Good Morning Comrades (Paperback) Review

I have just finished reading the absolutely delightful, humorous and sweet:book, Bom Dia Camaradas [Good Morning Comrades] by Angolan author Ondjaki. This is not his first book, but it is the first of his books to come across my table. And what a gratifying surprise!

This is a book of a young man's memories of his teens. Actually is just the memories of a couple of months of his school days. They happen to be also the last days of the Angolan war, which here is seen within the context by his family's routine and the normal adventures of a young teenager's school days. He and his family are well placed in the middle class. And what we learn is how the middle class coped with the war, as well as their hopes for the future.

The story is framed by the arrival and departure of his aunt, who living in Portugal, spends several weeks visiting her family in Luanda. This visit gives Ondjaki a great way of describing Luanda, Angola and people's habits through the eyes and questions not only of the outsider, but through the constant surprise our young man feels when he compares her answers with what he knows to be "real life," that is, life as lived by those in Luanda. These interchanges between nephew and aunt are often humorous and occasionally hilarious, for we are able to see from both sides the amazement and disbelief at how the others live.

Ondjaki is also very skilled in representing the "nothing"-talk of young teens, who are constantly improving on reality not to miss a good tale. He was also very succinct and deft at demonstrating how in a period of crisis, any tale can be believable, and can make people act in the most extreme ways. All of this Ondjaki does while keeping a light tone, a colloquial dialogue in a smart teenager' mouth.

The book is a fast read. It's short, only 146 pages. But it's so charming I wanted to know more and more, I wanted to continue to follow this family's activities. It also has all the characteristics of a book that will become a classic for young readers, anywhere in the world.

For those of us who read it in Portuguese and are not from Angola, there is an extra prize: a wonderful discovery of a language that has acquired an African vocabulary that sings in the ears of Portuguese and certainly Brazilian readers. There is a glossary at the end of the book, but I did not find the need to consult it. I preferred to let the words establish their meaning for themselves.

This is a book I recommend. Pleasant reading and lots of information on Angola.
I will recommend this to my book club. It is that good!


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Told in a charming and original voice, Good Morning Comrades is the story of a group of friends who create a perfect childhood in a revolutionary socialist country fighting a bitter war. An internationally acclaimed novel, already published in half a dozen countries, Good Morning Comrades is an unforgettable book by one of Africa's most exciting young writers.



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Attunements for Dawn and Dusk: Music to Enhance Morning and Evening Meditation [Audiobook] (Audio CD) Review

This double CD was a total surprize.It is exceptional.I am into indian music and meditation and I really struck gold with this CD. The music is very slow and otherworldy, mixed in with natural sounds like night birds. A great CD.

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Red Sky in Morning (Mass Market Paperback) Review

The author pays homage to his own late father's WW2 experiences in the US Navy with this novel which appears to be based heavily on his father's memoirs. I found the plot a bit predictable and the characters to be drawn straight from the "How to write a WW2 seafaring novel" guide book, but all up it wasn't a bad read.

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Quite Ugly One Morning [Paperback] Review

I first read Brookmyre in the Fresh Blood 2 anthology, where his story "Bampot Central" had me in stitches (the story is also posted on Brookmyre's website). I then read his book to be publishedin the US, "Not the End of the World," which is a fairly predictable Los Angeles-set thriller, suitable for a long rainy night or airplane, but little else. I thought I'd give him one more chance to wow me with this, his prize-winning first novel.
I have to say, I'm not sure what other reviewers are talking about when they throw out terms like "noir", "pulp", or "Irvine Welsh" when talking about this book. I mean, it is a crime story, and it is set in Edinburgh, and there are a (very) few Scottish idioms, but otherwise it's a pretty mainstream crime novel, heavily laced with humor. It's not noir at all, it's not Irvine Welsh at all (unless you think Irvine Welsh invented black humor), and it's only pulp in the Quentin Tarantino sense, which is to say, hip postmodern neo-pulp. There are some rather gory scenes at the beginning and end, but it's all handled with so much comedy and wisecracking that it's more cartoon show than horrorshow. Think Elmore Leonard or Carl Hiassen rather than Raymond Chandler or James M. Cain.
In any event, the story is a mostly enjoyable tale about corruption within the National Health Trust system. Hero investigative journalist Jack Parlabane literally stumbles into a cover-up murder and then teams up with a female cop and the murder victim's ex-wife to get to the bottom of it all. Fast-paced, with some memorable villains (the shell-suited hitman is a riot), and plenty of digs at Thatcheism and privatization schemes, it's a fun read with plenty of one-liners, but unlikely to make a lasting impression.

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The Leaving Morning (HBJ Treasury of Literature) [Paperback] Review

Suitable for 4-8 yrs. More authors, or college Enlish Composition courses should pay attention to this author. Angela Johsnon has a way of expressingmountains of information using few words. She has a rare gift for helpingthe reader to really identify, on a personal level, with the story.
Thestory is about a moving day for a family. That's it. But, the author tellsthe story in such a compelling way, that it will surely evoke a dialogueabout this, or similar experiences between parents and children.

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Wings of the Morning (Kensington Chronicles, Book 2) (Paperback) Review

Lori Wick certainly is one of my favorite Christian/Romance writers, coming up to a close second to Dee Henderson. And probably my favorite books from Lori Wick are the Kensington Chronicles.
"Wings of the Morning" is about young Victoria "Smokey" Simmons, captain of one of the fastest ship of the Atlantic, the 'Aramis'. When her father, the famous Clancy, had died and left her alone in the world, she asks God to give her strength. Three years have passed and Smokey begins dreaming of life away from the sea. She wants to have a home and raise a family. When she meets another sea captain, Dallas Knight, she believes that her dreams can finally come true. Dallas, also hopelessly in love with her, shares her dreams. But when a scheming and evil pirate comes into their lives, Smokey and Dallas' hopes for the future may come to an end. Will they have the strength to overcome these painful events and to trust themselves into their Father in heaven?
A truly marvelous tale taking place in the mid-1800s, "Wings of the Morning" will have you swept into a world of romance and suspense. I love the wonderful characters of Smokey, who is young and shy yet has great spirit, and Dallas, who will do anything to protect her. They are so real that it is very hard not to like them and to hope they have their dreams fulfilled.
The other three books of the Kensington Chronicles are "The Hawk and the Jewel", "Who Brings Forth the Wind", and "The Knight and the Dove", all of them filled with romance and suspense, plus they all are about people who love and honor their God. My suggestion to you is that if you have never read any of Lori Wick's books, you should start with these four books.
And if you are looking for other terrific Christian/Romance books, I recommend all books by Dee Henderson, including the O'Malley Series, "Danger in the Shadows", and the Uncommon Heroes Series. But be ready for suspense, intrigue, and mystery, because these books are filled with them!

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Victoria"Smokey" Simmons stands silently on deck as her father's body is lowered intothe Atlantic, asking God for the strength she will needto command the Aramisalone. Not wanting to remain at sea forever, Smokey dreams of the time when shecan trade her life aboard ship for a home and family. When she meets anothercaptain, Dallas Knight,Smokey believes her dream will finally come true. Butcircumstances beyond their control and the schemes of a cunning pirate threatento destroy this young couple's hope for the future. Wings of the Morningcarries readers on a tender journey of love in which painful events becomelasting blessings in the Father's care.



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Morning, Noon, and Night (Hardcover) Review

This is simply a wonderful book!I truly enjoyed using it while tutoring a fourth grade remedial reader because it was simple, yet beautifully worded and superbly illustrated. Each illustration is a marvelous natureportrait in itself.My fourth grade student (who happens to be veryinterested in science) savored each lovely portrait, as we talked about theanimals and environments depicted in each one. Though the words are fewand simple, the book avoids being overly childish.Rather, it respectfullypresents the cycle of the day (morning, noon and night) and the beauty ofvarious animals as they act in their natural environments throughout theday.

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Hairballs In the Morning: Surviving and Thriving in a multi-cat home (Paperback) Review

I found a lot of very practical ideas that I have put into good use.
The only one thing I did notagree with is cat hair on my clothes.My opinion is if my friends do not like me with cat hair then so what

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This 56 page book is filled with advice, tips, techniques, and products to help the cat owner better maintain their lives, their pets' health, and their household.This is not the usual cat care book.Subjects include help for the overwhelmed, multi-cat owner, how to handle company with your cat or cats, and still keep everyone happy and safe.Questions are answered about elderly cat and kitten care.Advice is given on difficult choices when saying goodbye to your furry companion.The handbook offers constructive suggestions, techniques, and products to handle these suggestions.It is written in an easy to read, non-lecturing format.

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My Lord, What a Morning: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Music in American Life) (Paperback) Review

This was a completely personal and revealing work.If you are a fan of Anderson's voice this book will soon become one of your favourites.I couldn't put it down (I know that statement is cliche-ed but it's thetruth).Anderson had an incredible struggle establishing a career as anAfrican American opera singer, but throughout her life she treated everyoneshe encoountered (despite the cruelty and racism of many) with dignity andgrace.Her autobiography is indicative of her supreme modesty and love ofmusic and the human voice as the most divine instrument.If you buy it,you will be enchanted.I particularily recommend it for people studyingvoice.

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My Lord, What a Morning is a gentle and engrossing memoir, abounding with the tender and inspiring stories of Marian Anderson's life in her own modest words.From her humble but proud beginnings in south Philadelphia to international vocal renown, the legendary contralto writes of triumph and adversity, of being grounded in faith and surrounded by family, and of the music that shaped her career.
Anderson published My Lord, What a Morning in 1956 on the heels of her groundbreaking role as the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera.In it are bittersweet reminiscences of a working-class childhood, from her first job scrubbing the neighbors' steps to the sorrow and upheaval of her father's untimely death.Here are the stories of a young girl with prodigious talent, and her warm remembrances of the teachers, managers, friends, accompanists, and fans who worked to foster it.Here is a veritable travelogue of her concerts across the globe and rare glimpses at the personal life of a woman more concerned with family than celebrity.
An entire chapter devoted to the Easter concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 reveals Anderson's immense respect for Eleanor Roosevelt, who resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution when they refused to let Anderson perform at Constitution Hall. Supplanting sorrow and regret for anger and violence, Anderson demurely imparts her views on discrimination and on becoming an icon in the struggle for civil rights.
With eleven photographs and a touching new foreword by Anderson's nephew, famed conductor and poet James DePreist, this new paperback edition of My Lord, What a Morning revives the classic portrait of a musical legend who was resilient in the bullying face of bigotry and gracious in the unfaltering glow of fame.

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The Motion Picture Prescription: Watch This Movie and Call Me in the Morning: 200 Movies to Help You Heal Life's Problems [Paperback] Review

Reading this book helped me see into an issue that perplexed me in life: why helping others could be my way of using others to meet my own needs.By watching When A Man Loves a Woman, I could see how a 'fixer' needs someone to fix to feel 'good,' even if that means wanting/needing someone else to stay broken.
It was a painful truth I could not see about myself when it was explained to me, but one I could see clearly by watching this film and using the cues offered in this wonderful book.
Of the many valuable insights I gained about myself from this book, one other stands out.I'd spent a lifetime listening to ernest friends explaining why my esoteric, off the wall humor was 'off-putting' to people who didn't know me.Watchinga film with a character who sat in the background makingesoteric, off the wall comments, I finally understood in a deep, clear, embarassing way what my friends had been trying to tell me: I was unintentionally coming across as strange and
disconnected to others.
I believe this book does a great service by bringing therapeutic insights and healing to people who cannot afford therapy.In my case, it also offered a way for me to learn about myself in a quiet way, without feeling a need to defend, explain or justify myself: I was just watching a movie.
As a character comments in When A Man Loves a Woman, 'Denial's not just a river in Egypt.'With the help of this book, I could see truths I'd denied about myself.
I recommend this book heartily to others struggling with life issues.

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Films are our stories says Gary Solomon and stories have been used therapeutically since primitive humans first began to spin tales around lonely campfires. the campfires are gone nowthe stories have changed but one thing remains constant: stories can teach and they can heal. Gary Solomon shows how in this groundbreaking new book.Part 1 analyzes 200 different movies complete with cast list plot synopsis anda commentary on the therapeutic possibilities. Part 2 explores the techniques and benefits of movie therapy. Gary Solomon holds Master's Degrees in Social Work and Public Health and a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Psychology. He is currently at work on a second doctorate this one in the Philosophy of Social Work from Arizona State University.

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Leading a Worthy Life: Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bible Study with Jimmy Carter [Bargain Price] [Audio CD] Review

First I have to admit to being a Democrat and a fan of Jimmy Carter's public life after the Presidency, using his name recognition to fund public health initiatives in third world countries.However, I can't claim to be of a particulary religious bent.These lessons are very informal, recorded in Jimmy Carter's home church in 1998 and the sound quality isn't great--when someone in the audience speaks it's very hard to hear.But in the informality and simplicity lies its charm.Jimmy opens each lesson by telling what he and Rosalind have done in the preceding week, asking what other dominations or states/countries are represented in the guests who have come to listen to his lesson, and then asks for a prayer from someone in the audience before he begins.The lessons are from letters that Paul wrote and JImmy presents the message, often by asking questions of those present, in an unadorned, sincere way.This is not a smooth, professional delivery nor a pulpit-thumping evangelistic sermon.It is, as the title suggests, a country church Sunday school lesson but, whether you are religious or not, the principles presented are universal, the topics germaine to everyday life, and the goodness that comes through genuine.I don't see how anyone could listen to this set and not feel better at the end.

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A unique and personal audio legacy from one of the most important voices of our time

Jimmy Carter's beloved bestsellers Living Faith, Sources of Strength and Our Endangered Values have established him as one of our nation's most trusted authorities on issues of faith and society. Today, the weekly Bible class he teaches at his home church in Plains, Georgia is attended by visitors from around the world, representing a wide range of faiths and denominations.
Sunday Mornings in Plains gives you the opportunity to share in this remarkable experience wherever you are. Each volume of this extraordinary audio series draws on an extensive archive of recordings to present a month-long sequence of President Carter's Bible classes. Listening to these live recordings, you'll hear the unscripted interaction and unexpected insights that make his classes so popular, as well as the anecdotes from President Carter's life and observations about world events that he infuses into his lessons.
Jimmy Carter has been teaching Sunday school ever since he was a young midshipman in Annapolis; in later years he conducted religious services on submarines on which he served, and even led the occasional class in Washington while he was president. For the last 25 years, President Carter has taught the adult Bible study at his church in Plains, where several hundred visitors join him each Sunday to understand the wisdom of the Bible and apply it to their lives.
Leading a Worthy Life presents the four classes President Carter taught in January 1998 on the Book of Ephesians. Describing basic tenets of Christian living that still resonate today, Paul urges us "to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4: 1-3)
As he speaks to the theme of reconciliation-with God and with each other-that runs through all four lessons, President Carter connects Paul's message to the concerns of our time, including such relevant issues as fundamentalism and disunity in the church, and shares insights into the practical application of faith in daily life that will challenge and inspire all of us.

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Courts Of The Morning [Paperback] Review

I'm only giving this book four stars because Buchan and others have written better stuff. This novel, concerning the Richard Hannay menage (but in which he makes no more than a guest appearance) is more the tale of Sandy Arbuthnot, master of disguise, and newlyweds Archie and Janet Roylance. In a South American republic, revolution is afoot and Sandy is behind the scenes pulling strings and living in the danger. Archie and Janet stumble upon it by mistake, but then they join Sandy and co. Then Janet is kidnapped and Archie takes Geordie Hamilton into the heart of the toxic Poison Country in a desperate bid to rescue her.

The story takes a little more time to get going, unlike Buchan's tauter, shorter books, but once it does, it's gripping.

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South America is the setting for this adventure from the author ofThe Thirty-nine Steps.When Archie and Janet Roylance decide to travel to the Gran Seco to see its copper mines they find themselves caught up in dreadful danger; rebels have seized the city.Janet is taken hostage in the middle of the night and it is up to the dashing Don Luis de Marzaniga to aid her rescue.

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Morning Glory: A Biography of Mary Lou Williams [Paperback] Review

Mary Lou Williams' jazz experiences are detailed in a biography which covers both her life and career and her role as an Afro-American female musician. Dahl was given unlimited access to the Williams archive and her first full-length biography of Williams makes for an important coverage.

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To Hunt in the Morning (Galaxy Books) [Paperback] Review

I read this ethnography more than 20 years ago, but it has always stayed with me.At that time I lived and worked in Australia, where study of Amazon peoples never loomed large, so I don't know if Siskind's work wasmore popular in North America.I have never met anyone else who read thisbook, but that is the world's loss.What impressed me about TO HUNT IN THEMORNING was the author's sensitivity and realism toward the Sharanahua, asmall group of "pacified" Indians living in the Amazon forest ofeastern Peru.She went there to study certain problems in the area ofmedical anthropology, but her book brings the whole experience alive. Siskind covers such standard topics as kinship, household, village, and thesocial change that took place after their "submission" to theoutside world.This well-written, clear volume also covers shamans,healing, ritual, and interesting aspects of interpersonal relations.Thereare a number of photographs.I especially liked the author's depiction ofthe unequal relations between the Sharanahua and the Peruvians of the smallriver towns; she did not hide from this troublesome theme by describingonly jungle life.But most of all, I remember her most poignant words,"The romance of anthropology is to find somewhere else a culture lesstrammeled than our own.The reality of anthropology is to take part inlearning to break its confines."At some time during anthropologicalfield work, if you do it wholeheartedly, you come face to face withyourself and ask the fateful questions, "Who am I ?What kind ofperson am I ?"Should you try to impose your views on others ?Orshould you help them to achieve what they want even if you doubt its worth? If you want to read a solid ethnography or just an interesting bookabout a faraway culture, a book that looked at women's issues when that wasnot so much a la mode, written by a person who asked the tough questions,read TO HUNT IN THE MORNING.

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This book is intended for Prizes won etc.

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Quite Early One Morning [Paperback] Review

This book is a compilation of Thomas' sessions at the BBC. There are poems in prose and in verse. His style transmits nostalgia for his native Wales. Some of the best parts are his sketches of other Welch poets. A highly recommendable book by one very good poet, the same one who died in New York at the Chelsea hotel, after having more than 40 scotchs with soda. His poetry is rhythmical and clear, very imaginative and precise.

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Morning Coffee with God [Perfect Paperback] Review

"Morning Coffee with God" is heartfelt,insightful,and captivating.I normally read through a book very quickly, but this one I read slowly and savored every word. I had to slow down for this one because there is so much wonderful information about a multitude of subjects including creation, past lives, other worlds, and so much more. I will read "Morning Coffee with God" again and again.

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WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE TO HAVE MORNING COFFEE WITH GOD? What would it be like to meet with him every morning, enjoy his magnificent presence, and have the opportunity to ask him all the questions about any subject you have ever wanted to know? And to have him answer with great depth and detail, and a wonderful sense of humor. God (who asked Michael Dennis to refer to him as Mr. Divine) said that he wished he could communicate with everyone. To quote him, I am as real to you as your capacity to receive me is, and your capacity is much greater than you can ever begin to imagine. But is it real? Or just a series of vivid dreams? That is for you, the reader, to decide. As Michael says, There is much more truth to so-called fantasy than people realize. So what is reality and what is fantasy? Discover extensive insights on the complex subjects: * Love* Your soul * Creation* Past lives * Transcendence* Other worlds * Healing* Magic * Fear* Anger * Hatred* Mourning * And more

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We Side With the Morning: Daily Prayers to the God of Hope (Paperback) Review

Thousands of prayer books flow from publishers, but it's hard to find a fresh voice that just might startle us into a moment of awe. True awe--a rare and rejuvenating spiritual experience. Seeking this kind of surprising daily prayer book for 2010, I was pleased to find that "We Side with the Morning" was written by a poet now in his 80s.

William Cleary is a former Jesuit who left the priesthood years ago to marry and raise a family. Both of his grown sons are musicians. His wife is a Unitarian minister. In a family like this, beautiful prayers seem to blossom on a daily basis.

As I am growing older myself, like most Baby Boomers, I'm humbled by life's daily crises and my own human limitations--but a boundless faith pushes me out of bed each morning to rejoin the global community. That's why I love prayers like one that Cleary calls "May It Be So: Giving thanks despite imperfection." The prayer includes these words: "You have made us as you made us: imperfect, crudely shaped, dull of mind--but full of promise, every single one of us. Give us insight and gratitude for things as they are."

To that, we all can say: Amen!

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In this timely book of candid, powerful, and thought-provoking prayers, William Cleary gives courage and hope to those who find it difficult to connect with the divine in the midst of uncertainty. Cleary's newest work is an engaging expression of faith in a God who often seems entirely "other"―and it recognizes that true faith is not bought cheaply. We Side with the Morning provides 365 prayers on subjects ranging from doubt, social injustice, and the inevitability of death―to joy, peace, and the mystery of a loving, personal God who hears the prayers of each person.

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Morning Star Dawn: The Powder River Expedition and the Northern Cheyennes, 1876 (Campaigns and Commanders Series, Volume 2) (Hardcover) Review

Over the years, National Park Service Historian Jerome Greene has produced a growing collection of fine books covering various battles of the Great Sioux War--SLIM BUTTTES, YELLOWSTONE COMMAND (Miles' Montana campaign, including the Wolf Mountain and Lame Deer battles), and two books of participants testimony on various battles and skirmishes in the war.
MORNING STAR DAWN picks up where SLIM BUTTES, done in the early 1980s, leaves off.It follows the planning, logisitical preparation, execution and conclusion of the November 1876 Power River Expedition, under the command of General George Crook.The high point of the expedition was reached with the attack on the Red Fork of the Powder River, deep in the Big Horn mountains, when varioius cavalry components under the Fourth Cavalry's Ranald Mackenzie decimated a large Northern Cheyenne village.The battle happened exactly five months after Custer's defeat on the Little Big Horn and resulted in the utter destruction of the village.The Cheyenne were forced to flee the village, losing vital horses,clothing, weapons, and food, leaving the survivors little choice but to perish in the cruel winter cold or give themselves up at the agencies.The battle knocked the Cheyenne out of the remainder of the Sioux War and thus the army could focus its efforts exclusively on the Lakota under Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and other leaders.
The book is certainly well-written although not quite as good as the author's previous work, his classic NEZ PERCE SUMMER, 1877.Amidst all the details on the campaign, Greene provides a good retelling of the plight of all combatants, both White and Indian, faced with the burden of war in sub-zero Winter temparatures. The logistical problems of the campaign were greatly exacerbated by the weather, making it difficult to feed horses and mules with the requisite 35,000 pounds of grain a day in such a remote area.Facts such as these make one appreciate the importance of logistics in all wars.In terms of insight into Crook himself,I especially enjoyed the author's including the extracts from the writings of Colonel Richard Dodge and Dodge's low opinion of the close-mouthed Crook as both an organizer and leader of men.Despite Crook's foibles, his tenacity somehow got the job done, that and his having the highly-able Ranald Mackenzie carry out his attack.

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From a recognized authority on the High Plains Indians wars comes thisnarrative history blending both American Indian and U.S. Army perspectiveson the attack that destroyed the village of Northern Cheyenne chief MorningStar.Of momentous significance for the Cheyenne as well as the army,this November 1876 encounter, coming exactly six months to the day afterthe Custer debacle at the Little Bighorn, was part of the Powder RiverExpedition waged by Brigadier General George Crook against the Indians.Vital to the larger context of the Great Sioux War, the attack on MorningStar's village encouraged the eventual surrender of Crazy Horse and hisSioux followers.
Unbiased in its delivery, Morning Star Dawn offers the most thorough modernscholarly assessment of the Powder River Expedition.It incorporatespreviously unsynthesized data from the National Archives, the Library ofCongress, the U.S. Army Military History Institute, and other repositories,and provides an examination of all facets of the campaign leading to andfollowing the destruction of Morning Star's village.

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The Morning Of Your Wedding [Paperback] Review

My mom bought me this book as a shower gift, and I will be buying it for every bride-to-be I know!! Like all brides I was a little nervous about my wedding thanks to this book I had all my bases covered and I was the calmest bride my stylist had ever seen! The book has sections for all the different places you might be getting ready on your wedding day, as well as tips for handling different personalities, and even the family dog! I was getting ready in two places, but I also read all the other chapters just in case!! I was so prepared for everything that it kept me stress-free and my big day went off without a hitch! If you are a bride I highly recommend this read!

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Why an entire book dedicated to the morning of the wedding? Because every bride has one and no one has written about it! Why? Because, no other vendor is present that early in the morning to tell you! This is not a hair and make-up book, it is about what I, as the hair and make-up artist, have witnessed at hundreds of wedding mornings at various locations over 25 years! Wedding mornings are as varied as the bride. Some brides are getting married at home, some wedding mornings occur at a hotels, resorts or quaint Inns. But keep this in mind; each location and every wedding morning of has its own set of challenges. Sure, I could control hair and make-up services, but many other situations were simply out of my control in creating a great morning of experience. Time management, food issues, guest mishaps, bridesmaid meltdowns, dressing dilemmas, pet interruptions, relational dismay, fostered this very needed and exclusive book, The Morning Of Your Wedding. I thought, why are so many mornings, so chaotic? As I researched to see what has been written about the morning of, most books only dedicated a small insignificant paragraph if they mentioned that time period at all! Depending on the time the wedding begins and how many are involved, that morning of is anywhere from two to seven hours long!Allow me to share. Allow me to educate, so you can make some important decisions for your wedding morning of! Have a beautiful and joyful wedding day!

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Buenos Dias, Buenas Noches/Good Morning, Good Night (English and Spanish Edition) [Paperback] Review

My two year old often asks me to read this book.I read the Spanish and she says the English.I thought this book was too simplistic,but I think she likes the pictures.

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Sunday Morning Companion (Intermediate To Late Intermediate Piano) (Sacred Performer Collections) [Plastic Comb] Review

This book isn't extremely challenging, but there are many nice, simple arrangements for services when you don't have a lot of time to practice.Worth the price!

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Product Description:
Including over 30 of the greatest hymns of all time, Sunday Morning Companion is designed as a practical resource for church pianists.These arrangements are appropriate for preludes, offertories and postludes, and are written so that minimal preparation time is required.Additionally, the pieces are arranged in a variety of styles that will fit many different worship settings.Titles include: ALL CREATURES OF OUR GOD AND KING *ALL HAIL THE POWER OF JESUSNAME * AMAZING GRACE * AND CAN IT BE THAT I SHOULD GAIN? * BE THOU MY VISION * BLESSED ASSURANCE * COME THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING * COME, CHRISTIANS, JOIN TO SING * DOXOLOGY * ETERNAL FATHER, STRONG TO SAVE* FAIREST LORD JESUS * FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH * GLORIOUS THINGS OF THEE ARE SPOKEN * HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW * HOLY, HOLY, HOLY * HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION * I NEED THEE EVERY HOUR * IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL * JESUS LOVES ME * JOYFUL, JOYFUL, WE ADORE THEE * MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD, A * MY FAITH HAS FOUND A RESTING PLACE * MY JESUS, I LOVE THEE * O GOD, OUR HELP IN AGES PAST * O SACRED HEAD, NOW WOUNDED * O WORSHIP THE KING * PRAISE YE THE LORD * SAVIOR, LIKE A SHEPERD LEAD US * TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE * THIS IS MY FATHER S WORLD * WE GATHER TOGETHER * WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS * WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS

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Sunday Morning Blend, Volume 4: 25 Solo Keyboard Medleys for Contemporary Worship (Piano/Vocal/Guitar Songbook) (Paperback) Review

This is the second in the series that I have purchsed for my daughter who has been playing the piano for about 10 years.She has loved the series and I will eventually get every book for her.It has a nice mix of old classics and new praise songs, blended very pleasingly.There is a good mix of medium to med-hard pieces-great for offeratories and the like.

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Product Description:
25 more medium-difficult medleys for piano solo of the psalms, hymns and spiritual songs referred to in Colossians 3:16. Each contemporary medley includes two familiar melodies that move seamlessly from one to the other - perfect for blended worship. Includes chord symbols. Songs: Ancient Words/How Firm a Foundation * Eagle's Wings/Fill Me Now * Give Us Clean Hands/Cleanse Me * No Greater Love/The Love of God * many more.

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I'd Hate Myself in the Morning (Paperback) Review

This is a very, very good book.Yes, it starts a little slow as he sets the stage from his young life.And the chapters on his involvement with communism do not fully explain what his attraction to communism was.But I think after much research and book reading, this book allowed me to get as close as I could to the answer.And the answer is, in the current political environment of my life, you can never fully understand the travesty of the depression and the Spanish issues in the 30s and therefore, we can never totally feel why free Americans would feel so strongly about communism.So, I've finally closed my research on this subject thanks to Ring Lardner, Jr.
This book has some great highlights which should be cherished by the readers.Dalton Trumbo may be the most celebrated of the Hollywood 10 and his humorous attempts to write and get credit for writing are quite interesting during the Blacklist period.The book correctly conveys the lives which were altered or damaged by this horrible period in America freedom.
Another interesting subject is the few movies that are mentioned showing how the screenwriting process changed the movie completely from the original story.For example, I had read the great sports novel, "Semi-tough",by Dan Jenkins.Lardner wrote a screenplay and a new director had it completely rewrote focusing not on football but on mystical self-improvement gurus.I had always wondered how a movie could so butcher a very funny book so it was nice to get closure on a 30 year old question.
Lardner wrote and won an Academy Award for "Mash".This provides more interesting reading on a movie which is still significant in the landscape of American cinema.
The next to last chapter provides a look not at history but directly into the soul of this interesting man.What starts out as a description of growing old turns into an exceptional essay on his beliefs or nonbeliefs in religeon. Regardless of your feelings, this is fascinating chapter that may challenge your own beliefs.
In closing, I believe you will enjoy this read of a man who led a full life suffering through the Hollywood 10 tragedy and early deaths of brothers in Spain and WWII.I recommend this book specifically to readers interested in Hollywood, American history in the 20th century, or biographies of famous writers.

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I'll Be Sober in the Morning (Paperback) Review

Upon stumbling in on a nude Winston Churchill as he was a guest in the white house, Churchill said to Franklin Delanor Roosevelt "The Prime Minister of Britain has nothing to hide from the President of the United States." - "I'll Be Sober In the Morning: Great Political Comebacks, Put downs, & Ripostes" shows that some of the most powerful men in the world have also have been some of the most sharp-witted. Filled cover to cover with countless retorts and hilarious vocal burns, and charmingly illustrated by Steve Stegalin, "I'll Be Sober In the Morning: Great Political Comebacks, Put downs, & Ripostes" is highly recommended to humor shelves everywhere with a nod to political studies shelves.

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Product Description:
A collection political, comebacks, putdowns, and ripostes over the last 2500 years, with 12 humorous illustrations by Steve Steglin.

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When Morning Gilds the Skies: Hymns of Heaven and Our Eternal Hope (Great Hymns of Our Faith, Bk. 4) (Hardcover) Review

Ifyou are looking for secular style music with a powerful message, you'll only get one of those here. The music is, simply put, churchy style music. If you miss church, can't find a place to worship yet or are unable to get out much the cd in this book brings it to you.It can be a powerful tool in your daily battle for the Lord (as an encouragment for your daily walk). I'm definatly not saying this a replacement for the church experience but it can fill in the days or hours between visits to church.

I was under the impression that the story part of this book was a brief but clear history on how each hymn came about. Not so. The writers of this little volume discuss what the hymn means to them and there is a smidge of history. As far as I know, that is, I have only read about 4 pages of the book thus far. So, in essence, I'm reviewing the cd.



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Product Description:

As Christians we have an eternal hope, and it is the focus ofmany beautiful, touching hymns. The stories behind these hymns canbe just as moving as the lyrics themselves. In this new gift book,four renowned Christians present inspirational thoughts andhistories of 12 beloved hymns, exploring the biblical framework ofeach and suggesting how those truths can be applied to our dailylives.This beautifully produced book comes with a musical CD of all 12hymns being performed-some in simple fashion by the authors, andother complemented by full orchestra and choir. Songs include:"Amazing Grace," "My Jesus I Love Thee," "All the Way My SaviourLeads Me" and "Holy, Holy, Holy."

Listen to 30-second excerpts from the CD

Lead On, O King Eternal
My Jesus, I Love Thee
How Firm a Foundation
Amazing Grace
When Morning Gilds the Skies
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
More Love to Thee, O Christ
All the Way My Savior Leads Me
Holy, Holy, Holy!
When He Cometh, When He Cometh (full song)
He Leadeth Me: O Blessed Thought

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Psalms and Canticles: Meditations and Catechesis on the Psalms and Canticles of Morning Prayer (Paperback) Review

I've been interested inthe psalms for some time, but the whole Liturgy of the Hours, with certain psalms for certain seasons, weeks, days, and times of day overwhelms me. But this book, concentrating only on the morning portion of the "Hours," is organized for straight-through use (no page flipping). Though John Paul II writes clearly, this work is for studying, not reading. The introduction alone, a mere six pages, contains in-depth history of Church practices involving the psalms, all informative and inviting. Similar material is presented (under numbered paragraphs to make for easier digestion) with each psalm and canticle. In the end, I see this as a wonderful text for individuals and groups willing to make a serious commitment to prayer and learning over an extended period.

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Product Description:
In this volume, John Paul II devotes himself to promoting the Liturgy of the Hours as a prayer of the People of God. The Holy Father provides enlightening reflections on each of the psalms and canticles, leading the reader to deeper meditation and understanding. As prayers the psalms take us through the whole range of life experiences. These reflections, originally delivered at the Pope's weekly Wednesday audiences, will be an invaluable companion to those who pray the breviary or simply love the scriptures.For your convenience, this book contains the Psalms and Canticles of the four week cycle of Morning Prayer. The informative and inviting introduction contains an in-depth history of Church practices involving the psalms.
'. . . the Book of Psalms remains the ideal source of Christian prayer and will continue to inspire the Church in the new millennium.'From the introduction by John Paul II.
Published by Liturgy Training Publications.

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Body Mutiny: Surviving Nine Months of Extreme Morning Sickness [Paperback] Review

Awful! I've had HG and this book doesn't give me anything what so ever.
Buy "Beyond Morning Sickness: Battling Hyperemesis Gravidarum" instead!
Body mutiny is thin, not really a book - more of a blog. I couldn't find any hope, it was just miserable all the time, it lacked tips, it was also weary as you are suffering from HG - it needs more editorial work.
I like poetry (but I don't care that she used to sail when she was little), still it was a complete waste of money:-((

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Product Description:
Every woman hopes for a healthy and happy pregnancy. But for some, pregnancy is a living hell.Many women suffer from "morning sickness," but can you imagine NINE MONTHS of constant vomiting with NO food or drink whatsoever, except by I.V. line?Any nausea or vomiting in pregnancy is miserable. However, Hyperemesis Gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness, can be LETHAL.In a powerful mix of poetry and prose, author Jenna Schmitt takes you through 40 harrowing weeks of Hyperemesis pregnancy. Her tale is one of pure survival in the face of agonizing odds. In particular, the response from high-risk pregnant women, their families, and doctors has been both positive and powerful: finally, someone understands how they feel!

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By Morning Light (Paperback) Review

I really enjoyed this novel. It is the final of the Huntington Family series. It is about Kerrianne whose husband died 4 years prior and it deals with her hesitancy at wanting to move on. She thinks that if she dates other men, it is somehow being unfaithful to her dead husband. She meets Ryan Oakman who is a widower. She can relate to him since they have both lost a spouse and are now single parents. At first, she resists him. What unfolds is a beautiful love story between two people that find they can love again. I also enjoyed seeing bits of other members of the Huntington family. Other books that I enjoyed were No Longer Strangers and Winter Fire and the characters from those novels made cameos in this one. If you're up for a sweet love story, check this one out.

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Product Description:
Kerrianne Huntington's perfect life was shattered one seemingly ordinary morning when her husband was killed in a car accident. Now, four years later, she still struggles with picking up all the pieces. Being a single mother of three active children keeps her plenty busy, but she can't help the loneliness that tears at her heart. When Kerrianne meets a widower with two children of his own, she finds herself wondering-is it possible to love a man with the same heart that still mourns another? Or will she have to choose? By Morning Light is a poignant, often humorous tale of love, friendship, and heart-wrenching decisions.

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The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism [Paperback] Review

Not that anyone could call Katie Roiphe "balanced"...her debut, written while still in college, reads like a long talk with a loquatious new aquaintence at the campus coffee bar.She is not a sophisticatedwriter, and this book has no research to support it, really.And yes, itcan be damn insensitive to people who have experienced sexualtrauma.
However, it also bring up some very commonsense point which makesyou wonder -- "Why has no one else thought of this?"Perhaps thekey is Roiphe's writing style, which caught the attention of critics,because people have been worrying about the perpetuation of "victimmentality" with women for a while.
Roiphe explores the issues thatshe encountered at her insular, Ivy League college, which makes thoseexperiences privleged ones.However, the same issues of which she speaksare prevalent at colleges around the country, an inherently privlegedenvironment, but not unimportant to the rest of society.(Though, ifthere's one thing Roiphe is most guilty of, it has to be classism, which Ichalk up to her age, her life experience, and her affluence.Her completetunnel vision cripples the book significantly.)
But Roiphe gives voiceto the ostracized in the mainstream feminist movement, and she articulatesthat alienation well.Sure, she believes that women should get equal payfor equal work, she knows about the glass ceiling, and she is aware &horrified by sex crimes.But she also feels like she can overcome thoseobstacles without placing herself in the role of victim of sexism.And shelikes nail polish and reads fashion magazines too, probably.She wants tojoin the feminism club, but she feels that she can't.
She also voicesthe very funny politics of college sex life, where consentual sexis...well, ambiguous.(Which is, I think, one of her most interestingpoints, and it has spurred many a chat between my circle of friends.)
Now, I know that her stance of sexual assault is one of her mostcontroversial, but I don;t think she is trying to play denial.She justargues for a better vocabulary of terms, and thinks that every constructionworker whistling at you does not constitute harassment.And that's one ofthe big rifts between Roiphe and her early 90's feminist adversaries.
Like my feelings about Camille Paglia, I think Roiphe raises interestingissues, and I think she is worth reading.While her personal experiencesdo not enlighten the world, they are telling of what kind of experience ishappening in our Ivory Towers of education.And her voice, as a dissenter,shouldn't be given automatic short shrift just for not agreeing with theFaludi party line of the era.(Although, on a side note -- Susan Faludi,what happened?Ugh, "Stiffed"? )
To be a balanced feministon either side, peruse this short and surprisingly entertaining text.Iguarantee, it will force you into some opinions, either way.

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Product Description:
When Katie Roiphe arrived at Harvard in the fall of 1986, she found that the feminism she had been raised to believe in had been radically transformed. The women's movement, which had once signaled such strength and courage, now seemed lodged in a foundation of weakness and fear. At Harvard, and later as a graduate student at Princeton, Roiphe saw a thoroughly new phenomenon taking shape on campus: the emergence of a culture captivated by victimization, and of a new bedroom politics in the university, cloaked in outdated assumptions about the way men and women experience sex. Men were the silencers and women the silenced, and if anyone thought differently no one was saying so. Twenty-four-year-old Katie Roiphe is the first of her generation to speak out publicly against the intolerant turn the women's movement has taken, and in The Morning After she casts a critical eye on what she calls the mating rituals of a rape-sensitive community. From Take Back the Night marches (which Roiphe terms "march as therapy" and "rhapsodies of self-affirmation") to rape-crisis feminists and the growing campus concern with sexual harassment, Roiphe shows us a generation of women whose values are strikingly similar to those their mothers and grandmothers fought so hard to escape from - a generation yearning for regulation, fearful of its sexuality, and animated by a nostalgia for days of greater social control. At once a fierce excoriation of establishment feminism and a passionate call to our best instincts, The Morning After sounds a necessary alarm and entreats women of all ages to take stock of where they came from and where they want to go.

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One Sunday Morning: A Novel [Paperback] Review

If Edith Wharton were alive and writing now, who would she be? Dominick Dunne is the first novelist who comes to mind, especially his first few novels. But Dunne's books are, more often than not, jump-started by a crime; for Wharton, a social gaffe was sufficient to fuel a plot. And Wharton's books were rich in subplots and subtext.

You could, I think, make the case that Amy Ephron is our Wharton. This seems, on the surface, improbable. Ephron lives in Los Angeles, where roots do not run deep and Society goes back only a handful of generations. She has worked --- gasp --- in the movie business, where people with a provenance rarely venture. And she writes novels that are painfully short: ONE SUNDAY MORNING runs to 214 pages only because the book is small and the margins are vast.

What Ephron shares with Wharton: Her books are not so much written as carved. Every word counts. And, like Wharton, every word is about the story --- there are no digressions, no riding of an authorial hobbyhorse. And, like Wharton, Ephron is concerned how a small event can be inflated into a large one.

In ONE SUNDAY MORNING, the event is a view from the window of a Gramercy Park townhouse: young Lizzie Carswell leaving a hotel in broad daylight with Billy Holmes, a man engaged to one of her friends. Lizzie's mother had to go abroad because of a scandal; have mom's degenerate genes been passed on? And what will Clara Hart, Billy's intended, do when she hears the news (as she most assuredly will)?

Wharton material, to be sure. But there's a tension here you wouldn't find in a Wharton novel --- the story is set in 1927, and so, very much bubbling under the Society plot, is the reckless mood of that era. Alcohol. Drugs. Homosexuality. These add a Fitzgeraldian spice to the strict moral tale that is Ephron's legacy from Wharton. And, just in case you're nostalgic for Somerset Maugham, there's a man just back from very interesting travels in Asia. Maybe he's a lost soul. Maybe he's a potential suitor.

This isn't to say that Amy Ephron has cherrypicked her influences (though if she did, she couldn't have done better). You read this book for itself, and for the precise portraits she draws. Sample: "Clara was nursing a gin and tonic. She had a Piaget watch on her right wrist that Billy had picked up for her at an antique store. It had a simple black band and a plain gold rim around its face so the numbers themselves were the set-piece, distinctly Piaget. Billy's linen suit was appropriately wrinkled. It occurred to Mary that they fit into Paris in a way that she never would."

Mary will, of course, get a big surprise. So will the other characters. It turns out that quite a lot can happen in 214 pages --- that is, when the writer is a master storyteller like Amy Ephron.

--- Reviewed by Jesse Kornbluth

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Good Morning Hanoi (Paperback) Review

I read this book after my first visit to Hanoi, and wish I had read it before going. The authors write with passion, insight and humor. Their descriptions of day-to-day life and day-to-day people make wonderful reading, and their writing style is conversational and accessible. Anyone planning a visit to Hanoi will have a happier and richer experience if they have read "Good Morning Hanoi."
On my second trip to Hanoi, I made sure I had my shoes shined, and bought books from street vendors - thank you Iain and Trish for helping me to understand the importance of the micro-economy.
The book works at another important level - the authors were in Hanoi (for over a year) as part of a Volunteer Program. They job-shared in the English language section of Voice of Vietnam. I found it both interesting and inspiring to learn more about volunteering, and to hear the experiences - not always positive - of two people who took that plunge.
This is a book I highly recommend - for travellers, potential volunteers, or anyone interested in the romance of the different.
My next visit to Hanoi is 3 months away, and this time we are spending time in Sapa, motivated by Iain and Trish's time there. I just hope we can track down their guide...............

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Product Description:
Returning once again to Viet Nam, where more than thirty years previously they had been correspondents during the Vietnam War, Iain Finlay and Trish Clark take up the job of coaching a team of young Vietnamese people at the Voice of Vietnam radio network in Hanoi.Here, Iain and Trish describe their experiences and their encounters with the New Viet Nam.They describe with warmth and humor the various people they work with, and the personalities they meet and get to know in and around the small courtyard where they live.This is a warm, fascinating book about modern Viet Nam, as revealed through the lives of ordinary people.


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The Monday Morning Church: Out of the Sanctuary and Into the Streets [Hardcover] Review

If you liked Jerry's book, "Love, Acceptance & Forgiveness," you will absolutely love this one! It powerfully describes how Christians can bring the love of Christ to the real world, in our existing lives while we're going about the normal routine of our day. It's continuing in Christ's model - not getting people to church, but meeting them in everyday life, not trying to convert them, just loving them in a very natural way that fits with who I am. This book has changed the way I approach my day, and everyone around me. Finally, someone has cut through the religious barriers to what our true mission is and how we can accomplish it in real life.

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Fired by the passion to take the message of the gospel beyond the walls of the church, Jerry Cook challenges Christians to reconsider their role in society. He emphasizes that the church on Monday operates in the experience of the non believer where the greatest impact for God can occur. He encourages Christians to consider themselves strategically placed by Jesus Christ to go to the non believer rather than having them come to God. Drawing from the book of Ephesians, he challenges traditional thinking of how ministry occurs and what the church should be while presenting an exciting new paradigm of living for Christ.

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Johnny A: Sometime Tuesday Morning (Paperback) Review

If you are a fan of great guitar then you will be a fan of Johnny A. This book contains every note of the songs listed and the explanation in the back of the book helps you squeeze out those notes with the same aplomb as the remarkable Johnny A. I would like to have seen more biographical information and perhaps an interview.

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From the brilliant roots/rockabilly guitarist on Steve Via's Favored Nations label. Titles are: Sometime Tuesday Morning * Oh Yeah * Wichita Lineman * Two Wheel Horse * In the Wind * Yes It Is * You Don't Love Me * Up in the Attic * Walk Don't Run * Tex Critter * Walkin' West Ave. * Lullabye for Nicole. Includes full-color interior artwork.

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Morning and Evening Talk [Paperback] Review

(A star rating is not appropriate for this "novel," which is really not a novel in the traditional sense.)Written in 1987, this last entry in the Cairo series by Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz has no beginning, middle, and end, and no real plot.There are no standard chronology and no strong individual characters who develop fully during the action.Modeled on traditional Arab biographical dictionaries, which recorded the lives of influential citizens in single-paragraph entries, this is Mahfouz's most experimental novel.Here he arranges sixty-seven character sketches according to the Arab alphabetical order of the characters' first names, creating a series of short personal anecdotes which reveal lives and convey the history of three Cairo families from the Napoleonic wars through the death of Anwar Sadat.

The book begins with the death of a child, an episode which is recalled near the end of the book, and as the child's family is recreated, in random order by alphabet, the novel ripples out, incorporating different eras and other families, over four or five generations.Showing the progression of Egyptian political change, Mahfouz moves (non-chronologically) from the entrance of Napoleon into Cairo in 1798to the British Occupation from 1882 - 1952;the 1919 Revolution against the British occupation;the Free Officer's movement, founded by Gamal Abdel Nasser, leading to the July Revolution of 1952;the Tripartite Aggression (the Suez Crisis) of 1956, in which Britain, France, and Israel attacked Egypt for nationalizing the Suez canal; the Six Day Warof 1967, in which Israel attacked Egypt;the War of Attrition from 1967 - 70 between Egypt and Israel; and the Yom Kippur War of 1973, in which Egypt and Syria attempted to recapture land lost to Israel in the Six Day War.

As much as the book may be about political change, however, it is at least, if not more, about marriage and its importance in the culture. Throughout these generations, members of the same family intermarry to protect inheritance and wealth, but other marriages are also arranged among other "appropriate" families.The women are educated, at least at the level of literacy, and as time moves toward the present, the wives are often educated professionals--lawyers or physicians--who move easily between Egyptian and European cultures.A few of the individual family members move to other parts of the world--Germany, the United States, France, and Saudi Arabia, returning often to Cairo, despite their absences for significant periods of time.And while some of the characters may be passionately committed to some of the political movements of the day (and others may oppose them just as passionately), none of them are religious extremists.

Readers new to Mahfouz will probably want to start elsewhere for their introduction, perhaps with the more traditional The Cairo Trilogy or even Akhenaten: Dweller in Truth, written just two years before this novel.Written when Mahfouz was an old man reflecting on history and the meaning of being Egyptian, this novel can be tedious and sometimes frustrating.The characters' names are often very similar, making it difficult to remember who is who, and the lives of many characters resemble those of other characters and do not add significant new information.Still, likean impressionistic or pointillist painting, the individualbiographies provide color and interest, which, taken together, give a picture of a broad cross section of Egyptian society dealing, over time, with the winds of change. n Mary Whipple

Palace Walk (Cairo Trilogy), Book 1
Palace of Desire (Cairo Trilogy), Book 2
Sugar Street (The Cairo Trilogy), Book 3
Children of the Alley: A Novel
Three Novels of Ancient Egypt: Khufu's Wisdom, Rhadopis of Nubia, Thebes at War (Everyman's Library)



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Product Description:
This unusual epic from the Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz portrays five generations of one sprawling family against the upheavals of two centuries of modern Egyptian history.

Set in Cairo, Morning and Evening Talk traces three related families from the arrival of Napoleon to the 1980s, through short character sketches arranged in alphabetical order. This highly experimental device produces a kind of biographical dictionary, whose individual entries come together to paint a vivid portrait of life in Cairo from a range of perspectives. The characters include representatives of every class and human type and as the intricate family saga unfolds, a powerful picture of a society in transition emerges. This is a tale of change and continuity, of the death of a traditional way of life and the road to independence and beyond, seen through the eyes of Egypt's citizens. Naguib Mahfouz's last chronicle of Cairo is both an elegy to a bygone era and a tribute to the Egyptian spirit.

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Come Morning (Mass Market Paperback) Review

Two broken souls find each other and start to heal on the rocky shores of Nantucket Island. Wonderful heart wrenching story of Brianna, a photographer who loses her seven year old son to a stray bullet. Brianna flees to her grandfathers Nantucket cliffhouse to be alone and try to heal her broken heart and maybe pick up a camera again for the first time since Bobby's killing. Then there's Slade, a Southern California firefighter who loses a young victim in a housefire. The mother of the child killed blames Slade for the childs death. Unable to cope with the guilt he leaves the fire department and California to seek out the reclusive home of his late father to try to learn a little about the man who left him and his mother when Slade was only 10. The journey Brianna & Slade make together is trully an unforgetable life touching experience. I felt a part of their lives, their feelings, their sorrow and finally, their love. A definate page turner and tear jerker. I strongly recommend this book to all who believe in the power of love.

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Product Description:
After an accident takes the life of her young son, lovely photographer Brianna Morgan retreats to Nantucket to grieve. In the next house, handsome fireman Jeremy Slade is drowning his sorrows in liquor after blaming himself for the death of a young mother. When a brutal hurricane ravages the island and helps them come to terms with their pasts, Brianna and Jeremy must decide whether they can create a beautiful new future together. Ads in "Romantic Times". .

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Profitable Growth Is Everyone's Business: 10 Tools You Can Use Monday Morning (Hardcover) Review

Charan's credentials include co-authoring the bestseller "Execution". His writing is very much down-to-earth, no-nonsense, and straightforward. So when he says 10 tools for Monday morning, believe him! Here they are:

1. MAKE REVENUE GROWTH EVERYONE'S BUSINESS. Just like a cost reduction agenda may be a permanent theme in daily conversations and meetings in all departments, so should revenue growth be. And it's not just for the management, it's for all employees to think in this direction (just like we try with the cost reduction agenda).

2. HIT MANY SINGLES AND DOUBLES, NOT JUST HOME RUNS. While home runs provide the opportunity for a quantum leap, they are unpredictable and don't happen all the time. Singles and doubles, however, can happen every day of the year. This piece of advice may sound somewhat trivial. But for what it's worth, my experience from especially larger firms is that it may turn out to be the most important tool. Many big corporations tend to devote too much thinking into finding the big home run - and may give too little attention to the many small growth areas that short-term perhaps do not make an important contribution, but often keep the organization full of life and energy - and well-prepared for take-off...if the elusive home run should materialise.

3. SEEK GOOD GROWTH AND AVOID BAD GROWTH. Good growth not only increases revenues but improves profits, is sustainable over time, and does not use unacceptable levels of capital. It is also primarily organic (internally generated) and based on differentiated products and services that fill new or unmet needs, creating value for customers. Charan constantly challenges leaders that seek acquisitions as primary driver for revenue growth ... instead of organic growth.

4. DISPEL THE MYTHS THAT INHIBIT BOTH PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS FROM GROWING. Confront excuses such as: "We are in a no-growth industry, and no one is growing"; "Customers are buying only on price"; or "The distributors are the ones in direct contact with retailers, and there's not much I can do."

5. TURN THE IDEA OF PRODUCTIVITY ON ITS HEAD BY INCREASING REVENUE PRODUCTIVITY. The old saw says, "We have to do more with less." The problem, though, is that the focus is usually on the "less" and the "more" rarely happens. Revenue productivity is a tool for getting that elusive "more" by actively and creatively searching for ideas for revenue growth without using a disproportionate amount of resources.

6. DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A GROWTH BUDGET. All companies have a budget. It is, however, astonishing how little detail about revenue and sources of revenue growth you can find there. Almost all of the lines in the budget are cost-related. Few, if any, identify resources explicitly earmarked for growth. The growth budget provides a foundation that will allow a company to increase revenues instead of just talking about it.

7. BEEF UP STRATEGIC MARKETING. One of the key missing links for generating revenue growth at most firms is strategic marketing. Most people visualize marketing as tactical tools such as advertising, promotion, and brand-building. Strategic marketing, on the other hand, takes place at a much earlier stage by identifying and precisely defining which customer segments to focus on. It analyzes how the end-user uses the product or service and what competitive advantage will be required to win the customer and at what price points. Charan is using the term "upstream marketing". But I find it a weird way of describing strategic marketing. So I changed it.

8. UNDERSTAND HOW TO DO EFFECTIVE CROSS-SELLING (or value/solutions selling). Cross-selling can be a significant source of revenue growth, but most companies approach it from exactly the wrong perspective. They start by saying, "What else can we sell to our existing customer base?" Instead of looking inside-out your organization, you need to look outside-in. Successful cross-selling starts by selecting a segment of customers and then working backward to define precisely the mix of products and services they need and creatively shaping a value proposition unique to them.

9. CREATE A SOCIAL ENGINE TO ACCELERATE REVENUE GROWTH. Every organization is a social system, the center of which is a way of thinking and acting that sets both day-to-day actions and the long-term agenda. When an organization has an explicit growth agenda understood by everyone, growth becomes a central focus--a social engine--during formal meetings as well as informal discussions. This tool is closely linked to tool no. 1.

10. OPERATIONALIZE INNOVATION BY CONVERTING IDEAS INTO REVENUE GROWTH. Innovation is not the private property of lone geniuses working apart from the mainstream of the business. In any company of reasonable size, innovation is a social process that requires collaboration and communication for idea generation, selecting those ideas for revenue growth that are to be funded, and shaping those ideas into product prototypes and launching them into the marketplace.

Those were the 10 tools. I find the conclusion to be that revenue growth must supplement a cost reduction agenda (though you may want to wait 6-9 months after the efficiency programme have been initiated before embarking on the growth theme). Too many firms focus narrowly on cost cuttings, but to survive long-term we need to have the growth engine to be running as well (singles and doubles are just fine!). Charan explains how to make it work in practice.

Peter Leerskov,
MSc in International Business (Marketing & Management) and Graduate Diploma in E-business

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Product Description:
The coauthor of the international bestseller Execution has created the how-to guide for solving today's toughest business challenge: creating profitable growth that is organic, differentiated, and sustainable.

For many, growth is about "home runs" - the big bold idea, the next new thing, the product that will revolutionize the marketplace. While obviously attractive and lucrative, home runs don't happen every day and frequently come in cycles.

Products like Kevlar, Teflon, and the Dell business model for selling personal computers may be once-in-a-decade phenomena.A surer and more consistent path to profitable revenue growth is through "singles and doubles"-small day-to-day wins and adaptation to changes in the marketplace that build the foundation for substantially increasing revenues. The impact of singles and doubles can be huge. They are not only the basis for sustained revenue growth but, in fact, the foundation for home runs. Singles and doubles provide the discipline of execution, an absolute necessity for successfully bringing a breakthrough technology to market or implementing a new business model.

Inherent in this way of thinking is the revolutionary idea that growth is everyone's business-not solely the concern of the sales force or top management. Just as everyone participates in cost reduction, so must everyone be engaged in the growth agenda of the business. Every contact of each employee with a customer is an opportunity for revenue growth. That includes everyone from the people working in a company's call center handling customer inquiries and complaints to the CEO.

In this trailblazing book, Ram Charan provides the building blocks and tools that can put a business on the path to sustained, profitable growth. For more than twenty-five years, Ram Charan has been working day in and day out with companies around the world. The ideas he has developed for solving the profitable revenue growth dilemma facing many businesses are based on personally seeing what works in real time. These are ideas that have been tested across industries and that deliver results, and they can be put to use starting Monday morning.

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