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This book was very disappointing. It is defintely not any type of guide for winning in soccer or life. I really felt this was really more about Mia gloating about how good she is rather than how she got there or sharing any insight into what it takes to win. It is not hard to win in soccer if you are surrounded by all those good players and she didnt really share any personal insight other than she was a military brat.

I cant say I would be inspired by this book either... this is not an autobiography, its not a guide to how to play good soccer, its more about how many times she can take credit for a goal or assist....

This is an inspiring book, writen by one of the most famous women athletes of today. Mia Hamm wrote this book intending to help out young soccer players and give them great advice. She also including some of her teammates from the U.S. National Soccer Team, including Kristine Lilly, Michelle Akers and Tisha Venturini. This book gives you tips on drills to do during practice and also some tips on how to play with heart and dedication. This is a very easy to read book. She wrote it knowing that younger children would read it. In the back of the book there is a glossary of terminology used throughout the book the reader may not know. Myself growing up I've played soccer since I can remember. This book has helped me a lot throughout the process of organizing an all-girls' soccer team at my school. I would greatly encourage any girl (or boy) who just started playing soccer or who is a veteran of the game to pick up a copy of this book and read it!

This is an incredibly inspiring book for fans of the USWNT and women's soccer to read. If ya love Mia, or any of the team, this is the book for you. I play soccer at a pretty high level, and even though the technical tips aren't high, the mentality and psychological aspects mentioned by Hamm always help, and they really inspired and re-motivated me, mostly, b/c they were coming from Mia Hamm. But don't expect this to be a training book, b/c it's not meant to be. It's a book for Mia fans, USWNT fans, and soccer players with dreams. And yes, if you let it, this book can help guide you to winning in soccer and in life. I mean, you're following Mia, so it's not like you're gonna go wrong!

kc

Good To Go is a book written by ex-NAVY SEAL Harry Constance regarding the time that he served in the Vietnam War. Constance recounts his three tours of duty as a SEAL during the war and describes his missions in great detail. Though some of the missions sound exaggerated, most of them are believable. He doesn't try to make himself out to be a super hero, but comes across like one in several parts of the book. While Harry was serving duty he was also going through personal problems that he briefly describes. Politics played a large role in the Vietnam War and Harry shares his opinions on this.

One of the only complaints I have about this book is that it lacks flow. The chapters skip around a lot and are not linked very well. In one paragraph he will be in the jungles of NAM and the next he is sitting in his kitchen arguing with his wife.

Over all this is great book until the later chapters, when Constance starts talking about his personal life, which most of us couldn't care less about. I could not quit reading until the last four or five chapters. After that it was a struggle to finish the book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in war tactics and a "behind the scenes" look at some of the amazing stuff that goes on. Good To Go gave me a whole new outlook on the Vietnam War and what the soldiers were going through as they were being forced to fight and die in a battle halfway around the world, while being criticized for it back in the US.

I have read many memoirs of soldiers,from WWI to Vietnam and this was one of the best. It gives a personal perspective that others lack. Most war books bog down in x's and o's that most reader's don't quite understand but this book does not do that and is very readable. Randall Fuerst is my dad's eye doctor and was introduced to this book by my dad who was a marine himself and not a big book reader but he was not able to put this book down. I too, was captivated by this book as I think others will be too. I ended up buying my own copy and was lucky enough to get both authors to autograph my copy. I think others who read this book will be thankful as I am that we have people who are willing to make the sacrifices that Harry Constance did in the name of his country. Way to go Harry and keep up the good fight and I too will never give up!

Simply put, the best book I've ever read. What's great about this book is that it covers more than just the VN war. It covers a good portion of his personal life experiences and brings in a whole range of emotions beyond just the "action aspect". Having said that, the war stories told are beyond incredible, which makes this a book you can't put down. Good style and easy-to-read. A close second to this book would be the Gone Native book.

If you would like to foster compassion and empathy between siblings, this book is a must have for bedtime reading! I have read this book to my son almost every evening and he just loves the story. It is endearing to see normal fears presented by the charming little sister bunny and to have those fears put to rest by her caring older brother. The story teaches children how to show love to their siblings through simple acts of kindness. The illustrations are vibrant and intricate with great attention to detail. This is an old-fashioned tale of family caring wrapped in a beautiful package.

This is one of my favorite picture books. The illustrations are beautifully drawn and the colors are wonderful. It's a sweet story about a big brother helping his little sister get to sleep. This book is especially great for families with a big brother and little sister. My kids love it when I use their names in place of Willoughby and Willa!

My three children, ages 3-5, adore this book. It is one of the few books that they will all sit still for. It is a lovely story about an older brother taking care of his younger sister, helping her go to sleep. The illustrations are wonderful.

I recently bought this book after reading the reviews here (as well as reviews for other potty training books). This book is, and works, even better than I imagined!
I started looking for potty training books when my daughter was about 16 mths. I am a first time mom who doesn't know where to begin! I read "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" and decided that was the way to go. I purchased all the supplies but even though my daughter showed readiness signs around 18 mths, I could not bring myself to get started training! I think I was overwhelmed with remembering all the steps involved and afraid I'd make a mistake.
I pretty much forgot about trying to do any potty training whatsoever - not knowing how to proceed - until last week when I finally bought this book.
My daughter is now 26 mths. She showed some fear in sitting on her potty, though it has been part of our furnishings for 8 mths now. But after reading just the first 45 pages or so in the book, we have begun a routine of sitting on the potty for stories 2x a day clothed. Last night we have progressed to the next step, without a diaper. She doesn't think twice or give me any problems when I say "time to sit on your potty!" In fact, it's hard to get her off! I cannot wait to the next step: underpants for 2 hrs a day.
So anyhow, this book was very brief. Like I said, the bulk of the info falls in the first 1/4 of the book - the rest tackles other problems. It got us started very quickly. I guess it never occured to me to start a potty training "program" slowly and with little, progressing steps. This book gave me confidence as a first time potty trainer and more importantly, a place to start! Yes, I will recommend this book to many others in similar situations. The moms I know say to wait until the child is 3+, but I thought that was ridiculous! The book says between 2 and 3 is a good starting age. As long as they show readiness signs, even if they aren't interested, you can start slowly but confidently! Good luck!

I have really had problems with training my little girl and she will be 4. I have been using this books ideas to help her with her training. I would say this is a parents training book since it points out what is wrong and right to approach girls and boys. I read the book cover to cover the same day I got it. I highly recommend.

I am one happy Mom!! I decided to get this book after reading some of the reviews here. It was an easy, informative and helpful book! I followed the steps they suggested and my daughter was potty trained in 10 days! I could not believe it! My daughter is my first child and I was not sure where to begin. That was months ago and now my daughter wears underwear during the day and still has a diaper at night. It say's in the book it could take up to 6 months for them to be fully night trained! I am very pleased and would recommend picking up a copy! Good Luck! :)

Dan Savage, a parent? THE Dan Savage, gay sex-column adviser, whose sarcastic take on sex and outrageous writing style have made him a cult figure in "alternative" publications around the country?

Well, yup. In this entertaining book, Savage details the decisions and processes involved when his partner Terry and him decided to adopt, using the Portland "open adoption" method. Emotional without being sentimental, Savage describes his supportive family and friends (as well as the non-supportive ones), and makes no apologies for his choices. Far more than a simple "gay couple wants baby" polemic, this book describes the trials and tribulations of adoption faced by ALL parents; indeed, what makes it so startling is its matter-of-factness. In the end, Dan and Terry come off as no better or worse than any other prospective parents, and it is this which is probably most revolutionary. An entertaining, yet intellectual, read.

I was reading this book while on a flight from Seattle when the guy next to me, a Seattle resident, commented that some of his friends in the Seattle gay community think that Dan Savage tends to be too open with his comments on social issues. Perhaps that's true, but it's just that sense of raw honesty that makes this book such a great read -- Savage tells it like it is, from agonizing over giving up a degree of sexual/social freedom to have a kid, his real reasons for wanting to adopt (so he can let himself get fat), to handling poopy diapers, to his concern over his slowness to feel a bond for his son once he was born. Nothing is sugar-coated with false sentimentality -- in fact, a couple of passages made me stop and think, "I can't believe he admitted that!"

Especially interesting is the detailed account of the mechanics of open adoption and how they met the birth mother, a teenage street punk, and the relationship Savage and his partner developed with her. An engaging, humorous and touching story, whether you are planning to adopt or not.

Frankly, my conservative mind had to stretch like a rubber band to get into the My Boyfriend And I decided To Go Get Pregnant story, and love its charming account of real family values. Love knows no sexual preferences, and add to this the photo of the little child on the book cover and the real-life photo of the author on the inside cover, and you're hooked.
Gisela Gasper Fitzgerald, author of ADOPTION: An Open, Semi-Open or Closed Practice?

Bill Walsh knows a good hyphen, and more importantly, he can tell you where to put it.

This book will probably never find a niche on my shelf; no doubt it will be within arm's reach on my desk at all times. Why? Because in this book Walsh reminds us that there are reasons for the rules that shape editorial policy. We must know the reasons behind the rules in order to know when to appropriately ignore the rules.

Novice copy editors (and writers and editors) may be horrified to read such a suggestion, but you don't have to have been seated in the slot for long to learn that there are times when all good rules will bend a little. Not that rules were made to be broken, but sometimes the hard line isn't the best line to take. Walsh makes that point time after time -- and he makes it well. I don't agree with all of his entries (I will strike through "over" and replace it with "more than"), but the logic is sound.

If you are ever in a position to proofread/edit/copy edit someone's writing, you'll need a stylebook you can point to and say "See? It's just fine to put the hyphen in there!" This is a good book to have in your arsenal.

This engaging little book is as much a satisfying read as it is a handy reference. Yes, the book comprises Bill Walsh's positions on grammar, punctuation, and usage. Any curmudgeonly editor has positions. But Walsh offers compelling, practical arguments for his positions. Anyone whose work I've edited will readily attest to my own personal curmudgeonly positions. In an afternoon of reading Walsh's book, and to the probable shock of several of the authors with whom I've worked, I have changed several of mine, such as:

- (p. 84) I have ceased to use the en dash to separate numeral ranges. - (p. 128) I have ceased to automatically replace all instances of "different than" with "different from." I now first consider whether the comparison is indirect; if so, "than" stays.

I also learned the error of my ways in a few areas I'm too embarrassed to mention.

Walsh's book collects content he used to keep on his Web site. His site continues to feature the book's "sharp points," so if you'd like to try before you buy, check out website

Bill Walsh does a great service to the English language by building a potent barricade in the war against imprecision, obfuscation and outright misuse. And he makes it a great read as well. A great gift for your favorite college student or federal official!

I don't get the superlative praises which have been lavished on this book. I became interested in Go recently, and if you've played the game at all, you realize very quickly that knowing the rules alone doesn't get you very far in terms of figuring out how to play it! Given that, I was looking for a beginner's book which goes beyond teaching the rules - which are fairly simple anyway, but also imparts enough guidance and insights in terms of strategy and tactics that a beginner would start to feel comfortable about playing it - what to look for, how does one approach different phases of the game, etc. Perhaps this is too much to ask of a single beginner book to Go, but I found this book particularly lacking in that regard relative to others of its kind. I didn't come away after finishing it feeling much more confident about knowing how to play the game as when I started reading it. I've browsed through Iwamoto's(?) "Go for Beginners" and found it to be a more complete introduction and just as straigtforward to follow. Since then, I've started reading the "Graded Go Problems for Beginners" series and found it to be the most helpful in terms of learning the game.

Not that the praises for this book is wholly undeserved. This is a very well-exposited introduction to the game. Whatever it covers, this book takes you by the hand and treats in a easy-to-follow manner. Coupled with the easy-on-the-eye layout, this may well be the gentlest introduction to the game that you can find. ("Go for Dummies" may be a more apt title as another reviewer has noted!)

In summary, my advice would be to consider this book if you are a complete beginner (ie. with no knowledge of the game) and find other introductions to be overwhelming. If you're attracted to the style of this series but are already familiar with the rules and the most rudimentary concepts like two-eyes, you will find starting with the second book of the series (which recaps and extends on the concepts introduced in this book) more fulfilling. Also consider the alternatives mentioned earlier.

This book is a fine, gentle introduction to the game of go. It is perhaps the easiest to read of all intros. If you just want to learn the rules and a tiny bit more, or if bang-for-the-buck is not a major concern to you, by all means buy it.

But if, like me, you want to continue learning and improving, then you will need to buy at least the next two books in this popular series. Then, with 3 volumes, you will have as much useful information as you would get in ONE volume by some other authors. Again, this is not in itself a bad thing -- this series is probably the best-written and easiest to swallow out there. But you'll spend more money this way.

My path was this: I borrowed this book from somebody else and read it (it doesn't take long!) but combined that with on-line study via several wonderful (and free!) web sites and also with free (downloadable) software. But when it came to spending my own (admittedly tight) dollars on a book, I found several other beginner-level titles that have much deeper coverage than this book for the same dollar amount or less. Yes, those other books are somewhat denser, but that cuts both ways: you have to read a little slower through them and think a bit harder, but you get more substance per page. I'm not talking about some of the incomprehensible advanced books or poorly-translated beginner books one could dig up, I'm referring to several other excellent beginner books that are out there.

Bottom line: this is a very good book if you only want to learn a tiny bit or if you don't mind spending the money on the next two in the series. But it's far from the best bang-for-the-buck out there if you want to learn more than the very basics and care about minimizing expenses.

I just finished reading Janice Kim's book, "Learn to Play GO" for the second time. It is fantastic. I bought the book based on a suggestion from somebody on the Yahoo game server. It's actually a funny story. I started playing the game after reading the rules very quickly. The rules I read made no mention of eyes. This, as you all know, caused me great pain when playing. I lost a 9x9 game 81-0. My opponent offered, "Do you want some advice?" I said, "Sure." His reply was simply, "Buy Learn to Play Go by Janice Kim." I bought it the next day and have since bought four more copies as gifts for friends. It's actually just a ploy on part to get more people to play with. ;-)

I can't say enough good things about this book. What I like best about it is that its useful no matter how much time you have left until a scholarship application is due. As a high school senior, I have some applications due in a couple weeks, some due in a couple months, and others I'll apply for when I'm in college. The author shows you how to package you application in a short amount of time for those coming deadlines, expand upon what you've done for those medium-term deadlines, and employ "content strategies" to position yourself for those long-term applications. This book is a really, really good starting point for any student serious about winning scholarships.

This book is literally the best resourse for scholarships. Period. I'm a high school freshman, and I got this book to start a quest for keeping my financial stabibility. I've read pretty much the whole thing in no time and I'm ready to apply the strategies and tactics to my scholarship quest.

Now, I really can't tell you if this book WILL suceed in paying for most of my college tuition but, frankly, I realize it is really up to me. If I am ready to put in the time, if YOU are ready to put in the time, I am sure either you OR I could win, with or without the book. But, this book will surely make it a lot easier. It has strategies of how to win as well as a fair selection of scholarships to begin applying to. Enough to keep you busy for a very, very long time. Even if these aren't enough, it offers suggestion of how you can find more scholarships you're eligible for. Supposedly, the author is also putting together a companion book with many more scholarships, though it's not out yet. All and all, I highly recommend you get this book. It won't win the scholarships for you, but, with a little preserverence, it will certainly assist you win the contests yourself!

When I saw the title of this book, I began salivating uncontrollably. Imagine, having someone else pay to send your kids to college. That may have been an overreaction. Surely anyone else that has college-bound kids should sympathize.

The book is well organized and written on a level that will not challenge a high school student. However, there are tips for a wider audience including the very young, older returning students, graduate students, and students that fit into special groups.

Clearly, the competition for scholarships can be intense, but with a logical game plan engaged in consistently, an applicant's effectiveness can be increased. The one consistent theme in the book is that a steady approach will lead to success.

I will take issue with a combination of techniques mentioned in the book. Kaplan suggests that students get their recommendations in electronic format so that they can print them out as needed. He also suggests that you solicit "small" changes to recommendation letters to make them "great" letters. I feel this may present many an ethical challenge to some applicants. To be clear, he does not suggest manufacturing recommendation letters.

He also provides access to his companion web site to add extra punch to the process.

In the final analysis, it is hard to argue with his success, and Kaplan was very successful on his own behalf. He interviewed many of the people involved as applicant and administrators and their tips appear in the book.

It was interesting to read a book about life in Africa, from the perspective of a white woman brought up in a family who clung fiercely to the notion of white supremacy with every last bit of their strength. I disagree with a previous reviewer, however, who seemed to excuse the racism of the Fuller parents by implying that the historic and political situation they were in "made" them that way. Racism is racism, no matter what the circumstance.

Despite the attitudes of the Fuller parents, their daughter Bobo has documented a well-written account of their life in various African countries, and provides vivid details about the smells, sights, and emotions that the continent evokes for her. Her writing really gives the reader a sense of both the incredible harshness and danger(poisonous snakes, itchy vegetation, scary militaristic governments, etc) of Africa, but also its gentleness and great beauty.

Although I think Alexandra Fuller writes very well, and I appreciate her honest writing about her parents' behavior and attitudes, I couldn't warm to the family. Despite their numerous trajedies and troubles, I found it difficult to feel sympathetic. In contrast, when I read "The Flame Trees of Thika", another memoir of an African childhood by another white woman, Elspeth Huxley, I rooted for her colonial, turn-of-the-century, white-is-right parents, Robin and Tilly, through all their successes and setbacks. They held the same attitude of racial superiority as the Fullers, yet there is something intrinsically more likeable about how they handled themselves on a continent where they were the minority race, political upheaval or no. After reading Fuller's memoir, it was a relief to pick up "Nervous Conditions" by black female Zimbabwean Tsitsi Dangarembga, and read about three-dimensional black Africans. Her book is set in 1960s Rhodesia, for those interested (A. Fuller recommends it herself in the Afterword section of her memoir). Despite my personal reaction to this book, I recommend it to anyone interested in African writing, because I think that Alexandra Fuller's perspective is just as important and valid as that of any other African writer.

I bought this book at the airport in Atlanta GA for a non-stop flight to ONT CA. I wasn't sure if the book was going dwell upon the oppressions of the Evil White Man in Africa; or the political, social and economic disaster of post-colonial Africa that continues to today. It was about both, yet neither. It is a rare book about pre- and post-colonial Africa as seen through the eyes of a child growing up in what was once Rhodesia; a book that refreshingly tries not to preach to the reader. I simply could not stop reading it, finishing it moments before landing in Calfornia. The author paints a startlingly vivid picture of Africa: the sights, the sounds, the smells. The good times and the bad, the sane and insane; the corruption and oppression of new regines that followed the corruption and oppression of the old regimes. It is the story of a family, dealing with extreme hardship, the joy of life, and the pain of death. Want to justify colonialism in Africa? Read this book. Want to justfy the demise of colonialism in Africa? Read this book. Want to read about the joy and horror of growing up in Africa? Well.... you know what do to.

What makes this book worth reading -- aside from a captivating style and humorous content -- is precisely what separates it from other excellent books about similar subject matter (Godwin's Mukiwa, Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions): the fact that Fuller makes no attempt to analyze, excuse, or explain the racism and insanity of her family history. Rather than rationalizing her parents' racist attitudes, Fuller chooses instead to simply describe in her wry, matter-of-fact voice precisely how the end of the colonial era was experienced by people implicated in it. She does not try to gloss her childhood experiences with politically correct hindsight, and in so doing thrusts the reader into the desperation and the joy of rural African life in the last three decades. Bobo's mother is one of the most memorable and remarkable personalities I've encountered in African literature. The book is worth reading entirely for its hysterical concluding scenes. Fuller's characters are real and human, in all their extraordinary bizarreness!

Having spent many an hour, like Bobo Fuller, poking grass into ant-lion holes in the hot dusty veld, this moving story captivated me and painted a moving portrait of people fighting the cruelty of the African landscape. Myth and reality are intertwined in a witty and beautiful story. Everyone should read this book!

"Letting Go" is definitely worth reading, as it's obviously very helpful to lots of people. But as a sensitive and experienced woman who's been through heartbreak more than once, I found myself questioning some of the book's assertions and recommendations.

I certainly agree with the reviewer from Middletown who flinched at the advice on page 63: "It's okay to have sex with somebody just because they're there and they're nice." Not only can that attitude lead to STDs and exploitation of the "nice" person, but it can be emotionally damaging to the heartbroken person. Certainly for women, casual sex while in the throes of an emotional crisis is usually a bad idea.

This is just one example of what I suspect may be a bias toward men's experience in "Letting Go." References to "getting off" and 'scoring" don't sound like they're intended for female readers. There are also statements like, "Women usually depend on men for things like the illusion of emotional security, financial support, social respectability, general rescuing, and the opportunity to play the highly touted family game." Which century are the authors thinking of?!

The authors also use male pronouns quite consistently, despite an introductory note announcing their intention to use non-sexist language.

In general, I felt like"Letting Go" was not written with me in mind. I know that many of the techniques it suggests have been helpful to many women. But its language and attitudes really relate much more to men.

(...)

First off, I'll agree with the recent reviewer that the book smacks of chauvinism. I kept checking during my reading of it to see whether it had been updated and indeed it is "fresh" from 1978. So I had to overlook those issues. I read MANY books to get over my separation from a long marriage - and then the loss of the next significant other. This was definitely one of the best for understanding that love CAN easily be an addiction to a person, in the mold of addiction to drugs, alcohol, etc. So the concept of behavior modification is really neat. Now, here is my reservation, and why it doesn't get a fifth star. I suspected (even in my puny, non-psychologist mind) that this book glossed over the grieving process. Behavior modification to "short-circuit" the lowest lows of despair, etc. And then my counselor confirmed that concern. So while behavior retraining might work, do you cover over grief that you're later going to have to deal with anyway? Isn't it better to plow through it and get it over with? That's probably why my last breakup was the worst - I ended up grieving (subconciously) for ALL previous losses because I had never worked through them. So take this book for its insight on how your love is an addiction amenable to change, but be careful about training to skip over your feelings. Read a book on grief over loss, in addition to this.
(most of all, if you are newly separated or divorced, first read "Crazy Time". Now that's what saved me in the darkest early period.)

This is more of a question than a comment. I just bought this book after a break up with my boyfriend of four years. However, my situation is a little bit different than the book talks about. We are kind of in the limbo phase where he needs to grow as a person outside of the relationship but we both still love each other. But in order to do that, I think we both need to move onto the relationship and then come back to it (there was no fight before we broke up, we still communicate). For anyone that has read it, do you think that this is an appropriate book for trying to move on from a love even though there is a possiblity of getting back together? Also, would you recommend reading the whole book at once and then working on each skill week by week or should I just read each chapter as the weeks pass? I would appreciate any imput. Thanks a lot!