In Touch minister/Bible teacher Dr. Charles F. Stanley uses the Old Testament Book of Proverbs as a teaching tool to show the necessity of studying and living by God's Truth. He begins with comparing the benefits of Godly Wisdom with the shortcomings of Worldly Knowledge/living, exploring the most common problems Christians can/will face in a self focused world and the need to stay strongly focused on the teachings in God's Word, the Bible. After going over the benefits and essentials of learning Godly Wisdom, Dr. Stanley then devotes entire chapters to closely examining the problems of temptation, the importance Godly friendships (think having a non-believer as a close friend is good for both you and the non-believer, think again!) and work environments (where your faith can be hammered mercilessly by non-believers), and the need of wisdom strengthened faith in times of conflict and crisis. All in all, Walking Wisely is an excellent study guide to help strengthen your reading of God's Word. I give it a high recommendation.

Chapter 9 about Wisdom in Times of Conflict and Criticism is worth the price of the book and explains well how we all have choices in how we handle conflict and the criticism it brings.

I welcome Stanley Grenz' book 'Welcoming but not Affirming' for several reasons:

(1) Each generation has, it seems, the defining touchstone debates in Christianity, that seem to reach to the core of religious practice and community (interesting that subsequent generations rarely sustain the emotional importance attached to those issues of previous generations). In the current generation, acceptance or rejection of homosexuality is one of these (I would say abortion and the status of women are the other two). Grenz, a noted theologian, tackles this issue directly.

(2) Because of the emotional level that such touchstone debates reach to, there is often a tendency to sacrifice scholarship and reasonable dialogue to diatribe and immovable pronouncements, on both sides. Grenz presents a fairly balanced view with his own bias present in the title of the work.

(3) This is a book that will make both sides of the debate variously comfortable and uncomfortable. That in itself is a positive, because it will spur people on to thinking and reflection. A mature faith requires examination, in my opinion.

These things having been said, I have a few criticisms of the book. In the first half, Grenz presents what his view is of the welcoming and affirming side, i.e, those who argue for full acceptance of same-sex unions and open ordination of gays and lesbians. Grenz tends to concentrate only on the same-sex union aspect of this, and Grenz does a pretty good job at this, although there is every so often the tendency I think to make the arguments into a straw figure he can later torch. I would have preferred a little more development of the opposing side, so the arguments weren't so easily refuted.

In his refutation and presentation of his openly-stated bias (that of welcoming, but not affirming, i.e., welcoming the homosexual as a human being, but still viewing that homosexuality as a sin that should not be affirmed), Grenz also lacks a little in the argumentation. Grenz does use scripture well, and avoids many of the pitfalls that both sides often seem to fall into. However, I would have to wonder just how welcome a homosexual would be in this church. While not denying that gays or lesbians can be Christian and receive the Holy Spirit (Grenz is an evangelical himself), he still falls into the trap of not being able to explain why certain scriptural prohibitions are important while others are not.

However, far be it for me to criticise anyone for not being able to settle this debate! I am far from being able to do it myself.

At last we have a sane, moderate, compelling voice taking the "traditional" (but not reactionary) viewpoint, that homosexuality can be compassionately discussed and homosexual persons compassionately ministered to, without wholesale affirmation of their orientation and behavior as God's will for their lives. To demonstrate this book's credibility in the conversation now going on within Christian circles, James Nelson, an articulate theologian with a "gay-affirmiing" viewpoint, adds his highest recommendation. There is nothing "homophobic" in Stanley Grenz's approach, and as an eminent ethicist, he is not writing a moralistic diatribe. His is a reasoned and refreshing antidote to the more strident "right-wing" denunciations of homosexual sin, yet he maintains the clear and unequivocal position, based upon the overwhelming consensus of scripture and tradition, that the Christian faith does not and cannot affirm gay and lesbian behavior, nor same-sex unions, as "normative" or "alternative" lifestyles within the church. That the church should support the "civil" rights of homosexual persons, there can be no doubt, but the church cannot extend a "blessing" in the same manner as it does to marriage. Gay friendships, even when most exemplary of fidelity and longevity, are not, nor should they be construed as analogous with, the marriage of a man and a woman. The only missing dimension to the book, from this reviewer's point of view, is a discussion of the inextricability of sexuality and spirituality, and how this reality must fuel future conversations about Christian sexuality. We are all "fragile" in our sexuality, such that condemnations and judgements have no place, least of all within a Christian community, where healing and reconciliation ought to be emblemmatic. Such healing will often carry us to depths of intra- psychic transformation we dare not have thought possible. Alice Miller's "The Drama of the Gifted Child", a brilliant and recently revised treatment of this corollary topic, makes an excellent companion volume to Grenz's.

This book is definately worth delving into the out-of-prints for parents who want to entertain their children through books. It was one of my favorites when I was little, and now that I'm eighteen, I'm reading it to kids I babysit. They love the excitement of helping to find the cheese, and explode into giggles at the suprise ending. Even the kids who don't know their alphabet quickly have every word memorized.

The text follows the pattern "Where's the cat? Back of the shed."
This is a simple pattern for students of English as a second language to follow.
Moreover, the book is valuable for a lesson on the interrogative form or on prepositions.

A delightfully comic yarn by a master story teller, Whisky Galore tracks the effects of a whisky shortage, and then a whisky surplus, on the fictional islands of Great and Little Todday, in the Scottish Hebrides, during World War II. A tale told with a tremendous love for the people and the heritage of the Hebrides. Highly recommended.

This is a novel based on the wreck of the S.S. Politician off the Outer Hebrides during the Second World War. The author lived there at the time and has written an hilarious story. It has good language, good characters, and a good plot.

Kafka's The Metamorphosis stands as one of the most important existentialist literary works ever written.

The novella follows Gregor Samsa, a lonely and somewhat pathetic salesman who lives at home supporting his family. Inexplicably, Samsa awakens one morning to find that he has transformed into an insect. In typical existentialist fashion, Samsa's physical transformation is accompanied by a dramatic psychological transformation, as Samsa's mother and father utterly reject their newly transformed son. Even Samsa's previously sympathetic and caring sister changes her ways, eventually seeking to destroy the monstrous insect that her brother has become.

This novella is meant to be thoroughly depressing and succeeds very well, though there remains a tinge of comedic elements throughout the book. There is purposefully very little explanation as to why and how Samsa's transformation took place, and Kafka allows the reader to come to his/her own conclusions about the deeper meaning of his work.

This is a fast read and an enjoyable one at that. People vehemently opposed to the existentialist philosophy may find this book frustrating and overly depressing, but it is worth reading nevertheless. Ultimately, I think each of us has a little Gregor Samsa in us, and all readers will be able to identify with Samsa's plight.

Perhaps the first writer, or at least the first effectivewriter, to express the anxieties and alienation of 20th-century societies, Franz Kafka was born July 3, 1883 in Prague into a middle-class Jewish family. His father -- an ambitious, materialistic tyrant --overshadowed much of Kafka's work as well as his existence. Kafka was a charming, intelligent, and humorous individual, but he found his routine office job and the exhausting double life into which it forced him (for his nights were frequently consumed in writing) to be excruciating torture, and his deeper personal relationships were neurotically disturbed.

First published in 1915, this is the story of Gregor Samsa, a young traveling salesman who lives with and financially supports his parents and younger sister. One morning he wakes up to discover that during the night he has been transformed into a "monstrous vermin" or insect. At first he is preoccupied with practical, everyday concerns: How to get out of bed and walk with his numerous legs? Can he still make it to the office on time?

Soon his abilities, tastes, and interests begin to change. No one can understand his insect-speech. He likes to scurry under the furniture and eat rotten scraps of food. Gregor's family, horrified that Gregor has become an enormous insect, keep him in his bedroom and refuse to interact with him. This is a great short story representing modern man and the modern life... END

Kafka is truly a great 20th century author and this book, along with "The Trial" are excellent and open to a huge number of interpretations. The bleak urban settings are some of the most memorable aspects. This book has a lot of essays and explanatory notes in the back that present theories about the deeper meaning (though you will want to think about it yourself before you read them). Why exactly the metamorphosis occurred is an issue you can think about. Gregor first seems to ignore the metamorphosis but later associates it with shame. In fact, it may represent some repressed side of him. Gregor's situation is made even worse by his family's failure to support him.

This book is remarkable in that, while so much literature relies on extraordinary events or characters, the only real extraordinary event here is Gregor's unlucky transformation into a beetle. (Note, Kafka never actually says it is a dung beetle.) Everything after that is quite believeable and, while depressing, probably represents what would happen in real life and what does happen in so many people's lives that are never written about. The book manages to be both surrealist and brutally realistic at the same time.

Though it's rather slow to get going in the initial chapters, Oscar Wilde's "Picture of Dorian Gray" builds up into a splendidly effective piece, written in highly polished prose. Dorian Gray, who is suggestively described as "charming" and "beautiful" ... is painted by his friend and admirer, Basil Hallward. Dorian, a self-centered social luminary whose character is reminiscent of Narcissus, makes a bizarre sub-Faustian wish which tragically comes true: that his beautiful portrait may age, while he retains his youthful looks. The conclusion is disastrous, the culmination of a narrative containing elements of murder, suicide, blackmail, a confrontation in a grimy alley and an episode in an opium den. The characters are very well sketched out, particularly the triad of Dorian, Basil and the intellectual cynic, Lord Henry, Dorian's mentor and the mouthpiece of some of Wilde's most cutting amoral opinions. The style is, typically, marvellous, characterised by brilliant exchanges and aphoristic gaiety. Wilde lacerates English bourgeois culture, the conceptions of sin and virtue and the attitudes towards art of his time with tremendous aplomb. Some of his quips are patently snide, sometimes mysogynistic, as in: "Woman represents the triumph of matter over mind, while man represents the triumph of mind over morals." Oh, isn't that just despicable?! I love it!

This sophisticated but crude novel is the story of man's eternal desire for perennial youth, of our vanity and frivolity, of the dangers of messing with the laws of life. Just like "Faust" and "The immortal" by Borges.

Dorian Gray is beautiful and irresistible. He is a socialité with a high ego and superficial thinking. When his friend Basil Hallward paints his portrait, Gray expresses his wish that he could stay forever as young and charming as the portrait. The wish comes true.

Allured by his depraved friend Henry Wotton, perhaps the best character of the book, Gray jumps into a life of utter pervertion and sin. But, every time he sins, the portrait gets older, while Gray stays young and healthy. His life turns into a maelstrom of sex, lies, murder and crime. Some day he will want to cancel the deal and be normal again. But Fate has other plans.

Wilde, a man of the world who vaguely resembles Gray, wrote this masterpiece with a great but dark sense of humor, saying every thing he has to say. It is an ironic view of vanity, of superflous desires. Gray is a man destroyed by his very beauty, to whom an unknown magical power gave the chance to contemplate in his own portrait all the vices that his looks and the world put in his hands. Love becomes carnal lust; passion becomes crime. The characters and the scenes are perfect. Wilde's wit and sarcasm come in full splendor to tell us that the world is dangerous for the soul, when its rules are not followed. But, and it's a big but, it is not a moralizing story. Wilde was not the man to do that. It is a fierce and unrepressed exposition of all the ugly side of us humans, when unchecked by nature. To be rich, beautiful and eternally young is a sure way to hell. And the writing makes it a classical novel. Come go with Wotton and Wilde to the theater, and then to an orgy. You'll wish you age peacefully.

_The Picture of Dorian Gray_, a story of morals, psychology and poetic justice, has furnished Oscar Wilde with the status of a great writer. It takes place in 19th-century England, and tells of a man in the bloom of his youth who will remain forever young.

Basil Hallward is a merely average painter until he meets Dorian Gray and becomes his friend. But Dorian, who is blessed with an angelic beauty, inspires Hallward to create his ultimate masterpiece. Awed by the perfection of this rendering, he utters the wish to be able to retain the good looks of his youth while the picture were the one to deteriorate with age. But when Dorian discovers the painting cruelly altered and realizes that his wish has been fulfilled, he ponders changing his hedonistic approach.

_Dorian Gray_'s sharp social criticism has provoked audible controversy and protest upon the book's 1890 publication, and only years later was it to rise to classic status. Reminiscent of a Greek tragedy, it is popularly interpreted as an analogy to Wilde's own tragic life. Despite this, the book is laced with the right amounts of the author's perpetual jaunty wit.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD(if you don't know the outcome of this story-it was well covered by all major news sources-please stop reading. Trust me, this book is so suspenseful, moving, and well written that I would hate to spoil the end for you)

It's difficult to explain the wide range of emotions you'll go through while reading this book. There's a building excitement as the men of the Andrea Gail, a small(compared to most other boats of the Gloucester fleet)but sturdy fishing trauler rigged for nearly a month's stay at sea, set out from Gloucester on their season's final trip to the Grand Banks, a rather unpredictable but verile breeding ground for swordfish. The crew, led by Captain Billy Tyne, consists of a likably haphazard group of local Gloucester men who demonstrate an impressive understanding of deep sea fishing and the dangers it presents, especially when the vessel one works aboard is nearly 2000 miles from the nearest North American shore, not to mention the nearest emergency hospital. Unfortunately, as the name of the book implies, things turn bad quickly for the ship and its crew. A series of storm fronts collide almost directly over the Andrea Gail as it makes its way home from a prosperous run, and the ship finds itself beneath the most powerful storm in recorded history. Waves crest at nearly 150 feet and wind speeds reach 100 mph before the crew finally realizes its sad fate. The book doesn't deal exclusively with the Andrea Gail, but also cuts between a few coinciding stories of endangered boats and the rescuers assigned to remove them from harm's way. The author makes sure that each of these individuals is given their due credit and presents them as professional and courageous. As silly as it sounds, I couldn't help but feel connected to the men and women unfortunate enough to weather "the perfect storm." Sebastian Junger does such a thorough job of fleshing each character to its emotional fullest that it's impossible for this naive inlander not to feel an unfounded empathy at their struggle.

I can't encourage you enough to buy this book. It's a fantastic read.

Who hasn't dreamt of leaving the safe confines of terra firma, for the endless mystery of the sea? Who has not wondered what would it require to leave the endless responsibilty of the "real world" behind, to set out upon the water? The answers to these questions are for more complex than one would hope, or even expect. On the eve of a major motion picture, Sebastion's Jungers harrowing tale of the everyday hero against a very angry Mother Nature, will probably see a renewed interest at the bookstore. Even for those who read it when it first appeared, a second look is well worth the effort. The Perfect Storm is almost a perfect book. It is not the most artfully drafted composition, nor does it carry an earth shattering message. Rather, it is a simple tale of working men who set to sea to earn a living, and in doing so, risk their lives every time their boat leaves its dock for another expedition. We are introduced to the families of these men, and we learn firsthand the anxiety and trepidation that comes with loving someone who risks death on a daily basis. Yet, The Perfect Storms truly comes alive when the Andrea Gale (the boat at the heart of the tale) encounters a tremndous storm. The reader is then taken on a ride of breathtaking proportions. The description of what takes places during a hurricane at sea, as well as the mechanics and actions during a Coast Guard rescue mission are simply fascinating. Not to be overlooked is a short but unforgettable description of what happens to a person when they drown. It will leave you breathing deep and savoring every breath fromn that point on. The Perfect Storm does what any adventure should do...it makes you care about its characters; it makes you care about what they care about, and in the end, it makes you mourn their loss. This is a book that should find its place on any landlocked boater's bookshelf, as well as any family member of someone who looks to the sea to earn a living. It will bring true understanding to such a demanding line of work. I can only hope that the movie can do the book justice. And I look to the next investigation that Junger will so elegantly share with us. Kudos to Men's Journal Magazine for running the original story that became the premise for The Perfect Storm.

By now most have seen the movie... so we have the gist of the story of the men of the Andrea Gail and their friends and family back in Gloucester.

Their doomed battle against nature out over the Flemish Cap is described in much more detail than even the graphics of the movie could convey. But what I liked most about this book was the impressive research Sebastian Junger put into this true story!

With splendid clarity, he describes the physics behind water wave mechanics from tiny wind-generated capillary waves to powerful towering monsterous walls of green water. He also describes in morbid detail what really happens to the human body when it drowns, and it isn't from getting water in the lungs!

The author does all this without getting into difficult scientific jargon that the laity may not appreciate. Many parts of this book read like an exciting field course in oceanography! Junger really takes care to provide the reader with a strong understanding of just how amazing the unification of those 3 storm cells was... the kind of power it generated!

A well-written book that I've seen as mandatory reading material for university geomorphology courses because of its finer details!

I am currently being forced to read this book for my Honors English class in high school. I've already read it once before for a different class, so I know what I am talking about when I say this book is the ultimate cure for insomnia.

I honestly try to appreciate what is *supposed* to be fine literature, but "Great Expectations" is about as entertaining as watching kale grow. First off, the fact that this book has two endings inspires a bit of skepticism in me. I've never heard of an author so indecisive that he would put two endings in a novel. It creates a generally unsatisfying conclusion, as you're at a loss for which ending to "accept".

Aside from which, this book has enough useless passages to fill a hundred pages or so. It seems that, basically, Dickens didn't quite know exactly what to write about, but felt the urge to *write* *something*. So he wrote "Great Expectations", following the traditional poor-boy formula of his previous 15 or so books.

I find it especially hilarious that none of my teachers have ever even read the bloody novel, but it's "good" according to the curriculum. In the words of someone from a certain other Charles Dickens book, "Bah! Humbug!".

Don't judge Dickens by this book, however. "David Copperfield", for example, even though it follows the same "poor-boy" formula, is worlds better than this.

As much as I'd love to say, "Oh, it's a classic, everyone should read it!", I personally don't think so.

Like many other high schoolers who wrote reviews on this page, I was forced to read this in my freshman english class. I thought it was an extremely good story. The characters (my favorites being Orlick and Trabb's Boy) are brilliant and subtley funny. The story is creative and unpredictible, and overall, it was absolutely supberb. The only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars is because it tends to drag a lot of the time, and Dickens overlong descriptions are a bit grating on the nerves, but I DO understand why people would have liked it like that in the 1800's. They liked their books long and juicy. It's a bit dated but Great Expectations is well worth a read if you have the patience. Even if you are impatient, you can not miss this great story and its wonderful characters, so at least see one of the many great movie adaptions. My personal favorite movie version of Great Expectations is the 1999 Masterpiece theatre version.

I spent a whole term going over this book in freshmen English class. It is an overall good book, full of interpritations. There are many symbolisms and allusions. However, it is important to remember that this book was originally a serialization, as it came out every week in the paper. There are some parts when Dickens drawls on with his plans, events, ect. However, there are scenes that are very fast paced and action filled. The overall plot is a young, naive boy of about ten lives with his sister and her simple husband named Joe. However, Pip is given a secret benefactor and is thrust in the life of nobility. Pip is tangled in his probelems of leaving Joe behind and his encouters with the shallow (and I mean SHALLOW) Estella and the wicked Miss Havisham. Dickens is a master with characters and the languege, but he doesn't describe any everyday events. For example, Pip goes to study law, but thats all we know. In my opinion, it gives the characters this higher than life importance, and less real. But, if you take this book slowely, maybe a chapter a night (instead of the five I had to do), you will definately enjoy this book.

Green Mars, like Red Mars before it, is a very realistic novel about what we might expect an actual Mars colonization to be like. As such, it sometimes plays more like a documentary rather than a novel, an approach which has obviously impressed as many readers as it has disappointed.

For me, the book was almost too true to life in many ways. Business dealings, political bickering, flawed characters ... I could get any of these from TIME magazine. Bright spots included our look at how Mars itself is changing physically and some of the technology available to the characters. Robinson's treatment of the character's incredibly extended age is worthy of a novel in itself, especially the memory lapses and deja vu.

Overall, an above average novel. Although it gets bogged down (for me anyway) in geography and politics, there are enough bright spots to make it a good read.

The three books in Kim Stanley Robinson's "Mars Trilogy" are my absolute all-time-favorites. He is truly gifted at writing about advanced science and technology and equally adept at creating "real" characters, because he understands psychology. This is a rare talent: to be scientifically knowledgable and a master at creating believable characters. The books are part action, part scientific explanation (like Michael Crichton of Jurassic Park fame), and part character development.

In "Red Mars" (the first in the series) Robinson paints a totally believable picture of what our future might be like as we get ready to explore and colonize Mars. Mega-corporations, earthly power struggles, and the selection process for determining who might get to be the first to go to Mars, are all very possible and Robinson crafts a story around these topics with ease.

In the second book, "Green Mars," Robinson portrays the struggle to get vegetation growing and to create a breathable atmosphere. He also describes more political struggles between those on Earth and those on Mars. This was probably my favorite of the three, but mainly because I am more interested in the science that would be needed in this phase of colonization.

In the third book, "Blue Mars," the planet become more Earth-like. The atmosphere is more developed, water travel becomes possible, and more. (I don't want to give it all away!)

The books can be kind of scholarly at times, but I was so impressed with these books that I gave them to my teenage brother. He was so impressed with them, that he gave them to one of his very best pals. And we all had a blast discussing them together. If there is a teenage male in your life -- or if you love sci-fi and have always wondered what it might be like to go to Mars -- then this trilogy is definitely for you. Very highly recommended!

The first book of Kim Stanley Robinson's epic trilogy, RED MARS, wone the 1993 Nebula Award for Best Novel. This sequel, GREEN MARS, won the 1994 Hugo Award. Except for the last Hugo, which went to a Harry Potter novel (something which will taint the award forever), this award is not given lightly. Green Mars deserved all the honors that could be heaped upon it. In some ways it reminds me of Peter Jackson's Two Towers film, in that it is a middle chapter in a much greater landmark saga.

Green Mars starts out about 40 years after the failed revolution by elements of the original settlers to free itself of the rule of Earth. That revolution caused much destruction and thousands of deaths but in the end it failed. It failed because there was no coordination among the disparate groups. Some were fighting to keep Mars as it was, some to change it, some were out merely to seize power for themselves. Now the legendary First Hundred settlers have been hunted down and reduced to just 39. Those that are alive must live in secret sanctuaries hidden throughout the landscape or take on fake identities. And all the while, Mars is beginning to show life on its surface.

Hope springs eternal, for the metanational corporations, the real force that controls Mars, from Earth, are about to embark on a civil war amongst themselves. Also, a new generation of Martians are coming of age and doing something their predecessors didn't. Organizing themselves into a united and coordinated front. Establishing goals and having patience for the right moment to strike. Kinda like a twelve step program for revolution.

In Green Mars, different parts of the book are divided into the perspective of the various characters. Nirgal, the first to be introduced, is a young ectogene, a cellular descendent of the First Hundred, who is taught by Hiroko, the weird and reclusive religious cult figure from the first book. He will try to be the bridge between the old and the new Mars, gathering support from the young generation who see themselves as Martians, not settlers. Art Randolph is from Earth, sent by the CEO of Praxis, a leading metanational company, to infiltrate the underground movement of Mars. His mission is not to harm it, but to help it. Sax Russell's identity is changed by plastic surgery so he can spy on the metanationals. Ann Clayborne, the eco-terrorist from the first book must find her will to fight again. Maya Toitovna must come to terms with her past and find the ground to stand on to become a leader for the new generation as well. Only together will all these elements, will all these different camps be able to defeat the powers of Earth.

This book was great. Robinson's science fiction is not that of Star Wars. His vision of Mars is something to me that could truly happen. In fact, these books have read like future history, if there is such a thing. The settlers didn't land on Mars to fight aliens. They had to fight about what they wanted their world to be like in terms of politics, environment, and society, freedom. This book is a good treatise on what it takes to make a revolution. I mean, to make a good one. The book is really about finding commonality and being able to act as one. Kim is a masterful studier of character. There is no cuteness as in immature sf writers who know nothing of relationships except what they see in movies. This book is strong. It cannot be read alone though, meaning Red Mars must be read first. In some ways, reading this book is like looking at the problems faced by our founding fathers 200 years ago. The formation of a nation. Seek this book out.

Every now and thena very, very special book comes along with a "aha" and this is such a book. Many people are spending their way through high incomes---keeping up with the "JONE'S" high profile lifestyle's encumbered with high debt and zero savings. I worked for a millonaire one time who said"Money buys clothes, clothes don't buy anything!" He advised us to buy our "toys" clothes, cars, vacations etc. off profits of profits and never spend principal! This mans nt worth was well in excess of $350,000,000. I would also recommend three other books; "RICHEST MAN IN BABLYON" by George Clawson, "WEALTH WITHOUT RISK" and "FINANCIAL SELF-DEFENSE" by Charles Givens. Remember, it's not what you make, it's what's left over that counts. If you spend all of your money on your lifestyle, guess what? You'll always have to! Good reading, excellent book.

I used to be one of those people who spent all or at least most of my money and thought I was doing okay with the little savings I had in the bank earning 2% (wow).I always bought brand new cars, new clothes, went on vacations 6-8 times per year and partied. I had a great time! One day my company shut down and I was forced to live on 50% OF MY INCOME. My savings dwindled to nothing and I had a hard time making car and credit card payments. I came to the realization that I was "renting" my "lifestyle" all of which was encumbered with debts and false belief in "job security" A friend loaned me a copy of "The Millionaire Next Door" and I had to painfully admit that I had been a fool. I met a really nice old couple in their '70's who never made much over minimum wage in salary, but were debt free and had 100's of thousands to retire on and were living better than the flamboyant fools like me who spent through their incomes. This book turned me around. I would also recommend "9 Steps to Financial Freedom" and 'More Wealth without Risk" to add to your library, or at least borrow from a library. I am now living better, earning 20-25% in mutuals, contribute to my new companies 401 (k), have a IRA and am DEBT FREE with the exception of my mortgage which will be paid off in five years (or less).

I look at this book as a modern version of the timeless classic "The Richest Man in Bablyon" Frugality and Delayed Gratification are difficult disciplines which is probably why so few people, irregardless of their incomes, have any real wealth! For anyone interested in actual action techniques, I highly recommend 'Wealth without Risk" and "Financial Self Defense" by Charles Givens. also "7 Strategies for Wealth and Happiness" by E. James Rohn.