Audiobook Books

Even if you've read "The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage," (and if you enjoyed it and found it encouraging!) this book is helpful, informative and inspiring. There are lots of moments in reading this book where the light goes on over your head. Really, this book should be read by anyone who is married, divorced or single--there's something in it for everyone!

I love listening to the audio CD copy of this book.

It's amazing that I felt that some of "my problems" were the fault of my husband and that after listening to Dr Laura I changed my mind. I see that my past had crept into my relationship and that I hadn't considered looking at my marriage in that way before. To make a long story short, I now really want to work on making my marriage happier and healthier for my husband and myself. It really does make a huge difference when I treat my husband well & send some TLC his way. I do not feel as if I am sacrificing anything as some women callers suggest in the book. I feel happier and more loved by my husband. Now that is priceless.

I am looking forward to reading the Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands.

I have not read the book as I gave it as a gift to my son and his fiance. However, I am a loyal listener of Dr. Laura and I know that her books have helped many people. I pray this book will make a difference in my son's marriage.

"You alone can change the destiny of your marriage." ~ Dr. Laura

Dr. Laura begins her book by railing against feminist ideas. Instead she fights for a woman's right to act like a woman and encourages women to appreciate masculinity. Instead of hating men Dr. Laura presents ideas for how you can love men and even depend on men for support. She definitely is in favor of men and women taking more traditional roles, especially if there are children involved. Women are discouraged from working unless the husband can't work and men are encouraged to be the main provider in the family. Dr. Laura supports her views with letters from her listeners.

Your experience may be quite different if you (as a woman) have to work to make ends meet. My husband says I'm happier and more fulfilled when I work so some of the ideas in this book don't work for me. I agreed with a lot of this book but still think Dr. Laura is favoring men. One woman's husband agreed that she could go visit her relatives while he was busy working overtime, then he wanted her back for a social occasion. The woman seemed happy to have returned home to support her husband. While it is fine to change your mind, what about honoring a decision you have made previously?

The best parts of the book are the question and answer sections. Some of the questions included:

What do you, as a man, most admire about women in general?
What do you, as a woman, most admire about men in general?
What is the most important thing you think modern men don't get about being a man?
What is the single, most important expectation you have in a wife?

What bothers me most about this book is how Dr. Laura encourages women to stay home most of the time. She doesn't seem to see the entire arena where women are making a difference in the world by working. What about nurses and teachers for example? Should they never get married or have kids? Even Dr. Laura works!

Some of her other tidbits of advice seem to work in regards to keeping a marriage together. There is a section on divorce that is well worth reading. She shows you how to keep your spouse happy and how to appreciate the differences between men and women. The advice in this book could save your marriage especially if you have been against seeing men and women as being intrinsically different.

"Peace and happiness are the results of loving and giving." ~ Dr. Laura

~The Rebecca Review

A great book for those male or female who want a better understanding of marriage and the differences in the sexes. I bought 3 copies; for myself, and 2 of my adult daughters. This book helps to remind me that when my husband seems alien to me it's because he is a man - not a woman! It is also a good reminder to give all of yourself to your spouse and the miracle of how my attitude and giving love will prompt a more kinder and gentler partner not only in myself but also in my husband.

I have gone through the complete Pimsleur series for several European languages --- Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Greek (only Level 1 available). I have supplemented these with the Ultimate Italian, Portuguese, etc. material (book only, not the CD) from Living Language because I want a more systematic presentation of the grammar than Pimsleur gives. Also Just Listen 'N Learn from Passport Books (now McGraw Hill) and the Take Off In series from Oxford University Press, in order to expand my vocabulary. I go through each Pimsleur lesson at least twice the first time through, with lots of use of the pause button and backspace button on my player. And when when I've finished one level, I go back to the beginning and listen to it all over again. With this preparation, I was able to travel in Greece and Italy and briefly in Portugal (which of course required a readjustment from the Brazilian form of the language) and even have friendly conversations with some people who spoke little or no English.

But the Pimsleur method doesn't work as well for Japanese as it does for European languages. You will certainly learn a lot of Japanese, but you won't speak Japanese.

This is a review for all three levels of the Pimsleur Japanese. The Pimsleur materials provide a good starting point. I would never try to learn any language without starting with Pimsleur. (I haven't tried Rosetta Stone. I did eventually get the Linguaphone series for Japanese, which is forty years old and completely dreadful.)

There are two big problems with the Pimsleur approach to Japanese: vocabulary and grammar. Five hundred words just doesn't take you as far in Japanese as it does in European languages. For instance, in European languages you learn the words for family members down to nieces, nephews, and cousins. In Japanese, you learn only husband, wife, son, and daughter. (No, not even father and mother.) The difficulty is that there are separate words for older brother/sister and younger brother/sister. Furthermore, the words you use for talking about your own family (to outsiders) are different from the ones you use for talking about someone else's family. In some cases this difference is minor, but in other cases totally different words are used.

As far as grammar goes, at first it seems like Japanese grammar is very simple. Unlike Russian or German, nouns are not declined. For most nouns, the plural form is identical to the singular. First and second person pronouns (I, you) are most often omitted. Verbs have no conjugation by person: whether the subject is I, you, we, he, she, they, the verb form doesn't change at all. All verbs apparently end in "mas" (usually "imas," sometimes "emas"). To make a verb negative, you just add "sen" at the end. And there are in principle only two tenses, often called the past and the non-past (present and future). (Actually, there is a sort of separate future sense used when one is not absolutely certain about the statement one makes about the future. This is the "desho" form of the verb. It's a little like the distinction in English between "Tomorrow I go to New York" and "Tomorrow it will rain.") The verb system is extremely systematic. Most textbooks say that there are only three irregular verbs (to come, to do, and to be), although a handful of other verbs have slight irregularities in certain forms. You can buy a book called 501 Japanese Verbs, but I don't know quite why anyone would feel the need for it, except to learn the vocabulary.

But in fact the verb system is quite difficult, because there are an incredible number of endings. For instance, there is no word for "if" in Japanese; instead, there's a conditional form of the verb. And when you say, "I want to eat," there's no verb for "I want"; instead, you use the "desirative" form of "eat." And when you say, "Harry wants to eat," it's a completely different verb form. Consequently, the Pimsleur Japanese doesn't cover nearly as many grammar points in Japanese as it does with European languages. For instance, the passive voice isn't taught at all. Relative clauses ("the man who was here yesterday") are not covered at all. They are very simple in Japanese, but very confusing for someone who speaks English.

Pimsleur is based on two principles that just don't work as well for Japanese as for European languages. First, there is no systematic presentation of the grammar. One learns grammar by learning model sentences. And second, one learns only sentences that one would actually use in a business or touristic context, rather than contrived sentences such as "The pen of my aunt is on the table."

One consequence is that everything one learns is in the mode of formal speech (in contrast to "plain" speech). Formal speech is in fact the only way you will ever speak in Japan, unless you acquire a Japanese lover or very good friend. The problem is though that in the first place, the whole Japanese verb system is based on the plain (informal) mode, so it's hard to learn if you start with the formal form of verbs. (This is the form that ends in "mas.") Secondly, even in completely formal speech you need to very frequently use the informal form of verbs whenever a sentence contains more than one clause. In fact, these Pimsleur sentences contain lots of verbs in the informal mode. And this is very confusing since it's much easier to derive the formal form from the informal than vice-versa, so you frequently wind up thinking, "Where the hell did that verb come from?" Second, when used in a sentence, the informal form of the verb is usually wrapped up in a package of little particles and other words, all of which sounds like one very long word. So it's very difficult to learn the verb itself. To a large extent these extra little additions are softeners, to make sure that what one says doesn't come out as overly confrontational. It's as if one says in English, "The thing is, you know, I would sort of, like, prefer to go another day." As I say, this mostly comes out as one long word.

So start with Pimsleur, yes. But you're going to need to follow up with lots more books and tape sets (the iPod Japanese series, JapanesePod101.com, is very good, and a lot of fun) and probably some real live courses before you have any useful knowledge of Japanese. (I'm still in the beginning stages myself, and not sure to what extent I really want to continue with Japanese.)

When learning Japanese, or any language really, people are probably most inclined to use these audiobook type of programs. Especially for students, workers, Moms...anybody who tends to be short on free time. You can easily pop these in the car, or in the stereo while you cook and clean, or on your MP3 player while studying for your test.

Pimsleur's Japanese I comes with thirty audio lessons, each about a half an hour long. The lessons consist of an announcer, who tells you what things mean or tells you what to say in response to something, and two Japanese speakers, who will be the ones saying most of the Japanese material.

Each lesson usually starts out with a short conversation between the two Japanese speakers. The announcer then goes about picking apart pieces of the conversation bit by bit until the full conversation will be understandable to the listener. Often, they will skip the conversation and just go straight into learning phrases and vocabulary.

The announcer will also seemingly randomly quiz you on material learned in past lessons. For example, you may be in the middle of learning how to say "Would you like to eat dinner with me?" and the announcer will suddenly say "Tell me 'Good morning' in Japanese". This helps pound that material into your head, and also keeps you on your feet.

When the announcer tells you to say something in Japanese, you are given a few moments of silence (It varies depending on the length of the sentence you are asked to speak) and then one of the Japanese speakers says the correct answer. For example:

Announcer: "Say 'Good Morning' in Japanese"
...
...
...
Japanese speaker: "Ohayou Gozaimasu"

I like this method, because it encourages the listener to speak the phrase aloud, rather than just thinking it, or having it constantly repeated for them without asking any feedback from them. I believe it helps reinforce the grammar and vocabulary, at least it does for me. The Japanese speakers also tend to talk at a normal pace for native speakers, so it helps the listener get used to the flow of Japanese.

As said before, this unit comes with Thirty lessons each being around 30 minutes in length. That's about 15 hours total. To put this in perspective, the Japan Foundation estimates that the average student needs to study 150 hours to pass it's lowest level test, which is "Basic" knowledge of Japanese.

You aren't going to come close to being fluent by just using this unit, or even by using the other units of Pimsleur's Japanese. One would be foolish to ONLY use this material, especially with all the great free learning material on the web.

So,
Will using this make you fluent? Obviously not.

Will you be able to take a vacation to Japan and get around without a guide or translator? Probably not.

Will you learn basic components of Japanese that will serve as a foundation to build upon using other learning materials? Absolutely.


Positives:
-Great for those who are too busy to take time to crack open a book.

-Doing one lesson a day will have you finished with this in a month, and lessons are easy enough that you should have no problem at this pace.

-Teaches basic Japanese that can be easily built on with other material.

Negatives:
-The price is INSANE. Go see if you can find it cheaper, as $200+ is not even CLOSE to what this is worth. I personally would not sell it for more than $30.

-You aren't directly taught about grammar, rather you hear particles used in different situations and are supposed to infer why and how they are used. Not good.

-Will not teach you the kana writing systems which are SO essential to anyone learning Japanese. I learned the kana about two months into my Japanese study, and I wish I had learned them sooner.

The course is great in essence, but there are two major trade-offs:

1. I was unable to rip the whole set into iTunes - and put it on my iPod. That was very annoying! (But, maybe, that was just me being unable.)

2. Some syllables are difficult to distinguish (is it ending with n or with m?) when you have nothing in written.

Besides that, I really enjoyed the course, and I'd recommend it when you can overcome said two issues.

Despite heavy advertising to the contrary, the Pimsleur language program isn't a panacea for learning Japanese quickly and easily. I made it through the first 20 lessons before it became simply too tedious to continue. Briefly, the positive and negative aspects of Pimsleur Japanese include:

Positive
1) The spaced repetition of words and phrases (which is Pimsleur's big selling point) really does seem to work, and is unique to the system.
2) Words and phrases are generally pronounced slowly enough so as to be easily understood
3) The lessons do a good job of building upon themselves and continue to reinforce older lessons

Negative
1) As many others have pointed out, Pimsleur is extremely overpriced. For your 200 odd dollars you get 30 half hour lessons. There are a number of online webcasts that offer as much, if not more lessons at a much lower cost (some are even free).
2) The use of written materials is discouraged by the system; thus, written explanations for the lessons are sparse. A more integrated approach would seem to be more appropriate for adult learners.
3) Pimsleur scrupulously avoids even mentioning grammar. Thus, while you learn to parrot the presented phrases, you're on your own in trying to make up any phrase or sentence of your own (e.g. the particles ga and wa are thrown around freely in the lesson, yet there is little mention of when they're inclusion is appropriate).
4) While the lessons start out on an easy learning curve, the learning curve doesn't seem to increase consistently. Some lessons contain too much new material and others not enough.
5) The lessons are a bit long and the conversations are generally pretty stale. A 15 minute session is about the limit of my ability to concentrate deeply and the presentation is so lifeless and dry that its sometimes tough to remember them (again, the various webcasts available have shorter lessons with more entertaining conversations).

I'm using Japanese 2 right now, but I want to give a little advice to those just considering starting out with Japanese 1, especially those who may have read some of the complaints that others make and who may be uncertain whether they want to use Pimsleur.
First, if the price is daunting, try to price how much a personal tutor or a Berlitz-type course would cost. Pimsleur's program is much easier to use than the Rosetta Stone, which also costs a lot. A university language professor I spoke with said that all of these learn-it-yourself methods are far inferior to learning from a face-to-face teacher/tutor. But Pimsleur is more like a tutor than Rosetta Stone.
Second, if you can't or don't want to spend hundreds of dollars, but still want to learn, there is an easy way to get the Pimsleur programs: Rent them from Recorded Books (http://www.recordedbooks.com). Japanese 1 comes in two parts - A & B - and together the rental for all the CDs for one month is $31.95. If you do one lesson a day, you can finish them in a month. Or you can rent part A first for a month, return it and get part B. Then you can go on to Japanese 2 and 3 - all for a total of about $96 plus shipping.
Third, I suggest you do each lesson twice (or even three times) to get the pronunciation and vocabulary correct before going on.
Fourth, because Pimsleur doesn't provide much written material and no vocabulary lists, it's helpful to write down the words you learn - with the help of a Japanese-English dictionary. I have the Langenscheidt Pocket Dictionary, which I bought from Amazon. As some folks have pointed out, it's easy to forget words and phrases that were heavily emphasized in an earlier lesson but that don't get repeated in later ones. So keep a list.

Enjoyed this very much. I sometimes laugh out loud at Dallas' reaction to social situations.

This is a different type of murder mystery for J D Robb's homicide cop Eve Dallas. I love the vampire angle and the humorous one liners. A must read, and a must read more than once. Leslie

I live in fear of the day that Nora Roberts no longer writes these novels. I have read everyone of them and loved this book every bit as much as all the others. The characters in her books have become like family and I laugh and cry right along with them. I loved the city below the city and the questionable characters that must work down there.

I was confused when I saw this audio book, as they usually come out after the print version, and I didn't have this one (I thought) on my shelf. I started to read the plot and realized I HAVE read this before, somewhere. It was a short story in an anthology called Dead of Night, with a bunch of other authors and their stories. I liked it, but unless you are really into audio books, just buy the printed stuff at the grocery store--Lots Cheaper!

Veteran audio narrator Susan Ericksen lends a smooth and dramatic voice to this mystery involving a futuristic lieutenant who is on a collision course with a criminal vampire. Her struggles to find and subdue the unusual perp lend to a riveting mystery perfect for any collection strong in audio mysteries or vampire stories in general; especially for those seeking something different.

I picked this book from the vine list because I live in Portland, a wonderful city that is drastically under represented in popular fiction in spite of what a wonderful place it is. But I don't think I'm cut out to read novels with the type of inherent viciousness and pain that permeates this novel. Getting through it was a laborious, painful and upsetting chore and I was immensely relived when it was over. That said, the above refers only to the plot and not the writing style of the author which was quite good. But maybe I'm not just cut out for modern mysteries, especially those that hit close to home.

Three stars.

Although both Heartsick and Sweetheart contain plot elements commonly found in serial killer/thriller books, Cain's series continues to be outstanding because she brings her characters to life so well. The main character of Archie is especially unique, and the scenes in Sweetheart in which Archie tries to return to a normal life with his family are very poignant.

In addition, Cain manages to maintain a dark tone throughout both books, causing the reader to feel a sense of dread as s/he turns the pages. The reader is submerged in the grisly details of Archie's world from page 1 of Sweetheart.

Although I very much enjoyed the Gretchen storyline of Sweetheart, overall I did not like it as much as Heartsick because I was a little disappointed by the Susan storyline. It seemed like relating the two stories was too much of a stretch.

Overall however, this book is a must read for fans of grisly thrillers, and I hope that Cain does not make us wait as long for the third installment.

"Sweetheart" is a great page-turner of a suspense novel. "Heartsick" preceded this book, and it was also very good - "Sweetheart" continues the story of those characters. This book is about a female serial killer and the cop who was nearly a victim but lived to tell about it. There are two killers in "Sweetheart." In a way, there is a bit of a suspension of disbelief required in order to accept that there would be two big serial killers in Portland, Oregon of all places. But without spoiling anything, this unlikely scenario makes sense in the context of the story.

Seeing as the subject matter is a little grim, be forewarned that you must be able to stomach graphically detailed scenes of violence and death. At times, I think the author gets a little carried away with the gruesome aspects. But if you are a fan of this genre of writing it shouldn't be shocking or hard to deal with. If you generally don't read books dealing with intense violence then I couldn't recommend "Sweetheart."

"Sweetheart" stands alone as a self-contained novel. In other words, you needn't have read "Heartsick" in order to follow the story and become engrossed. That said, I highly recommend reading "Heartsick" first because of all the backstory and character development you will otherwise miss out on. It greatly enriches the experience when reading "Sweetheart" as you are following the same main characters.

Second in series of "Stockholm Syndrom" books, transported to Portland. Prior to the beginning of the series, a Homicide Detective is kidnaped by a brilliant, beautiful serial killer, and tortured for several days. She releases him, and turns herself in. The warped bond between them forms the background and driving force to both novels.

In Sweetheart, this background storyline is played out against two new murder cases--a corrupt Senator and reporter are in a car which drives off a bridge-killing them both. A series of bodies are found in a heavily wooded park. As these cases develop, our serial killer--now safely ensconced in prison, reappears. Through a series of unlikely events which are never fully explained, she manages to escape, and resumes her killing spree. The tension is upped as the Homicide Detective and the serial killer resume their love/hate dance with death.

A good read, but makes no sense at all without having read the first in the series.

Disclosure:
I received this book (as well as the previous novel Heartbreak) as part of the Vine program.


I was really looking forward to reading this sequel after enjoying HeartBreak. Unfortunately this book didn't quite live up to expectations I got from the first novel. It's a decent sequel, but it's more of the same, in fact it could almost be more chapters on the first book. The thing I enjoyed most about the first novel was getting to know the characters through the authors quick yet powerful descriptions. This book lacked that since the reader is somewhat expected to already know these characters. There is some re-hash, but it's brief. Because of this I'd say this book really can't stand alone and you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you read this sequel without first reading Heartbreak.

If you have read Heartbreak then you'll enjoy reading more about Archie, Susan, and Gretchen, but after finishing you'll ask yourself if this series has "jumped the shark". The story again shares many similarities with the Silence of the Lambs series and in some ways mimics it so closely that it becomes predictable.

To sum it up.... HeartBreak was in my opinion a decent blockbuster hit, but Sweetheart is the "straight to DVD" sequel that doesn't quite have the glitter of the first novel.

I read this book thoroughly, as I have all of Don Miguel Ruiz's books. The contents and voice in this book is truly powerful. I have begun to experience a Self-Love and Peace I could not of imagined. I practice the Four Agreements daily, and have agreed to follow the powerful, spiritual, ancient suggestions Don Ruiz clearly depicts. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants freedom that comes from being and loving your authentic self.

I got this book as a gift and I enjoyed reading it.
The message is clear, that we must not let our negative thoughts control us as they may be very well false. Those negative thoughts coincide with the idea of the negative introject studied in psychology.

The one thing that I did not like about this book was that it kind of got new-agey, where the author shuns the idea of external evil. Yes, a lot of evil comes from lies within, but I wouldn't agree with him that the reason why the world is in strife is because of that. Read Political Ponerology by Andrew Lobaczewski to learn that some people have no empathy, and tend to rise to the top of positions of power.

But, I agree that we should not be discouraged by these people, and fight for truth. So I give the book 4 stars.

I didn't know what to expect when I received this book, which was a recommedation, but since I've listened to it, I have become a big fan of Dr. Ruiz. I listened to the book twice now, and will probably listen one more time just to pick up all the fine points. It will open you up to a lot of new ideas, and possibly some important solutions.

After reading this book, I have an urge to buy a copy for all of my closest family and friends. The author offers amazing insight into human nature. He talks about how we mentally defeat ourselves and hold ourselves back from satisfaction in our life and from true unselfish love (encompassing all the definitions of love). He then offers real solutions on how we can work to remove those poisonous mental habits. He writes in a concise, easy to read way that lets you read a chapter in 15 minutes but ponder the message for days. Every person who is interested in exploring who they are and why should read this book.

I have read and enjoyed previous work of Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements, The Four Agreements Companion Book, and The Mastery of Love. This last book I've probably liked better than the other ones. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because it's a lesser known book or that it was a bit less mystical than the other ones.

In any event, I found The Voice of Knowledge to be a very insightful piece of work. It was easy to read and had a section titled, "Points to Ponder" which helped summarize the major points in each chapter. I also bought the The Voice of Knowledge Card Deck which has all of the major points contained in 48 beautifully illustrated cards. Some examples included: The truth is perceived with our feelings, All of the drama humans suffer is the result of believing in lies, mainly about ourselves, and Heaven is here, but we need to have the eyes to perceive it.

Ruiz's work is vital to my deeper understanding of human behavior. It is important to me as a relationship/personal development author to give really good advice in terms of awareness, skills, and strategies. And this the, The Voice of Knowledge, helps to keep me on track so that I can be of better service to those who trust in me for sound advice in their dating, love, relationship, and communication areas of their lives.

This is a highly recommended book for those with a higher awareness and seeking deeper understanding of the invisible forces in our lives.

I first met Jack Reacher listening to the audio version of Lee Child's "Hard Way" and immediately wanted to read or hear more of his books, based on this character. I readily ordered the Lee Child CD Collection 1, happy to learn that such collections existed. As soon as I finish one Reacher novel I'm ready for the next. This character is a likeable loner, ex-military police, a highly intelligent, licensed killer able to render one dead in seconds. Reacher always finds himself caught up in some mystery as he literally wanders the country. Books are formulaic, of course the key is writing formulaic well and different and Lee Child is a wonderful writer never losing his gift for suspense and thrills. If you like this sort of entertainment, check him out. If you spend lots of time commuting listen to Dick Hill's narration of these books, he's great.

First off not a fan of abridged books as you lose the depth of what the writer is doing in painting you a mental image. That said this is a great deal for Reacher fans who want a quick listen to three great stories. If you are looking as a first time reader of the Jack Reacher stories, I would recommend the actual books or unabridged versions also available on Amazon. I started with Tripwire and it hooked me. Just be aware not all of Lee Child's Reacher novels fill in the blanks about the character. You have to read several to start getting the full background on him. Very much like the James Bond character, but more graphically violent. We'll see if they ever get the movies made that I have heard are in the works. Hopefully it will be the darker style of the books and not cheese version that Hollywood has done with other action figures. Reacher is a good guy, but he does things his way which aren't always the "proper way" and is what I like about him. Also if you ever wanted to "drop-off the face of the earth" yet still live life your way, then the Jack Reacher stories are for you.

Even though this book meets my criteria for having `fluff', this is still one great introduction book to NLP. The language is down to earth, the exercises are well explained and the authors give a lot of thoughtful advice to beginners.

I do like the author and have heard him on tape and CD before, but this CD set was originally a tape set (we repeatedly hear "on this tape" spoken), and should have been re-done instead of edited.

Some (only some) of the basics of NLP are included here, and if you've ever opened a book or heard a tape about NLP, you probably already know all that's offered on this CD.

Three of us here listened to "NLP," and we all found the constant reference to "tapes" annoying, along with the voices of two people who do a lot of speaking on the second CD. They both sound like they're trying to do cartoon voices, and my husband couldn't stop laughing. Yes, the voices are that distracting.

The author co-wrote a better introduction to NLP years ago, called "Success Mastery With NLP." It's usually available used on tape. Having used NLP since 1976, I really do recommend it as a more useful introduction to the subject.

This book is great in that it not only explains some of the basics of NLP but it also includes 43 different exercises to do while you are reading the book. Most of these exercises can be done quickly and have been, for me, generally quite effective. These exercises are not easy to find online, so it's nice to have them compiled in one place here. For the price of a paperback it's hardly a question as to whether or not you should buy this book, especially if NLP is something that interests you.

This is a great book on how to improve your performance in any area of your life. I've only just started applying some of the ideas and already I notice that I am able to focus better when I study and dragging myself out of bed in the morning is not as difficult as it once was.

I am giving this book two stars- but I begrudge it the second one. It has to be two because it DOES contain the information I bought it for. But I wish I could in good conscience give it one single star- or fewer- because on nearly every page, there's something that makes me want to reach through the book and slap the writers.

I don't enjoy books that effuse with frothy enthusiasm so trillingly that it undercuts the information it's supposed to deliver. And I don't enjoy books where the authors seem to be addressing me and my curiosity about the topic in a sugary voice as if I am a Kindergartner.

So I am not enjoying this book. At all.

I wish that before I'd purchased this book I'd seen the dedication page. It reads: "Dedicated to the joyful heart and soaring spirit of every child reaching for a greater world, especially in yourself."

Now, friends- I sincerely hope your heart is joyful and that your spirit soars. But that sugary prose in the dedication would have tipped me off about what was ahead- and I'd have run for the hills. To get to the information, you have to deal with the authors achingly precious hopes for this book to change your life.

Ever have a cappucino that was all foam with only a little sip of coffee at the bottom of the cup? Remember how you raised the paper cup to your lips and there wasn't anything to swig? Remember the sense that you'd just been ripped off?

Yeah. It's a lot like that.

If you like non-fiction delivered to you like a bed-time story, maybe you'll like this book. But if not-- don't buy this book. Run very fast to the next selection.

If I can stop even one person from buying this book, it was worth my time to write this review.

This book makes an good and convincing case for the importance of environmental issues as they affect the well being of all societies developed and developing.

The book is centered around the collapse of past societies, although this is only one of four sections in the book. The first section concerns the environmental problems of Montana to give the reader a personal perspective of societies interaction with its environmental problems. The second section gives the book its title and Diamond goes into the collapse of several historical societies - the Maya, Easter Island, the Greenland Norse, and numerous other societies. One of Diamond's strengths is that he tries to end on a positive note and in the second section he examines historical societies that overcame environmental problems. The third section looks at modern societies facing environmental problems - Hati, Rwanda, Australia and others. Here the author looks at how the same problems that affected past societies are still relevant because they are affecting societies around us today. He also looks to strengthen the connection that he started in the first two sections between environmental problems and political problems. Diamond goes through great lengths to stress that he does not believe that one's fate is solely determined by the environment, but he makes a good case that a society cannot properly combat their political fate without understanding their environmental problems. The forth section is meant to make all of the lessons discussed in the previous chapters relevant to the readers of the book - mainly well-off, first world citizens. He looks at the obstacles to confronting environmental problems and how to best influence companies and societies.

Throughout the book I think Diamond makes a good effort to maintain a balance view and to legitimately understand and address the complaints that many people raise to environmentalist agendas. While I do not consider this to be an overarching book on the world's problems and how to solve them, it would be a good addition to the reading list of anyone who wants to understand the relationship of environmental and political problems and some steps that can be taken to solve them.

Not quite as good as his best-known book, "Guns, Germs and Steel", mostly because the first 50 pages are about Montana. Who cares about Montana? I barely even know where it is. But after that it gets wicked awesome. Unfortunately you can't really skip the Montana parts - too many concepts are introduced that you'll need later - but hey, it's Diamond; you can suck it up for 50 pages. Vikings come later. Vikings!

I have been following the many trends on ecology, politics, and economics for many years. I'll admit I'm a complete pessimist in regards to human nature. Yet Diamond's book gives me a bit of hope that the message of stewardship vs resource consumption may be considered in a systematic way. My hope derives (ironically) from the well-researched conclusion that without a change of course, our planet's ruling class will soon face political/economic unrest resulting from widespread starvation, disease, and death.

Diamond presents overwhelming evidence from the past and current state of affairs to support this idea, without sounding preachy. The bummer is that in the past, rulers insulated themselves from the unrest rather than addressing societal problems, until it was far too late. The dying masses eventually revolted and killed the rulers along with their neighbors. Perhaps through this book (and others like it), those in power today will absorb this lesson and try to avoid the grisly finale.

The scholarship of the book is excellent, as is the writing; later chapters are somewhat more speculative about the eventual impact of humans. Some of the later chapters have a bit of a redundant feel too, as if the author makes his point a few too many times. Yet this is easily the most thoughtful book I've read on a very important topic: what happens when a society becomes it's own worst enemy due to shortsighted policy and a relatively comfortable existence based primarily on depletion of natural resources and ignorance of waste.

I recommend this book more than any other I've read in several years; it is well written, scholarly, and compelling. Enough said. You owe it to yourself to read it, and then pass along the recommendation.

I was sorry to find underlining in the book. Underlining should be revealed as part of the condition of the book,

Jared Diamond has a gift for explaining complex phenomena to the average person in a way that is captivating and digestible. In this book, he tackles a topic (the collapse of societies) that is depressing to some and terrifying to others (I suppose it is infuriating to those who just want to be free to build a mine with no environmental protection). He manages to keep the reader's attention for over five hundred pages and leave us with hope for the future -- if we can learn the lessons of the past. He is well read and there is a lot of research behind the book. These are the chief positives. I read the book and was quite taken by it.

The negatives take a bit more time to appreciate. Although Diamond creates a fairly consistent picture that supports his five point framework, it seems that there are other versions of some of the stories (e.g., the fate of the Greenland Norse) that may not fit it so well. Indeed, if you abstract the five point framework you get something like this: there are five factors that lead to societal collapse( self inflicted environmental damage, climate change, the presence of hostile neighbors, the absence of trading partners and finally the efficacy of societies response to the previously mentioned four factors), not all apply in all cases and of course there are other factors (not featured) that sometimes apply. At that point one is tempted to ask, why is five a magic number? I believe the answer is because those are the factors that Diamond wants to talk about -- or because those are the five that the average person wants to hear about. They fit my agenda so I initially accepted them at face value. It was not until I was challenged to think of other factors that lead to societal collapse that the five point framework started to collapse for me. If the five point framework has value, it is as a literary device, not a scientific theory. If taken seriously, it is the kind of framework that finds its way into orthodoxy and creates barriers for further investigation. To me this is a fairly big minus.

Some may say I analyze too much: I should just read and enjoy. But isn't that, after all, the point of scientific inquiry? Isn't that supposed to be the basis for such a book?

The CD was sent quickly, arrived on time and was in great condition. Thanks!

I own 6 of these multi-CD sets of Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon stories and this is my favorite. His voice is strong and rich on these recordings. These are live broadcasts so there's a real audience to provide background chuckles that make me feel like I'm sitting around the fire listening with them.

The segments are Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. (Each one lasting about an hour.) They are comforting little stories that make me smile and relax me as I am drifting off to sleep.

If you are a Lake Wobegon fan, you will enjoy this set very much.

The 4 cassettes are titled "Summer", "Fall", "Winter" and "Spring". All have very funny stories on them and are worth the listen many times over. But the absolute best of the 4 tapes, and the biggest reason anyone should buy this collection, is the "Fall" stories. "Fall" (which I also found listed separately, and have left a review there as well) contains the single funniest Lake Wobegon monologue, "Bruno the Fishing Dog." It also contains a funny take on Minnesota Thanksigivings, and a devastating 24-minute epic called The Royal Family, which I found to be well worth the trip.

To me, Keillor-on-paper vs. Keillor-live is apples and oranges - they should be judged separately. If you do want to hear him, buy this collection--and the collection called "Gospel Birds", also a classic--and you'll be set for some time.

I love Keillor's "Lake Wobegon Days" book, but found listening to these original NPR monologues strangely unappetizing. His book treatments of many of these stories succeed better as humor because on paper he strives more for gentle laughs than to force something "tender" into the mix. This may also reflect the problems of writing and delivering a monologue on live radio every week. Consider the hilarious "Giant Decoys" story. On paper, and for most of the audio monologue, it's about the Sons of Knute lodge and their love of duck hunting, which includes the creation of enormous decoys big enough for ducks to clearly spot them from cruising altitude. In the original monologue, however, Keillor exits with a pointless talk about how writers and hunters both do crazy things and how the hunters need to keep their guns on safety when they're out in the woods whooping it up. It's telling that Keillor omitted this from the book version, and could probably have been safely edited out of the CD. Ditto to his "Christmas Story Re-Told," which seems unfocused, especially for a man whose books usually brilliantly send-up the Catholic and Lutheran faiths; his "Royal Family" bit is clever but overly long and too sentimental. That said, several of Keillor's more "serious" stories are remarkable; he seems at his most effective when he doesn't consciously pull at too many heart strings. His "Hog Slaughter" evokes a lot of ghosts from my summers spent on my relatives' rural farm, where an inner-barn room still bore red-painted walls from that (thankfully long-since-gone) ritual. The same track includes his haunting tale of the unfortunate Elizabeth June, a disabled woman so lonely she invented friends. Keillor uses a light touch with these, and it's hard not to laugh at the moment in church when poor Elizabeth loudly announces to her invisible friend that, yes, she will buy that car. Of his "straight" humor, Keillor seems at his best in shorter bursts like his "brought to you by the Lake Wobegon Chamber of Commerce" bit, in which he introduces us to Fr. Emil's summer replacement at Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility -- a priest whose rambling sermons feature lessons learned while playing golf, and which include experiences gleaned during parish work in the Las Vegas diocese. His "Living Flag" monologue here is cute, but was better handled in book form. That tells me that while Keillor is America's sole live-radio entertainment stalwart, his humor is most focused and polished on paper.

Peter and Tinker Bell are perfectly happy on Mollusk Island. Peter and his little troop of orphaned boys live day to day in this paradise of fresh food and friendly natives. Fighting Prawn, leader of the Mollusk tribe, is indebted to Peter for saving his life, and though he doesn't care for "Englishmen," he and Peter have formed a strong bond. As content as they all are, that world will soon disappear as a carefully planned attack will turn their lives upside down. The fiercest of tribes, known as the "Scorpions," has begun an invasion of this peaceful little community. Determined to take over the island, absolutely no one will be safe from these ruthless warriors.

"In battle, the warriors sometimes hurled venomous snakes and spiders at the enemy; they also coated the tips of their arrows with a special mixture of toxins that caused horrific, paralyzing pain. It was this practice that gave the tribe its name, the most feared name in this part of the ocean: Scorpions. It was a name that meant misery and death."

Far away in London, Peter's old friend Molly Aster is planning a kind of invasion herself after discovering that her father, Lord Leonard Aster, will be going to Paris to investigate problems related to the "Starstuff fall." She is determined to go, though is definitely not invited on this journey. Molly and her friend George do serious research and discover some strange things about her father and a man known as Mr. Pan (is this Peter's father?). Finally, they manage to sneak aboard her father's ship, where they encounter and become prisoners of the evil Lord Ombra and Zarboff, King of Rundoon. The only thing worse than being in prison would be to fall victim to Zarboff's giant pet snake, Kundalini.

"He reached down and touched the dark shape next to his throne. The shape moved, and slowly a triangular head rose, the torchlight reflecting from two yellow eyes. Peter had seen snakes before; there were many on Mollusk Island. But he had never seen one half as massive as this."

For the boy who will never grow old, Peter's friendship with Molly is both sweet and poignant. They have shared so much together and will share more; still, they have the knowledge that they cannot grow up together.

"And then Molly kissed him on the lips. It was the first time either of them had ever kissed anybody on the lips, and it was a kiss they would both carry in their minds for the rest of their lives."

In this action-packed finale to the Starcatchers trilogy, authors Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson enrich the world of J.M. Barrie's original tale. Non-stop action and colorful characters keep the reader engrossed. A strong theme of family values and good friends runs throughout the series, and the delightful illustrations by Greg Call are perfectly suited in capturing this magical world. Like the previous two books, PETER AND THE SECRET OF RUNDOON stands well by itself --- but do read the others, as this is a totally outstanding set of Peter Pan adventures.

--- Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts

If you've read this book I seriously hope you've read the two preceeding books of this trilogy or else you'll be just a tad bit lost. That being said, this is the best book in the three part series by far. The writing is at its best, it's pollished and the typos that so plagued bothe previous books are thankfully gone so it's safe to give to kids without telling them all the grammatical messups from before. The story arch works rather well and nothing feels too forced. Instead you're offered a perspective of Peter Pan's origins that don't seem too forced and that offer a great reading experience for kids and adults. All three books should take you about a week and a half to read at the most because they are truly a light read and chapters are rarely more than ten pages long. so if you're in the mood for a light read and have always wondered where Peter Pan came from, how Tinker Bell was created, why Peter's shadow is detached from him or why that huge crock has a huge ticking clock that won't quit, you should definitely read this series.

This book is non-stop action. There is no down time. You must catch your breath after each chapter. We enjoyed the whole series immensely. Perhaps blasphemous, but this series is better than Harry Potter. No loose ends. Very tight, raucous story. The best EVER!!

If you like the notion of Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, etc. this series is really excellent. I don't use the word WONDERFUL much, but they're a great read. They really do carry on the story of Peter and his friends in a believable and fun way. Really AWESOME and you won't be disappointed. The entire series is highly recommended - all three books so far.

It's sad that this awesome trilogy must come to an end, but I'm happy to say that I enjoyed every minute of it, from the moment those boys and that girl met up with each other and a horrible secret to the end of this installment when Never Land finally becomes familiar.

This story completes the bunch when Peter and the crew are kidnapped to a horrible kingdom where kids are slaved and the darkness of the universe has a horrible plan for the earth.

This is just as exciting as the previous two books, though I think the fantasy went a little annoyingly Star Trek at a point. Still, it was fun and witty and answered a lot of questions. Finally.