On a late winter day in 1972, a cat (soon to be named Dulcy) found a woman worthy to be her human and with whom she would live for the next seventeen and a half years. When Dulcy's lithe and graceful hunter's body began to fail, and the time came to say good-bye, then her story became a song of acceptance and bravery that would drive to the core of anyone who has ever felt close to an animal companion. Dee Ready's A Cat's Life: Dulcy's Story is beautifully, memorably illustrated by the spectacular artwork of Judy J. King and simply wonderful reading from first page to last.

As one who has been "owned" by many felines during my lifetime, I found "Dulcy's Story" to be the history of a wonderful relationship between human and pet, all of the joys and all of the sorrows until the ultimate sorrow of losing a companion of many years. I've gone through it so often and it never gets easier, whether the decision to take the pet to its final rest is made by me through euthanasia or by a natural death. Reading "Dulcy's Story" demonstrates just how these beautiful creatures wrap us around their little paws until we become slaves to all their whims and demands, and we love every minute of it! Unfortunately, many of our family and friends don't understand our loyalty to our pets and, therefore often dismiss us as a little crazy. But that's all right - we know we're OK; it's the rest of them that we worry about and even feel sorry for them if they have never known the unconditional love of a furry friend. Dulcy was a very special cat to a very special human, and the story of their life together is a wonderful testament to their relationship.

It makes me wonder if one or both of my current cats were to write a book on their life with me, what would they say? I would like to think that they would say their lives have been enriched as much as mine has been living together for nearly nine years and hopefully many, many more years.

If you were to take a survey that asked what a cat did with its life, chances are people would say "nap, look out the window, and get into stuff." And of course theyÕd be right. If those people lived with cats, however, they might have a lot more to add, and if they loved their cats, they might understand the magic that a cat brings to the life of the family it lives with.

The author of this book invites us to observe how this magical bond comes about between human and cat and how deep such a relationship becomes when each learns the ways of the other and grows to love and depend on the other.

Dulcy fits the stereotype many people have of cats. SheÕs independent, persnickety, bossy, and fastidious. But as we read, we find out some amazing things. Dulcy actually teaches her human how to understand cat language; and we learn that she is very complicated indeed and experiences many human feelings. We see her express jealousy, superiority, intelligence, impatience, understanding, loyalty, and above all, love.

Dulcy lives a long, full life and has many adventures, some humorous and some humiliating. And because the book is written in her voice, she shares many of these adventures with us. We get to know her human, too, and while we sometimes wonder how Dulcy puts up with her humanÕs foolishness, we come to understand her human in the special way that Dulcy understands her.

In the end, when Dulcy has been very ill for a long time, her human does not want to let her go. When she takes extraordinary measures to prolong Dulcy's life, we get the sense that Dulcy hangs on to life purely for the sake of her human. Just when her human feels that there is no hope, Dulcy manages to scrape together a few more days, even weeks. And when she goes, she goes sweetly, leaving behind a look of love and a lifetime of memories.

Mike Croft has done an exceptional job of concisely explaining Stillwater fishing in a way that even a dummy like me can understand. His use of humor and his own drawings is a welcome change from the usual droll tomes on fly-fishing that are generally published today. Some may call it a comic book and I suppose that in some ways it is. But, it is the most informative comic book you'll ever read. Buy the book and I'm sure you'll see what I mean.

Imagine that classic, fully-illustrated, introduction-to-flyfishing of the Disco Era, The Curtis Creek Manifesto, all grown up and gone to grad school. Way more sophisticated in its approach to the subject matter and its style of art, Mike Croft has created a seriously fun, illustrated reference for unrepentant, stillwater bigtrout-o-holics. It sports more usable, hardwon information for the frogwater flyfisher than can be found in an armload of current how-tos. This book rocks!

I found this book to be a very informative "must read" for the beginner as well as intermediate fly fishers. It's fun to read and the amount of tips will definitely enhance one's enjoyment on the water as well as increase your catch rate.

Excellent book! I also have the video. After reading the book I started practicing Denny's methods with the Seal Bugger. I couldn't believe it, I have been actually catching bigger trout than I did before. I know what to look for now. It just took some changes which are explained by Denny. I highly recommend this book.

Denny Rickards fished over 300 lakes before writing his book. He clearly lays out the differences between flyfishing streams vs. lakes. He then presents a thoroughly researched systematic approach that even those new to the sport can use. He has honed his list of must have flies down to 6 that produce all over the world. There are many new insights here that will help you get into a lot more fish. If you have not done well on lakes in the past, this is the book for you! A wonderful read.

Denny capitalizes on showing the reader how to quickly catch trophy trout in stillwaters. He cuts to the point quickly and delivers the qickest, most successful methods in catching trophy trout with a flyrod. Denny also explores the essentials for finding trophy waters and locating trophy fish. A must read book for this century's crowded water flyfisherman

I used to think that there was no strategy, per se, to fishing a lake--a big tub of water you trolled until you got an arbitrary hit.

This book takes an almost forensic view of a lake's features--water layers, vegetation, etc.--and shows how to read them and catch fish. It's much more detailed than I expected and I came away with a real sense of how to find trout as quickly as possible.

This book has many wonderful pictures of trout in their natural habitats. It tells you all you need to know about bringing in trout in lakes and ponds. I am amazed by the quality of this book. It is a wonderful book that you won't regret to buy.

This is a book that serves two purposes -- it is a much-needed guide to fly-fishing California's lakes and reservoirs and it also is a beantiful book that will look great on anybody's coffee table. In addition to excellent information on where to fish, how to fish the best lakes in the state, and what realistically to expect when you get there, first-rate maps make sure you don't get lost on the way. And the photography is fantastic! This is the third (and perhaps the best) of Bill Sunderland's books on fly fishing in California.

The subtitle, "A Study of Trout, Entomology and Tying", is very descriptive. Philip Rowley begins with a season by season analysis of the diet of trout found in stillwater in BC and the northwestern US. Taking each of the major categories (chironomids, scuds, damselflies, dragonflies, leeches, mayflies, caddisflies, water boatmen, and "hodgepodge") in turn, he describes its life cycle and gives his thoughts on pattern design. For each category, he illustrates five to twelve flies that he has found to be effective imitations, gives step by step tying instructions, and explains how best to fish each fly. The photographs of the natural insects are excellent. The tying instructions are clear and well illustrated. Many of the patterns are original with Mr. Rowley and all can be tied by tyers of any skill level. I have tied and fished many of these patterns and can vouch for their effectiveness. No matter whether this will be your first book about tying flies for stillwater or an addition to an extensive collection, it is a book you will refer to often.

Brian is the FDisheries Biologist for the Province of British Columbia and knows of what he speaks. This book will take you through the make-up of a lake, what to use, what fish eat, what to expect at different time of the year, what to look for. In all, this is the best book I have ever read on stillwaters. A definite must have in your collection. You will find yourself referring back to it year after year.

This is a masterpiece of understatement. A man who has suffered dreadfully, a man who became a killer but not through choice, but who since recoiled in horror at the nature of human violence is forced to defend himself. Read this book.

I found the music and spoken words on the first CD slow and depressing, but it does have a lot of different spiritual views.

Maybe listening to the 2nd CD, music only, would be better.

The book has the spoken words in text form, and actually read better than they sounded.

I do not have words strong enough to express my admiration and appreciation of this CD. The music is gorgeous and the words are very spiritual. The combination is very moving and full of love. This CD has the power to transform. It would be a bargain at 4 times the price, and I do not say this lightly.

If there were only one CD in the whole world, I would want it to be this one. It is so moving; so full of LIFE and LOVE and WISDOM.

I normally love LaVyrle Spencer's novels (Morning Glory is an all-time favorite), but this one just didn't do it for me. I could not make myself like or care too much about either Bess or Michael. I can understand how making a broken relationship come back together and work again would be tempting for a novelist, but this one was difficult to enjoy reading about because the characters just seemed to be rather unlikable people. Bess was fussy and almost silly at times and Michael just seemed in many ways to be a flat character for most of the book. In addition, I felt like there was some heavyhanded emotional manipulation (via wedding scenes, the birth of the grandchild, etc..) going one here. Spencer's novels are usually more artful and gentle in getting their message across, so I was rather disappointed by the blatant manipulation in this one. For these reasons, watching the Currans come back together almost made me feel like I was reading a giant Hallmark card rather than a novel of any great depth.

I like Spencer's writing style and her vibrant writing was evident here, but without characters I could enjoy or care about, I just did not like plowing through this book.

This is the fourth Lavyrle Spencer book I have read. Before this I was a true Danelle Steele reader. Since finding these books I am hooked. The difference in each story keeps you guessing on the out come.

One of the most moving things in this book is when the separated family has to come together for a wedding and then have to pose for a photo as a family. Lavyrle Spencer shares with us there thoughts. The next four sentences are heart wrenching.

The last two chapters of this book kept me reading so fast I had to re read it after I finished the book. I just wanted to know how they would end up.

Great Book, I'm looking for the next one.

I first read this five years ago and still have trouble putting it down (even on the re-reads!) I appreciate the storyline here so much more than in Bittersweet (where one of the main characters is married to someone else) Seeing a divorced couple get back together with encouragement from one of their children is a refreshing plotline, and the story moved along at just the right pace. The characters in this story were all believable and likable, and the ending in this book didn't leave me feeling like I'd just read a fairy tale. The only beef I had was that I personally don't know very many parents who would give their daughter that grand of a wedding when there's a baby on the way. But other than that, I think it's one of her best.