I fell in love with this book as soon as I read the excerpt on the back of it. I became so involved in the book that i read it just a few hours! Dokey's use of detail effectively brought the story to life.I fell in love with charactors and thier world as if i were tking part in the action. It had me cheering for Kit and Bold Will till the end. When i had finnished the book, I immediately had to get my hads on the sequel, "Charlotte:Heart of Hope". Once again Dokey delivers a heartwarming novel of adventure and love. This irresitable spirit is again successfully reflected in "Stephanie:Heart of Gold" and "Carrie:Heart of Courage", the final two books of the series. After finishing the entire series for the third time, I began to wonder. What would the next generations of Kelly women be like? What adventure will they embark on next? And ultimately, what keepsake would they tuck away into the fine hope chest, telling of thier legacy.

"Katherine: Heart of Freedom" is one of the best books I have ever read. It is the only one in the series I've read so far, but I'm going to get the others as soon as I can! I'm not going to write anything about "Katherine" - except to say that it's great- because if I do, I know I'll spoil the ending! I recomend this book to anyone! Happy reading!!

This is definately one of my most favorite books. I first read it when I was 12-years-old when my sister and I took turns reading aloud one quiet summer day. Kathrine is a spunky, intelligent and funny herorine who captures your heart from the very beginning. A young girl who longs for adventure and who has incredible courage. I fell in love with 'Bold Will' and the rest of the endearing charactures from the start. It's one of those books that sucks you in from the first page to the last and leaves you feeling happy, satified, a sad to see it end!

I have read this so many times and I am sure that I will continue to read it many more times. This book inspired me to try to write my own stories and helped kindle my dream to be an author someday. So thanks, Cameron Dokey, for giving us such a great book!

This book was recommend by my martial arts instructor. It has very practical suggestions about deciding in advance how to deal with life threating situations. The book will be an easy read for anyone who likes true crime fiction because of the many stories included to illistrate how best to handle dangerous situations. Strong is a bit alarmist at points but no more so than any former police officer who has seen the reality of crime in America. You should especially read this book if you have young children.

I can say enough good things about this book. It is absolute must reading. I've taught martial arts for a number of years, and the one thing that has always bothered me is- many of the techniques and skills taught have nothing to do with surviving real life violence. Teaching a woman to punch will not save her from a rapist or carjacker. Strong stresses over and over again how important the will to survive is. He explains that your goal in any violent situation is to ESCAPE that situation with your life. Many systems of martial arts teach the idea or concept of "defeating" the attacker. This is likely the worst mistake you could ever make. It locks you into a struggle with him, it cuts down your chance to escape, you must prevail or perish. A more sensible choice is to attack savagely to buy yourself some room so that you can escape. Everything Strong says is well thought out and logical. He graphically shows what REALLY happens to victims of crime. You need t! ! his information. Reading this book could save you or your family's life. Get it!

Strong's book is a valiant effort to persuade us that the common mindset regarding violence is the one that will perpetuate it. Turning most everything we have learned up side down, Strong uses his own law enforcement experience and the stories of violent crime survivors to teach lessons that are hard to forget. His graphic descriptions of crimes the victims lived to tell about argue hard for his views that it is possible to maintain control in many criminal activities. I hated reading the book but am very grateful I did. I am teaching my children differently and have made some changes in my life to train myself to be a survivor.

I recently received a copy of The American Century Cookbook. My wife and I have several dust covered recipe books that are largely ignored when it is time to cook up something new. After one quick shuffle through this book however, we found ourself sitting together and going through the book as if it were, well what it is, an intriguing history book that accents its "flavor" with numerous recipes, pictures and facts. Several of my friends, including my parents and my in-laws will be receiving their own copy of this wonderful historical treasure. I may even have to buy myself another copy because my wife likes to dogear pages that she wants to come back to. In this case it would have been easier to dogear those that she did not want to return to.

Flipping the pages of this cookbook sparked memories of the way we used to eat. Each page overflows with historical lore, delicious recipes, trends, new/old products, info on famous foodies and lots more. I'd suggest taking a culinary trip down memory lane with the latest book from Jean Anderson, an award-winning food writer, whose books I bet most all of us already have on our shelves and what's more important -- use! Not only will you learn about American culinary history by reading THE AMERICAN CENTURY COOKBOOK, you'll also be tempted into the kitchen to create the tastes of the past. It's a scrumptious, thoroughly enjoyable journey. Keep this book within reach to cook from, to learn from and to just relish.

I use this book as a reference guide for my high school American History and African American Studies classes. Everything in the world seems to be here including an old favorite from the 1960s, 'Puree Mongole.' This cookbook is easy to read and most recipes are simple to follow. The best part for me, as a Social Studies teacher, is the gem of the history lessons and time lines associated with all the food preparations. A real pleasure and a book that is priceless if you like the history of American cuisine.

This book was a wake up call for me. Most of us have little or no concept what our country's warriors have to face. With our country in a continual war against terrorism we civilians have little appreciation for the sacrifices our soldiers must make. But little did I realize that there are hidden heroes our soldiers must leave behind...their families.

The recent Mel Gibson movie "We Were Once Soldiers" gave a vivid visual representation of the military family. But Ellie Kay's book gives us an even fuller picture of the day to day routine they must face.

Chock full of helpful advice for the military family, it also provides the information I needed to help my friends who are currently serving.

An additional benefit is the information I can use with my own family when I travel for business. Simple and yet profound ideas we will implement on my next trip.

Thank you Ellie Kay for writing a great book!

I've just finished reading Ellie Kay's newest book, Heroes at Home and I believe she's done it again...given us something that is practical in application and humorously philosophical. As a veteran "mover" in the military, she's well acquainted with the nuances of such change and prepares her readers to expect the unexpected. This book would be a great gift for the families of those just commencing military careers--as well as for those who are already on the journey. Packed with tips, great biographical sketches of some of her favorite "Heroes at Home," and helpful details on the in's and out's of military life, this book is a sensible survival guide for those confronted with such radical changes that must be handled on short notice.

Personally, I thought her "Courage Under Fire" chapter was the best of all. In it this jet-fighter's wife exposes the tender underside of military life, the vulnerability of families that live with constant reminders of their high-than-normal risks for injury or death. Ellie writes passionately not only of her concern for her husband's safety, but with moving sympathy for families who face the worst imaginable scenarios of all. Almost everyone knows someone who's lost someone. Her response to such crises is a balanced must-read for those hoping to survival such emotional devastation.

I really enjoyed this book!! My father and my husband were both career military men. I wish I had had it when I was a military wife (and daughter)! The challenges faced by military families are definitely unique. In "Heroes at Home",Ellie Kay has offered tremendous insight and help for military families in a humorous way while giving much deserved honor to the families of our military personnel whose contributions are often overlooked. Thanks, Ellie, for helping us remember the Heroes at Home!

I received an autographed copy of Mary's World for Christmas 2000. This book is an astonishing selection of actual writings from Mary Pringle, a wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother in the 1800's. The writer has captured the aura of pre and post Civil War-Charleston, SC. These writings have some spectacular historical significance as some of the homes and plantations discussed can still be seen today. I found the medical practices of this period of time most interesting as I am a nurse. This collection of writings is priceless and I have rarely, if ever, enjoyed a book more. I am an avid reader and love books about the Civil War. This book has shown how the one member of this family, Mary, kept her faith in God and in humanity through times of trial, tragedy, death, war, childbirth, and yes, happiness. This book is a MUST for anyone with the slightest inkling of historic South Carolina.

Angela Yon

_Mary's World_ traces the life story of Mary Motte Alston Pringle, a prominent South Carolinian woman, from her youth in the early 1800s to her passing at an advanced age. Much of the story is drawn from her own writings, which are voluminous and articulate, though Côté steers clear of the trap of overquoting and invests the effort to interpret and present--just as an historian should.

Most authors would be delighted to succeed in one significant way with a book--Côté succeeds in many with _Mary's_. It is dispassionate history, navigating the shoals of one of the most partisan events in US history (the Civil War) without demonizing or deifying either side. It is 'herstory', if you will, giving us a view of times past from the standpoint of a courageous woman who went from genteel wealth to genteel poverty. It is also African American history: the blacks who played integral roles in Mary's world have names, faces and attitudes, which naturally changed with society. It asks and answers deeper questions about the protagonists' motivations, ideas, beliefs and viewpoints. It makes abundantly clear that Reconstruction was an equal opportunity failure, destroying rather than redistributing wealth. Côté's style is uncluttered, perceptive and engaging. It plays no favourites and panders to no one. The notes often explain contemporary slang and add value to the main text; the index is very helpful; the bibliography is impressive.

Strongly recommended as 19th-century US history, Southern history, Civil War history, women's history and/or black history. It would be of particular value for the high school or college student of US history writing an essay or looking for inspiration for one, and I look forward to more work of this calibre from the author.

Mary's World is a powerful book which gives readers clear insights into how Mary Motte Alston Pringle, her family, and slaves thought and lived in South Carolina before, during, and after the Civil War. Because Mary and her husband William were descendents of successful rice planters and continued the tradition until after the war, Mary and her family are good representatives of the planter elite during this period. The Pringles left behind a large body of papers, enabling Côté to conduct a thorough study of a high-born planter family's attitudes towards society, slavery, education, and family values in nineteenth century South Carolina. The Pringles experienced enormous prosperity before the war. Through their correspondences and documents, the reader can glimpse into the past to witness the personal tragedy, financial calamity, and utter desperation this family endured when they were stripped of their livelihood, and their young sons and daughters fell prey to war and disease. Readers may well be astonished at how Mary and her family braved these continuing catastrophes in a time period which has become so romanticized over the years. Côté's research and writing also reveals the racial inequities and insecurities during antebellum plantation life. Especially poignant was the disillusionment some slaves were left with after emancipation, with no place to go and no way to make a living. Charleston, once a thriving, prosperous city, was reduced to ruins after the war. Formerly wealthy landowners were left without homes, plantations were abandoned, their tools broken or worn out, and blacks and whites alike struggled to eke out some form of living. Mary's World carefully traces the complex lives of a prominent Southern family and their slaves from antebellum prosperity to the beginning of a new economic and social era that would shape Southern life for the next century. I loved it.

The content of this book is very timely and applicable to anyone who is considered to be a 'knowledge worker'. Regardless of title, the knowledge worker really is an executive. Several pages in the first chapter are dedicated to setting up this argument and scoping out the audience.

Drucker is very methodical in laying out his 5 principles of effectiveness. These are the basis for his two arguments in the book - executives must be effective and effectiveness must be learned. In each chapter that supports his principles, he lays the foundation for the principle, builds walls around it with countless real-life examples, and then drives them home with even more real-life examples.

Perhaps the greatest asset within this book is the rich examples that Drucker has provided. He is the oracle of management that has real experience as a strategist and theorist. He has no qualms with hitting common textbook theory head on in his books and has countless examples to back him up.

One drawback is that it can become tiresome to read some parts. Drucker really drives home some points and if you've already got it, you lose appreciation for the extra examples.

Ok, so it's not like reading a Grisham novel, but I promise you will take some valuable nuggets away from this book that can help you in building your career.

One of his classics, and among the few that focuses on the practicioner (the manager) instead of the practice itself (management). Drucker delivers in his classic lucid style, insightful but never pedantic. There are lots of truisms in this book, but the one that stands out is the power of focus -- do one thing at a time. In practice, this is among the hardest things to do for a manager. As owner of a growing consulting firm, I am strecthced in all directions at all times. Applying this simple principle -- focusing on a "rock", as opposed to the "pebbles", not only increased my productivity -- and thus revenues -- but level of personal satisfaction as well. We all know what needs to be done. It's how to get it done (being effective) that's often the problem. Read this book and learn.

Peter Drucker begins this book by pointing out that there is no science of how to improve executive effectiveness, nor any naturally-occurring effective executives. The redeeming point of this problem is that he argues that executive effectiveness can be learned.

The principles begin with a focus on time management. We can get greater quantities of every other resource we need, except time. Drucker reports that executives spend their time much differently than they think they do and much differently than they would like to. His solution is to begin by measuring how you spend your time, and compare it with an ideal allocation. Than begin to systematically get rid of the unimportant in favor of the important. His suggestions include stopping some things, delegation, creating policy decisions to replace ad hoc decisions, staying out of things that others should do, and so forth. Any student of time management will recognize the list he suggests. One of the best points is to give yourself large blocks of uninterrupted time to do more significant tasks. He also cautions us not to cut down on time spent with other people. If an hour is required, don't try to do it in 15 minutes.

Next, Drucker argues that we should focus on what will make a difference rather than unimportant questions. Otherwise, we will fill our time with motion rather than proceeding towards results.

Beyond that, he points out that we have to build on our own strengths and those of the people in our organization. That is how we can outperform the competition and accomplish much more.

We also need to be systems thinkers, getting to the core of the issue first. If we are weak on new products, we need to work on the new product development process before fine-tuning our marketing. If we reverse the order of these activities, our results will be far less.

Perhaps the best section in the book has to do with executive decision-making, when to make a decision, about what, and what principles to apply. If you only read this section, you would be well rewarded for studying this fine book.

I especially liked the familiar Drucker use of important historical examples to make his points. You'll remember the principles better because the examples are so vivid.

Although this book was written some time ago, it retains the strength of its insight today. Truly , this is a timeless way to achieve greater effectiveness.

You may be concerned about how you are going to learn to apply these concepts. That is actually quite easy. Drucker provides questions in each section that will guide you, step-by-step, to focus your attention on the most promising areas.

If you only read one book about how to improve your personal effectiveness as an executive, you will find this to be a rewarding choice.

"The Courage to be a Single Mother" is a landmark book offering women real life stories and practical information about the many facets of the divorce process. Sheila Ellison has drawn upon her own story of courage and determination after leaving an unfulfilling and difficult marriage, and it is through her story that others can share the deep and profound journey that women take when making such a life changing choice. The stories include women from all backgrounds and diversity which brings a global message that making the choice to be free of abuse and neglect is the right of all women. I highly recommend The Courage to be a Single Mother and hope that you will not only read it, but pass it on as a gift to others who can benefit so much from reading it.

My husband and I began drifting apart after our second child was born. Still nothing prepared me for the fear, anger and financial problems I suddenly faced when he left. My sister helped me through the first few weeks and gave me 2 books that literally saved my family. The first book she had seen Diane Sawyer discuss on "GOOD MORNING AMERICA" with the author Nancy LLoyd. It's called "SIMPLE MONEY SOLUTIONS: 10 WAYS YOU CAN STOP FEELING OVERWHELMED BY MONEY AND START MAKING IT WORK FOR YOU." Nancy really understands what a divorcing mother needs to know about her finances and lays out about a dozen important steps to take as soon as you know you're headed for divorce. I was given several other books by friends, but "SIMPLE MONEY SOLUTIONS" was the easiest to understand and follow -- and the only one that really made sense. Once I got my finances in order (and it's the last thing you FEEL like dealing with then but if you don't you and your kids will regret it) and my husband and I divvied up the house, his pension and our other property I could then deal with the emotional and day-to-day problems of suddenly being without my kids' father. "THE COURAGE TO BE A SINGLE MOTHER" which I saw discussed by OPRAH has shown me that I am not alone and that it takes months or longer to start accepting our new life. Until you reach that stage you really can't move on.

Both these books got me through the worst time of my life. My family is stronger and at last beginning to regain a sense of normalcy. Sheila Ellison and Nancy Lloyd are angels on earth and are helping many mothers and children find hope and happiness again.

I just finished reading Sheila Ellison's latest book "The Courage to be a Single Mother". Her documentation of the experience of her divorce, showing the desperation of having to cope with a totally new life, caring for her children without the support of a loving spouse is overwhelming. Her story touches your heart. How she created a new life for her children, giving them a new home, how she raced against time to get her youngest son, diagnosed with autism at the age of four, the crucial treatment and tutoring he needed to save him from the most debilitating aspects of this mental condition. She also documents the stories of dozens of other divorced mothers and shows just how much pain and difficulty they all share and how they all, in their own way, deal with their new life. It takes tremendous courage for a single mother to be there for her children and take care of them, while all the while agonizing over a broken family and shouldering all the responsibilities alone. Sheila relates how support groups of single mothers gave her strength and how she found help in her own community. It is a revelation to read this book. I truly admire this wonderful, dedicated mother and the honesty with which she describes every aspect of her divorce. She not only survived, but she triumphed over all odds to make her family strong and whole again. This book should be an inspiration to other women going through divorce, giving them hope and showing them practical ways to find support and encoragement.

Along with Herbert Parmet's "Jack: The Struggles of John F. Kennedy", Richard Reeve's "President Kennedy" are the best two books ever written about a legendary (and much-romanticized) American President. Unlike Thomas Reeve's hatchet-job "A Question of Character", which basically could be called a job in "character assassination"; or books such as Arthur Schlesinger's "A Thousand Days", which idolize Kennedy and ignore his flaws and failures as President, Richard Reeve's book maintains an admirably objective and balanced view of our 35th President. Reeve's Kennedy is neither a liberal saint nor a debauched devil, but is instead a complicated and often frustrating man who is woefully unprepared for the Oval Office when he moves in in January 1961, but does possess a great many gifts that save him when he gets into trouble. Reeve's Kennedy makes many mistakes early on in his Administration - the Bay of Pigs, his disastrous summit with the Soviet Union's Nikita Krushchev in Vienna, and his reckless womanizing in private, which as Reeves notes might well have become public knowledge if some enterprising reporter had ever followed JFK's movements very closely. Yet Kennedy does learn from at least some of his mistakes, and his handling of the Berlin Wall Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis was excellent. Whether Kennedy would ever have grown into a great President is a matter of debate among historians, and after reading this book I had my answer - JFK was a good President in many ways, but he probably would never have become a great one, due to his overly cautious nature on civil rights and the other great issues of the sixties. In short, this is a very well-written, impressively researched, and very fair-minded look at one of our most difficult Presidents to study and write about...this should be required reading for anyone who's interested in the 1960's, the Kennedys, or American politics.

Richard Reeves has crafted an exceedingly insightful, well-written, you-are-there look at the Presidency of John F. Kennedy. As someone born the year Kennedy was assasinated, and having been inculcated over the years with the Kennedy Myth, Reeves took me almost day-by-day, minute-by-minute through the events starting from Kennedy's election through the day 33 years ago when he was killed in Dallas.
Reeves' looks at the Berlin Wall and Cuban Missile Crises take advantage of recent disclosures from US, Soviet and other sources to show how close we came to World War III in both of those situations.
The book's description of the start of the US commitment in Vietnam under JFK allowed me to gain a better understanding of how Kennedy's prior failure to stand up to the Soviet Union and Krushchev in Laos and Cuba "forced" JFK to stand firmly behind the unsupportable South Vietnamese government.
Other topics addressed by the book include JFK's tepid support of civil rights and his rampant promiscuity.
I had to rate this book a 9 (I've yet to read a 10), but this book has to be one of the best out of the almost unlimited supply of JFK biographies

Richard Reeves' book is a welcome addition to the "CamelotYears" genre. Written from the President's perspective,i.e. "a day in the life" type format, this excellent readneither fawns, nor muckrakes, but rather a balanced account of aPresidency that, until this point, has not been examined in anobjective light. Reeves first person perspective shows a president whohad more profile than courage. Inspite of his many gifts, JFK wasdiffident, at best, as President. Reeves book reveals a JFK that wasdriven, almost maniacally, to get to the White House, but once he gotthere was pretty much out of his league. The portrait of a neophytestatesman is obvious when Kennedy makes his first trip to Europe,receives a lukewarm reception from DeGaulle, and is taken to thewoodshed by Nikita Khrushev who, upon seeing the youthful presidentexclaimed "he's younger than my own son." Reeves accountbeautifully illustrates how the rich playboy-president miscalculatesKhrushev; one gets the impression that Kennedy felt that his Sovietcounterpart could be rolled like a Boston Pol. Kennedy came away fromhis first overseas trip as president much chastened. Richard Reeves'book is excellent; well written, well researched, and balanced. Ihighly recommend it. (I've read it twice!!)

The story of how David Wilkerson came to found Teen Challenge should be a must read for anyone who follows Jesus Christ. The Cross and the Switchblade describes how Wilkerson put feet on his faith that took him from rural Pennsylvania to the streets of New York City. It's the story of how a pastor followed the leading of the Holy Spirit and reached out to minister to people with whom the churches would not associate.

Wilkerson describes in his book how essential it is to meet the unloved where they are, rather than waiting for them to show up in church all dressed up and ready to worship within the ranks of the clean and respectable. He also rightly emphasizes the importance of follow up, how one can't just expect to go out and distribute tracts or preach from street corners without also developing real, loving relationships with people and ministering to their needs, both spiritually and physically.

Now that Teen Challenge International has grown to over 200 centers around the world, it is interesting to note that the struggle in recovery ministry continues to be much the same: It's extremely difficult to get people to reach out in love to those who have never been loved, and it's nearly impossible to get church members to venture outside their doors to love their neighbors as they love themselves.

I praise God for Rev. Wilkerson and the way that he listened to God and ventured out in faith. I thank him for sharing the story of his work.

A powerful book that will send God-bumps down your spine! Even if you are not a fan of David Wilkerson's later writings, this book is truly a God send. Read this book if you want to learn of the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of others.

What a tremendous message this book has to give. Miracles happen right in the worst parts of New York, away from the glamourous bits, right in the middle of the hard, the tough, the smelly and the nasty - and it actually keeps on happening.

These days, so much has changed. A local pentecostal preacher once told me that he went to Leeds one Saturday; that he was so disgusted by the beggars, and used to see the same ones all the time, how awful that they should always be there; and once he got real close up to one, who was (from what he told me) probably very weak, maybe even dying, lying on the ground, got about six inches away from their ear, and shouted at the top of his voice, "GET A JOB!!!"

Stand this in contrast with the Wilkerson man. This guy, realizing that the zonkos and beggars know that they're sinners, possibly scarcely realizing anything else at all, goes and gives them a bed for the night - feeds them - gives them a bath and warm clothes. The tells them that God knows them and has already fixed up a plan for them - that to the God who made the sun and the outer planets, THEY matter - "whosoever will" can come and drink from the waters of life, that they can repent, and be made blameless before the king of kings.

[Life isn't cheap to this man.]

Then the guy fixes up this organisation called "teen challenge", held together by almost no money at all, but lots of prayer, who pulls loads of dropouts and folks who are very nearly dead from all over the place and stands them on the the higher ground...

Man, this book is so good. I know that these days, many of the big churches... (I used to be in Perth, Western Australia) and there was this huge church near to the Casino. The car park was full of BMWs, and all the evidence was that the church was really inwards looking, far too concerned with "signs and wonders" to remember about the plan of Salvation at all. So much for the lost, no place for them. When I went to Yorkshire, I was amazed how the church had similarly split along these lines - those who preached the gospel, the same one as David Wilkerson preached - to the lost sheep - (go and READ this, will you) and those who prayed for (and maybe got) bigger houses, fatter share options, sports cars, foreign holidays, etc. The contrast is huge.

Read this book and find out what the cost of discipleship to Christ really means - how many days and nights of prayer it really takes to move those mountains - and what faith is REALLY about. And the failures, when Sonny does not come back, and all the disappointments when it doesn't seem to go to plan and they're just about to get kicked out of the building...

I was brought up with this book, and as far as I can remember, I have worn out probably six copies. Time I got myself a new one....

This book nails the formula for exciting fiction: change throughconflict. And there's plenty of conflict. Young David is trying tomake his way north to freedom after escaping from a concentrationcamp. He must do this alone and at the risk of his life. Recapture,starvation, loneliness, and a 1000-mile expanse of war-torn Europe arethe obstacles in his way.

We trek with David, feeling his pain,fear, sorrow, and disillusionment. But there, too, on the journey welearn about life, love, courage, and the value of freedom astwelve-year-old David comes of age well before his time, and Europecomes of age a little too late.

This book is an excellent choice forspoiled, middle class American children who've been spoon-fed freedomtheir whole life and think that the only freedom worth fighting for isan extra hour of video games before bed. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes.

North to Freedom is about a boy named David who escapes from a prison camp somewhere in southern Europe during WWII and travels all the way to Denmark. I liked the book because it is exciting, for example: When David runs away from some guards who want to capture him, his dog saves him. Another exciting moment is when he finds out why he needs to go to Denmark. This book taught me about trust, because David had to learn to trust people on his journey. I recommend this book for kids age 9 and up, and to be read aloud to kids 6 and up.

"North to Freedom" is one of the best books I've ever read! It's totally awesome! The main character, David, escapes from a prison camp and makes his way to Denmark. He is only 12, but he is very wise and knows what is important in life. It made me realize how much I take for granted. This book is definetely worth reading!