This is a great reference book. There is one on every unit in the hospital where I work and it comes in handy.

This was a very concise and clearly planned book; the material is presented in easily understood language. Very helpful for the student as well as the registered nurse working in any setting.

What a wonderful collection of inspirational stories! From the dedication page to the last story you will be truly touched by the sincerity of this talented author. The title story is a classic and has always been a favorite of mine. This touching story of a teacher reaches into the heart. As a teacher myself, I was reminded of how we often impact the lives of our students, many times without ever realizing it. "Something of Value" also became a favorite of mine. It is a touching story with a surprise ending that will warm your heart.

Ms. Ballard touches the soul of every reader in the lead story "Three Letters From Teddy." It is a must-read for all teachers as in it the teacher, Ms. Thompson, learns a powerful lesson. It tugs at the hearts of all who care for children and their futures.

Ms. Ballard has the ability to grab the reader from the very start and you'll find yourself trying to finish this book in one sitting! There are many stories in this little book, all so very human and often inspiring. I bought this book as gifts for friends and relatives, and I believe you will want to do the same. Ms. Ballard delves into the lessons of life and reminds us we are all human and will always have our own lessons to learn.

This book is an easy read that allows us to then to face life facts with instant solutions! For example, change is inevitable and increased so we must seek ways to deal with this inevitability. The author points out that for starters, we must detach ourselves from the outcome; that is, be happy doing as opposed to only when you are done. When you enter the present, you expand time; Kant also espoused this as the author points out. Stop expecting. Let events in life flow through you; all we can control is our response. Identify with your life force, your Spirit; we must develop new ways of knowing and being.

This book is written by a runner who continues to run and who seeks to realize his human potential and is happier because of this. (Hence the subtitle A Dreamrunner's Guide) The author provides some specific tips in particular mindsets for running; I'm more of a sprinter myself but this book makes me think I can also haul the longer distance!

This book focuses on helping readers slow down by encouraging them to stop trying to control every aspect of their lives (which we all know is impossible anyway). The book is an extremely quick read, that has inspirational passages (without being too hokey) that readers will refer to again and again. Since I read this book (for the first time) last year, I have bought 3 other copies to give to friends. I couldn't bear the thought of lending them mine!

Just like it says: this books has 130 Irish ballads for acoustic guitar. It includes all of the ones I know, like "Whiskey in the Jar," "Black Velvet Band," "Finnegan's Wake," "Danny Boy," etc. Most of the songs are pretty simple.

This book is exceptionally well-designed. It includes a CD that has the first verse and chorus of all 130 songs (!) so that you can learn how to sing even the songs you're not familiar with. The fingerings for all of the chords are also included. Because it's spiral-bound, this book is *really* easy to lay flat on a table or music stand if you want to look at it while you're playing.

I have known and admired Bob Ballard since his early years at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution - and for good reason. Too many professional ocean scientists tut tut Ballard as a showman (the same was done more cuttingly to Capt. Jacques Yves Cousteau by French scientists). But Ballard's scientific achievements alone put him among the scientific elite had he never taken a step as a popularizer. Thank God he left the ivory tower and used his incredible gifts to utilize and innovate with ocean technology. Without him finding the Titanic, Bismarck, and PT 109 would have been unlikely for reasons of both cost and extreme logistic difficulty.

The recognition that no-oxygen, hydrogen sulfide deeps of the Black sea preserved many important ancient wrecks and hold untold insights for future study of the past opens up breathtaking future vistas. Ballard is an optimist and an idealist. His Jason project, bringing tens or even hundreds of thousands of school kids into ocean exploration is an island of healthy excitement into an otherwise discouraging educational world in the U.S.

Ballard can be interesting talking about rigging or paint cans. I don't know how he does it. He's an inspiration and role model, and deserves the Nation's highest civilian honor. I hope he achieves it while still vigorously at work creating more excitement and knowledge of our ocean realm!

Every year Ned and Kate McBride and their daughter Josie attended the family reunion held at Uncle Ernest's home Bramblewood in Bishop's Bridge, North Carolina. Neither Kate nor Josie are looking forward to this year's reunion because Ned has asked for and gotten a separation and is living on the other side of the country. When Kate and Josie arrive at the home of Kate's parents, she is greeted by her temporary guardian angel Augusta Goodnight and her young apprentice Penelope.

Augusta thinks Kate might be in danger and events at Bramblewood seem to indicate something is very wrong. Ernest's housekeeper Ella is found injured in a ravine and just before she falls into a coma, she tells Kate someone pushed her. The police discover that the girlfriend of Kate's cousin Grady was deliberately murdered when somebody cut the brake lines on her car. Skeletal remains of a murder victim are found in the local cemetery when the church group are cleaning up the place. Kate's Aunt Violet thinks all of these events are related so the intrepid females bait a trap to catch a murderer.

The latest Augusta Goodnight mystery is a charming, often times whimsical small town angelic cozy starring characters that are so delightful and amusing that readers will want to finish the book in one sitting to see if there is a happily ever after ending for the McBrides. Mignon F. Ballard knows how to write a captivating who-done-it that doesn't depend on blood and gore to keep reader interest. THE ANGEL WHISPERED DANGER is a good wholesome mystery.

Harriet Klausner

Creating a new text to cover the broad field of aortic surgery is a daunting task. To attempt to put all this information into an easily readable pocket reference seems an impossibility. Yet, with his new book Aortic Surgery, Jeffrey L. Ballard has created a comprehensive text that can be easily carried around in the pocket of your lab coat. A quick review of the table of contents is a hint that this is a well-organized, well-written text. The contributor list is a whoÕs-who in aortic surgery, and essentially every chapter is written by a leader in the field. The key is that the book is organized in much the same way that a surgeon approaches aortic disease. Begin with the basics Ð pathophysiology and epidemiology of aortic aneurysmal disease. There is an exhaustive review of screening for aortic aneurysms to give some indication how aneurysms can be detected earlier. Next, the text moves on to review the preoperative evaluations of patients and comments on the relevance of screening for carotid and cardiac disease as well as the necessary preoperative imaging studies. There is an excellent algorithm for preoperative cardiac evaluation that should be reviewed by every surgeon who performs aortic repairs. The text then includes a review of surgical exposures replete with illustrations. The controversies surrounding the management of small aortic aneurysms as well as aortic surgery in the elderly are then discussed. Not to be overlooked, the text also covers the management of aortoiliac occlusive disease. Separate chapters on the current surgical (aortic reconstruction and extra-anatomic bypass) and newer interventional approaches to aortoiliac occlusive disease are well-written and informative. These chapters emphasize results attained with these procedures and allow a comparison of the various approaches. A large portion of this text is devoted to the more complex issues in aortic surgery. The technical issues related to the repair of suprarenal aneurysms, inflammatory aneurysms, ruptured aneurysms, infected aneurysms and infected aortic prostheses are all covered in separate chapters. From there the book goes on to describe approaches to concomitant renal artery disease, as well as the variety of visceral ischemic syndromes. There are excellent chapters on the most complex of aortic repairs Ð thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms. Superb descriptions and illustrations make these chapters of particular use. There is a succinct chapter detailing Dr. BallardÕs alternative approach for type III and type IV thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms that anyone with an interest in treating these aneurysms should review. Not to be made obsolete by the rapidly expanding world of endovascular interventions, this text has up-to-date data on these new approaches for aortic aneurysmal disease and aortoiliac occlusive disease. The chapter on endovascular management of aortic aneurysms has a nice review of the development of the stentgrafts and photographs of the currently available, and soon-to-be available devices. The final chapters deal with aortic dissections. This broad topic is limited to descending dissections which are pertinent to vascular (non-cardiac) surgeons. Discussions of the current surgical and newer endovascular approaches shed some clarity on this often-confusing topic and give an exciting look at things to come. The appeal of this text is that it covers issues of aortic surgery that are pertinent to physicians of all levels. The background information is easily accessible to medical students, while the basics of aortic surgery are very useful for housestaff. The more complex issues will serve vascular residents and attendings alike. Notably, most books of this type which include chapters written by many different authors are somewhat difficult to read with typically uneven writing styles. This book, however, is the exception to the rule and all the chapters flow in a very succinct and smooth manner. There is a standardized format throughout the chapters which adds to the readability. Due to the different authors there is some redundancy among the chapters, but this enables each chapter to stand more fully on its own. This text must be praised for its liberal use of illustrations. Another very nice feature is the (mostly) short, annotated bibliography at the end of each chapter. This is quite convenient for the reader who wishes to pursue source articles for further review. Taken as a whole, Aortic Surgery by Jeffrey L. Ballard is a welcome addition to any library. This text can be recommended to anyone wishing an introduction or update on aortic surgery. An easy-to-carry reference in a spiral bound form is ideal for students and housestaff. This book, however, is filled with so much information that it may be more appropriately placed on the office shelf next to the other standard vascular texts.

If you have ever been on the ocean, anywhere in the world, in a small boat, you'll appreciate and identify with the crises, excitements and experiences described in this book! It is amazing that a tale from the 1930's and 40's could be so gripping, so laughable, so enjoyable and so down-to-earth and still similar to what one experiences on the water today! I would also recommend it for younger readers in search of something different, something out of the main stream, but something real!

"Aunt Matilda's Ghost" is a wonderfully supernatural, and gentle, mystery for young readers. Out of print for many years, this yarn about a spritely spirit should please not only children, but adults as well.

This is one of those books that you will not be able to put down. I love futuristic romances and this is one I will have to read again and again