Karen Johnson was my psychiatrist for a number of years, beginning just as this book was coming out. She walks the walk as well as she talks the talk in this book. She treats patients like responsible adults, not helpless children; and she believes that people who have "emotional problems" can discover from within the ways to solve the problems. This book is extraordinary in that is is very simply written, with a minimum of medical jargon and no intellectual superiority at all; and the material is presented very directly. It's almost an istruction book on how to create yourself emotionally healthy again. I think a revised version is due; lots of research has come out since 1991.

This wonderful text really describes the unhappiness so many women feel. The good news is, that most of our feelings have more to do with the way we learned to cope within a society or environment that is not geared to serving our needs, rather than due to some personal flaw of ours. This book may also help us to wean off the awful habit of collecting too many self-help books, because it encourages trust in our inner wisdom. As a woman who has made it a personal project to enlighten women who are suffering in 12-step based substance abuse programs, because such programs often reinforce our self-doubt, this text is a fantastic part of the solution!!! Imagine trusting ourselves once and for all, instead of the systems, programs, doctors, mates, etc. that we had more faith in than in ourselves! Thank you Karen Johnson, for this very liberating work!

The approach to psychological care for women, is where Johnson and Ferguson diverge from much of the past literature. Like me, they know a woman's experience is different from a man's by virtue of their differing genders. Women's concerns are not dismissed, discounted, trivialized, marginalized, or described/interpreted from an exclusively male perspective. The authors acknowledge and affirm that many women understand why they are not happy with their lives. They recommend this as a valid starting point for the work a client and therapist do together.

Editor Kristen Johnson has done an excellent job of pulling together many difficult-to-obtain source documents that are pertinent to the Donner Party. She enhances the reader's understanding by presenting detailed biographical information about each document's author, combined with copious footnotes, all of which are extremely helpful and unbiased. The tremendous amount of research required to synthesize the material is quite apparent. Johnson's volume of material helps to counterbalance some of the older, more biased works of Donner literature. This is a "must-read" for anyone interested in American history, the great western overland migration, or simply in tales of survival. Congratulations to Ms. Johnson upon compiling an interesting, eclectic mix of old and rare--some almost forgotten-documents which really improve our understanding of conflicting viewpoints of one of America's greatest mysteries. (This text refers to the hardbound edition of the book, c. 1996.)

Johnson's book is a great reference for anyone interested in the Donner Party. It is a compilation of written source materials, most contemporary to the Donner event. The book contains many personal accounts of the tragedy, given from widely diverse sources, from survivors and rescuers to "yellow journalists" of the time. Johnson's compilation is a testament to how the Donner Party story affected people of the time, and how their varying perspectives affected their opinions. Johnson avoids reader confusion with a complete set of footnotes, detailing where various writers were inaccurate or incomplete in their retelling of this amazing story of the West.

This book takes many early, hard to find, publications and compiles them into one comprehensive resource. The book has excellent annotations and summaries which place events into perspective and help give a fair, balanced view of the Donner Party tragedy. Highly recommended for anyone who has an interest in our western history and the early settlers who helped to form it. This is a great follow-up book to McGlashan and Stewart

This book is well written, well configured and is the course material I use to teach Unix. This book is a must have for the new to nearly new sysadmin type person. I actually wore mine out. Thanks for writing such a clear and concise book.

If you are new to Unix then this is a great book to get you started. It clearly tells how to get around the Unix environment and is a great reference book. I would be surprised if a new user could not find everything he/she needs in this book. The inclusion of switches for each command was extremely helpful as was the DOS to Unix cross reference.

Great Author for Unix and Linux. This book is
put together very easily to read and understand. Goes step by step with the "How to" stuff.

About six months prior to my husband's and my trip to Vermont, I purchased Tree & Jennison's book and poured over its contents, intrigued by all that the New England state could offer these Texans. Because the authors had taken the time to visit the various locations noted in the book, I had no worries about the trip. Once in Vermont, I used the book as a bible, knowing what to expect in each village. I met many of the people that they had mentioned, and each had glowing remarks about them. Without this book, my vacation would not have been as organized or enjoyable, and we even went during Mud Season! I recommend this book wholeheartedly because the information is well researched.

This book captures, for me, something close to the heart of Vermont--it's clean, simple, direct, truthful, and deeply entertaining. I have done a lot of travelling in the state over the last 18 months, and found the Explorer's Guide reflects with accuracy and cultural compassion the experience of living and wandering here. Some people will buy it for the inn and the restaurant listings, but its real strength is in its quiet delineation of the regions and their differences. If I were allowed another star, I would use it.

We did not know much about Vermont but the book got us on our way quickly. The different sections are clear and get straight to the point.Wide variety of things to do, places to stay, eat and shop. A very satisfying purchase.

Jan Johnson's book on contemplative prayer is one that I'll be rereading. It's not difficult reading, but this type of prayer is not something that you can just assimilate into your Christian walk without considerable thought and prayer. I really appreciated the author's honesty and her vulnerability. She definitely doesn't paint herself as being a person who has mastered this stuff - she is just another pilgrim on the journey, and indeed her points are more credible to me because she isn't perfect.

The book talks about what contemplative prayer is, what it looks like in someone's life, problems we might encounter - really practical stuff. She used personal anecdotes to illustrate her principles, and also quotes from many sources. I must say that I found the "notes" section at the end of each chapter fascinating. As a lover of Christian books, I'm fascinated by the books that an author refers to. And this book has the notes at the end of each chapter, instead of the all of them being at the end of the book. They're more accessible this way, I think.

I especially appreciated Jan's description of how we can practice a contemplative lifestyle in the busy-ness of life. She is quick to dispel the notion that contemplatives are locked away in a room somewhere, not living a normal life.

I own Jan Johnson's other books - "Enjoying the Presence of God", "Listening to God - Using Scripture as a Path to God's Presence", and "Living a Purposeful Life", and I look forward to reading those as well.

Please check out my other reviews of Christian books and music.

i had long been wanting to know what is comtemplative prayer. I had read many books about it but they just confused me. Jan Johnson showed me what it really means to pray contemplatively. She also challenged me t oadot this kind of prayer in my daily life. I have done so and GOd has blessed me mightily since then.

Because I often feel too busy to even think, contemplation seems like a spiritual luxury I can't afford. Jan Johnson shows me otherwise. When the Soul Listens is about contemplation for the rest of us; it's about developing simplicity of soul and receptivity of spirit in the busy world we live in. It's a "how to" without condescension because Ms. Johnson takes us along on her spiritual journey and her exploration of the other side of prayer - listening. This journey goes beyond platitudes and cliches into authentic Christianity. I appreciated the careful research, thorough documentation, yet comfortable conversational style. Jan Johnson says her purpose "is to help you learn how to meet with God in life transforming encounters in which your heart comes to rest in His presence." Everything in the book focuses on this purpose in an understandable and inspiring way.

This is my absolute favorite cookbook, and I have tons. This book focuses purely on preparing wholesome, not "health-nut", food for your family. These are recipes for real food that real people can prepare and will enjoy. I especially like this book because it contains many discussions on "how-to" issues, such as bread kneading and sour-dough starters. Even my husband the meat and potatoes guy, likes these recipes. No weird ingrediants, just good wholesome food. Ten thousand stars!! I also recommend Whole Foods From the Whole World and Whole Foods for Kids to Cook.

I've had this cookbook since in came out around 15 years ago, and am needing another copy because it's so well used! Many tasty but healthy recipes. The best "health food" cookbook I own.

Whole Foods for the Whole Family: Le Leche League International Cookbook has served me well through child-bearing and child-rearing to life after children. The recipes are interesting, dependable, affordable, and use ingredients commonly on hand. It's a great resource for a tire cook who needs new inspiration

My husband and I wanted to do some time in "wine country" during our 1 year stay in France. We picked up this book at a local "english language library" and it was great! It really gives a lot of good information about the regions, the wineries, and the traveller's perspective on wine country in general. We've also used it extensively to document our pictures after the fact -- you know how you can forget the names of the 20 chateaux and 12 towns you visited! Well, this book provides enough information to put it back together when you are looking at a picture of a very pretty building which you cannot remember the name of.

It doesn't cover particular wines in detail (mentioning only a few), but for wineries, its a great guide.

The Wine Atlas of France by Hubrecht Duijker (with support from Hugh Johnson) is the best way to start exploring the various famous French wine regions by car. After presentation of the history and a description of a particular wine region, the book lists the address and describes the important wine estates of the region. Suggested routes for driving as well as listings of the top regional restaurants and hotels, in order to recover from the wine tasting. Besides excellent maps of different scales to find your way round the book has superb pictures so that you know what to expect. Alternatively, you may first want to use the book to browse through the various wine regions. Even without using the book as a travel guide it is very useful in locating wines and their vineyards.

This books contains informative descriptions, combined with detailed maps, and beautiful pictures, covering all the major wine producing regions of France. In addition, the author includes his favorite vineyards for each region. This book is a must for anyone travelling to France or just interested in learning more about the wine producing regions of France. Included in each section are a few selections on where to eat and where to stay as well. Having personally taken this book on my most recent trip, I can give it my hearty endorsement.

I bought this book from Amazon after seeing it at a local bookstore. Once I read one page, I couldn't put it down. In fact, I didn't. I read it from front to back in one sitting. This book is so well written and the accented pictures are just beautiful! I believe any woman can relate to this book on one level or another.

I bought this for a female friend of mine from college who is going back to medical school. I think it is a great gift book, with many different types of happy, successful women discussing their lives.

I read this book, thinking I'd dip into one story, but I was hooked. I couldnt put it down. The stories oflwomen who have overcome incredible odds to connect with work they love are inspiring, directionla, tutorial. The book is lovely and strong. I shivered as I read it.. That's when I realized, "This is the Hope book."
I'm giving one to my Mother for Mother's Day, and I bought several for Graduation presents this Spring.

WRITE & WRONG is a wonderful new book for anyone who cares about writing well. Marthy Johnson loves language and it shows in her work. She illustrates correct usage with humor. After reading WRITE & WRONG, you'll find it easy to remember such things as when to use "lay" and when to use "lie".

As a writing instructor and corporate writing trainer, I use WRITE & WRONG as a text. Participants give it high reviews. And, we enjoy laughing and learning as we discuss the most common errors writers make.

I recommend WRITE & WRONG in the highest terms of praise.

Coming from a seasoned copy editor, "Write & Wrong" sets us straight about common pitfalls to avoid when writing. The fun part is, Marthy Johnson manages to do this with great humor. Some of her examples are unforgettable. These are painless lessons in English grammar for those who know enough to recognize a split infinitive when they see one and who care enough to want their writing to be free of errors. Johnson has thoughtfully indexed the book and given it a spiral binding for ease of use. A small treasure, well worth the purchase price.

I'm the author of a novel, numerous manuscripts, magazine articles, screenplays, and a collection of short stories. WRITE & WRONG is my first-line reference book because it covers the majority of writers' goofs and questions. The information is to the point, relieving the writer of having to sort through and interpret pages and pages of stylebooks and grammar guides. WRITE & WRONG is a reference book written for writers by a writer. Besides, the facts come clothed in humor. Where have you seen that in a writing reference manual?

Maddie begins a pen pal relationship with a stranger when she finds a balloon and a note attached; but quickly comes to believe her new friend is a ghost from the past. Pearl uses old-fashioned phrases and sends a photo decades old; but the real surprise comes when Maddie decides to track her down. Mystery, supernatural overtones, struggles with a new person in the family and a surprise ending make for a fast-paced, highly recommended story.

Write Me If You Dare! is a compelling story of Maddie, an endearing, fun-loving, courageous eleven-year-old who has lost her mother. A pen pal comes into her life just as her father begins dating a woman quite different from her mother. Maddie, her father, and grandfather and their relationships are exceptionally well-drawn and convincing as Maddie tries to accept her father's new friend. Interwoven throughout the book is a fascinating study of the family's bee-keeping enterprise. The story is told in a warm, reflective style, while Maddie herself is a bright, engaging youngster full of personality. I grew to love the characters. This story is meant for 8-12 year-olds, but I am a full-blown adult who laughed aloud, cried and felt every emotion in between as I read to the finish. I hope Emily Rhoads Johnson writes many more stories!

Maddie, the book's main character, is wonderful. She's bold and adventuresome, smart and fair, and best of all someone who knows how to stand up for herself. But she is also going through a tough time and feels lonely and abandoned--like many 12 year olds. She finds a mysterious letter telling her "Write me if you dare" and begins a correspondence that allows her to feel better for a while, and eventually helps her to grow up a bit. I won't reveal the great ending, but will mention that the book has the added attraction of teaching readers all about the beekeeping business, a family business that Maddie helps out with that gives her a sense of competence and being needed. It's a good book for any 10 to 13 year old but particularly for girls that age who may be struggling to adjust to life with just one parent (Maddie's mom has died) or to accept a parent's new partner.