This book is a real gem, both for a twist on the usual Christmas story (the paw prints of 8 tiny gators) as well as the regional aspect. It is a hoot to read out loud, to yourself and others!

I have had this book for almost twenty years, and every Christmas my friends beg me to read it to them with my Cajun accent. This is such a FUN book for children and adults, and it is written in the Cajun dialect so that it is easy to have a Cajun accent. I have never met anyone who didn't fall in love with this book! Buy it! You won't be sorry, and it will become a family heirloom for many generations to come.

This book will be a great gift for any transplanted Cajun. I recieved this as a gift many Christmas"s ago. It has a special place on my bookcase, and is shown to all my guests. I brought it to work, read it in its true nature to my co workers and they all wanted a copy of it. This book is a must for all households, large and small. It is heart warming, and comical. Sometimes I take it out of my bookcase and hug it, that is how special it is to me. No home should be without it.

I like Mostin Flashmeister and Simon Garofalo (but not a batty), was a pupil at the school during the time the moooose aka Susan Bennett accused Michael James of the heinous crime. I was also a character witness on behalf of Michael James in court and I believe that some of my personality and attributes such as my trademark slick as brylcreem hair was added to the character of Justin Hilton. The book is excellently written and for anyone who wishes to purchase it the main characters in the book are very realistic, and the teachers who turned their back on him were cants in real life. I would like to wish Michael James all the best in the future, he certainly deserves it, and it would be classic if this story became a film.

I was also a pupil at this school during the time the book is set and Mike James was a good and honourable teacher and one of about two or three members of the staff who didn't live with thier heads up their ..., he was a decent guy and did not deserve to be put through this ordeal. ... the school for their judgement and ... the beady eyes of the Deputy Head, for he was a fool. I would also like to wish the author the best of luck in the future. And to Simon Garofalo who wrote the review below - YEEEEE. JDG

This book really hit home for me, it was powerful and personal. A story of a man who came out on top, when many would have sank.

"Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals" is the equivalent of a "Roget's Thesaurus" for supervisors and managers who have to evaluate employee performance on a regular basis. It organizes effective phrases under headings such as 'Communicative Skills" and "Leadership". You pick the most appropriate phrase to describe your employee's performance, e.g. "optimally utilizes all channels of communications", and write the review. Even if you don't want to use phrases out of this book, I've found that it is a good pattern book for brainstorming my own phrases.

The only omission (in my opinion) in "Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals" is the lack of phrases for below average performance. Try "The Definitive Performance Writing Guide" by Douglas L. Drewry for your below average performance appraisals.

I've been writing performance reviews for five years now, and found this to be the best guide ever to help fill in the blanks. Almost every appraisal form requires analysis and precise commentary about the employee's behavior, and this book is well-organized and chock-full of helpful phrases to adapt for just about every performance situation. I also used this book as a resource for a class I teach, How to Conduct Effective Performance Appraisals.

I purchased a previous edition of this pocket handbook some years ago and replaced it recently with this newer edition..

I get the impression that this thoughtful and well laid out guide was originally for use in the military and other government agencies. It is a very useful tool for allowing your own creative juices to work for you when writing up an appraisal.

The best method that I've found for this little guide is start in with an employee appraisal, then scan through the relevant pages when you feel you are at a sticking point and need some time in order to place the correct phrase that just doesn't seem to come to mind at the moment.

Rest assured that taking a break, scanning through this guide for a while, and then putting your work aside for a few hours will result in some very constructive ideas for you..

s/ Patricia Gibbons

Definitely if you're a Rolling Stones fan, it is essential to read this book. As someone who has read quite a few supposed "biographies" of the Stones, I can tell you that I have not yet found one as genuine, funny, heart-warming and well-written as the story James Phelge relates of those early struggles at Edith Grove.

If you're not a Stones fan, read this book anyway. Because not too far into this book you soon forget that this is about the early years of men who are now known as "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World". This book is simply about four guys sharing a flat in London in the 60's, and the fun and hardships involved in their lives at that time. This is the story of a struggling band, of young men, of lives money poor, but rich in friendship. It is the story of men who follow their hearts. You will laugh out loud, and perhaps even find a tear in your eye.

I only wish I could give this book an extra star.

I read this book last year, when it was called Phelge's Stones (the front cover was a little bit more otrageous, but I liked it) and I had most fun and informations from it than from all the books about the Rolling Stones that I read. Here you can find all the little things that made the Stones so great. It's a real book written by a real person, who lived with them in that dirty flat in Edith Grove, 102 ... and when you read it, you can smell it. I felt like being there with those guys ... what a story! Thank you Phelge for all the fun and other things you shared with the world.

If you're looking for saucy gossip about groupies and drugs, this is not the book for you. If you want to learn about five teenagers from London who had a dream, buy this book. James Phelge, forever known as "Roommate of the Stones," offers priceless insights and hilarious shenanigans of a struggling, unknown band named after a Muddy Waters blues song. After the Stones start touring America, the story seems to drag a bit by focusing on some of the "Swinging London" scene, but it is merely a set-up for the shocking ending -- Phelge walks away from it all and chooses to live a normal life! The crazy man of Edith Grove turns out to be the sanest of them all. A must read for EVERY Stones fan.

I was in seventh grade in 1978 when I first read Report From Engine Co. 82, and no book I've read since has ever had as profound an effect on me. Dennis Smith and his brother firefighters on Intervale Ave. inspired me and, I'm sure, many others to become firefighters. The book is gripping and "in-your-face", taking you into some of the most dangerous and frustrating working conditions imaginable.

I just re-read the book, and doing so rekindled the respect and admiration for the heroes of the FDNY that it originally instilled in me 22 years ago. Recently a friend and I visited "The Big House" in the South Bronx, talked with the firemen, took pictures of the neighborhood, and brought Smith's book to life. The pull box at Charlotte St. & East 170th St. made infamous by Smith's book has been replaced by an ERS box; the crumbling, burning tenaments replaced by suburban looking homes. All that remains of the horrors that took place there in the seventies is the memories of daily heroism performed by the men of Engines 82, 85, Ladder 31 and 712 perpetuated by Smith's book.

Now a teacher, I'll be sharing Report From Engine Co. 82 with my class this year. I hope that with the use of this book, I can inspire the same respect, compassion, and concern for human life in my students that Smith inspired in me so long ago.

You don't have to be a firefighter or a "wanna-be" to love Report From Engine Co. 82. Treat yourself to it as soon as you can.

As a firefighter, I read this book with some apprehension. Other firefighting books have not shown the true realism of the job. THIS BOOK IS THE EXCEPTION. A fantastic view of one of the busiest firehouses in New York City, from the firefighter's perspective. What's it like to go to hell and back? The author has been there and is here to talk about it.

This book is absolutely amazing. I started reading it because I was down to the deadline on choosing a book for a school report and now I'm sure I had the best book in the class. Smith takes you into the depths of a huge fire where you can actually feel the heat and choke on the smoke and then the next moment makes you feel his frustration when he takes you to his tenth malicious false alarm of the night. I have a whole new respect for the firefighters in my community and thank God that I have them. Not untill I read this book did I fully understand exactly what firefighters do. I am totally and compleatly amazed!

Bill Gates is by far the most successful man of our time and probably of all time. This book explains gates earlier life in depth. Who was Bill Gates before the billions? This is all explained in this book. Gates' incredibly driven personality was always present even in his earlier years. Gates is today undoubtedly the most feared man in the industry and thought of by many as the most powerful man in the world.

This book shows both sides of the man behind it all. Enemies and Allies alike are all shown in this book. He fought wars with Apple and IBM and had peace with people like his friend and partner in success Paul Allen and his mother. Is Gates really the "ruthless" billionaire as many consider him to be or a giving loving and gentle man as few people know? Well he's a little of both and the great insight that can be gained by many can be found here in this book.

I previously read a book about Bill Gates by Johanthan Gatlin and this book is far less indepth and much more for a quick read. HARD DRIVE is a book I highly recommend to those of you who are interested in knowing all about Gates. A little out date, this book was released before the release of Microsoft Windows 95 which in many ways brought Bill Gates up in power almost twice as much. At the time this book was written he was the richest in America. Presently he is the richest in the world. I reccomend going out and buying the sequal to this book "Overdrive" which I am about to do. VERY GOOD BOOK OVERALL. Go out and get your self a copy today.

Even though I typically don't like to read books that are assigned to me and I am forced to read this book was just one I could not put down. I loved reading about this book. I was able to understand the whole story of how Microsoft was made. This book gives you an insight to who Bill Gates and Paul Allen really are. The author goes into great detail about how two teen entrepreneurs were able to successfully start up and manage a business. The only thing is that this book is a little outdated meaning there is no current updates. To continue on the sequel book Over Drive which I am in the possess of reading is excellent as well.

This book gives a fascinating insight about Microsoft and how the two buddies Gates & Allen transformed the way we live, learn and play today.

More important is, the book gives us a glimpse of an often misunderstood genius, Bill Gates himself. Read this book and you'll get the idea what makes him tick. Really, he is not as bad as some people would like us all to believe.

In preparing our list of Christmas books to share with others, we had to search far and wide on amazon to find this particular book, a paperback edition of the classic Night Before Christmas.

This is the book I've used for years when reading this story to my own children, passing on Tasha Tudor and other illustrators. Why?

Although we can find the same poem and pay a lot more, with award winning illustrators, the illustrations provided by Douglas Gorsline are surely the best. They are quite colorful, and offer details little children love looking into...cats lie sleepily on the window sill, we see an overview of the town, the presents spilling from the open sack are intriguing and plentiful, and Jolly St. Nick is -- well, quite Jolly (as you can see by looking at the cover!)

The story is an "abridged version" - I'm not sure about other parents, but we read this on Christmas Eve, and we only have so much time and energy. Everything we remember from the classic poem by Clement Clarke Moore is in this version.

(From "'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse" to "He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,"HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!" In between we have everything, from the names of the eight tiny reindeer, to a belly that shakes like a bowl full of jelly, including dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky".

In other words, don't be scared off by 'abridged'!)

Perhaps a hardcover edition might be more appropriate if you're giving a gift (unless you're giving to more than one child), but this book is one of the best offers we've found!

A classic done simply and inexpensively!

We have an inexpensive paperback version (see our reviews) of this classic poem, and we said that's enough for us. That was before we looked through this beautifully illustrated (by Bruce Whatley) edition of The Night Before Christmas.

The lyrics are the same, from book to book, but the fanciful illustrations in this one are enough to engage adults and children as they read this book together.

The perfect gift for any family whose Christmas tradition includes reading this classic!

This beautiful book was in my family as a hard cover edition for many years and was a Christmas Eve tradition for my four sons when they were growing up. It's poor battered body disappeared some time after the last of my little ones went off into the adult world. I am so delighted to see it back again, though this time as a nicely affordable soft cover. Clement C. Moore's enchanting story poem already provides an atmosphere filled with warmth and joyful expectation and with the addition of Tasha Tudor's quaint, nostalgic water-colors from an antique New England the Christmas magic is complete!
The winter landscapes fill our senses and Tasha's own gray tabby cat and Welsh Corgi welcome us into this charming world.
Tasha's Santa that you will meet in this book has been portrayed as the poem describes him...a right jolly old elf. He's not that much larger than the corgi and his team really consists of eight "tiny" reindeer. His pointy ears and his Eskimo mukluks add to the delightful ambiance of the book. He dances with the toys and with the happy animals and we can truly believe it will be a happy Christmas for all.
I hope this book becomes a Christmas Eve tradition for many, many more families.

I've read alot of sub books such as "Rites of War" and "The Hunt for Red October", and this one ranks up there with "Red October". I have to agree with most people reviews with this book. Which is that this book was excellent. It had a sense of what the future might be and the description of the technology used was excellent, espically that little index in the back. What James Cobb did was make a great female Captain. He gave great details on Captain Amanda Garret and he really created a foundation for this character. Her crew was written execllently as well. Also yuo could tell Garret was someone who didn't take crap from anyone. And one other thing the battle scenes were great and kept me as a reader glued to the book. A must buy for anyone who wants too read a techno thriller. One more thing, the Cunningham, what a great piece of technology James Cobb came up with.

The title of this novel comes from the poem by Rudyard Kipling, but the name "Choosers of the Slain" comes originally from ancient Norse theology. The Valkyries were the women warriors who escorted the valiantly slain from the battlefield to Valhalla. Appropriately enough, the commander of author Cobb's state-of-the art Stealth warship is a woman, the classy and competent Amanda Garrett. The ship, the USS Cunningham, is named in honor of Randy ("Duke") Cunningham, America's real-life sole Vietnam fighter-ACE. Captain Garrett, her likable crew, and the high-tech "Duke" have their as-yet unproven skills and equipment put to the test when the Argentine navy attempts to repossess former Antarctic territory. The fast-paced action, cutting-edge yet credible technology, and personal drama make this book a real page-turner. James Cobb has written three highly acclaimed naval adventures featuring the marvelous USS Cunningham and its plucky female Captain. A rather amusing little irony is that California Congressman Randy ("Duke")Cunningham is himself a very outspoken opponant of women in the military!

One ship against the might of the Argentine navy might not at first glance have the makings of a thumping good read. James Cobb has managed this feat by creating creating a fascinating premise, a stealth warship operating alone in the Southern Atlantic Ocean and populating it with a sympathetic cast of characters on both sides of the conflict. A female captain turns some of the conventions of the technothriller on its head ( but not all of them, why did the author feel it necessary to introduce a 'love interest' for Captain Amanda Garrett and why is she described as being attractive, slim etc.. when he would not dream of talking about a male captain in the same way. This lost the book one mark). The problems facing the captain and crew of the U.S.S Cunningham and the ingenious ways in which they are solved are carried off particularly well for a first time author. I am looking forward to Mr Cobb's next novel.

This is one of the most life changing books I've ever encountered. It took me on a journey through multiple dimensions of life. It begins by detailing how most of us have been indoctrinated since childhood and have lost ourselves in the process. Icke then goes on to tell us about a global conspiracy that is deliberately doing what they can to strip us of our ability to create our own lives as our unique selves. This is followed by some very grizzly, hard-to-believe negative data about what has been going on all over the world.

Then comes the good news. David goes into detail about how we create our own lives and our own experiences. This is followed by a very high level view of the world, all of existence, and the forces that are shaping the world toward a wonderful outcome. David invites us all to choose our own path and contribute to the high dimensional influences that are dramatically increasing the love in the world.

This book inspired me to immediately start operating in a new, much more relaxed, loving mode. I'm finally using information I've known for years. There is no need to wait. We can fully live our unique lives immediately. Everybody wins.

I would strongly urge anyone, particulary those who are not familiar with Icke or his work to read this book. There is no doubt that it will change everything you thought you knew about the world - and yourself. Excellent beginner Icke book, anyone can pick it up and read it and be changed for life. Definatly not as comprehensive as Ickes other books, but perfect for beginners. Icke adds some delightful humour and and some fantasic insights that will make even the most stubborn and skeptical reader think - a lot. For Icke fans, his brand of humour is revealed in greater detail in this book without the book ever losing its sense of urgency and seriousness - fantastic stuff all-round. The book is definatly a small price to pay for your freedom - you wont look at the world the same again. A must for anyone who wants to open their mind and hearts :)

Indeed, this is a good book. But to get even more out of it, read The Illuminati Manifesto.
The Illuminati Manifesto makes public the secret of the Craft for the first time ever!

The first thing I noticed while reading this book was that there were no lulls in the action. It seems that every part of Jesse's short life was exciting. The author at times makes Jesse out to be almost a saint, but it doesn't interfere with quality of the information that he has provided.

I found this book in Arizona, of all places. It's one of those books that is hard to put down once you start reading it. I have read alot of books about Jesse James but this is one of the very best. I highly recommend it.

Interesting perspective from a family descendant of one of the most enduring western myths. This treatment recounts family legend and an inside psychological look of a mythical legend who actually existed, not only, as a western hero, but also as a , father, grandfather and great grandfather. Interesting insights on Jesse's fear of death and acceptance of his inevitable fate, his constant search for vindication for his actions as a noble cause, and his incongruous beliefs of love of family and revenge.