so much is chronicled in this novel. Any X-men fan needs to collect this novel; his collection would simply not be complete.
Classic X-Men material.......2003-03-23
I've been a fan of the X-Men for years and years now, and I have to say, this is one of my all time favorite X-Men graphic novels. It chronicles some truly great moments from X-Men history. The two chapters concerning the X-Men's visit to Japan, the tragic, failed wedding of Logan to Mariko, and Wolverine's ultimate battle with the Silver Samuraii, is the stuff that made X-Men one of the greatest dramatic-action comic book series of all time.
The younger generation of comics fans who got hooked during the wacky 1990's/Jim Lee/Rob Liefield/Image years will probably overlook the simplistic beauty of Paul Smith's artwork. But his subtle handling of facial expressions, his accuracy with human anatomy, and his technique for panel-to-panel storytelling is flawless. As a kid of the 80's who is now a working professional artist, I learned more about the basic craft of drawing comics from looking at Paul Smith's work in these stories than I did from "How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way."
Claremont's writing here is also superb, with a good balance between the everyday, normal lives of the X-Men, to their crazy, violent adventures, to their mixed-up, emotionally turbulant personal relationships. And of course, his interweaving of many tangled subplots. X-Men books became unnecessarily talky in later years, with dialogue and captions crowding the art, but this volume presents stories from the classic era when Claremont preferred to keep the chatter to a minimum and occasionally even shut up altogether and let the artwork tell the story by itself.
And finally, the fun front-and-back cover illustrations by Art Adams, are just the icing on the cake. This one is worth every nickel.
Book Description
In this disturbing but inspirational account of her experiences of the Holocaust, Lucille Eichengreen relates her journey as a young Jewish girl through Nazi Germany and Poland - including internment in the camps at Auschwitz, Neuengamme, and Bergen-Belsen. It was a journey that began in 1933, when she was eight years old and witnessed the beginnings of Jewish persecution, a journey along which she suffered the horrible deaths of her father, mother and sister. Sustained by great courage and resourcefulness, Lucille Eichengreen emerged from her nightmare with the inner strength to build a new life for herself in the United States. Only in 1991 did she return to Germany and Poland to assess the Jewish situation there. Her story is a testament to the very thing the Holocaust sought to destroy: the regeneration of Jewish life. Blessed with a remarkable memory that made her one of the most effective witnesses in the postwar trial of her persecutors, Eichengreen has composed a memoir of exceptional accuracy. As important as its factual accuracy is its emotional clarity and truth. Simple and direct, Eichengreen's words compel with their moral authority.
Customer Reviews:
Gripping.......2007-03-10
I had a hard time putting this book down. Eichengreen does a good job of telling her story - it wasn't confusing and I didn't come away with a lot of unanswered questions. Obviously someone who didn't experience the Holocaust first hand will never fully appreciate or understand it, but I feel like I gained some insight into through this book.
A great pick!.......2006-11-10
This is a very well written personal story about this most awful period in our world's history.
Fanstastic , Touching Book!.......2002-12-12
I was extremely impressed with this book. The author decribes in detail her life before anti-semitism and how it started to change. Her story is emotional and touching.
She was born Celia Landau and changed her name to Lucille. She and her sister Karin were the products of a very close knit family completely torn apart by the Third Reich. Her father gets sent off to a labor camp and a year later they are delivered a box of what supposedly contains his ashes. Eventually Celia, Karin and mother are sent to the Lodz ghetto where surviving is difficult and their mother eventually dies of starvation. Celia's account of this is very sad and moving. She then tells a story of a tender love affair with Szaja in the ghetto, and befriends an elderly couple named Jules and Julius who ironically after liberation, she winds up marrying their son when she moves to New York.
She and her sister Karin are then sent to Auschwitz. Poor Karin is so devastated and having trouble surviving day to day after losing both her parents. Celia's heart is again broken when Karin is not chosen in the selection and is loaded up into a truck and never seen again.
Celia is only weeks away from death when Auschwitz gets liberated. She goes into detail her life after the camps including her testimony during war crimes trials that helped put many of the SS in prison.
She also tells her experiences of going back to Europe in 1991 for the first time since she left. The hostility and indifference against Jews was still alive.
This book is highly recommended. Well written.
Wow.......2002-08-21
How Cecelia (aka Lucille) survived is beyond imagination. What determination.
Revenge through good deeds.......2002-01-27
As a child in Hamburg, Germany, Celia Landau led a cultured and privileged life. Her father Benjamin had a study full of books and frequently entertained renowned visitors, including philosopher Martin Buber and Rabbi Paul Holzer. This began to unravel when the Nazis came to power. In the summer of 1934, the family traveled to a German spa in Bad Schwartau. As their visit ended, the spa's owner gleefully announced that Hitler would deal with the Jews. The next fall, nine-year-old Celia's grades began to falter as former school friends labeled her "Drechtjude." In 1937, the family were forced out of their condominium at Hohe Weide 25. In October, 1938, her father was carted to prison, then deported to Dachau. In February 1941, a Gestapo agent deliver his "ashes" in a cigar box.
Eight months later, Celia, now 16, was deported with her mother Sala and sister Karin to Lodz. Here they shared an unheated room on Zgierska Street with Julie and Julius Eichengreen and five others. As the vast majority of Jews were shipped like cattle from Lodz, the couple made Celia promise, if ever she went to New York, to find their son, who had left Europe years earlier. On July 13, 1942, Celia's starving and sick mother Sala died.
Before being herself deported to Auschwitz in August 1944, Celia starved and scraped to survive, and lost her sister Karin as well. Her one friend from that period, Elli Sabin, traveled with her in the final transport from Lodz to new horrors. Here she came face to face with the dreaded Dr. Mengele, slaved for some months in an outdoor construction site at the Neuengamme subcamp and in the Blom and Foss Shipyards. In October, she was transferred to Arbeitslager Sasel. Here, to gain access to important files, she promised to transfer her family's house in Altona-Luna Park outside Hamburg to an SS guard. The ploy worked, and she memorized the names and addressed of 42 Nazi guards.
In March 1945, Celia Landau was again transferred, this time to Bergen-Belsen, the disease-ridden camp where Anne Frank and her sister died of Typhus. Fortunately for Laudau, a month later, the camp was liberated, on April 15, 1945. Here she told a British major of her exploit, and was swiftly introduced to Lieutenant-Colonel J.H. Tilling, of Britain's War Crimes Investigations unit. When friends Elli, Hela Dimand and Sabina Zarecki corroborated her story, the British swiftly transferred Celia Landau to Hanover Germany, where she helped bring 17 Nazis to justice.
Her assistance to the British War Crimes unit gave Celia new opportunities. What she did with them is but one of the things that makes this book fascinating. This is the story of an extraordinary woman who sought revenge only through her own good deeds.
The one thing missing from this book is what gave her the courage to go on. Alyssa A. Lappen
Book Description
This beloved cookbook is now available in a handsome paperback edition. Completely revised and updated with 45 all-new recipes, each delicious dish reflects acclaimed chef John Ash's commitment to sustainable agriculture and his love of fresh fruits and vegetables. More than 300 recipes, inspired by the California Wine Country featuring soups, salads, pastas, pizza, risottos, poultry, fish, meats, vegetarian courses, desserts, breads, and more include wine recommendations and abundant tips on how to incorporate everything from chipotle chiles to persimmons into delectable meals. This is a time-honored classic, sure to continue enticing cooks for years to come.
Customer Reviews:
Finally a New Revised and Expanded Edition.......2007-03-26
A new revised and expanded edition of an old favorite. We all know that the process of getting food is to plant, raise, or catch it, then cook and eat it. But John Ash takes it a bit further. He concentrates primarily on serving what is in season now, what he can get fresh - especially fresh from his own garden or at least local.
Sometimes, of course that's a little hard to do. For instance he cooks a lot of fish, tuna, sturgeon, pacific rock cod, halibut and more. It's a whole bunch of miles from here (Nevada) to the ocean, you want tuna, it's frozen. Sturgeon, never seen it here. Cod, I got some a couple of weeks ago for the first time. Now I wish I had had this book then, as the recipie of cooking it with oranges, tomatoes, and olives sounds really different and something worth trying. ==One point I really like about this book is his wine recommendations. With the rock cod he says sauvignon blanc, rieslings, Pinot Grigio or Noir. I think I could go with any of these.
On the whole, his earlier version of this book was good, this new one is even better, more recipies, more things to try, and nearly all of them sound good.
a great cooking philosophy.......2000-08-23
I love this cookbook, not only because I love the flavors of the wine country and John Ash has a great mix of recipes that convey them, but also because the philosophy behind the recipes relies so heavily on using fresh, seasonal, local ingredients. The recipes are not super-simple, but if you have some cooking experience and are willing to take the time to search for the best ingredients, the rewards are well worth it.
The best, freshest food that I've ever tasted!.......1999-01-15
I have used this book more than any other cookbook in my home. I am constantly learning about new, fresh ingredients and the results are really wonderful. Every time I cook using these recipes, my friends ask me for the recipe. I've purchased this book for several friends too - it's a great gift, especially if you live in Northern California. Visiting John Ash's restaurant is a wonderful experience too!
My most used cook book.......1998-09-07
As a collector of cook books and as one who entertains regularly (both for friends and for business - it is not unusual for us to have over a100 people in a month at home for corporate related dinners) I find this book the one that I most often turn to. It is imagnative yet practical, sufficiently different to a lot of theothers that I have and everything that I have tried has been a huge success. Would love to know if John Ash has written another one.
Average customer rating:
- Warm, compassionate guidance
- a sudden loss is not the end
- a very helpful book
- A valuable guide
- POWERFUL and informative
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The Phoenix Phenomenon: Rising from the Ashes of Grief
Joanne Jozefowski
Manufacturer: Jason Aronson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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How To Go On Living When Someone You Love Dies
ASIN: 0765702096 |
Book Description
A well-written and valuable resource for both grievers and the mental health professionals who help them, this book provides hope for transformational grief and the tools to forge that outcome.
Customer Reviews:
Warm, compassionate guidance.......2004-10-15
This book is like feeling the steady hand of a warm, compassionate friend who will walk with you through every step-all the way from surviving the agony of your loss, helping you cope, recover, be resilient, and eventually find positive new meaning and purpose in your life. Is especially valuable for families and close friends of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack, and those who have lost loved ones in the military.
a sudden loss is not the end.......2000-11-14
This layperson's textbook provides a structure from which a person can understand and evolve from loss in life's journey. The various stages of grief, as described by Dr. Jozefowski, can be traveled to and from. This process is validated within the pages, allowing the griever to realize that others have discovered similar reactions.
Having experienced a sudden traumatic loss of the central person of my life, my mother, only three years ago, the reading of this book greatly relieved my anxiety and angst. Knowing that others have been there, and how they reacted, helped to structure my own healing.
Thank you, Dr. Jozefowski, for providing help and reassurance in my greatest time of need and loss.
a very helpful book.......2000-05-26
My husband and I were given this book by the counselor we have seen since our daughter died. We both found it helpful. I do have to admit that I struggled with chapter 1 and was a bit lost for awhile. If you find yourself in the same predicament, continue reading and it becomes much clearer by chapter 2. Highly recommended for its advice on how to make some sense out of a tragedy.
A valuable guide.......1999-09-27
This book gave me new insights into death issues I've been dealing with for the past few years.
I highly recommend it.
POWERFUL and informative.......1999-09-19
Quite possibly THE only book that deals with the survivors of grief and how they honor their loved ones with their lives. Written for both the grievers and therapist who work with them, this book adds more to the subject of loss, grief and healing than any other. I am a bereaved father who also lost my father and brother - this has been the only book that has come anywhere close to helping me understand what not only I, but other survivors go through. Thank God someone finally made it OKAY for us to lose a loved one and go on living ourselves! I highly recommend it to anyone who has lost a loved one. It should be manadatory reading for all mental health workers.
Book Description
For four decades Eugenia Price has shared her love and knowledge of the American South with tens of millions of readers worldwide. From the intimate details of her characters' lives and loves, to the pageant of history that sweeps across the land like a relentless storm, her books contain pure pleasure, and have made her one of the most beloved novelists of our time. Now, in her most captivating novel yet, she follows the fate of one unforgettable woman, as America stands at the brink of civil war....Anne Couper Fraser has often endured sorrow-- the death of her beloved husband and daughter and the loss of the family home. Now, frightening rumors of a war between the states are circulating, and Anne, an ardent Unionist, can only watch and pray as her cherished son enlists in the Confederate Army. But, when the tide of war turns against the Southern cause, Anne finds new strength, fighting to keep her family-- now cruelly divided by war-- bound to each other by faith and love.
Customer Reviews:
Sophomoric.......2002-09-19
Can't believe I waded through all three of these Georgia trilogy books. The main character, Anne Couper Fraser,is about 18 when the first book begins, and is emotionally 18 when the third book ends in her late 60's. She is one of the most selfish characters I've ever encountered and I certainly hope this woman was not that way in real life. No matter what happens to anyone in these books, her first reaction is what effect it will have on her. This is my first exposure to Eugenia Price and I believe her writing style is sophomoric. Could people have really talked that way to each other? (Sugar-y sweet). In addition the author is VERY repetitive. Each book could have easily been 100+ pages less. What could have been a very interesting account of real people in one of my favorite historical eras was a total waste of time.
a nice change.......1999-10-20
It was nice to read something that doesn't have me trying to skip over curse words two and three times a page! I consider the entire Georgia Trilogy worth reading. The Christian background is inspiring; plus, the novels were based on the life of a very real woman (supported by indicating places of burial and names of decendants in the Afterword of each book). The Christian theme and romanticized diction may seem boring to some, but read with an open mind and I'm sure everyone will find a point to enjoy.
not this time.......1999-02-20
If you've read more than a few Price books, it becomes visibly apparent here that she's losing her touch. Her characters become messy, half-done, overly sentimental, and downright cheesy. Please, give her a chance and get out of these newer ones. Check out the old ones. The St Simons Trilogy: Lighthouse, New Moon Rising, and The Beloved Invader; The Florida Trilogy: Maria, Don Juan McQueen, and Margaret's Story; and the first three of the Savannah Quartet: Savannah, To See Your Face Again, and Before the Darkness Falls (I can't personally recommend Stranger in Savannah, I didn't care for it). I had the pleasure of interviewing Miss Price back in the 80's, and she was a delightful lady with great talent, but with her latter books she took a spill. Don't waste your time. READ THE OLD ONES!!!!
terrible!!!!!!!!.......1999-02-07
After reading the first two of this triligy, I was mildly looking forward to this book. Boy was I disappointed! This was a terrible book. Not only was it very very boring. But Anne was very self centered, pestering and depending on her very very elderly and dying father until he died. She really needed help- running around at night screaming for her dead husband, while here young and terrified kids looked on. It also seemed like everyone in the book died, or almost died. Anne's husband, sister, mother, father, brother and father-in-law, daughter, only son, and best friend, are all killed off. There's barely anyone left but Anne, and her daughter Pete, who almost marries a drunk, but at the pre-wedding reception dumps him, and Anne's bossy maid eve are left. They all buy a white house and live in it. that's about all to this book. If you haven't read it yet, don't waste your time. If you have- I'm sorry!!
Booooring!!!!.......1998-12-25
I love books about the old south but I couldn't even finish this book. If there was a plot to this book I couldn't find it. The story revolves around a woman that was widowed who appears to be a manic depressive. Too bad Prozac wasn't around in her day. She is so self absorbed that it makes for very boring reading.
Book Description
In ancient times, Pompeii was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire. Its 20,000 inhabitants lived in the shadow of Vesuvius, which they believed was nothing more than a mountain. But Vesuvius was a volcano. And on the morning of August 24, A.D. 79, Vesuvius began to erupt. Within twenty-four hours, the entire city of Pompeii and many of its citizenshad been utterly annihilated. It was not until hundreds of years later that Pompeii saw daylight again, as archaeological excavations began to unearth what had been buried under layers of volcanic rubble. Digging crews expected to find buildings and jewelry and other treasures, but they found something unexpected, too: the imprints of lost Pompeiians, their deaths captured as if by photographic images in volcanic ash.
Customer Reviews:
Pompeii and circumstance.......2006-03-08
Having only just begun his examination of the ancient dead with, "Bodies From the Bog" (a title that bears more than a passing resemblance to a kitchy 1950s horror flick), Mr. James M. Deem returns to look at the ancient dead of an entirely new region. As a child I was fascinated by mummies and the bodies of human beings from so very long ago. History was never my favorite subject and often I found that unless I could see a person in the flesh (rotting, decomposing, flaking flesh though it might be) I was unable to understand how similar to us the people of the past were. Pompeii, naturally, is a fascinating subject in and of itself. How could it not be? You've three-dimensional images of people in the last throes of death. I challenge anyone to come up with anything half as gripping (i.e. feeding on our more macabre instincts) when talking about any other ancient civilization. With plenty of amazing photographs, clear concise writing, and a plot that will keep many a kid spellbound, this is probably one of the finest non-fiction titles to grace library bookshelves in years.
"On August 24, the last Tuesday that they would live in their town, the people of ancient Pompeii awoke to a typical hot summer's morning". And we're off! No long drawn out Preface on why Deem wrote this book or dull page long sermon on the history of archeology itself. Nope. Instead we are treated to a highly accurate encapsulation of the events that lead up to Mount Vesuvius erupting and the good people of Pompeii perishing. With some reliance on the accounts of Pliny Jr., Deem tells us what happened on August 24 and 25, A.D. 79. There's even a timetable of events marking the different stages in the eruption. With everyone dead and buried beneath different amounts of ash, Deem then looks at the consequential rediscovery of this once bustling town. We learn how in 1709 a group of diggers found the nearby town of Herculaneum and plundered it of its riches. Pompeii wasn't found until 1748 when discovering the city was something akin to a treasure hunt. For the tourists, skeletons found were set up in dramatic tableaux. Then, around 1860, our hero Guiseppe Fiorelli had the previously inconceivable notion that maybe someone should try preserving Pompeii and its bodies. When people came across hollow areas in the ash, it was Fiorelli who had the brilliant idea to pour plaster into the holes and create life sized statues of what the people in their last moments looked like. The rest of the book discusses the fate of the plaster casts, what we've learned about the residents of Pompeii, and the interesting stories found in the nearby town of Herculaneum. The book ends with the sorry state of current Pompeii excavation and a call for people to make note of the swift decomposition of what we've already found.
Knowing perfectly well that Pompeii alone does not a children's non-fiction text make, Deem's decision to talk about Herculaneum as well was an intelligent choice. Admittedly the book isn't subtitled, "Life and Death Around Mt. Vesuvius", but who cares? Herculaneum offers just as much useful information and rather exciting drama (provided, of course, by the skeletons) as the titular city itself. Most impressive though is Deem's writing. He never talks down to his audience, but at the same time he has an acute ear for timing. Some non-fiction books for kids are great but just go on and on and on. I loved "The Tarantula Scientist" by Sy Montgomery but it definitely could've stood "Body From the Ash"'s editor. No chapter in this book seems out of place or awry. It's a well-honed little series of images and words that will grip many an unsuspecting reader.
It seems to me that Deem must have carefully weighed just how grisly to get. For example, at one point we see a cast of a teenage girl taken from Oplontis, an area outside of Pompeii. The girl was made by pouring wax rather than plaster into the cavity. From that they made a mold and a final plaster casting. On the plus side, the technique is the most lifelike view of a victim of Vesuvius yet. On the down side, it's incredibly disturbing. According the photo credits hidden on the publication page, Deem took this picture himself as authorized by the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Environment. He must have taken very great care to give viewers a clear enough look of the body to let them know how gruesome and realistic it was. At the same time, he's far enough away and at an awkward enough an angle that child readers, for all they want to be, won't be too grossed out. By and large, the book is all about dying people, so there's not a whole heckuva lot you can do about that. Fortunately, each shot is tastefully presented while remaining exploitative enough for youthful palates.
And talk about stunning images. Some non-fiction texts skimp on the images. Deem went so far as to personally visit Pompeii himself and get permission to photograph buildings closed to the general public. He even got his hands on the Pompeii photography archive, thereby getting some pretty keen shots of early archaeological excavations and artifacts. Some are in color (as with the incredibly impressive image of the Herculaneum Ring Lady) and some in black and white but every single one is gripping. If you didn't want to go to Pompeii before reading this book, you may now simply from looking at the images.
But don't ask me. Hand this book to a kid assigned a non-fiction book for a school book report. Slyly slip it to the child looking for mummy books and who hasn't had their fill. Pompeii has many charms, but its greatest may be how kid friendly it is. Some parents may shy away from having their children deal with a subject so gruesome, but for all those budding forensic scientists out there, few books will satiate them quite as well as "Bodies From the Ash". Lively lovely work.
Book Description
A collection of all 118 short science fiction and fantasy stories of one of the masters of the vignette, all his short works except two which were rewritten into parts of a novel. Introduction by Barry N. Malzberg. Dustjacket art by Bob Eggleton.
Customer Reviews:
Superb.......2006-12-20
As a long time Fredric Brown fan, I never thought I'd see a complete collection of his marvellous stories. He's fantastic. Quick, witty, poignant or just fun, Fredric Brown to me is THE O'Henry of science fiction.
Master Of The Vignette.......2006-03-07
"From These Ashes" is a collection of speculative fiction written by Fredric Brown and published between 1941 and 1965. Fredric Brown (1906 - 1972) achieved acclaim in mystery and speculative fiction writing. Over the course of his career he became a master of the vignette, which he was able to write in several genres including fantasy, horror, and science fiction. This collection was published in February of 2001.
The weakness of this collection is in the editing. The stories are supposedly grouped by year of their first publication, but there are several cases where they are incorrect, for example "The Joke" is put in the 1961 section, but it was actually first published in October of 1948 under the title "If Looks Could Kill". They also do not include any information regarding the publishing history of the stories. Many of the stories have had multiple titles over the course of their publishing history, but alternate titles are not listed. Despite the subtitle "The Complete Short SF of Fredric Brown", the Editor's Notes at the back indicate that at least two stories were omitted because they were later rewritten in the form of a novel. There is a good Introduction by Barry N. Malzberg, which would be the highlight of the added material.
The most important measure of a collection is the stories themselves, and in that regard there is no complaint. While few of Fredric Brown's stories have received any attention in terms of awards or even in fan polls, there are many excellent stories here which have been long overlooked. The best known story is the novelette "'Arena'", which was the basis for the Star Trek (Original Series) episode of the same name. It was tied for 35th on the Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll in 1971 for short fiction, and tied for 34th on the 1999 Locus All-Time Poll for novelettes. The short story "The Waveries" was nominated for the Retro Hugo for the year 1945 in 1996, as was the Novelette "Pi in the Sky".
Eight of the stories are collaborations with Mack Reynolds, and there is also the wonderful "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" which he collaborated with Carl Onspaugh. Then there are the more than 50 vignettes, which are often overlooked when it comes to awards. All in all there are well over 100 pieces included, and on many of them the reader gets the feel of his mysteries as well as speculative fiction.
The best!.......2006-01-13
Fredric Brown's short stories are some of the best I've ever read. They're incredibly imaginative, sharp and often funny. Brown also invented many scifi concepts that are repeated in later books, TV and movies, making his stories fun to read for historical perspective, as well.
Another forgotten genius of early scifi.......2006-01-13
There are several absolutely wonderful writers of classic SF that are nearly forgotten today. Unfortunately, Fredric Brown is one of them. Whether it's his short fiction, as in this book, or his wonderful novels, including "What Mad Universe", all of his stuff is wonderful and well worth reading. Brown, Henry Kuttner, CM Cornbluth, Richard Matheson, so many others. All of them created the SF today, and most of their stuff is superior to the SF written today. Please, if you love SF at all, read Fredric Brown. You will thank me if you do. He is wonderful.
The master of short-short SF.......2003-05-15
If you like classic Science Fiction this volume should be in your collection. If you think you don't like SF, but enjoy well written fiction full of ideas, surprises, and humor you should try this.
Fredric Brown was deservedly famous, his short story "Arena" was voted into the SFWA Hall of Fame. His name may not be mentioned frequently anymore, but those that had the fortune of reading some of his stories never forgot him.
This is an excellent collection that brings back to print his unique and thoughtful stories. Many of the stories collected here are classics, many are less than one page long, but in that short space they pack their concept (and a punch) so effectively, and are so well crafted, that more words would only dilute the effect. Some of the stories may be a little outdated in the science part of the fiction, but even those stand the test of time as speculative fiction.
Amazon.com
When Timothy Garton Ash graduated from Oxford in 1978, he went to live in Berlin, ostensibly to research and write about Nazism. But once there, he gradually immersed himself in a study of the repressive political culture of East Germany. As if to return the favor, that culture--in the form of the dreaded East German secret police, the "Stasi"--secretly began studying him. As was Stasi's practice, over the years its study produced a considerable paper trail. After the fall of the East German communist regime, a government apparatus was established to allow those targeted to see their Stasi files, and Garton Ash discovered and pored over his. He then set about to interview the people who made this gross intrusion possible, the several case officers, and the numerous regular-citizen informers. The result is nothing short of a journey into the darkest recesses of the totalitarian mind, taking its place honorably alongside 1984 and Darkness at Noon.
Book Description
"Eloquent, aware and scrupulous . . . a rich and instructive examination of the Cold War past." --The New York Times
In 1978 a romantic young Englishman took up residence in Berlin to see what that divided city could teach him about tyranny and freedom. Fifteen years later Timothy Garton Ash--who was by then famous for his reportage of the downfall of communism in Central Europe--returned. This time he had come to look at a file that bore the code-name "Romeo." The file had been compiled by the Stasi, the East German secret police, with the assistance of dozens of informers. And it contained a meticulous record of Garton Ash's earlier life in Berlin.
In this memoir, Garton Ash describes what it was like to rediscover his younger self through the eyes of the Stasi, and then to go on to confront those who actually informed against him to the secret police. Moving from document to remembrance, from the offices of British intelligence to the living rooms of retired Stasi officers, The File is a personal narrative as gripping, as disquieting, and as morally provocative as any fiction by George Orwell or Graham Greene. And it is all true.
"In this painstaking, powerful unmasking of evil, the wretched face of tyranny is revealed." --Philadelphia Inquirer
Customer Reviews:
The File: A Personal Perspective of Spying and Life in the GDR.......2007-05-13
In The File Timothy Garton Ash confronts the people who informed on him after opening a file that the Stasi kept on him during his time in East Germany (GDR). He gains access to the files of the individuals who informed on him to the Stasi and also to the informants themselves by first stating that he has a professional interest as a historian and secondly, a personal interest because they participated in keeping records on him. When questioning the informants he often inquiries whether they remember informing on him, how they became informants, what these informants felt about informing and themselves while they were doing it, and how do they feel about informing and the East German government now. Often when confronted the informants seem to want to project blame elsewhere. To them they either did no harm or they were just doing their job. It was the Stasi or GDR who deserved to be blamed.
The only thing that within the book that I wish was done differently was the author's placing blame on people or to find them as either good or bad. The questioning of whether they felt blame or guilt was quite different then him asserting these characteristics on these individuals. Although it is unfair to fault him for this, his personal investment somewhat diminishes the historical, objective approach I desired from the book. I would have preferred him to allow the reader to decide for him/herself the guilty or not guilty verdict.
The File is a historical analysis of one file and one person's experience with the Stasi and East German Government. Because the author is analyzing his own life there is a deal of personal bias when it comes to how an particular informant/person should be viewed, however, this does not diminish from the book. Instead, it offers greater insight into how this individual felt about the GDR, the role of the Stasi in East German society, and the role of the East German citizens as informants. Furthermore, the personal approach The File offers allows the audience to experience for themselves the emotions and events of the author's life.
All in all The File is an excellent case study into East German Society, the East German Government, the Stasi and the experiences of a captalist foreigner residing temporarily within a communist government/society.
interesting Memoir.......2007-05-13
This well written book describes the author's encounter with the Stasi, the East German Secret Police. In the late 70s, Garton Ash worked, and for a short period of time, lived in East Berlin. Not surprisingly, he was under surveillance by the Stasi. At this time, East Germany had the most elaborate internal secret police system in the world. The Stasi itself had thousands of employees and an estimated 2% of the population of East Germany were informants for the Stasi. After re-unification, most of the Stasi files became available for review by the former subjects of Stasi surveillance. Garton Ash obtained his file, over 300 pages in length, and compares it with his recollection of events and the apparently extensive diaries he kept during this period of his life. He also sought out and interviewed several of the individuals listed in the file as informants for the Stasi, and the Stasi officers overseeing the informants. The result is an revealing look at the nature of life in a totalitarian state. The discussions of, and interviews with the former Stasi informants and Stasi officers are the most interesting parts of the book. These sections show well the mixture of intimidation, appeal to careerism, and even residual idealism about socialism that underlay the whole system. Even these revealing anecdotes fail to convey the extent of moral corruption that pervaded East Germany. As Garton Ash points out, he did not really suffer from the Stasi and as a Westerner, he could leave or be expelled. The unfortunate citizens of East Germany were trapped in failing society shored up by implied violence, systematic undermining of family and professional ties, and hypocritical lip service to Communist ideals.
Interesting Look At The Stasi Through One File.......2005-01-12
This is essentially an internal adventure story: it is the story of one man returning to his past and revisiting his younger self by reviewing his East German security service (Stasi) file. Ash, a Briton, was a graduate student at Humboldt University in the late 1970s-early 1980s. As a foreigner in East Germany, he was monitored by the ever-thorough Stasi, which managed to keep records on millions of East German citizens as well. Reading his Stasi file (made available after German unification) forces Ash to remember incidents from his past and reveals to him the identities of numerous Stasi informants -- some of whom were his friends. Ash then visits these informants and confronts them with evidence of their collaboration. In perhaps the most interesting part of the book, Ash visits the Stasi officers in charge of his case.
While Ash's writings caused him to be banned from East Germany, he was never imprisoned, nor was he subject to the depradations faced by average citizens of the GDR. Ash acknowledges that as a foreigner, he was always free to leave, and this makes his file less interesting than those of true dissidents. Ash describes, however, the story of an East German dissident who discovered that her own husband was informing the Stasi of her activities and discusses his friendships with brave East Germans who bucked the regime, and paid the price for it.
This is not the definitive work on the Stasi. It provides some background of the agency, but if you are looking for a more thorough treatment, look to "Stasi: The Untold Story of East Germany's Secret Police," by John Koehler. This book is worth reading, however, to understand, through the file of one man, why men joined the Stasi and how the Stasi turned so many ordinary East Germans into informants. Ash also raises important moral questions about spying and intelligence agencies, which are relevant to free societies as well.
Skip it.......2004-05-04
While this book provides detail to what everyone knows (the Stasi spied on everyone, including the sixth of the population that worked for it) it offers very little else. Missing is any sense whatsoever of the psychological effects of living in this kind of society or any kind of nuanced understanding of what it has meant to confront these files. Ash gives some small indications of what his own responses were, but as a Westerner who expected to be spied on for his activities, his experience is not very instructive. Garton Ash has many things to be proud of, but this book is not one of them.
Excellent Book about a sensitive subject........2003-04-20
I came across this book by accident just searching for books about East Germany on Amazon.com. On a personal note, I myself immigrated from the USA to the DDR (Home of my fathers family) in 1982 and lived there until 1987 when I was expelled for political reasons. This book told of many things I personally experienced, confirmed many things I had long suspected and informed me of many things I never knew.
It is an excellent, accurate look at a country and a system that have passed into oblivion but left many scars on many people.
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