This book has been lauded as one of the most thorough, impressive histories of women in the music industry, and with good cause. British music journalist Lucy O'Brien (author of "Annie Lennox") goes above and beyond the usual "women in pop" formula to include not only extraordinary performing artists like Suzanne Vega and Billie Holliday, but also the groundbreaking female writers, producers, and engineers that aren't as often recognized by the media.

O'Brien culls her information from more than 200 interviews conducted in Britain and the US over a 10-year period, beginning in 1984. Sifting through the genres of jazz, reggae, rap, folk, country, world, rock, and soul, she looks to those at the forefront of feminism in pop music, examining the extraordinary sense of self that propelled each of these women to not just ride the trends, but to create them.

But don't dismiss this as a "just the facts" view of women in the music industry; it's much more. O'Brien is realistic and savvy enough to readily admit that there are issues that challenge women continually, including the ethics of blatantly leveraging one's sexuality as a marketing tool, the permeating lack of unity among women in the industry, and the self-destructive behavior that plagues many.

Including a great collection of support material, such as photos, a bibliography, and a discography, She Bop is great addition to every rock fan's library.

This is an interesting and informative book. I especially enjoyed the parts that referred to Dusty Springfield and how her unique singing style influenced rock & roll. Ms O'Brien also wrote the Dusty Springfield biography, "Dusty," which is available at the Amazon UK location. Check out both books, especially if you're a Dusty Springfield fan.

though written almost five years ago, lucy o'brien's _she bop_ is still one of the definitive books to cover the role of women in the music industry. like _rolling stone: women in rock_ and _women on top_, o'brien extensively documents the often-overlooked contribution that women have made to all forms of music, since the birth of the recording industry. o'brien peppers her account with excerpts from actual interviews accumulated during her years as a music journalist. in contrast with other books on the same subject, o'brien provides a uniquely english view, including artists that are often passed over, even in femenist music anthologies. by documenting the contributions made by women such as lisa lisa, shara nelson and martha wash, o'brien's book seems more thorough than those that focus only on industry divas. this book is an absolute must for anybody interested in the way that recorded music is dealing with issues of sex.

I think Ms. O"Brien hit the nail right on the head. What it is all about is being able to define what YOU believe is the key to success and to live you life in that way. As long as you live up to your expectations, that is what really counts. At least to me anyway.

On another note, I personally met Ginny and she is a fabulous person with extrordinary insight. Her book is not a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, but actual experiences of real people. I would recommend this book for those who question their idea of success. It is very enlightening.

This book has been a tremendous experience for me -- on par with Sally Helgesen's "The Female Advantage" which I read several years ago. This is a wonderful follow-up to that life-changing book. "Success on our Own Terms" is a celebration of the diversity of paths that women have carved in the business world. The creativity of the women's decisions, and the companies that supported them, is inspiring. The title of the book is apt -- the definition of success itself is not an absolute. While the book strongly identifies the need for mentors, it also clearly shows that the traditional career paths, and the myths associated with those paths, don't always fit the situation or the individual. Ultimately, these women are doing what is right for them, celebrating the complex lives that they are determined to live to the fullest. It gives one hope -- for women and for the business world.

I am a career coach and work with professional women in leadership and career transition. This book first came to my attention by several clients who were surprised that it was not on my client reading list. They were right - this book is a gem. Virginia O'Brian has done her homework. This well researched and well written book is both useful and inspiring. A must for any woman serious about her carreer.

This book was very interesting had a good theme and plot.

It kept the reader on edge throughout the entire book. I would

recommend it to everyone.

Like all the volumes in the Library of America series, this book is beautiful and made to last. Some readers may be bothered by the thin paper, but it allows so much to be packed into a handy book. As the title states, this is a collection from Cather's early work (her first "first novel," _Alexander's Bridge_, is missing). _The Troll Garden_ is a collection of Cather's early short stories, most in the manner of H. James and have a fin-de-siecle tone. "The Sculptor's Funeral," which depicts a town's inability to recognize achievement in any form but monetary, is perhaps the best. That and two other stories were revised by Cather for _Youth and the Bright Medusa_ (1920 an available in LoA 57 _Stories, Poems, and Other Writings_). Reading the versions side-by-side, one can achieve insight into Cather's growing abilities as a writer. However, the most rewarding read in this volume is _My Antonia_. Cather's first masterpiece depicts the lives of Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda from their arrival in Black Hawk, Nebraska to twenty years after Jim leaves Black Hawk for a life in the East. Antonia remains in Nebraska, becomes a maid in town, and marries (twice). The theme of the book, from Jim's perspective, is aptly captured in the epigraph: "optima dies . . . prima fugit" (from Virgil's _Aeneid_). Again like all volumes in the LoA, a chronology of the authors life, a "Note on the Texts" and a few notes, containing information on allusions and translations of foreign words and phrases appear at the end of the volume.

One of my all-time favorite books. Attractively packaged on acid-free paper. Very classic looking. And the fiction is excellent! Her stories about the Plains, the Southwest, Chicago, and Quebec are perfect works of art. I especially liked "Tom Outland's Story" contained within "The Professor's House."

Sarah Lennox's carefully constructed life follows a plan she decided upon in childhood. With tender young years built around chaos and change, she determined that only careful control would give her life the safety and security that she needs. Indeed, everything proceeded according to schedule, including college and her career. The man she wanted to marry arrived right on time. Then something went awry one night. Despite conscientious use of birth control, she got pregnant. Worse, the night she announces her pregnancy, her fiancé announces he's leaving Florida behind for California - without her.

Only one place, in a magical summer when she was thirteen, ever provided Sarah with a strong sense of home and security. Sarah takes six weeks off work and heads to Firefly Glen and her Uncle Ward. Just outside of town, during a bout of morning sickness brought on by heights and driving through mountains, she meets Sheriff Parker Tremaine when he stops to check on her. He's returned to this tiny Adirondack town for healing as well, following his divorce and resignation from big city life and the Secret Service. He loves Firefly Glen, despite town leaders who argue over the upcoming festival, the mayor's daughter's inappropriate behavior, and the difficulty of keeping his one jail cell free for its intended purpose. More, he's coming to love Sarah, despite her determination to maintain her distance.

Kathleen O'Brien creates a pleasing romance in WINTER BABY, the first of the Four Season in Firefly Glen miniseries. The spunky heroine demonstrates substantial growth as she moves from a relationship of indifference to a relationship of passion. Her pregnancy gives impetus to change, and builds marvelous sympathy in the reader. Moreover, the sexy hero proves that pregnant women are sexy and desirable. Indeed, I can't resist a man who happily accepts another man's child as if it were his own. While the plot does provide minor conflict, however, this novel revolves around strong characters, whether it is the hero and heroine, or the wonderfully drawn secondary characters. Highly recommended.

When things go awry for super-arranger Sarah Lennox, the jilted, newly pregnant young woman heads for Upstate New York's Firefly Glen and her great uncle's period mansion. Shuttled here and there through a difficult childhood, Sarah remembers the magical summer she spent at Uncle Ward's. The small town beckons as a spot to reconsider her options while planning for the coming--and unexpected--arrival of her baby. Sarah doesn't count on instant attraction to Sheriff Parker Tremaine, who finds the Florida lass one fascinating lady. Parker, a divorced man, has left Washington, D.C. and a well-paying profession, to return to his childhood home. He loves Firefly Glen and its small town ways, and he has no illusions about finding romance again, despite his sister's matchmaking. However, when Sarah arrives in town all that changes.

Between keeping the peace, particularly among the town residents who want their winter ice festival, and curmudgeonly Uncle Ward, who does not, Parker has his hands full. This he handles well; Sarah's pregnancy however, makes him reevaluate what's important in his life.

This is a wonderful story about real people with real, life-changing decisions which the talented Ms. O'Brien handles with her customary skill. I guarantee, once you've read Winter Baby, you'll have to have the other Firefly Glen books. Brava Ms. O'Brien.

Since she was twelve when her parents divorced and her mother started her many relationships with other men, Sarah Lennox had a master plan for her own life. First she would graduate from college, which she did. Then she would have a career, which she has as a Home Economics teacher. Finally, she would marry and two years later have children. Currently, she is engaged to the principal of her school. However, four home pregnancy-tests later, in spite of practicing safe sex, Sarah realizes she is pregnant. When she tells her fiancé, he informs her he is leaving for a new job in California, ends their engagement, and implies she should rid herself of the unborn.

Stunned Sarah receives a letter from her curmudgeon Uncle Ward inviting her to come see him. Realizing that the summer she spent as a thirteen year old at his home in Firefly Glen was her happiest, she decides to visit him. There she meets former secret service agent and current sheriff Parker Tremaine. As she defends her beloved uncle in the middle of an ice festival battle, she falls in love with Parker, who reciprocates her deepest feelings.

WINTER BABY is an amiable contemporary romance that warms the wintry weather of the upstate New York location of the plot. The tale is a relationship drama played on several levels, not just the lead couple even as their love shines throughout the novel. Though the principal is too villainous, Parker, Sarah, and the locals are likable characters that enable readers to enjoy Kathleen O'Brien's gracious story.

Harriet Klausner

King's work is largely a response to the most famous work on the subject of the Donner Party, Stewart's "Ordeal by Hunger." King's book focuses on details of the tragic story, and leaves the reader with a depth of knowledge on the subject. More casual readers may wish that King had provided a chronological overview of the events. This work seems to be aimed at readers already familiar with the basics of the Donner Party story, and criticizes Stewart's work on so many occasions, it is hard to see the work as anything but an effort to correct Stewart's errors.

I had the opportunity to know Joe King and know the accuracy of his work and the tenacity of his searches. My family traveled to California in 1846 and were rescueres of the Donner survivors. Joe received hundreds of personal and family letters and diary entrys from living family decendents and opened new ground in this story. Most of the previous works were penned shortly after the Donner Tragedy and were very pointed in that they tried to soften some of the controversy. Many of the survivors were still living and no one wanted to talk about the gastly events at Truckee Lake. Joe King sought out the facts from family members like myself, the Donner/Houghtons, the Breens and Reid decendents. His work was reviewed by the true historians and deemed to be one of great accuracy without the myth that surrounded this topic for a century.

As a person fascinated in western history, I can say without reservation that this is the best book I have read on the Donner Party tragedy. Not only has the author given us the interesting tale of the Donner Party saga, and he has done that well, but he has also related the moral and ethical dilemnas to our own times and our own perspectives. I could not put this book down!

This particular book is full of references from ancient greek literature quoted to illustrate various aspects of Alexander the Great's life. It has the most complete bibliography on Alexander and students will find it is a must buy for that feature alone. The author concentrates on the deterioration of Alexander from alcohol and his parallel life with the god of wine Dionysus. Very unusual indeed...

I find this book fascinating, full of interesting facts and references. A great reading for someone who is curious to find out more about the phenomenon we call Alexander the Great.

O'Brien's title references what he terms the "half-truth" that the faculty is the university. His answer is, "of course, but ..." Drawing on his presidency at Bucknell, and his Hegel scholarship, O'Brien argues that an institution represents something else more difficult to identify but just as important: an ethos, a culture, a set of binding ideals, all of which are continually (re)created by the interaction of faculty with institutional tradition. While others like Donald Kennedy have also briefly noted the idea of a greater degree of centralized direction, if not control, O'Brien takes the idea much further both theoretically, and practically, by proposing specific faculty positions intended to strengthen in the long-term an institution's intellectual culture. Finally, O'Brien argues, in an academic version of Michael Porter's doctrine of "competitive advantage," that institutions ought to capitalize on their differences rather than accentuate their sameness. All in all, a provocative, insightful and, yes, even funny meditation on the relationship between institutional structure and institutional character.

I highly recommend this book whether you are a student, parent of a soon-to-be college student, are considering a career in academia or are just plain curious It is very well written, witty and highly informative, not to mention fascinating. Dennis has written other books and has a website ... Granted, I am a little biased (I happen to be his son-in-law), but I would still recommend this book even if he was not my father in law (Dennis did not put me up to this!). I always recommend it to my "academic" friends, especially when the subject of tenure comes up, which he discusses at length. He also discusses the history of the university, which I find very fascinating. All in all, I can't recommend this book highly enough! Excellent read.

Kate O'Brien's parlor-set piece about a 19th Century Irish family at the time of the lingering death of the family's mother is spare and relentless. The author evokes through a series of character foils the conflicts between the 19th Century Irish Catholic milieu in which the characters exist and the very real and human passions that they develop at odds with their circumstances. The narrative voice is sympathetic, yet quick to point up the character flaws in each of the family members portrayed in this novel filled with misplaced passions and passionless near misses. Although this is a short novel, it is not a quick read. It instead is a patient, quiet, well-constructed but not particularly novel portrayal of the contrasts between life as we imagine it and life as it really is lived. I recommend the Ante-Room, but it is not for the impatient or faint of heart.

I couldn't put it down! The book describes three days in an Irish household. Very atmospheric, and yet the writing is so easy and natural to read. There is unrequited love, and almost every other emotion it is possible to think of. Highly recomended

It was good but not excellent. I have read other books that were much much better.

This book was my first romance novel and it got me hooked! I couldn't help but love this book, and I can guarantee that I will never forget it. Not only is this book sweet, but it won't make you blush like some other books I could name. It is definitely a romance novel to give to a friend who hasn't experienced this genre before.

Though not as good as his later works, definitely worth buying, though 'Dave Barry's Guide To Life' is also availiable... and contains this and three other works of similiar quality and length by the same author, while being slightly cheaper than this edition alone.
Recommended.

Classic Dave Barry! A short read that you will read twice (at least). Get ready for Dave Barry's usual hilarious views, this time on working out and staying fit. If you have a fitness area in your home of office, this book belongs there. Enjoy!

"In the short space I have here, it's very difficult for me to explain all of your body's complexities and subtelties in any detail, or even get any facts right. For more information, I suggest you attend Harvard Medical School..." Along with Claw Your Way to the Top, this is my favorite Dave Barry book. Even the index is funny ("F" and "G", for example, contain the following fitness-related references: Ford, Gerald; Frequent Casual Motel Sex Diet, The; Godzilla; Gone with the Wind). Where else can you find a fitness test involving a scorpion and an elevator?