I am one of those frustrated parent who have an extremely hard head 2 yrs old son who like having a tantrum several times a day at least! We felt so ineffective in disciplining him.
In this book, Child therapists Ray Levy, Ph.D. and Bill O'Hanlon offer a revolutionary approach on how to parent your difficult child's behavior. It was written in a simple conversational style that make it easy to understand and apply. This is a truely helpful manual for parents with kids from 2 to 12. It teaches you how to take loving but firm charge of the difficult child while keeping your cool!!!!!

Parents who are experiencing difficulty in dealing with "defiant" children who lack the motivation to behave and "inflexible" children who lack the skills, can find much help here! This book is incisive, personal, interesting and practical. It gives hope and you are encouraged to "Never, Ever Give Up".

Key ideas are summarised in "Behavior Basics", usually with sub-headings, at the end of most of the 24 chapters. E.g. "Three Parenting Styles Likely to Produce or Aggravate Defiance. 1. Defiant parents. These people micromanage and come down too hard on kids. Making every issue a control issue is bound to create more opposition and defiance. 2. Peacemaker parents. For varying reasons, these parents will cough up money or stretch themselves to their outer limits-all to avoid conflict. 3. Apprehensive parents. ¡Kthese parents don't provide their kids with appropriate discipline and en up parenting out of fear." (p.21) If you first look through all these succinct summaries you get a good idea of the book already.

Interesting metaphors often convey the points well. Is our child like a horse, positively motivated and cooperative, or a camel, that sometimes has to be prodded (light a fire under the tail!)? Does he have "garlic problems" that he bothers others without self-awreness or "bean problems" that he is aware of causing?

The authors advocate a blending of both positive and negative motivations to prepare our children for the real world. They debunk myths about parenting ("Nothing works with these kids", "It's all biochemical"¡K). Praise doesn't work. But acknowledgements--statements that help the child figure out who he is, are a way of showing appreciation without value judgment. They are useful. Just give specific description of the behavior noticed. Also distinguish between consequences (asked to clean the room again) and punishment (grounding the child from TV for not cleaning the room). Consequences teach the child.

Look through "Brain-Dead Phrases You Can Use" (pp. 70-71) or "Scripts for Shutting Down Arguments" (pp.208-9). Short and simple replies like, "Could be", "Good try", "Sorry you feel that way¡K" can diffuse many unnecessary explosions. This is a practical book for parents, and teachers too. Those who like the book, may find it valuable to also study O'Hanlon's "Do One Thing Different" and "A Guide to Possibility Land".

This is a truly wonderful book for anyone with kids. Unlike so many of the other books on child-raising, this one provides more than just a one-size-fits-all approach. It has a variety of techniques for improving the behavior of your child, and most importantly, it not only tells you what to do, but how to do it and why it works. It goes way beyond the usual time-outs and consequences pablum and suggests all sorts of other techniques. It also tells you what not to do, and why it won't work.

Another way this book departs from the crowd is by looking at the parent. It's not always your kid's fault, and this book explains -- gently -- what you, as a parent, might be doing to provoke or exacerbate some of the unwelcomed behavior. For the first time, I realized why time-outs and other techiques work for some parents, and not for others.

As the mother of two kids, ages 4 and 6, I'd recommend this for everyone.

Anne Tyler's range of characters, locations and plots is very limited. She appears to have been rehashing the same few characters and crazy plots for thirty years. I can't think of any relationships in any of the books that was wholly convincing and I have been irritated by the start or end of virtually all the books, yet ...for some inexplicable reason I adore her novels. From any other writer I'd be annoyed by the lack of variety from book to book, but with Tyler I just sit there reading with a grin on my face, thrilled and delighted by this brave, brilliant novelist. I can't think of a better North American writer working today. The Clock Winder has the usual collection of improbable plot twists and oddball people - another large dysfunctional family shaken up by an outsider, in this case the divine Elizabeth (one of my favourite Tyler characters). Reading the first few pages transported me quickly back to Tylerland which is both a geographical region stretching from Maryland to North Carolina (capital city: Baltimore) and a region of the mind. This is one of the most enjoyable of Anne Tyler's many books.

As with all Tyler novels, The Clock Winder is full of quirky, odd and lovable characters. While there is not much action in her stories, the writing is so well done and the characters so fully developed, by the end of her novels, you always feel like a part of the family. Such is the case with The Clock Winder.

When the novel opens, Mrs. Emerson is a recent widow, who seems to aimlessly go about her days, always keeping up her image and trying to stay in tune with her grown children's lives. Never meaning harm, Mrs. Emerson seems to stress her children out, and doesn't seem to understand how she is affecting them. When she fires her lifelong handyman, she stumbles by chance upon young Elizabeth and before she knows it, Elizabeth is tangled up in the lives of the Emerson family.

The rest of the novel details how Elizabeth is affected by the family, and they by her. Tyler's writing is so poignant, while not much is really happening, so much is actually happening. This is a book that Tyler fans won't be disappointed in~

The Clock Winder, is one of Anne Tyler's best. I have fallen in love with all the quirky characters who inhabit her books.

I am particularly moved by Elizabeth Abbot, in this story, who enters as a stranger on the periphery and is metamorphosed into the essential core of the Emerson family.

Though each of the characters displays an array of idiosyncracies, some charming and others downright sinister, Elizabeth the "Handyman" reveals the beauty of simply being the best version of yourself on the planet!

This is lovely, rich material and a delight to read. Be warned: Ms. Tyler is addictive, you will never be able to read just one of her novels!

WOW! one of the best books ever written! I have read other anne tyler books and this one is totally my favorite! I would recommend it to anyone that likes a down-to-earth realistic book. It entails few but distinct characters and they all have their strong and weak points. It clearly shows tyler's ability to relate meaningful characters to real-life situations and turmoil!! READ THIS ONE!! YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!

Several years ago I read my first Anne Tyler book, Ladder of Years, and became a devoted fan of this author's books. Catching up on some earlier titles,I have just finished another one of her books, Earthly Possessions. And once again this author has captivated me and tugged at my heartstrings.

Earthly Possessions focuses on two of Tyler's most endearing characters, Charlotte Emory and Jake. Charlotte is at a bank one day when Jake bungles a robbery. Holding Charlotte as his hostage and with 200 $1 bills in his pocket from the robbery, he steals a car and the two set off to find Jake's pregnant girlfriend somewhere in Florida. What may appear as a horrific kidnapping to others in the bank, provides Charolotte with an exciting adventure, once she knows she won't be harmed in anyway. Unfortunately Charlotte has never set foot outside of her small hometown and was at the bank to withdraw her life savings in order to run away from her husband. As Charlotte and Jake travel South, with the police searching for them, Charlotte reflects on her life and earthly posessions till the ending which is thought provoking and poignant.

The end of the book and some other parts are reminiscent of some cental themes which Tyler seems to explore in many of her books. But the author relying on tried and true themes never seems to matter to me when I read Anne Tyler as once again she introduces me to quirky and memorable characters who stay with me long after I've finished the book

This was the first Anne Tyler book I read, and I liked it so much I have gone on to read them all--some, several times.

Tyler really only has one theme: Families--you can't live with them, and you can't escape them.

This book has that theme, and it treats it humorously and sadly and beautifully.

It starts with a bang--a failed bank robbery and hostage situation. This is an unusual scene for Tyler, but it quickly goes back to her usual territory: the maddening minutiae of everyday life.

As always the characters are quirky and fun.

The chapters alternate between the present and the past, so all the elements of the picture gradually come together.

It isn't really a love story; but none of Tyler's books are love stories--unless you count, being in love with being.

To anyone who hasn't tried Tyler, I would recommend this book. It avoids the schmaltziness of "Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant" and even "Accidental Tourist."

Throughout this slow-moving work, a small group of pathetic losers circle each other but never connect. No one ever achieves understanding -- of themselves or of the others in their lives -- and no one experiences any passion. Joy, anger, desire, all are shallow and fleeting.

The only thing these otherwise colorless characters feel deeply is their fear. None of the denizens of this Baltimore boardinghouse ever learn to overcome their reticence and express themselves.

Even Jeremy, the artist who lacks the tools to navigate his way through life, works in a vacuum, unaware of his surroundings, his thoughts and his own feeings.

Although this book has touches of humor, and is well-written, it is ultimately unsatisfying. Tyler has done much, much better work -- try the 'Accidental Tourist' instead and see how funny and moving she can be.

No...no... there must be more! I wanted to shout when I arrived at the ending of this book. I still remain under the impression of this story thinking over and again about the characters, searching for clues and trying to understand how everything about their description and evolvement has built up to such a conclusion. I am even a bit displeased with Anne Tyler of choosing to end the book in such a way. I negotiate with her in my mind but have to conclude she was right...
Celestial Navigation is presented from different perspectives. Each chapter has the voice of a different person and Anne Tyler manages to give each personality its own unique tone and its special, different thoughts. Jeremy for example thinks in colors shapes and contours. He is always being "told about" and not presented in his own voice like the other women characters. Maybe because his mind is so confused that the readers, like the people surrounding him, will not be able to understand it if his "inside" was presented. The writer sort of "explains him" to us.
There are no good or bad characters (well - the writer and the readers do not really appreciate Olivia but we understand her. We know where she is coming from) - all are human beings and you can understand what "makes them tick. Every character has flaws that are seen only when you look from the outside. When people think from the inside out they can think about personal faults that no one else seems to notice.
Jeremy's personality is explained very well and although he is totally different you feel you know him. Mary seems to be more easy to figure out but its with her we are surprised when we learn what other people think and feel about her actions.
These characters are so achingly real it hurts. These are no hot shots. We have a group of real life losers. When I say losers I mean if they are judged according to society strict rules of success and happiness. Anne Tyler however wants to tell us that happiness is not always what you see on the surface and people can sometimes know only after that they were happy. Also communication is the essence of it all and can be done in a variety of ways, as long as its done...
Tender, lovely heartbreaking story.

Though the story is quiet, with little or no action, Tyler has some of the sharpest and deepest inights into human behavior and thoughts that I have ever read. Each chapter is written in the voice of a different character, and each character is absolutely complete, unique and so real. The story is of people getting by, finding their way through their lives, and the writing is magical. Each character, though troubled, is easy to identify with in their own ways. The result is a touching, detailed, and extremely truthful book.

I thought I knew everything about lower Manhattan, but this book gave me a whole new perspective on the city. Chock full of well-documented accounts as any real history book should be, I found myself recounting the wild stories from its pages to my coworkers. They were equally amazed (and in some cases, appalled), at what went on here in the 19th century.

This is a must-read book on New York. Its meticulous details enable us to virtually see, hear and smell the Five Points neighborhood. Unlike the novels set in the same neighborhood and cited by other reviewers, I found the true stories in Five Points far more fascinating than the fiction in the novels. And knowing it was written by an historian freed me from having continually to ask myself, "Did that really happen or is the novelist making it up?"

These true stories are better (and crazier) than any fiction.

First off, I must point out that I work about eight blocks away from the infamous Five Points intersection in New York City. Also, I am very familiar with American history. With these two points mentioned, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed and learned alot from this book. If you are considering reading "Five Points", it is very important that you assess beforehand what you hope to get out of this book. It has the potential to be either VERY rewarding and informative to you OR, to bore the life out of you and make you want to fling it in the trash! This book is certainly NOT for the casual reader. It is remarkably detailed and meticulous in research chock full of 66 pages of footnotes and a small font, select bibliography of five pages. I had the great advantage of being able to walk over on my lunch hour and follow the included maps around the neighborhood to see where these locations were and, in some cases, see the still standing buildings mentioned in the text. If you are not from New York City or familiar with it's history, this book can be painfully tedious. If this book was a college course, I would estimate it to be either of the 300 or 400 level.

Some may take issue with the way the material is arranged. Trying to write about a whole neighborhood with so many layers of diverse history is no easy task. I personally enjoyed the format once I got used to it. Anbinder starts each chapter with a prologue vignette of a few pages describing an event or person who well exemplifies the topic following in the main chapter. I found myself going back at the end of each chapter and re-reading the prologue with the new information just gleaned in mind. The chapters cover the historical making of the Five Points neighborhood, why the neighborhood inhabitants originally (mostly the Irish before the Civil War) came there, how and where the residents lived there, how they worked and what they did, the politics the neighborhood was involved in over the years, the diversions and entertainment found in the neighborhood, types of vice and crime seen there, religion and reform issues (including extensive accounts of the activities of the Five Points Mission and the House of Industry), the infamous riots the neighborhood was a part or cause of (mostly in the 1850s), the neighborhood changes underway during the Civil War and the rise of Tammany Hall, the remaking of Five Points after the Civil War as Italians became more prevalent, the life and activities of the Italian majority in the 1870s and 1880s, the influx of Chinese to the neighborhood and the making of Chinatown, and the activities of Jacob Riis and other reformers towards the eventual demolition of much of Five Points in the 1890s. The author fills in some background information on discussed topics, but it helps greatly to be already familiar with the era's history. Examples would be needing to know the basics of Andrew Jackson and his "Democrats" before fully understanding the causes and issues relating to the rioting so common in Five Points before the Civil War or, familiarity with what Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall was. Some may also quarrel with the need for extensive statistics about the nationality makeup of individual Five Points tenements or the amount of money in residents bank accounts over the years, but extreme details such as those give insights to how New York City has become what it is today. Causes of the rise of the modern fire and police departments, some unions, gangs, and building code details are just some of the contemporary NYC realities that can trace a significant portion of their origins to Five Points.

With the previously mentioned warnings in mind, I highly recommend "Five Points" to the ravenous history student. This is no beach read or intro to Five Points. It is thick and heavy like cheesecake, but make sure you know that you love cheesecake before trying this supreme example!

If you have read "Low-Life" by Luc Sante, "Gangs of New York" by Herbert Asbury, or "New York by Gaslight" by George Foster, and enjoyed them even slightly, this book will not disappoint you. I thought the organization of the book into different aspects of life in the Five Points, instead of chronologically, was fine. It didn't confuse and seemed a logical way to organize a socially-focused history book. The author has a gift for writing some very detailed accounts and brings to life all the vibrancy and yes, squalor, held in the Five Points.

This book is guaranteed to please if you are lover of NYC history.

Short and to the point while also in detail. Only thing not listed is the statues and final Kefka. A few secrets missing (Infinite Genji Armor, Infinite Genji Gloves, Paladin Ring). but other than that, this book is FLAWLESS.

i want to have this book if there is anyway you could get a copy for me i would be extreamly greatful!

I already told you, GREAT

This was my second attempt to teach myself HTML from a book. The first book was poorly organized and edited, leading me to give up a quarter of the way through. Lemay's book proved to be much better. I found the organization and page layout to be very helpful. The book was full of good examples, and having the examples available for downloading from a website was useful.

I liked the pace of the book - Lemay has broken the book into comfortable "day-sized" lessons, each covering a single coherent topic. This let me get a good understanding of a concept in a reasonable period of time, without feeling that I had too much to cover.

This book is certainly for the beginner. Anyone looking for in-depth coverage of intermediate-level topics will be disappointed. Lemay gave good examples of cascading style sheets (to the point were I could use one), but learning to use scripting and dynamic HTML would require buying one or more other books.

In short, I felt this book was well worth the cost for a solid introduction to HTML and designing web pages.

This book is good for starting to learn HTML with a plan to move on for further study. You will get detailed coverage for HTML, XHTML standards, and some introduction to Javascript, DynamicHTML, and a little more detailed introduction to Cascading Style Sheet technique. It is a good starting point if you intend to proceed learning XML and beyond. Otherwise there are more condensed books at the market if your intension is limited to preparing your own personal web site, or such. I thing some effort was spared in order to increase the volume of this publication, and there are unnecessary repetitions with no good purpose. Web design useability and artistic concepts are weak, although web publishing is claimed as the accomplishment. Technical details for launching web sites are also weak in the sense that you will need to cover other documents in order to achieve these tasks. Maybe it is a marketing strategy, because there are 'versions' of this book.

I picked up this book in March, 2002 with no prior knowledge of HTML. In less than three weeks I learned how to create good-looking web pages, featuring Cascading Style Sheets, in XHTML (the latest revision of HTHL).

This book is simply outstanding. Laura Lemay presents the markup language in a clear, easy-to-understand manner with excellent, real-world examples. You need no prior programming skills of any kind. Reading and working through the examples of this book has enabled me to create my own website in a matter of weeks.

For anyone who wants to learn HTML, I would strongly recommend this book.

I had a very hard time reading this book, it just did not keep my interest. I have read other books by Black Lace that have made it very hard for me to stop reading, and this just was not one of them. The eroticism was lacking and the sudden closing (death) was so ackward. I did not enjoy this book at all.

This book started off pretty good.Lots of great sex scenes and Dahlia really had it going.The ending was stupid and didn't fit with the rest of the book.Was the author trying to justify the book by writing a "novel"? It didn't work and really turned me off.Don't waste your money.

Another sizzler from The Black Lace Series. I really enjoy the erotic antics in this particular series. A series which offers so many wonderful writers in this genre to choose from. Always a story to suit everyone...everyone that is into erotic reads. Nice job on this one Ms. Tyler.

...

I read every word of this book (in about half an hour) and wish the white space at the end of two or three page "chapter" was filled and then some. This is an exceedingly superficial, detached treatment of very personal, sometimes revealing stuff. Yet why do I feel MTM managed to pull it off--telling me her secrets while keeping herself at armslength. Then again, she seems to keep at armslength from herself... There is information about The Dick Van Dyke show, the The MTM Show, MTM's alcoholism, diabetes, pregnancies and marriages, the deaths of her son, sister, and brother, her audience with the pope, her visit to Israel...all these things, yet not very much. Possibly one of the most fascinating lives in modern American entertainment, and so many details left out! Maybe Ms. Levine will write another book--maybe a book about each of the highlights (or lowlights) by themself.

In "After All" Mary Tyler Moore writes openly about her
childhood,growing up in Brooklyn NY, then Hollywood.Her life
in showbusiness.Personal tragedy,loss,regrets and finally
being able to find the happiness within.You will feel her joys
and sorrows.You will laugh and you will cry.As I finished the
book this morning I felt I had lost my best friend.
Truly a remarkable book on a remarkable woman.

Mary has a flair for writing which makes this book more interesting that your average celeb biography. Her life is fascinating, and she spares nothing in this engrossing book.

This was not my absolute favorite Tyler book, but it is still better than most of what is out there! I was so glad to find one of her books that I had not read. I also enjoyed reading this early Tyler book to be able to see her growth as a writer in the last 25 or more years.

The characters in "Searching for Caleb" are typical Tyler: quirky, odd, flawed, and appealingly annoying. Most of them are what someone would describe as a "character", someone unusual.

Justine, Duncan, and Daniel Peck are so finely and realistically drawn by this talented author that one wonders where they have gone when the book is finished. Tyler makes them so real...I found myself wanting to kick Justine and Duncan in the seat and telling them to get their acts together and end their fly-by-night life for the sake of their daughter.

I think it is the mark of a great author when s/he gets a reader to feel this involved in a book, even if the feelings are ones of frustration, or even of anger, at the characters' actions.

Anne Tyler is my favorite living author and one of less than a handful who produce books that I must rush out and buy immediately. In hardback, at full price - and I HATE paying full price! Novels like this are what made me fall in love with Anne Tyler. I do not understand other comments from readers. Apparently they want fictional characters to be inspirationally motivating role models that will save the world and enlighten us all. Well, sorry, but people are not like that in real life, either. They are exotic and boring and delightful and monstrously annoying, all at the same time, As are the Pecks. The story works brilliantly. While we are wondering if Caleb Peck will be found, we're learning about "black sheep" Justine and Duncan, how they met and married. Justine's story about the cousin who was such a bad influence on her, and what happened to him, is amusing, with a terrific ending line. I found all the Pecks delightful. I found neither Justine nor Duncan "weak" or "unpleasant," but flawed, and delightfully so. Perhaps other readers were made nervous by Justine's rootlessness; I don't know. I DO know that I have enjoyed all Tyler's books, and yet I constantly return to the Pecks - I love them! Anne Tyler has a great gift - that cannot be denied. Good writing like this is so hard to find, and needs to be treasured. I highly recommend this book - it's a gem!

I have read everything from Anne Tyler, and this is without a doubt my favorite. Although I agree that Justine, Duncan, or any of the Pecks are hardly rolemodels, they are fascinating characters and not that hard to relate to - haven't you ever wondered what your life would have been like if you had run away every time you felt like it?

One additional thought on Anne Tyler's writing style: she's amazingly talented. I've never read anyone who is as capable of making you understand a character though details of converstation as is Anne Tyler. It's more than worth giving her a chance.