If you remember, several years ago, Elder Ballard gave the same talk back to back in general conference. Remember the subject? It was on councils (See "Ensign," November 1993, "Strength in Counsel," "Ensign," May 1994, "Counseling with our Councils.")

This book is in response to those two topics, so consider this a course in ecclesiastical management and religious organizational behavior. We are not using the Church councils properly, and this book is one apostle's attempt to put us on the right track.

So often leadership is equated with office, or is seen as bossing people around. This is not only wrong, but is dead wrong. We have so many pairs of eyes in our wards and stakes: the elders presidents, the high priests, the Aaronic Priests, the Female's Relief Society, and every other auxiliaries, we are literally dying of thirst right by an artesian well.

This book has really opened my eyes. I think that we have all the helps we really need under our noses. The key is for the leaders to open the floodgates and let the people get busy. People in the ward have ideas and insights that the priesthood leaders may miss.

The whole sum of creation was began with a grand council. This is the eternal example for all of us.

Without exception this book is one of the greatest of its time. Not only does the author give accounts of how the saviour counseled others but how to apply the same principles in our everyday world. A must read for all practioners of the faith.

M. Russell Ballard, a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, presents a clear picture that shows how anyone can use the council approach to solve problems. This approach can be used in any kind of organization, with a specific focus on family units and church councils. The main focus of the book is to teach the principles of counseling in councils and to show how anyone can apply those principles in virtually any organization.

The book provides concrete examples that show how to counsel in a wide variety of church and family councils. Those examples show how this approach can be used to empower members of councils (including family members), thereby building the overall effectiveness and productivity of all participants.

I am working to apply these principles; they work! I recommend this book to anyone who is struggling to find ways to work more effectively, and to include fuller participation and increased productivity of council! s in which they participate.

Ballard repeats, develops, and resolves his ideas about the psychological impact of space-travel and the temptation of breaking out of the constraints of Time. It's almost like watching someone hone a chess game, moving similar characters around in a similar fashion, but the small changes make all the difference...The reader is consoled for the narrative similarities by some of Ballard's most vivid imagery--sun-bleached aviators and the Cubist beauty of a world released from the fourth dimension. Two stories break away from this somewhat; one is a journey into the Amazon jungle in search of a downed spacecraft that gives a nod to Conrad's Heart of Darkness. In addition, the last story in the anthology, unusually down to earth (for Ballard) and set in an unnamed tropical/South American location, seems almost like a collaboration between Ballard and--possibly--Ray Bradbury. A worthwhile read for a Ballard fan, a touch challenging for other readers.

I read the book several years ago in its Arkham House first ed. It floored me and has stayed with me ever since. These stories are amazing work. The idea, from one of the Canaveral stories, of people taking pieces of dead astronauts and making them into objects of religious veneration was astounding, and seemingly incredible until pieces of Columbia began to show up on eBay. This is simply one of the finest collections of sociological SF ever written--period. Ballard is proactive and prophetic here; I've read this collection again and again, and it's probably most haunting for those of us born during the Camelot era. We watched as Apollo 11 touched down and then we dreamed of space tourism to the moon and Mars bases by 2000. Now, as The Dream (with a capital D) of space travel limps along like a blind, poor beggar attacked by feral dogs, I keep returning to Ballard's collection. Read it, as my students will do this year, and weep for a lost dream.

I could hardly agree more with the previous review, except to give this fine book five stars. Ballard's stories are not so much literary inventions as they are dreams of worlds that exist in some yet undiscovered realm, which Ballard has been generous enough to describe for us. His bright, at times incandescent, use of metaphor and surreal imagery contrasts wonderfully with a cool, detached and beautifully fluid prose style. Readers of these stories may not appreciate what they find, but they WILL recognize that they have been someplace very different.

My personal favorite collection of stories from Ballard, and many people I've spoken to also hold a fondness for this group of stories. Although many of the story concepts repeat the theme of the tragic female figure and the tortured man who loves her and gets caught in the dramatic conflict, it is a lush and expansive vision that weaves through the collection. The title refers to a fictional beach resort, a playground of burnt out executives and movie stars at play, or in retreat from the rest of the world. As with most Ballard fiction, you get the distinct impression that these stories are actually taking place somewhere, and perhaps Ballard has just changed the names to protect the decadent. The vivid details of living clothing, cloud sculptors and singing sculptures are so intense, it's a bit of a surprise that Hollywood hasn't adapted some of these stories to the currently CGI movie craze. Then again, like most of what Ballard writes about, that could be coming just around the corner...

The beachfront, decadent community of Vermilion Sands is the setting for each of the nine wonderful stories in this collection. Vermilion Sands is where the rich are. They vacation, they play, they search for lost loves, and above all, they are horribly narcissistic.

Vermilion Sands is home to the magnificent singing sonic sculptures, tall statues that emit music or atonal sounds when they sense movement. The marvelous sand yachts of the rich, their trained sand rays (giant white manta rays that float through the air), the cloud-sculptors, the living clothes, and the psychotropic houses all live on in the mind long after the stories have been read. Vermilion Sands is a striking setting, one of the more memorable in fiction.

The themes of the stories are fairly similar. Most dwell on unattainable or forsaken love. In "Say Goodbye to the Wind", a former model pines for her departed love. In "Studio 5, the Stars" an aspiring poetess dreams of tragic love. And so it goes in each story. But the stories are fresh and have enough energy to overcome a repetitive theme.

Ballard's futuristic city stands as a monument to the power of a memorable fictional setting. Indeed, Vermilion Sands is as powerful as Jeffrey Thomas's Punktown or Jeff VanderMeer's Ambergris to use two recent examples. I'm hoping that Mr. Ballad has seen fit to write more Vermilion Sands stories in the 30+ years since this collection was published. I can only hope that I find more.

This collection of elegant, minatory stories about the has-been resort community of Vermilion Sands and the human flotsam that washes up on its derelict shores comprises some of author J.G. Ballard's most accessible work. His imaginative gifts and jade cool prose are everywhere on display in these stories. Sailplane artists sculpt the clouds into likenesses of their patrons. Psychosensitive houses are driven insane by their owners and bio-fabrics shimmer and pulse to their wearers moods. Ballard likes to create strange, surreal outerscapes and unite these with the straitened innerscapes of his protagonists, then narrate what happens next. In Vermilion Sands he exceeds wonderfully

Well first off I must say a big thanks to Pat Ballard for giving us a heroine who is plus sized and loves herself. Its not often we see one so it was very refreshing to find one in this book.

This is the first book I've read by this author and it won't be the last. Its a quick book. You can finish it in an afternoon. The story is easy to follow and filled with excitement and love.

Nella, the heroine, has just agreed to marry the pig headed, arrogant, anti-fat, Samuel. Now its a marriage of convience. His small son needs a mother or he may loose him to his grandparents in a nasty custody battle, and she wants to keep her home. Not great grounds for a marriage but Nella has a strike against her. She has already fallen in love with Sam's son. She willing puts up with Sam's attitude for the sake of the child but soon decides that Sam had better start treating her like a human being. She demands he respect her and soon finds that Sam isn't all that bad. He just needed a strong woman to make him wake up to reality.

They soon find themselves very attracted to each other and passions flare. But before they can live happily ever after they must fight his ex-in-laws for the boy.

I really enjoyed this story. The author makes it quite clear that being a plus sized person doesn't mean that you are unhealthy, stupid or unlovable, it just makes you human.

Nella is so kind, beautiful, strong and loving, the reader falls in love with her immediately. The fact that she is "plus-size" is dealt with in such a manner that her being big is, indeed, a plus. Sam, the single father of three-year-old Jake, is handsome, wealthy and likes his women thin. But he, too, can't help but fall in love with Nella. In Nobody's Perfect, Ballard has created a heroine who has learned to love herself despite living in a society that inundates us with the message that thin is better. Ballard addresses stereotyping without preaching. Very quickly, size is no longer a character in this fun, fast-paced romance that the reader will love.

Once again another book by Pat that I just cant put down.
If you plan on getting this book and reading a few chapters,forget about it..If you start the book before bedtime plan on being up late.She takes you through all different emotions and wishing you were there..I love the characters because that is how each one of us feels at times.Wishing and wanting!!!!Read and found out who Jake is (MY HERO)

This was a pretty good little book for the money. However, it was largely a slimmed-down version of Lost Liners, which I highly recommend. Some new pictures were featured, but much of it was rehash.

I accidentally ordered this children's book from my son's school book fair, but I really love it. I wanted the book Lost Liners also by Bob Ballard. The paintings in Ghost Liners are wonderful and the narrative is interesting and also sad at times. I didn't even know about many of the other sea disasters. My son did read the book, but I'm the one who enjoyed it the most. The haunting illustrations are, themselves, worth the price of the book.

Awesome pictures! Ken Marschall did a wonderful job with the illustrations, and the photographs were nice, too. The text explained clealy what had happened to each ship, and the controversy about some of them. I really learned something from this book.

I've read about a dozen or so soldier memoirs/diary accounts, and this one ranks as one of the poorest. I find most of these have a generic nature to them - seems like if you've read one, you've read them all! Mr. Holt wrote this in his latter years, so Goodness knows how the years have treated his memory of things, although a fine editing job by Cockrell and Ballard keep things on the straight and narrow. Much of the memoirs involve Holt's escapades that have little to do with the war effort. Lot of it reads like a Mark Twain tale, with Holt often relating some of the hijinks and sit-com like situations he experienced as a soldier.

Holt really conveys the attitudes, feelings, deep convictions, and courage displayed by those who fought in the war. (Not only on the Rebel side, but also on the Yankee side.) He also goes into some of the other reasons besides slavery, that caused the South to secede. Very well written and extremely interesting. It makes you feel as if you're right beside Holt following him as they go down in history. Also shows how life for the Confederate soldier was awfully harsh in the latter part of the war. Holt doesn't have shoes and is walking through snow along with men who are dying of starvation. Holt entertains readers by detailing what he and his group would do for fun, ie., sneaking away from camp to meet girls, etc.

I knew Holt was in the 16th Miss. Co. K. I was hoping it would mention Co. H where my relative fought, but it didn't.

Holt leaves for the war as a boy, but returns a man.

Great book. I highly recommend it.

Holt's memoirs are entertaining as well as informative. This book becomes hard to put down as you read. Very good details of life in the Army of Northern Virginia. He gives the "personal" side of the war so often left out by other memoirs. Reading this book was like having Holt tell you the story himself. Excellent.

Chronopolis and other stories features some of Ballard's best stories (Man hole 69, Billenium, and my personal favorite, the garden of time). Some of the stories aren't that great. But Ballard is a good short story writer. And I certainly would pick these stories up than read tripe like Crash

This collection of stories from Ballard's early years displays him in full command of his considerable literary gifts. Ballard excels in the short form and this book contains some of his very best; most notably, The Drowned Giant and The Garden of Time. His vivid, visual and original imagination are coupled with a jade cool narrative style, resulting in a uniquely strange body of work. Chronopolis and Other Stories contains none of the excesses for which Ballard has been damned and praised, just sixteen fine short stories; two or three of which are among the best you'll ever read.

This is a good book for the age group it's aimed for which most definitely is not adults.

Whilst the pictures and illustrations are of extremely high quality the text is pitched at no older than early teens.

Adults should by Dr Ballard's "The Discovery of the Bismark" which is a fantastic book!

I'm using thies book for a pome about the Bismark I racomeand thies book for the bis mark survivors. and hop this will bring them peace about the disocver of there ship these is my review

A friend and I met Patricia a few months ago in the tasting room of Bonny Doone Winery. She was an enchanting woman, and we feel for her immediately. The cookbooks she writes are an extension of the fine skills and great heart she posesses. Bravo to wonderful food, good wine and great company! Thank you Patti for great ideas on cooking with wine.

Fine Wine In Food is an impressive collection of mouth-watering, home-cooking recipes involving the utilization of great and notable wines, from Zinfandel Meatballs, Artichokes Stuffed with Creamed Spinach, and Mussel Soup, to Great Aunt Mary's Cranberry and Walnut Chicken, Patti's Filet Mignons, and Raspberry Chocolate Mousse. A delectable selection for the cultured gourmet, offering dishes that chefs of all skill levels can easily craft to perfection, Fine Wine In Food is a first-rate recipe book and recommended for any culinary and wine connoisseur cookbook shelf.

SPENDING HOURS ON LINE MYSELF, AND DEVELOPING MANY DIFFERENT MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS IN THE PROCESS, I FOUND THIS BOOK TO BE QUITE ENTERTAINING. ..JUST THINING WHAT CAN HAPPEN WITHOUT SEEING EACH OTHER. I DO HAVE A FRIEND THAT GOT HERSELF HUT BADLY BY MEETING ONE OF THESE ON-LINE FRIENDS THINKING IT WAS LOVE. .. If you want to read a book that goes straight to your heart, read Stolen Moments by Barbara Jeanne Fisher. . .It is a beautiful story of unrequited love. . .for certain the love story of the nineties. I intended to give the book a quick read, but I got so caught up in the story that I couldn't put the book down. From the very beginning, I was fully caught up in the heart-wrenching account of Julie Hunter's battle with lupus and her growing love for Don Lipton. This love, in the face of Julie's impending death, makes for a story that covers the range of human emotions. The touches of humor are great, too, they add some nice contrast and lighten things a bit when emotions are running high. I've never read a book more deserving of being published. It has rare depth. Julie's story will remind your readers that life and love are precious and not to be taken for granted. It has had an impact on me, and for that I'm grateful. Stolen Moments is written with so much sensitivity that it made me want to cry. It is a spellbinder. What terrific writing. Barbara does have an exceptional gift! This book was edited by Lupus specialist Dr. Matt Morrow too, and has the latest information on that disease. ..A perfect gift for someone who started college late in life, fell in love too late in life, is living with any illness, or trying to understand a loved one who is. . .A Christmas gift to be cherished forever.

I enjoyed this book. It showed a realistic view of online experiences. It talks about feelings and how people deal with them differently. I love chatting online. I have met people that I would not have had the opportunity to meet otherwise. This book gives people that have never had the online experience the opportunity to see what it all about.

The book deals with online romance in a way that many people will be able to identify with. It has unexpected events that may surprise you. The ending is great and won't make sense if you read it before you finish the book. I would say it's recommended reading for all online romantics!