A well-known writer on space exploration, Chaikin has gathered together everything about the Apollo Program in this book, which took him more than ten years to prepare. In that time he interviewed all 23 surviving Apollo astronauts as well as scores of others involved on the ground. He is able to describe accurately what went on in people's minds at various times, and records the sometimes vicious politics of astronauts eager to get on Moon flights. His six years on the staff of Sky and Telescope prepared him for clear, precise writing, starting with Neil Armstrong's "small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind" on July 20, 1969. Apparently he made close friends among the astronauts; Gene Cernan, Apollo 17, says: "I've been there. Chaikin took me back." The US public stopped watching, and NASA canceled the last two Apollo missions, but, along with Arthur C. Clark, Chaikin believes that the Apollo success will be "remembered a thousand years from now." The book is divided into 13 chapters and illustrated by 47 glossy plates; these include some of the most dramatic shots taken on the Moon. In a long epilogue, Chaikin describes many encounters of astronauts with unusual audiences, both in the US and overseas. Three appendixes treat astronaut biographical information (birth date, education, etc.); persons interviewed (astronauts, astronaut wives, children, engineers, scientists, etc.); and Apollo mission data (Apollo 7 through Apollo 17; dates, crew, purpose, duration.) In the bibliography, Chaikin lists 60 books he found useful. There are 42 pages of author's notes, and a good, 42-column index. The best yet on the Apollo Program. Highly recommended for academic use at all levels above junior high school, and for general readers.

I'm not easy with the 5 star notation, but this book rates it easily.

Like others have written, I have read many of the memoirs of the Apollo astronauts. This book, while written tehcnically from an outsider, is by far the best one. Chaikin spent decades researching the material for this book, and interviewed every one of the Apollo astronauts (less those who died tragically on Apollo 1). In addition, he spoke to many of those who worked on the ground, in mission control, at the various defense contractors, etc.

There were three things about this book that truly stood out for me. The first, was while it was very much about the mission, it was about the people, as well. When each new section would start, and he would be discussing a new crew, I felt as if I got to know them. I understood how some crews were very tight knit, and others were purely professional.

The second item that stood out, is this book is about the *entire* Apollo program, not just Apollo 11, and the race to get to the moon. The book isn't even half over, when we've covered that information. What happens from there is also discussed in great detail. In fact, I found some of the later missions, when multiple days and multiple moonwalks were taking place on the moon, when they were doing geology experiments, and learning so much more about this foreign place, to be the most interesting.

Lastly, the detail in this book is amazing. Chaikin presents hundreds of detailed anecdotes, many of which are laugh out loud funny, others that are very serious. This is not "we landed on the moon and it was great". It's very detailed, of all the laughs and trials getting there...and back again.

If there is a teensy gripe that I have, I would have liked to know more about the political situation that led to the cancelling of Apollo 18/19, and the shut down of the project. I know Nixon's priorities were elsewhere, but surely NASA fought that? I would have liked to have read a bit about that part of the story. Also, I was amazed how little Deke Slayton, who was one of the principles at Mission Control and part of the Original 7, was mentioned. That's alright, tho, Slayton has written his own books that you can read for his perspective.

I bought several copies of this fabulous work by Andrew Chaikin. This is the best book I can think of to give as a gift to anyone interested in space or history. This book is so good that astronaut Janice Voss took it with her into orbit on her last space shuttle mission. In fact, her crewmates on STS-99 borrowed the book from Janice to read during their breaks from mission routine. A MAN ON THE MOON is essential reading for any individual interested in the space program or American history.

Chakin captures the details and spirit of the Space Race better than any author. The author met and interviewed all of the key Apollo players when thay were still alive and he also actually witnessed one of those mighty Saturns leave the earth for the moon. I bought this book not just for myself, but for my children and their future children to enjoy and benefit from.

Culinary Artistry is a book some may passover or leaf through in the bookstore for the likes of the Joy of Cooking or a Martha Stewart volume 20 cookbook. But look closer, the charts and the what-goes-well-with-what sections of this book alone are worth the price if only to give the food lover an inspired moment to create a dish with ingredients he or she may love. If you find yourself saying, "gee, I'd really love to have salmon tonight but I don't know what to put with it", pick up this book, find Salmon and refer to the extensive list of items that the interviewed chefs prefer with it and an idea is born. After that, all it takes is a little know-how in the kitchen and you've created your very own gourmet meal. If you choose to read from front to back you'll also discover page after page of insightful information from some of the nation's top chef's. Take your time, it's not a novel but it can be read like one and used as reference even after you've reached the last page. For the money, this is a book that will stay on your shelf for years to come and still manage to provide a new idea each time. So put down the Martha Stewart Haloween cookie issue and give Culinary Artistry a try, "It's a good thing". Sorry about that last one, she's infectious.

"CULINARY ARTISTRY receives Honorable Mention as one of the year's best culinary reference books...[It] offers insights into creative cooking."
--THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

"Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page go where no culinary writers have gone before, exploring what inspires great chefs to create new flavor combinations, dishes and menus."
--INTERNATIONAL COOKBOOK REVIEW

"CULINARY ARTISTRY chronicles the creative process of culinary composition and explores the architecture of flavors, dishes and menus."
--NATIONAL CULINARY REVIEW

"One of the best culinary books of the year."
--TIME OUT: NEW YORK

"A great achievement."
--Chef Daniel Boulud

"Fascinating...A philosophy book on the culinary arts."
--Arthur Schwartz, "Food Talk" on WOR RADIO

"A wealth of information."
--Lindsey Shere, pastry chef, Chez Panisse

"Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page have set me free...The sequel to 1995's BECOMING A CHEF, this fat volume offers limitless ways to compose dishes using the idea of food matches and menu plans from 30 of America's top chefs."
--Patty Stearns, THE DETROIT FREE PRESS

"I unconditionally recommend the book CULINARY ARTISTRY. One afternoon won't cut it with this book -- this is a definite buy. It tells when different fruits, vegetables, fish, etc. are in season, and how to make them taste good without the expense of a culinary school education. It will save your family a load of money, and greatly improve your own creativity with food and flavors."
--Liz Tarditi, chef and columnist, TODAY'S GOURMET

I am a self-taught home cook who enjoys the activities of the kitchen. I entered the cooking arena one of the standard ways, using cookbooks. Collections of recipes familarized me with the techniques and ethnic cooking styles. Gradually, my cookbook collection included reference books that provided some of the theory behind tastes and preparation styles. Gold's 1-2-3 series, Peterson's Sauces, and others introduced to me the philosophies that allow a cook to go beyond mimicking a recipe to improvising and even creating a dish. Culinary Artistry is perhaps the best available reference for learning about the traditions of combining flavors and food groups.

It contains vital information that I suspect is taught only in some of the culinary schools. It provides valuable charts of information about cooking and menu planning. The book contains sections on Menus, including a seasonality chart and a chart explaining successful seasoning combinations. There is a section for Composing Flavors, the highlight of which is a chart showing successful food contrasts. Another section involves Composing A Dish. Here there is a chart showing great food matches and one showing seasoning matches. The Composing A Menu section offers a chart showing frequent accompaniments to meats and paragraphs presenting theories about Hors Douevres, Cheeses, and Desserts. This was a sparse and incomplete passage in an otherwise comprehensive book. Finally, there was a fun section addressing the Evolution of Chef's Styles. Here the authors provide sample menus comparing chef's offerings from earlier decades to their present day productions.

The volume offers multiple anecdotes, quotes, and side bars concerning the views of popular chefs. Various recipes are interspersed to illustrate the principles. My one criticism was that the book was laid out like a college textbook. Photos, captions, quotes, highlighted lines, sidebars, and other areas compete on the same page, magazine style. The book serves as reference, frequently glanced at rather than read straight through as a narrative.

I bought this book (and "The Ultimate Kaua`i Guidebook") on the recommendation of several people on a travel message board. This was our forth trip to the Hawaiian Islands and my wife and I were going there to spend a week on The Big Island and a week on Kaua`i. We wanted to see the most we could and we felt these books might help us make better plans to do just that. And did it ever! We ended up finding that one week on each island wasn't enough and we are already planning our next trip.

Their off-the-beaten-path places are just awesome. From exploring a lava tube that empties out 20 feet over the water near Pu`uhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park to driving (with a 4WD SUV) down into Waipio Valley; from touring the top of Mauna Kea (the highest point in all of Hawai`i) to hiking out to touch the molten lava flowing from Pu`u O`o; from seeing a "lava tree" at Lava Tree State Park to tasting some organically grown fruit at a roadside stand.....you'll find the details in this book. And their accurate maps and directions to the out-of-the-way places will keep even the most wayward soul from getting lost.

My wife and I cannot recommend this book enough. If you like to explore the places you visit, this book is for you. Well worth it's weight in gold....well, almost. :)

My husband and I used this guide book constantly on our week-long trip to the Big Island, from which we returned just 3 days ago. This books tells about all the little-known and out-of-the-way places that the tour busses don't or won't take you to.

If you're the adventurous type, definitely rent a 4WD as the book suggests. There's a lot of wonderful places on the island that just can't be accessed without one.

We found the book's accuracy to be nearly 100%, even though it's been out nearly 2 years now. It was so exciting to see and experiece all the things in real life that I first learned about through this book. Don't miss the snorkeling at Kealakekua Bay. It's beyond the imagination!

The excellent restaurant reviews were also very helpful to us. 11/24/00

Witty, thorough, useful, honest, and best of all, accurate to a fault. I took my family to Hawai'i armed with this book and we were not disappointed once. This guide was written by residents of Kailua and their local knowledge shows. In the book's introduction they claim to have spent two years putting this guide together. Every minute of that effort shows in the result.

The best feature of the book is that is is organized as a set of driving tours from the Kailua-Kona and Hilo areas. Almost everyone visiting the Big Island travels by rented car and stays in either of these areas. The struc- ture is perfect for a tourist, right down to listing the mile-marker numbers where unmarked sideroads lead to beaches, volcano view spots, and other points of interest not on the rental car maps. It is loaded with color photographs, maps in many level of details -- including hiking trails -- and easy-to-spot icons of the things to see and do. We visited friends who have lived in Kailua for years who were surprised at how many new things they learned.

I have to stop now before I embarass myself. If you visit the Big Island and don't take this book with you your trip will be that much less fun.

There's a lot of very interesting material in this book. I found descriptions of the human condition and basic tenets of Buddhism to be intelligently written, and to be inspiring at times. However, I'd like to issue a warning to skeptical people like me who have little interest in unproven or unprovable opinions and expressions of "faith" in their Buddhism. This book spends a lot of time on Tibetan ritual. It cites numerous examples of things the author has seen that seem to prove reincarnation, the possibility and power of enlightenment, karma, near death experiences, etc. When enlightened monks die, did you know that their bodies often don't rot? Or that their bodies disappear into thin air, or that rainbows appear thousands of miles away? That dead monks bodies stay warm for weeks? These things may or may not be true, but I'm just skeptical enough to not want to take the author's word for them. If you tackle this book, brace yourself to read about a lot of belief topics, and then prepare to be accused of being too cynical and capitive of your own ego for doubting it. I would categorize this book as religious Buddhism, as opposed to philosophical Buddhism. An aside: the author's reverence and love for his teachers and his faith is truly touching. His knowledge is great, his love is great, but I'm not sure that makes him the best possible reporter for those who are seeking truth instead of opinion.

This book should be read by or to everyone at some point in their lives. It not is not just for the buddhist. As His Holiness, the Dalia Lama explains, no matter what religion you practice the goal is the same: happiness. This book can be an inspiration at all times in life. Once you have read it through once, it is organized in such a way, so one can go back and read certain sections to help along the way. Sogyal Rinpoche captures the essence of his purpose of creating the book when he writes: "to learn how to die, is to learn how to live." That simple statement is a social commentary on the development of modern society and the direction it is heading in. The ageing and dying are quickly isolated and doctors are rarely educated in emotional or spiritual care. Sogyal Rinpoche's proposes a new attidute to those who are in a stage that we all will reach at some point. His beautiful writing style and comforting compassion radiates from the pages themselves. I do not associate myself with any one religion, but consider myself a wanderer following my own road in search for answers, for all those who feel the same, this book can illuminate some of the darkness that surrounds us all who have not yet awakened.

This book gives you a spirutal, personal and intimate understanding of death and dying. More than that, it compels you to stop and take a deep and serious look at your own life and your own death. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying helps to alievate your own fear of dying and helps you take the responsibility to prepare for your death. At the same time, it gently helps you prepare yourself for the death and dying of a loved one. The teachings and personal experiences of Sogyal are simple to understand and intrepret and incorporate into your personal life. I wholeheartedly recommend this book for every introspective person as well as for those facing the death of a loved one.

If you have read Don Box's Essential COM, which is a great book covering COM theory, Andrew Troelsen's book will be perfect for you to get your hands wet on COM using ATL. I have personally waited a long time for this book. All the Wrox books on this subject have failed to deliver! Andrew presents ATL in an extremely logical manner. In Each chapter he always starts implementing COM with plain C++ code and then teaches you how ATL makes life easier for you by hidding all the boiler plate code in the template. You can tell that the author has spent a lot of time dissecting and understanding ATL. It seems to me that some of the Wrox authors were rushing things and finally gave us only half-cooked meal.

In my opinion, the time you will be saved from reading the ATL code yourself is well worth the money. Besides, The lab in this book makes you feel like sitting in a training class and this will save you or your company a few thousand bucks.

I also learned some useful VC++ IDE tips in this book.

I've had the [mis]fortune to have bought or read over almost every COM and ATL book out there, and have been disappointed time and again.

What usually happens is that the explanations are simply too thin for the meaty subject matter of COM and ATL. A typical problem is that macros are referred to without explanation, talk about BSTRings and smart pointers fly left and right, all with the assumption that the reader must have a built-in familiarity with the subjects.

Not to hammer these other authors, since the subject is quite difficult to get a grasp on and explain, but I'd just about given up on finding a cogent explanation on COM and ATL which I could use.

Then I came across this book and Tom Armstrong's "ATL Developer's Guide". They're the only two books I can reccomend for any COM/ATL beginner. Personally, I feel this book is the better of the two, as the lab discussions and explanations Mr. Troelsen provides really help walk the reader through some difficult parts. It's a good read, and about subjects on which he could have easily lost the reader. Quite the balancing act.

If you're starting out in COM and ATL, you'll certainly want this book. I'd also reccomend "ATL Developer's Guide" as a sort of second-reference, because it's also a good one. If you've only budgeted for one however, this is the keeper.

Developer's Workshop to COM and ATL 3.0 is an effective guide to COM implementation utilizing raw C++ and especially the Active Template Library. Andrew Troelsen is an incredible teacher and writer. In this book, he presents COM in such a way that makes it surprisingly simple and quite magnetic.

The book is extremely well-organized. Troelsen analyzes most aspects of COM components with the exception of, for example, custom proxy/stub marshaling and on advanced COM multithreading. He presents examples of each aspect of COM via raw C++ and followed by an implementation via ATL. The developer gets to see and understand each implementation of a COM component in raw C++ and ultimately appreciate the simplicity that the ATL framework brings to COM development.

The author's teaching style and organization is amazing! He organizes COM topics in terms of complexity especially toward implementation. Troelsen presents concise implementation examples that effectively help the developer learn the design and development process of COM components. In every discussion on a theory of COM architecture, he includes a raw C++ example and then followed by an ATL version of the implementation. Furthermore, Troelsen organizes the examples such that each example builds on from previous examples. In other words, each example is the previous example with one or more new features such as an added aggregated COM object or an added callback interface. Troelsen's teaching style and organization coupled with a good understanding of COM architecture and the ATL framework shine in Developer's Workshop to COM and ATL 3.0. This book is an effective guide to COM design and implementation in raw C++ and especially ATL.

I highly recommend Developer's Workshop to COM and ATL 3.0 to advanced C++ programmers and real-world COM developers.

Kuphryn

This is a book full of action, fantasy, and color. It is unique compared to any other book I have read. When you are reading the book, it is like you are being sucked into the magical world where the story takes place. The details help you to create images in your head, but also leave enough out so that you can form your own picture. This is a fantasizing page-turner for all ages from 7-11 years old.

When Benjamin, Melinda, and Thomas Potter meet Professor Savant at the zoo and he tells them about a strange and mysterious creature called the whangdoodle, the adventure begins. After they convince the professor that they are worthy of seeing the whangdoodle in Whangdoodleland, they start long, hard training sessions of imagination and awareness. When a creature called the prok (Prime Minister of the Whangdoodle) finds out that the children and the professor are going to Whangdoodleland, he does everything he can to stop them, and eventually goes to last resort -- kidnap!

I first read "Whangdoodles" in 1977 when I received it as an eleventh birthday gift from my sister. Since then, it has become one of my favorite children's books which I have revisited countless times and shared with my nieces and nephews. "Whangdoodles" is a whimsical, fantastic adventure which underscores how a well-developed imagination can be a tool for discovering the important lessons of life: goal-setting, training, trust, teamwork, creativity, open-mindedness and determination.

Lindy, Thomas and Benjamin are three ordinary children who meet and are taken under the wing of the extraordinary Professor Savant. Together they discover a unique land filled with rare and wonderful creatures like the Slippery Prock, the High-Behind Splinter Cat, Tree Squeaks and Flutterbies. They take a ride on the Jolly Boat, cross trecherous terrain and face many challenges on their way to meet the reclusive Whangdoodle.

With the Professor's guidance, the children prove that preconceived notions can be a handicap, and that faith and perserverance can help one achieve nearly anything.

This book is right up there with "Edward Eager's "Half Magic" and E. Nesbitt's "Five Children & It."

I read this book at least a dozen times growing up...checking it out from the library each time. It is truly the most imaginative and wonderful book possibly EVER for children. I only found out once I grew up that the author is Julie Andrews (her name listed as Julie Edwards in the book itself). That just endeared it to me even more. The characters are so distinct, especially the professor. The premise may seem off-the-wall...going to another world using the power of your mind...but the way it is written, it seems plausible. And the world they travel to is so magical and special. You feel as if you are along for the ride. I am so grateful I was introduced to this book at an early age, because it fosters in children a creativity and an idea that anything is possible. However, I think anyone of any age would get something out of the book. You have to be willing to open yourself up to something completely unrealistic, but it is worth it.

I've read almost every single Christopher Pike book ever written and THE MIDNIGHT CLUB tops my list as my favorite ever (along with THE LAST VAMPIRE series and REMEMBER ME). The Midnight club shows you the lives of five young people dying in a hospice. In the hour of darkness (midnight), they had formed a club and they tell stories of death, life, spirtuality, love, etc, etc. I admit, it is different from Pike's other books, but I wasn't disappointed one bit. It was a work of beauiftul art and it touched me deep in my heart. Once you read it, you'll be touched too. And you'll see that Christopher Pike will always be the best.

I must agree with the review posted by the reader from Iowa City, this is definently a book for all ages. It touches many senses, mostly love. Although it may sound depressing or morbid to read about teens in a hospice waiting to die, you find as you read, it is neither. You find yourself loving each character more and more with every turn of the page, and knowing they will live eternally in your mind and heart after the book is over. Their strength and bravery is touching and commendable, and after reading this novel, you will see what is really important in life is love and making the most of each day. The dramatic portrayal of each character is amazing. The stories told by the midnight club are also very memorable, with that notable Pike twist, and horror. Over all, this book is wonderful, and touching, it will leave you with a sense of warmth, and love, and a life lesson.

I have read many books of Christopher Pike's, "Midnight Club" is truly his greatest piece of work. The book has many stories told by kids who have cancer. Pike does a wonderful job illustrating these kids life, you feel their pain and suffering. One story that touched me the most, was the one with the Angel. The book was very easy to read, I finish it in one day. After reading this book, you realized that nobody is perfect. We all make mistakes! The main theme in the book, Pike focuses on is FORGIVENESS. I recommend this book to everyone. It's different than most of his other books. There's less action and gore, but still its wonderful book to read.

This story is about a young girl named Mandy who lived in an orphanage. She lived there as long as she could remember and had lots of friends who supported her. There was a wall behind the orphanage where no one has ever climbed over and no one knows what it's like behind it. One day, Mandy started getting curious if there was a whole new different world behind it so she climbed over the wall when no one was looking. When she got over, she found a small cottage that was deserted. Everyday she climbed over the fence and she would clean the cottage with tools that she borrowed from the orphanage. Then there was a stormy night and she fell ill and couldn't even move, but then a mysterious person rescues her and she returns back to her cottage.
I read this book because I read the summary behind the book and thought it was a good story because I like adventorous stories. This book was also recommended to me by my cousin. This was one of her favorite books and told me to read it becuase it was written by the famous Julie Edwards.
My favorite part in this story was when Mandy finds the deserted cottage and cleans it all by herself. She plants flowers and she decortates the house will shells and other things that she found in the forest, next to the cottage. Also when she gets saved by poeple who were vistiting and they care for her. The part when I didn't like was when she got very ill and no one was there to help her and no one could hear her because the storm was so loud.

Mandy

Mandy, by Julie Andrews Edwards, is a very well written and eventful book. It starts when Mandy, a young girl living in a nice orphanage, is satisfied with her life, but longs for a place of her own. One day, she goes venturing behind the orphanage wall and discovers a little, abandoned cottage. She decides to make it her own place and with a few "borrowed" things, she manages to turn it into a nice playhouse without anyone knowing what she was up to. However, one day, Mandy disobeys the orphanage owner and sneaks off to the cottage when she is very sick. In the cottage, she falls unconscious, and no one has a clue where she is.

In her story, Mandy is very nice, but when she starts spending much of her time at the cottage, she starts to ignore her friends. She is disobedient at some times, but she is still kind and good-hearted deep down. Her friend, Sue, really wants Mandy to be safe and is always very curious. From reading this book, I learned that you should never lie, you should never disobey your parents, and that your parents usually know what is best for you. The best part of the book was when Mandy discovers the cottage. The scene when Mandy falls unconscious was very detailed and suspenseful. There was not much that I didn't like, except that Mandy was not always nice to her friends. The ending is very satisfying and is a good conclusion to the story.

I enjoyed Julie Andrews' writing style in Mandy. I never got bored while I was reading and the beginning really grabbed my attention. Mandy had a good amount of details and descriptions: not too many that I got bored, but not too little that I couldn't imagine what was happening. The vocabulary was rather easy and simple because the book was written for and is appropriate for children ages eight or nine to age twelve or thirteen. I really enjoyed the way Mandy was written. I would recommend it to girls who like adventure and enjoy good books. I would give Mandy three to four stars out of four (*** to ****). It is just an all-around great book!

-KES

Julie Andrews' name is next to the word *TALENT* in the dictionary. She can sing better than *anyone* in the world, she is an absolutely pheunomenal, versatile actress (she won an Academy Award for Best Actress to prove it), an absobloominlutely AMAZING writer and has a personality to die for. Let me ask you, how is it possible to be all these things and then be EXTREMELY Beautiful???
I don't know how she does it! But I'm postively mesmerized by everything she's done.
Anyhoo, onto the book. Mandy is VERY VERY VERY well-written and as I've said previoulsly, its hard to believe that someone who cna sing and act as perfectly as Julie can write to wonderfull as well! Julie adds so much detail so you know every little thing thats going on in the story. You can almost SMELL the flowers and see the garden and feel the love! It's tremondous. I could read this book OVER and OVER until someone finally whacks me over the head and slaps me back into reality. If you love this book (I can't imagine anyone NOT loving this book) I HIGHLY recommened Julie Andrews Edwards' other children's novel "The Last Of The Really Great WHangdoodles", kinda sounds like something from the woman who put Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious into our vocabulary, doesn't it? 'Whandoodles' is so creative and so wonderful!!!
Bravo, Dame Julie!
BY THE WAY- further back in the comments someone said that Julie wrote this because she lost a bet to her daughter Emma Kate, she ACTUALLY lost a bet with her daughter *Jennifer*. The bet was that if Julie didn't stop swearing (or cursing) Jen would make her right a book....looks like Julie couldn't stop. :-)

GREAT BOOK, GREAT AUTHOR, GREAT FUN!

I first read this book around 3 years ago, and I still read it, over and over again. What I found I really liked about this book was the characters, Heaven, Tom, Logan and Fanny. They were all so different, although you may dislike Fanny quite a lot, before you know it, your hooked. The other thing I really liked from this book and the whole series, was the style of writing. It was so wonderfull the way you get a movie-like vision while reading it. The best series she has written by far. It has a great storyline and strong/loveable characters. Virginia Andrews is a brilliant storyteller.

This book haunted me for many days. Its about the hard times of a young southern girl in the mountains and her family. This book will touch your heart. It is funny at times,heartbreaking and it makes you wonder how far into the despair of life we can go.This girl keeps her dignity through it all and have to raise her siblings most of the time.I'm sure deep in poverty stricten areas, like now and in the past, this story may touch on what may have occured in real life to some unforunate few.
The first night, I read this book all the way through. It grips your attention and its hard to put down. You just must find out what happens to this girls life next.Its indepth and put you in the heart of the mountains, her home, her family and her heart. A MUST read. Very touching. I loved this book. V.C Anderews best work. Next, Flowers in the attic.

I've been reading 'Heaven' by V.C. Andrews since I was 12 and I must admit that I've learned a lot about love, how to fight for the one you love no matter how much that person has caused you grieve, misery and betrayed you....and I guess I realized that love conquers everything in this book, and I really feel sorry for Heaven who's been going through a hard time trying to gain attention and love from her Pa (Luke Casteel) who avoids her each time their eyes met... Poor Heaven, it seems that the world was blaming her for her Mum's death.. If this was for real, I'd like to be her friend, because I could really feel how it is like to be in her shoes.....How could the world be so cruel to an innocent girl who was to be blame for a 14 year old girl's death during childbirth? But really, this story has really touched my heart ...and I strongly believe that this novel will touch the hearts of readers from all over the globe too...

At the beginning of a Dale Carnegie Course, we were given three books: "How To Stop Worrying and Start Living", "How to Win Friends and Influance People", and "The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking". Out of these books "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" hits home with most individuals that worry too much about the past and future. This book shows examples and ways to overcome the sickness of worry that occures in our everyday lives. Thus, how to live a happy and healthy life. While reading "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" you'll notice a lot of what is written applies to people you know and yourself. Again, best self-enhancment book read so far!

This book contains not only the steps for a worry-free living : when applying its techniques and principles in your day-to-day, you start to notice that you are a new person, with much more capacity, and the results of your acting became surprisingly better. It's probable that if you learn and apply correctly what Dale Carnegie wrote many years ago, you will solve very old problems, those very complex problems that you had already given up(ex. relationships with people in family and work, general organization of your life, bad memory, backwardness, etc.). You will be able to do what you believed was an unchangable weakness of yourself, and this will increase your self-confidence.You may ask how can a book be so miraculous. The answer is : this book is based in the toughts of the most wise men of all times, including Jesus Crist, Willian James, Benjamin Franklin, Thoma Edison, and many others, together with the real experiences that Dale Carnegie made in his "lab of how to stop worrying". Thus, in spite of not solving all the problems of our lives, this book certainly contains precepts that every person should know, and is an obligatory reading for those who are not completely happy with their lives.

...why doesn't everyone following them? Because that's the biggest knock I've heard regarding this book. Some people are reading each chapter and coming away saying "well that's obvious." Folks, there isn't anything groundbreaking about this book. There isn't some type of genius method of instantly transforming your life around. It was written decades ago but the solid principles still apply today. For example, if you want to add years to your life, take a nap for an hour each day. Carnegie is then going to tell you exactly who did this and how it helped them transform their life. Read this book once, then twice, then a third time and start living these principles. They are simple but effective and they will, as the title implies, help you start living your life.