Away

This book is the most excellent book for beginners to advanced players. Jack is an incredible teacher, coach, tournament director and pool shooter and his techniques and tips are crucial to the mastery of the game of pocket billiards. This book is a must have. To my long-lost friend who borrowed my copy of it ~> Please return it as I miss it dearly. Thanks.

P.S. - The only other book that I could not live without was "The Science of Pocket Billiards" by Jack H. Koehler

This is the absolute greatest book ever written on the subject pocket billiards by one of the most knowledgable players to have ever played the game. The book is written in much the same manner as Jack's clinic's and his one-on-one instruction is styled. This book will give you a great understanding of the mental, basics and andvanced techniques of the game. The story of Azul and the section on Jack's Magic Silver Spot will dramatically improve your mental game as well as the technical aspects of your game. Learning to 'control the rock' and how many bands to use will easily move your game to the next level. This book is a MUST read for any player, beginner to advanced.

This book is filled with great suggestions of places to go and things to see/do. It's extremely well organized and filled our week in Tucson with adventure and fun. We hardly ever even traveled the same road twice, there were so many listings. We'd tried the "standards" and found them lacking. There were so many areas around the city of Tucson we'd never heard of, and this book helped us organize our time and travel, although some of the day trips are truly impossible to complete in a day. In fact, we spent most of our time in Tucson outside of Tucson (if that makes any sense). A truly fantastic area guided by a truly fantastic book. If this author has written more books of the same ilk, I'll gladly buy them and enjoy.

The book is very informative and gives you lots of options to choose from. Each section opens up with a map drawing the starting location and all the stops you would make along that perticular trip. There are complete driving directions to help you along the way. It is very easy to combine parts of different trips to suite your own interests, if you desire something different than what is already listed. Another good thing about this book is that it has listings of places to stay, where to eat, and when festivals occur(listed by month.) The descriptions of places to visit include whether or not it is for the casual observer or experienced hiker/climber. I love this book. If you are going to Arizonia, don't pass this book up. It will lead you in the right direction!!

I am currently in the process of ending my abusive relationship.
This book has been a tremendous guide in understanding what my rights are as an abuse victim and how to best use the court system. I found the "Escape Chapter" very helpful in preparing to start my new life without my abuser being able to locate me.

There is great comfort as I read this book knowing that someone out there has put together information that will make me and my children and other family members safe!

The author's own tragic story of how her father terrorized the family brings the reader into understanding that the inforamtion provided in this book was written to safe lives. This book is a basic roadmap to safety. It provides legal direction and how to best use the syste, where ever you live. This book saved my daughter and my granchildren's lives. And the author personally assisted us with our road map to safety. This book should be at every high school library and college across the country!

CEOs and Board members, don't be fooled. This book is NOT just for donors - it's for YOU!

Here's the way I figure it: If a book advises donors on what to look for when "investing" in a NonProfit, doesn't it make sense that NonProfits use that same book to help make their organization worth investing in?

NonProfit leaders should think of this book as one of those magazine cover stories that says "What Men Should Look for in a Woman" (or vice versa!). As a woman, I'd sure want to know what men are being advised to look for! And as NonProfits seeking donors, we should all want to know what those donors are being advised to look for in a worthy NonProfit. That's why this book is such a valuable tool.

In my NonProfit consulting work, I've used the fundraising and marketing insights from Ms. Rafferty's chapters on donor motivation when creating marketing plans, because it forces a NonProfit to think like a donor. And the chapters on performing due diligence ("Ten Warning Signs: Where to Look for the Bodies") are a GREAT checklist for ensuring your organization's ducks are in a row.

Being a NonProfit author myself, my favorite compliment is when a reader says their copy of the book is all marked up - that the pages are dog-eared and the spine cracked from use. Well, my copy of Ms. Rafferty's book is not only yellow from highlighting, but the book automatically opens to the sections I love.

So do your NonProfit a favor - don't be fooled into thinking this book is only for donors. Buy it, incorporate its messages into your marketing and fund development efforts, and watch your organization flourish.

Most of us in this audience have spent years (and some, decades) on the inside of one nonprofit organization or another, wondering, "How can our organization attract more (or even more) charitable donations?"

We've established annual fund drives, grant-seeking programs, fielded special events, and maybe even launched planned giving programs. Some of us are in one stage or other of a capital campaign on the way toward meeting our six-, seven-, eight-, or even nine-figure goals.

Collectively, we've done a fantastic job. In 1997 alone, Americans gave us $143 billion, most of that in the form of direct gifts or bequests. We expend nearly $500 billion per year, control more than $800 billion in assets, employ nearly 11 percent of the American workforce, represent nearly eight percent of the American gross domestic product, and constitute 20 percent of the American service economy.

The money flows. Donors more or less leave us alone to spend it as we see fit and as long as we don't break some law or line our own pockets, things hum along nicely. As those of us who have been on the inside know, there is typically little or no investigation by most donors prior to the gift, much less once the gift has been made.

From our vantage point - on the inside looking out - all is well with the world. Few donors would think to ask hard questions before making a donation, much less to follow up on a donation to see that we've been wise stewards of it. That is why Renata J. Rafferty's new book, Don't Just Give It Away, How to Make the Most of Your Charitable Giving, is so startling. Written not by an outsider with an axe to grind, but by one of us, Rafferty turns things on their head by asking the public, "does it seem that $143 billion of 'social progress' was achieved through the activities of the charitable sector? How much of that $143 billion did you and your family contribute, and do you believe it was used as wisely as it could have been?"

Rafferty contends that while, in her more than 20 years in the charitable arena, she has "witnessed the integrity and industry of the men and women . . . who commit their lives - professionally and or as volunteers - to make this world a better place for all of us," she has also seen "waste and poor financial management that substantially eroded the value" of contributions. . . ."

"Like a leaking faucet that accumulates in wasted gallons," writes Rafferty, "minor misuses of each of our charitable investments add up. In fact, they amount to huge amounts of donated money annually that could have - and should have - been applied to programs and services for the community . . . but weren't. And that's why we don't see $143 billion worth of progress from our contributions."

Notice the shift by Rafferty from the industry insiders' perspective to that of the donors'? This is an insider breaking ranks, throwing open the door to the closet, and shining a bright light on, well, if not "skeletons," the family's closely-guarded secrets.

Every once in a while a book comes along which, though written with down-to-earth clarity and simplicity, carries within its covers a clarion call to reverse the flow of power and unsettle the status quo in an entire facet of society. This is that book.

Don't Just Give It Away teaches donors to conduct their giving "as thoughtfully and insightfully - and personally - as (they) approach . . . financial investing." She walks the reader through the process of defining philanthropic goals, finding a charity that fits those goals, performing due diligence on that charity, and tracking what the charity does with the gift after it's been given.

My favorite chapter - and one that poorly-run nonprofit organizations would do well to keep out of the hands of donors - is Chapter 9's "Ten Warning Signs: Where to Look for 'The Bodies.'" A sampling:

--You are discouraged or barred from a site visit or board meeting;

--Financial records are unavailable, unintelligible, or generally in disarray;

--There is no written strategic or business plan for the organization;

--Fewer than 70% of the board members have made a financial contribution to the organization within the last twelve months;

--And more.

It's occurred to me that one sign of a healthy organization is its enthusiasm in providing Rafferty's book to prospective and existing donors. An organization that is well managed and healthy will have nothing to fear, and perhaps much to gain, in educating its donors about such things. Indeed, arming donors with this kind of information - as simple as providing them a copy of this book - is one way to strengthen our nonprofit sector.

One thing the book is not is a "technique" book. Rafferty makes it clear she is not instructing donors on "how" to structure a gift - that's what attorneys and other advisors are for, she says - but on how to ensure that giving is done with maximum impact. I can imagine one pitfall is locating advisors who will understand, and add value to, the process described by Rafferty. The book is concise enough, though, that a donor might wish to provide a copy to any advisor assisting in the gift-making process.

Not surprisingly, Don't Just Give It Away has already attracted quite a few fans, including Paul Newman who, in the book's Foreword, writes: "I wish Don't Just Give It Away had been written years earlier - I could have used it. I'm delighted that it's here now and that I can share this book with friends, family, and colleagues who are searching for their own ways - more personal ways - to make this world a better place through wiser charitable giving." Newman should know. To date, his company, Newman's Own, has contributed over $100 million to charities worldwide from after-tax profits.

THIS IS A BOOK YOU WILL LOVE.IT HAS EVERY THING FROM EXCITMENT TO FUN.

One of my favorite "Famous Five" books of all time! I loved the vivid characters and the jokes of the Five. The setting it great fun, on an island George "owned", loved the way she was so possessive about the island.

In The Far Away, the narrator remembers back to when he was 17 --a time of haunting, even now that he is older. As the narrator remembers those days of traveling from New York City to San Francisco to San Diego to Key West and back home again, we are with him on a contemplative journey that is both physical and emotional. This is a book for young adults and adults who wonder if we ever truly leave the past behind, or if we need to.

This is truly a wonderous first novel, magical in both style and content. I have read nothing like it since Thomas Wolfe and his 'Look Homeward Angel.' The writing is lyrical, if not spectacular and the subject matter, one brother's attempt to come to grips with his older brother's mental disabilities, truly touches the heart strings. The emotional themes, the feelings, the utter soul searching presented can be compared to the best works of D.H. Lawrence.

'Bravo' to you, James Simon. You have created a small materpiece. I look forward to seeing other books from you in the future.

The lessons learned by the characters in the book apply to all of us, child and adult alike. You'll enjoy it, and maybe never look at your family and friends the same way again.

The "Far-Away Hearts Club" is a delightful, heartwarming, and entertaining read. This book will make you think more about your relationships...its beautiful imagery and descriptive language makes it a compelling and powerful story.

My son loves this book. We started reading it to him when he was first born and it was the only book that he would watch while we read. Now, at nine months, it is still a favorite. He loves to crunch the crinkle pages, he loves to hold it up an watch the feet dangle, and he loves to chew on the ladybug's antenna.

My little one loved this book! At age three months, she would get so excited over the red color, crinkly pages, and dangly green ladybug legs, that she would just quiver. At six months, it was still a favorite page-turner, chew book. Plus, the text was simple and short. A perfect baby book. We will buy them for gifts.

"Fly Away" is a novel with a huge heart. A woman dreamily on the lam in a stolen moving van, filled with the dog-pound rejects she cares for, in her fitful way, wins over her dyspeptic pursuer by means of her sheer, stubborn humanity. James is a more benevolent version of Flannery O'Connor, with a sharp, satiric eye for people's foibles--but their shortcomings make her cherish them all the more. I loved the way this novel took me to desolate, out-of-the-way places and made me want to be there. Some of the comic scenes, such as the highly distractable heroine's driving off from a gas station with the pump hose still attached to her truck, and the ensuing havoc, are not to be missed. Treat yourself to this one."

"Fly Away..." is one of the best books I've read this year. Thought-provoking and insightful, this novel deals with many aspects of the human spirit. The reader is introduced to an enterprising, elderly homeless woman who struggles to provide shelter for an abandoned child and a troop of orphaned dogs. Their antics are sometimes illegal but always ingenius, and in the end the reader cannot help but be moved--profoundly--to a deeper understanding of words such as decency, pride, respect, and honor

The simplicity found in Mei Clark's "Flying Away" helps me to relax and think. I never cease to read one of Ms. Clark's poems without taking away some new bit of advise, inspiration or wisdom.

It was a very uniquely moving book