Training for Mass

Review
Training for Mass gives the reader a comprehensive and informative look at how bodybuilding should be performed: In a high intensity manner. With most things in life, the more you put in the more you get out. Not so with weight training. In fact, the complete opposite is true: the harder and longer you train, the less likely you will be to experience progress. Training for Mass provides the best rationale ever published as to why this is true. Indeed, after reading this book you will not look at weight training the same way ever again. With so many bodybuilding books on the market today it is staggering that only one book, Training for Mass, really encapsulates the fundamentals of how to get big fast while also being based on scientific rationale. Along with a complete breakdown of why high intensity training is the only available, viable bodybuilding theory in his view, Gordon does a masterful job of explaining how we can best safeguard ourselves against bodybuilding-related injuries, make the most of our weight training investment and procure better bodybuilding results, faster. –David Robson, Staff Writer, Bodybuilding.com

Why Buy A Training for Mass?
The definitive guide for building muscle: Training for Mass is a comprehensive, intelligent guide for constructing effective and efficient weight training workouts. It also offers a scientific analysis of current popular weight training strategies, and demonstrates how the vast majority of workout routines are neither scientific nor effective.

Based on observations about how the human body responds to exercise, Training for Mass advocates a less-is-more approach, and shows how spending endless hours in the gym is counterproductive and even harmful–debunking the myth that building muscle requires a great investment of time.

Training for Mass is not a picture book; rather, it is filled with useful information. Nor is it a rigid scientific journal or text book; the author draws upon unusual examples and provides uncommon insight into the factors required for success in weight training.

Customer Reviews & Opinions

All You Need
All you need is in this book; eliminate unneccesary workouts that are not good mass builders and abandon high volume marathon sessions that are ruinous to your joints and free time. This is unlike anything you’ve ever read. An intellectual approach that explains WHY a high intensity routine is effective. I love it.

An excellent text for those looking to gain muscular mass
Although I am a competetive powerlifter (focus is on strength over mass) I was quite impressed with this book. It covers a lot of material and should become a standard in the bodybuilding as well as other lifting communities. It is the best book I have ever read on explaining and applying HIT. I personally am not an advocate of one training style or another…that is to say I believe in whatever works (to quote Alwyn Cosgrove “Methods are many,Principles are few, Methods often change, Principles never do.”). Any experienced coach will likely tell you that you can take something useful from all training methods, as there is no such thing as one universal type of training for all applications. I used to view HIT as more of a fad or something that could only work in the short term, largely because the books I read on this type of training were relatively typical of most books in the lifting community; written by over-zealous authors and lacking any real research or scientific reasoning. My views have now changed after reading this excellent book on the hows, whys, and applications of HIT for gaining muscle mass. HIT is definately a viable type of training to add to the toolbox of all lifters, and could very well be the most reliable system of training for most bodybuilders in particular. Although the book does not have a large list of citations at the end, the author nonetheless does refer in most cases, to what he bases his information on and the studies that back his reasoning. This book is packed full of very logical and clear information, without pictures. It is written in a way that is not boring and monotonous and it is easy to understand what the author is trying to say. Although as a Powerlifter and all-round lifter I disagree with the idea of training by isolating individual muscle groups (which as a bodybuilder the author naturally encourages), this book really is fantastic. It deserves a place among the classics, and is a legitamate, reliable source for lifters of all sorts and all levels. I would especially recommend it as an excellant base for the beginning lifter (who is primarily interested in mass and not pure strength), hopefully preventing them from the years of wasted time many go through because of poor sources of information. Pick this one up it is well worth it, and the price is extremely reasonable.

Well Worth Reading
I can think of few topics outside of politics and religion that are more divisive than the subject of effective bodybuilding techniques. Mr. LaVelle, however, offers a well-reasoned and well-written contribution to the debate.

If your goal is to be most efficient with the time you spend in the gym and you want to avoid setbacks caused by injuries and over-training, you owe it to yourself to read Mr. LaVelle’s book. If on the other hand, you get some sort of validation from being able to talk about how much time you spend working out, then, by all means, keep doing what you are doing.

I would caution you, though, read the book carefully. The author is quick to point out that his methods need to be tailored to the individual. This is not a “do exactly what I tell you” cookbook. I believe that when you read the book you will find, as I did, that the author’s ideas are not only well supported but also seem intuitively right.

Great book! - from an experienced weight trainer
I haveTraining for Mass

I have over 20 years of weight training experience and have won or placed well in competitions. All of my training has been using the common high volume training methods that Gordon attempts to dispel in his book. His writing style is entertaining while he methodically breaks down the volume training strategy and proves a compelling case for the high-intensity training style.

My conclusion… While I made some good gains using the volume training, I believe my gains should be better given my consistency with my training and nutrition. His book has given me many new ideas, I am motivated again to get to the gym while I am using the high intensity training model he lays out very well in the book. So far, I am spending less time in the gym, the workouts are more challenging and interesting and I have noticed some early progress (I’ve only been doing it for approximately 4 weeks).

Keep an open mind to new ideas if you are like I was (pretty set in my training routines). You might find, like I did, that what we have relied on for years isn’t the only way and, better yet, that there just might be a better way. Give it a try like I am doing.

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Hes Not Autistic But…: How We Pulled Our Son From the Mouth of the Abyss

Why Buy A Hes Not Autistic But…: How We Pulled Our Son From the Mouth of the Abyss?
There are countless mothers and fathers out there who can benefit directly from what this struggle for better health teaches. In the place of despair, frustration, grief, and the torment in the pit of illness this work provides hope and a formula for better health for many.
–Dr. Eugene C. Watkins, Director of The Center for Building Better Health Naturally, and the Herbal Research Group, B.S., B.S.ed, M.S., N.D.

I applaud the authors determination and willingness to `think outside the box when mainstream medicine continually failed her sick child. By trusting her own powerful maternal instincts when the advice of so many experts didnt feel right, she persevered and finally discovered the simple solution that empowered herself and cured her son. Her thorough and groundbreaking research of the dangers of aluminum and the benefits of energy testing and releasing will no doubt help countless others in the future.
–Rebecca Cook, Breastfeeding Counselor, IBCLC

Inspiring Account of a Mothers Struggle Against Illness

The word autism has been making headlines more and more in recent years. The American Academy of Pediatrics defines autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) as a group of developmental disabilities caused by unusual brain development that begin during childhood and last throughout a persons life. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 166 children is born with autism. Boys outnumber girls 4 to 1. These frightening facts become terrifying to parents when a doctor brings up the word autism in reference to their child.

Tenna Merchent knows this feeling firsthand. When my sons doctor said `a child like your son who is at risk for autism, she says, I felt like he had hit me in the stomach with a baseball bat. I had feared autism since he started banging his head at age one. To hear the word `autism come out of a doctors mouth when I hadnt brought it up was terrifying. I was scared stiff. For Merchent, the author of Hes Not Autistic, But…How We Pulled Our Son From the Mouth of the Abyss, this meant the beginning of a nightmare for her and her son.

It all began soon after the joyous occasion of Merchents son Clays birth. After struggling with infertility, Merchent was overjoyed when she finally became pregnant. And even though she became quite sick with pre-eclampsia, the birth of her son was one of the happiest days of her life. Unfortunately, she continued to suffer poor health–and so did Clay. In fact, she recalls, there wasnt a week that went by when she or Clay didnt see a doctor or healthcare practitioner. When Clay was just a year old, he began head banging and toe walking, and Merchent feared the worst: autism.

After trying every approach modern medicine could offer–none of which helped and in fact only seemed to make her son more ill–she turned to the alternative health community. Initially, there was no change. One after another, the alternative practitioners told me they could help us, Merchent says, but they did little more than sell us supplements and make promises. Ultimately, nothing seemed to help. She explains that the only reason they continued down this path was because at least these remedies werent making either of them worse.

Eventually, Merchent found the help she and Clay so badly needed with a master herbalist. She was shocked to learn that Clay was born with the same ailment she had: aluminum. His illness, however, was greatly exacerbated by the vaccines he was given. But through her studies with the master herbalist, Merchent was able to cure herself and her son through the art of releasing. Clay has made a full recovery, and Merchent herself no longer suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome, Epstein-Barr, yeast, and infertility. I am now able to treat myself, my family, and my friends, says Merchent. I am no longer helpless against illness; I am now empowered to care for myself and others as God intended.

Customer Reviews & Opinions

He’s Not Autistic, But…- When your doctor can’t help
When it comes to our health and the health of our family members, sometimes western medicine offers few answers. Unfortunately, many people give up in the face of medical challenges because they don’t know where else to turn.

This inspiring and hopeful story walks you through the devastation of an untreatable disease, the frustration and necessary perseverance to find treatment, and all the way through to the happy ending where alternative medicine and healthy living meet. If you or a loved one is struggling with any disease (not just autism), this book offers new and different ways to think about healing.

This book REALLY got me thinking differently, and got me going again!!!!
To this book I attribute so much!! It really led me to thinking about

things a litte differently…. My daughter and myself are much better for

having been directed into a different direction in her path to healing.

This book was really the kicker, … a starting point… to get us off

and running again down the path to recovery. Things were starting to

get a little ho-hum and hopeless, Now we are full of hope again.

I highly recommend this!

Amazing just amazing
I just received this book in the mail yesterday and read the entire book in one sitting. What a great resource for families! I will pass this book on to everyone that I know in the autism community!!

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The Scholarship & Financial Aid Solution: How to Go to College for Next to Nothing with Short Cuts, Tricks, and Tips from Start to Finish

Why Buy A The Scholarship & Financial Aid Solution: How to Go to College for Next to Nothing with Short Cuts, Tricks, and Tips from Start to Finish?
College costs are continuing to rise, with a four-year private school averaging $22,218 and a four-year public school averaging $5,836 for the 2006-07 school year. The good news is that more than $134 billion in financial aid is available. The Scholarship & Financial Aid Handbook will show you how to earmark some of that money for your college education, ensuring that you will be able to afford a higher education. In this book, you will learn about the different types of scholarships, including those based on academics, awards, honors, leadership, test scores, extracurricular activities, majors, community service, volunteer work, essays, financial aid, minority status, even some unusual ones. You will learn how to determine your eligibility for these scholarships, as well as how to enlist the help of your parents, how to recognize and avoid scholarship scams, how to create a résumé, how to ask and who to ask for letters of recommendation, how to ace interviews with scholarship committees, and how to prepare for your interview. Additionally, you will discover where to look for scholarships, from your school to local organizations, businesses, and online. You will be provided with tips on filling out applications and tips for writing essays, as well as how to alter your essays for multiple uses. Also included are possible essay topics, sample interview questions, and information on state grants, FAFSA, and work study. The Scholarship & Financial Aid Handbook is intended to be a guide for students, parents, and school personnel to assist students in finding and obtaining scholarships. The author uses her years of experience and exhaustive research to help you benefit from scholarships. Even if you do not have above average grades, participate in lots of extracurricular activities, or have an abundance of extracurricular activities, you can find money to go to college. Just read this book and apply the techniques found within.

Customer Reviews & Opinions

Definite must-read for college bound students
It’s never too early to start your future and Debra Lipphardt makes sure readers know it. Lipphardt reads like a trusted friend, or in this case counselor, who wants to ensure parents and students know what to do for the best possible chances to getting a free ride to college. She even offers resume writing tips–a whole chapter–that will benefit any student, even through the college years.

Because of her training and career as a high school scholarship headhunter, of sorts, Lipphardt is extremely knowledgeable on her chosen topic. Most helpful are the sample resumes and applications shown throughout the book. The last chapter is merely a bonus: a wealth of information on each state’s Department of Education and other state specific offices. And once again, portions of the proceeds will go to The Humane Society of the United States. Star rating: 5

A necessity for students, or parents who have students, going to college
The author’s knowledge in winning scholarships is a proven hands-on experience. Debra Lipphardt has made this `how to’ book on the scholarship process an easy to read and learn method. She speaks to you on a personal level that makes this non-fiction book more comprehensible. One of my favorite chapters is her chapter on short cuts and tips, making the entire process of applying less stressful. Her short cut method on the application procedure makes it effortless to apply for a large amount of scholarships. D. Lipphardt’s book is written with a desire to help students make college possible and can be used by anyone, anywhere. Most of the scholarship books that I have already read, are mainly made up a list of scholarships (many of them no longer available) and much of the information is repeated in each book by writers without the first hand experience that Debra Lipphardt has. This book not only helps make the entire scholarship procedure a less daunting and confusing experience for everyone, but helps you from the very start to even after you have won the money. I highly recommend this book for anyone either going to college, or paying the bills.

Practical Resource
Mrs. Lipphardt’s book, The Scholarship & Financial Aid Solution, is a practical and useful book for families and students. Mrs. Lipphardt speaks directly to the reader in a familiar tone and with the concern of an educator. Her tips have been garnered through experience in the high school setting and are applicable to every student. I have the pleasure of working with Mrs. Lipphardt and know her to be dedicated and passionate about helping students achieve their dreams of attending post-secondary educational institutions. You can certainly trust the advice found in this book.

Very helpful book
I work at a library with lots of teens. I am always recommending this book. It is a wonderful resource for us. Other scholarship books are overwhelming, but Lipphart simplifies the process.

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Surviving A Layoff

Why Buy A Surviving A Layoff?
This book gives hope and guidance to job seekers from cover to cover. Inside chapters dynamically address: dealing with a gamut of emotions, identifying helpful resources, examining outgoing and incoming cash flow, and important tips on resume preparation, interviewing, and job searching.

Customer Reviews & Opinions

Hope, Survival, Integrity, Personal Story on How to Survive
This book like my own book, Layoffs & Hope: Advice & Inspiration for Better Work Life has a foundation of hope and inspiration, and is written by someone who herself has had first hand experience with the same.

She also offers excellent tips on how to maximize meager income after paychecks stop coming in, and how to limit the outgoing money.

Her collection of work is an impressive selection of advice and help, and some is focussed on women.

Yet, as it says, this book is cover to cover about hope after something bad happens.

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On LISP: Advanced Techniques for Common LISP

Why Buy A On LISP: Advanced Techniques for Common LISP?
Perhaps the author gives the best description of this book: On Lisp deals mostly with the kinds of programs you could only write in Lisp. The book provides extensive information on the advanced features of Lisp, which are not found in other popular programming languages. After showing how flexibly functions can be manipulated, On Lisp moves on to the best discussion of macros available, which includes details of the possible pitfalls (various referential bugs, for example). The book concludes with a demonstration of various advanced constructs that can be implemented in Lisp using the tools developed in the earlier part of the book. As with his other book, ANSI Common Lisp, Graham writes in a fluid style that is a pleasure to read.

Customer Reviews & Opinions

Be a better programmer, not just a better Lisp programmer
There are dozens of programming texts that I recommend to people who want to understand various topics. There are only a small handful that I recommend to programmers who aren’t using the tool or language that the book covers. This is one of those books. It requires a prior knowledge of Lisp, but not expert knowledge. Paul Graham rewards his readers with a much deeper understanding of the merits of Lisp and how to take advantage of the power it provides.

Paul Graham has commented on his web site …, “It seems to me that there have been two really clean, consistent models of programming so far: the C model and the Lisp model. These two seem points of high ground, with swampy lowlands between them. As computers have grown more powerful, the new languages being developed have been moving steadily toward the Lisp model.” I read that comment before I read On Lisp. It was fresh in my mind at the time, and I saw some of the features of Lisp in C++ and Java. Graham cites runtime type checking and garbage collection, but there are subtler features that appear in the C++ STL. When he described using macros to create functions as needed, his examples immediately brought to mind some of the templates for various “helper” classes; pair, for example. But he could equally well be talking about some of the classes in the Java runtime that are designed to be derived from. The bottom line is that this book is an excellent tutorial on good library design. It teaches by example the philosophy behind creating libraries that extend your language, either in general ways or specifically for the problem domain.

Paul Graham handles Lisp lovingly as an expert craftsman. An observant reader can learn a great deal about craftsmanship from his book. Eric Raymond stated in his essay How To Become A Hacker, “LISP is worth learning for a different reason - the profound enlightenment experience you will have when you finally get it. That experience will make you a better programmer for the rest of your days, even if you never actually use LISP itself a lot.” Mr. Graham has commented about this specific quote wondering why anyone would learn about a great tool and then not use it. Lisp in general and this book specifically are an answer to that question. Lisp is not a single language. It is a family of languages that share a common philosophy and a core. Once you learn what gives Lisp its power, you can choose to enhance any tools you use with some measure of that power.

Excellent, but not your first Lisp book
This book is fantastic.

Paul Graham shows a lot of great programming techniques for Lisp. If you learnt Lisp in a short course as an undergrad, or if you played a bit with it on your own, believe me: you still don’t know what really makes Lisp a great language, and why it makes you so productive. This book shows you how to really use all the power of Lisp (using higher-order programming, macros and some other interesting techniques) without shooting yourself in the foot.

I only have two little problems with this book:

- There are no exercises. You know, solving problems is the best way to consolidate newly-acquired knowledge and ability;

- The chapter on continuations presents what can be described as a kind of ugly hack to simulate Scheme continuations on Common Lisp. Perhaps it would have been better to stick to Scheme for the rest of the book?

If you want to learn Lisp and don’t yet have experience with a lot of languages, get this as your second book.

If you already know some Lisp, or if you are an experienced programmer and can learn the basics of the syntax of Lisp quickly, thendo read this one.

It is available (legally) for free download
Go to paul graham’s website and download this book for free now. You’ll be happy you did.

How I Became a Better Perl Programmer
I’ve been programming Perl for over 10 years. I started to read On Lisp recently (though I’ve had to stop for a few weeks while I finish an “emergency” project) and the book has already changed my Perl programming style completely. Even though the book is not about Perl and even though I’m only half-way though the book, my programming techniques have evolved so significantly that my programs are about 1/10 the length of what they used to be, they are easier to debug, and far more enjoyable to program.

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Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Administrators Pocket Consultant

Why Buy A Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Administrators Pocket Consultant?
Get the practical, pocket-sized guide for IT professionals who need to administer, maintain, and optimize SQL Server 2008. Written by award-winning author William Stanek, this portable reference delivers essential details for using SQL Server 2008 to help protect and manage your company s data whether automating tasks, creating indexes and views, performing backups and recovery, replicating transactions, tuning performance, managing server activity, importing and exporting data, or performing other key tasks. Featuring quick-reference tables, lists, and step-by-step instructions, this handy, one-stop guide provides fast, accurate answers on the spot whether you re at your desk or in the field!
Key Book Benefits
Provides fast facts and immediate reference for administering SQL Server 2008 Delivers must-know details for taking advantage of the improved scalability, security features, and management tools in SQL Server 2008 Features concise tables, easy-to-scan lists, and step-by-step instructions for fast answers, wherever you need them

Customer Reviews & Opinions

Another excellent reference and resource
I must say I am very impressed by this book. William’s SQL Server 2005 book was excellent, but this book is even better and packs in even more information. Came in handy during our upgrades and I reference it all the time. I would highly recommend this book to anyone upgrading from previous versions and any current administrators. As a reference manual it can’t be beat.

Excellent points
Straight forward, useful and practical value! Easy to understand, well, not totally. At some parts I wish there were drawings and charts to help readers better understand. I recommend it.

Helpful is an understatement
First thing I was not that familiar with SQL. I have done minor queries but that was it. Besides that I have had nothing to do with SQL. My boss then decided I should start administering our SQL server because the other 15 machines I administer was just not enough and it is the same as a server 2003 machine right? Whatever.

I bought this book with the hopes it could help me with the day to day operations backup of the database, run clean-ups, etc. This book came back aces. The very first section I looked up was backup. It walked me through step by step explaining everything. The next section was restoration. So I tried it. I created a VM and followed the steps shown. Restored perfectly. I could not be happier.

Everything I have tried in this book has worked the way it was supposed to. It is easy to follow and does not go off in techno babble until it tells you a definition.

I think this is required for anyone administering a SQL Server 2008 machine.

No better manual for SQL Server admin
Once again, Stanek has written the bible for the current SQL Server. Best reference out there. I’ve used all of Stanek’s Administrator’s Pocket Consultants.

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Spelt Healthy! Quality Whole Food Cooking and Baking with Spelt

Customer Reviews & Opinions

A welcome addition to personal, family, professional, and community library specialized cookbook collections.
So many modern wheats have been genetically engineered for specialized uses ranging from ‘pop tarts to envelope glue’ that they have actually become deleterious to the health of many people. ‘Spelt’ is an organic ‘bread’ grain that retains its ancient genetic profile, is naturally self-enriched, especially high in B vitamins, and for those who have developed an aversion to modern wheats, far easier to digest. It is an all-around grain that enjoys an excellent flavor, is absolutely nutritious, and is suited to whole food dishes ranging from baguettes to delicate fruit pastries, from stuffed mushrooms to soups, and salads to pizzas. “Spelt Healthy! is a specialized cookbook that culinary expert Marsha Cosentino has compiled to showcase the versatility of this ancient grain in baking and cooking. There are more than 200 featured, kitchen-cook friendly recipes based on spelt. One of the more unusual nutrition informations provided are the Blood Type eating notations (A, B. AB, O). Another special feature is the section of ‘Food Intolerances and Allergies’. There is even a ‘Shopping for Spelt’ appendix. The recipes range from Whole Grain Waffles with Spelt Sprouts and Fruit Bits; to Pao Doce (Massa Sovada or Portuguese Sweet Bread); to Coated Pan Fried Fish Fillets; to Chocolate Chip Florentines. Combining the features of a reference, a guide, and a recipe collection, “Spelt Healthy!” is a welcome addition to personal, family, professional, and community library specialized cookbook collections.

Interested in Spelt Flour and healthy, delicious recipes?
!!!Spelt Healthy! Quality Whole Food Cooking and Baking with Spelt Do you wish to understand why problems abound with wheat? Do you want to know what makes Spelt Flour so valuable to our bodies? This book is a plethora of information and with many, many recipes you can’t help but want to try ……anything you can dream up serving for any situation. With all the info inside the covers, one would think it is complex…NOT. It’s simple to follow and understand. Also she uses regular ingredients that you would want in your kitchen anyway. The spinach pesto is out of this world, and so easy. Ms. Cosentino has created an encyclopedia on Spelt along with all the recipes. I was little skeptical when ordering it, then fasinated with the book when I received it…could NOT put it down. This author values the “Eat Right for Your Blood Type” and has incorporated which blood type can reap the rewards of each recipe, and what variations to make for an alternate blood type. This book is worth every dime you will spend on it, and much more as well…amazing !!!

finally, spelt help!
We finally got this book over the weekend and right away I learned what I had been doing wrong all this time baking with spelt. This book has so many great tips and recipes, we can’t thank the author enough for all her research. I have Celiac but can eat spelt with no problems and this book makes baking with spelt easy and delicious. When I tasted my first beignet in almost two years, I almost cried it was so great!

great and easy to follow recipes
Spelt Healthy! has delicious recipes in every category from breakfast to dessert. Ms. Cosentino provides in depth research into the advantages of cooking with spelt, from its nutrition, taste, and is great for those with food allergies. The book also includes many recipes utilizing other whole foods and includes detailed information on the benefits of each of the types of whole food the recipes use. The recipes are delicious, easy to follow, and the ingredients are available either at grocery stores or in some cases specialty grocers like Whole Foods.

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Rags: The Dog Who Went to War

Why Buy A Rags: The Dog Who Went to War?
This is the true story from the First World War of Rags, the amazingly clever terrier. It is a tale of devotion, courage under fire, and astonishing canine intelligence.

A hungry and homeless stray is stumbled over one dark, foggy night in a Paris alley by a lost soldier A.W.O.L. The noise alerts the Military Police and the soldier, Donovan, quickly talks his way out of a tight spot by claiming he is on a mission to find his division’s dog mascot, and as they were leaving next day for the Front he didn’t have time to get a pass. As the canny dog co-operatively plays along, Donovan is believed, and the terrier he names ‘Rags’ becomes mascot to the U.S. First Division.

Rags repays Sergeant Donovan’s and the Army’s kindness many times over. As well as being a devoted friend, he undoubtedly saves many mens lives. His alertness to the sound of approaching shells warns of danger, he delivers vital messages, alerts stretcher bearers to the whereabouts of the wounded, and with his friendly, cheeky nature bucks up many a flagging soldier.

While delivering a crucial message at the Argonne Campaign, Rags is nearly killed: his gas mask is ripped off by the force of an explosion and he is badly gassed. He is also blinded in one eye by shrapnel, his ear is mangled, and his paw wounded. However, Rags still gets the message through, collapsing into unconsciousness on arrival.

This is Rags’, the amazing terrier’s story during the war and afterwards as he achieves celebrity war dog hero status.

Customer Reviews & Opinions

a remarkable dog
I love dogs, so I should never be surprised to hear of a dog’s intelligence or character, but this dog, Rags, really takes the biscuit. He was truly remarkable…one of a kind, and got up to all sorts of scrapes and mischief. Amazingly astute, clever, cheeky, friendly, faithful, persistant you name it….and a multiple life-saver too. Buy this book, you’ll love it.

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Beyond the Rainbow Bridge : Nurturing our children from birth to seven

Customer Reviews & Opinions

Lovely and inspiring!
This book is an excellent resource for new parents and parents of young children. It encompasses all of the things a parent knows inately and affirms them in this book. I only wish I had it before I was even pregnant!

Incredible resource
This book is right now at number one. It is brilliantly written and really helps to bring Waldorf and its theories to your home. It makes them available to you as a parent by showing you in detail, several ways to incorporate it into your life. Beautifully written..

Inspired by the possibility of children having the Waldorf experience
I am an American living in Asia. My 4 year old attends a Bilingual local school. She can write the script of the local language and the English language. She is beginning to read. She is a happy, happy child. Her school day is 8:30 AM to 4:15 PM. The teachers are loving and compassionate beyond any expectation I might have in America.

Yet when I read this book and several others on Waldorf, I know their is a higher level that education can move from. Dumping data into the head of a four year old is simple and requires low level teaching skills. What Waldorf does is holistic. This book give concrete examples of the dimensions of child development and how to implement education in a way to optimize the entire human being via the learning process. If one has any clue of the nature of the human entity, this book will inspire.

A great Start
I got this book because I want to homeschool my children using the Waldorf method (as much as possible) and because I wanted to start educating myself on this topic. I found that this book is a very good starting point. It covers a lot but doesn’t really go too deep into detail. I also found very helpful all the resources it lists in the back. You can find books for further reading, games, toys, songs, everything! I really enjoyed it and the author’s peacefulness and knowledge just shines on every page. I found it a great motivator to really want to use Waldorf education.

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All Over

Review
A restlessly inventive collection, as the best story collections so often are - comic and tender, ironic and earnest, deadpan and passionate. A distinctive new voice, from a distinctive new press. –Peter Ho Davies, author of The Welsh Girl

For those keen to know the next generation of the American short story, consider All Over, which features the loopy paranoia of Don DeLillo, the po-mo-mo whimsy of Donald Barthelme, the spooky learnedness of Thomas Pynchon, the high-minded literary sleight-of-hand of Robert Coover and John Barth, and the secret geek speak of George Saunders. Add a touch of the Brothers Grimm, Jules Verne, and the Looney Tunes, and youve got a book of a million moving parts, all of which work in breath-taking harmony to keep illusion aloft. –Lee K. Abbott, author of All Things, All at Once

Why Buy A All Over?
The debut story collection from Kesey includes 19 stories that have been published in literary journals such as Ninth Letter, McSweeneys and The Kenyon Review. The story Wait will be included in the Best American Short Stories 2007.

Customer Reviews & Opinions

Publisher comments
As the publisher of Roy Kesey’s remarkable collection, I am proud to share with you some comments from other author/readers about Roy’s ‘All Over:’

“These stories by Roy Kesey, in the way they brilliantly blend humor and pathos, remind me of coins tossed in the air, turning over and over, one side cast in light, the other in darkness. His writing is original, fearless, strikingly funny, and clean - so clean - his words sharp enough to cut the eye.”

- Benjamin Percy, author of The Language of Elk and Refresh, Refresh

“All Over is the strangest, best collection of stories you will read this year. With a seamless blend of lyricism and minimalism, Roy Kesey travels All Over the terrain of he psyche, the human condition, the relationships we have and fail to have. These stories team with insights, little horrors, moments of sweet verity, and surreal surprise. The characters are persuasive, and the storytelling is both hallucinatory and familiar. This is a new voice you must hear.”

-Laura Kasischke, author of Be Mine, and five other titles

“Roy Kesey tempers his prodigious imagination with fine syntactic control, so that his stories - like Donald Barthelme’s - feel simultaneously free-wheeling and precise. All Over is an exhilarating collection - funny, harrowing, smart, odd, and inventive.”

-Chris Bachelder, author of U.S! and Bear vs. Shark

“Reading Roy Kesey is like being allowed to peep momentarily through a mysterious hole in the wall into a hidden universe that is very much like ours only slightly brighter, slightly sadder, certainly no less odd. Violinists play in the rain to keep swallows in flight. Strange, leaking packages tied up with string wait to be opened. In other words, Roy Kesey is a delight to read.”

-Samantha Hunt, author of The Seas “A restlessly inventive collection, as the best story collections so often are - comic and tender, ironic and earnest, deadpan and passionate. A distinctive new voice, from a distinctive new press.”

-Peter Ho Davies, author of The Welsh Girl

“For those keen to know the next generation of the American short story, consider All Over, which features the loopy paranoia of Don DeLillo, the po-mo-mo whimsy of Donald Barthelme, the spooky learnedness of Thomas Pynchon, the high-minded literary sleight-of-hand of Robert Coover and John Barth, and the secret geek speak of George Saunders. Add a touch of the Brothers Grimm, Jules Verne, and the Looney Tunes, and you’ve got a book of a million moving parts, all of which work in breath-taking harmony to keep illusion aloft.”

-Lee K. Abbott, author of All Things, All at Once: Collected Stories, and five other collections

“Roy Kesey’s excellent All Over is all over intelligent, intense, often very funny and frequently, frankly, beautiful. Stories in this collection will imminently appear in slightly different form in the deepest, darkest corners of your mind where they will burn, very, very brightly, for hours.”

-Laird Hunt, author of The Paris Stories, The Impossibly, Indiana, Indiana, and The Exquisite

“In All Over, Roy Kesey’s postmodern parables are stunning mash-ups of style, content, characters. The book is a narrative train wreck that keeps happening of arcane jumbled juxtaposed graffitied rolling stock crashing into horribly hilarious verbal clown car kinetic sculpture.”

-Michael Martone, author of The Flatness and Other Landscapes, and other titles

Roy Kesey is a star, and these stories are why
The first thing you’ll notice about the stories in All Over is that they move lightning fast, that their trajectory is fueled by funny, that their funny is not separable from the sadness from where the funny comes, that the sadness is not wry or perfunctory, but rather as true as the true things we’d rather not know our lives are limned by.

The second thing you’ll notice is that you’re done reading, and you’re done laughing, but the stories aren’t done with you. They’ll be eating at you for awhile, because of that sad thing, and because of that true thing.

The third thing you’ll notice is that you’ve picked up the book again, and you’ve forgotten, while those stories were eating at you, that amidst all that sad and all that true, those stories were really pretty funny, and you’ll read the funny with pleasure, forgetting what’s going to hit you next, which is the whiplash of the sad and the true.

You’ll get knocked around this way a few times, and you’ll read the book again, even after you think you’re done with it.

Who else does this to you? Donald Barthelme, sure, and also Brock Clarke and George Saunders and Kurt Vonnegut. Heady company, yes, but Kesey earns it out, story by story. I’m glad I bought this book, and if you’re on my Christmas list, I might buy you a copy, too, but why wait, and deprive yourself of these complicated pleasures? This is a book to buy now, and to read, and to savor.

The Short Review’s review of All Over
Reading Roy Kesey’s collection made me happy. Re-reading it soon after made me even happier. This is not because Kesey’s stories are hopeful or optimistic. It is because this is a writer so clearly in love with language and rhythm that it is a delight to experience what he does with words - both those we are familiar with and those I suspect he invented.

The 19 stories range in length from one to ten pages. Several were previously published in literary magazines such as McSweeney’s and Opium, publications with a reputation for clever, sharp, irreverent writing. While Kesey’s work does fit this description, this is not cleverness for the sake of it. In almost all the stories, even those that on the surface appear utterly absurd, he is unearthing the complexities of our world, the messes we make of it, and the small moments of joy.

[...]

Sweet, sad, wonderful
Loved this book. Kesey has an easy and enlightening way of telling his stories - I hope he writes another collection quickly.

A brilliant & deeply satisfying short-story debut
Uproarious yet unsettling, Roy Kesey’s first collection of stories combines a joshing respect for the forms he appropriates — he has fictions based on everything from the job interview (”Interview”) to the international crime thriller (”Follow the Money”) — w/ a phrase-coining shamelessness. Again & again ALL OVER shoots booming through the cliché barrier into the electrifying pleasures of language off the chain. He works in Americana, deadheaded & mall-worthy, & also in high rhetorical tones, almost Elizabethan here, high-Modernist there. Yet for all that the style’s worth savoring, there’s plenty more to gape at, amid these flash-fictions, stories of ordinary length, & novellas. That longer work includes a Best American winner, the transcendent “Wait,” an epic set at an airport gate. “Wait” develops into a showpiece drama, w/ admirable complications, seductive & ingenious. It’s a picaresque that goes nowhere, an apocalypse full of hilarity (though a scene about burnt toes can fetch tears), & a transgressive romance, bashing across borders of race and more, in which its climactic marriage is also, in its way, one of convenience. Whew. Then there’s “Fontanel,” another gem of some heft, working through an old-fashioned Godlike narrator in a new-fangled arrangement that makes its events all the more hair-raising. I have a few misgivings, sure, a case or two in which a bizarre framework & imaginative leaps overwhelm humbler connections. Sill if weary catchalls like “postmodern” or “experimental” have any cachet left, you’ll catch its intoxicating whiff in ALL OVER. You can’t help thinking, even, of Donald Barthelme, that po-mo touchstone. Kesey, overall, comes as close to Don B. as anyone has during the last couple of decades, though God knows the mad scientists of our literature have never ceased their efforts to cook up a replicant. But to suggest that the accomplishment of ALL OVER depends on any one earlier author would be to diminish what Roy Kesey himself has done: hilarious, startling, & — actually — gorgeous.

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