House Books

I would have rather had this book than most of the advice I got during law school. I was lucky to see an advance copy of this book while I was hunting for a job last Spring and it really made a difference. Also, having been on the other side of the table in interviews, I can say that it definitely provides accurate insight for law students who want to nail their job interviews. That said, a good chunk of the information in here is obtainable from other sources, so I can't give it 5 stars. But it is nice to have it all in one place, and without any of the bad advice mixed in that you often find elsewhere.

Very helpful book! By far, the best career guide for lawyers that I've ever read.

Amazingly accurate and completely accessible - this book offers useful, practical advice for finding, preparing and excelling at law job interviews. Whether you're in law school just beginning your career, have been recently laid off, or are an experienced attorney who has practiced for years but is looking to move, mastery of the skills and lessons given in this book is essential. As a practicing attorney who has been both the interviewer and the interviewee, I know that I would have benefited greatly had this book been available years ago, and can safely say that certain interviewees would have been best served reading this book before interviewing. From providing general principles of proper etiquette and dress, to detailed examples of what, when and how to say the right things in almost any situation, this book is an absolute necessity. Funny and surprisingly insightful, it is evident that the authors have done their research and know what they are writing about.

In today's economy and state of unemployment this is a must have book. It provides a great incite into getting an interview, preparing for it and going through an interview. Authors describe the smallest details that you must consider in preparation for the interview and give great tips on how to land a job. The greatest part is that the book not just generally describes how to behave during interview, but gives specific examples of responses and questions that you need to ask. Nail Your Law Job Interview: The Essential Guide to Firm, Clerkship, Government, In-house, and Lateral Interviews

As a mid-level associate at a large international law firm, I strongly recommend this book to anyone trying to get the law firm job you want, whether you are a prospective or current law student or a recent graduate. I did not attend a top 10 law school, nor was I at the top of my class when interviewing for a summer associate position. As a result, my prospects of getting the big law job I wanted boiled down to my ability to truly nail my job interview. In the end, I was fortunate enough to succeed, but only after I learned the hard way from all the interviewing mistakes I had made along the way. If I had had this book when I interviewed, I know I would have received a lot more offers than I ended up getting. It is an excellent toolkit for selling and distinguishing yourself in the best way possible, which these days will prove more important than ever -- Ivy League or not.

My Mom was touched just by the title and can't wait to read it. She also said it came in great condition! Thanks!

Such a wonderful story - easy flowing. Shows the meaining to traditions and how important memories are. Such a wonderful gift to add to a gift basket with tea and cookies.

I really like this book because I got someting out of it. I feel that I became a better person by reading this book, therefore it was worth my time. The characters are very real, and quite believable. The plot is easy to follow, yet complicated in the sense of human nature. I think anybody with a sense of depth to their personality would be able to appreciate this book.

I enjoyed this book a great deal and recommend it to girls everywhere. We should cherish all family heirlooms tha are passed down to us

This little book is so sweet. I am a grandmother and I love to do things like hand down items to my children and grandchildren. I have never had pearls, but, it is a must for all age readers as all of Janette Oke's books. They are so clean but still have a little bit of romance in them. I own almost all her books and would love to have them all...I bought the Meeting Place not relizing that it was a series and the next one comes out next year, I can hardly wait....

The strength of this book lies in its broad scope. Gasman provides an up to date survey of nanotech's prospects in a wide range of applications. From semiconductors, computers, communication to the currently very hot energy field. Other topics include medicine and pharmaceuticals.

For semiconductors, I see the nano prospects as just hype, for the near future. Semiconductor research and fabs are already at or near the so-called nanoscales. Current linewidths of circuits are reaching below 100 nm. Sure, new and very different production methods are being devised, to get around various limits in current technology. Call these nanotech if the trends continue, perhaps. But it's just a change in label.

The very breadth of the book's scope also means that it is unable to enter any given topic to any depth. Of necessity, the book then functions as an alertness indicator, if you will. Then, for a topic germane to your interests, you might follow the references cited for a more indepth exposition.

This book offers a broad overview of nanotech markets. It is structured around major markets where nanotech is likely to have an impact (energy, healthcare, IT). The author's background as a high tech market researcher is evident: while the book is hopeful, it's informed by experience with hype in other industries (disclosure: I was a contractor for the author's telecom market research company in the 1990s). There is ample discussion of different scenarios and their relative probability, and effective summaries at the beginning and end of most sections, which make it very easy to scan at different levels of detail. The book also includes a method for assessing the likely impact of nanotech on the reader's company and industry; for people in the planning sections of large organizations, this section is reason enough to buy the book. The weakness of the book is related to its strength: most of the discussion is necessarily introductory. That said, the book is rich with pointers to other resources, and though the focus is on business, aside on societal, legal, cultural, and other implications included throughout.

At $79 for a 242 page book, don't bother with nanotechnology. Invest in the guys marketing this book.

Having been in the nanotechnology field for six years, I have seen many books on nanotechnology. This is the best one I have seen for business executives and other decision makers that are new to the field and trying to understand where the opportunities are for their organizations. The book is well-structured, and written in an erudite, accessible and engaging style.

Unlike many books on the subject, Gasman provides specific guidance on the applications that are most likely to pay off in the near and medium term, and which are not. While not exhaustive, it provides a good overview of the most fertile opportunities. The summaries of the "takeaways" from each chapter, and the ample reference to further reading are particularly useful for the busy reader. These will help the neophyte to locate the gems as they wade through the huge amount information on nanotech, much of which is quite mediocre. Unlike many authors who provide a superficial and shallow treatment of the subject, Gasman's experience as a high-quality, disciplined and thorough market analyst comes through in this book.

If I have one primary complaint about the book, it is that there are a few important elements of the nanotech field that are missing. For example, his summary of nanotechnology tools does not make any reference to electron microscopes and focused ion beam devices, which are key to imaging and manipulation at the nanoscale. These omissions are more than balanced by the overall quality of the book. I recommend it highly.

As author of the first book on successful investing in nanotechnology, Nanotech Fortunes: Make Yours in the Boom; Winning Strategies, I can say that Nanomarkets.net's Lawrence Gasman has produced an exceptional contribution to the literature of nanotech, Nanotechnology: Applications and Markets. Everyone interested in exactly how nanotech is going to impact products, markets, industries and businesses must study this concise and worthwhile read. Gasman's intuitions, opinions and arguments are not only right on target but they are informed by a lively intelligence and decades of real-life experience and deeply thought analysis. Whether you are in the business or just looking to invest with a real understanding of what you're doing, you are going to love this book and thank the author as well.

Lawrence has decades of experience analyzing the impact of, commercialization processes and "productization" of new technologies, and he is one of the most down-to-earth reporters on the goings on in real world manufacturing and basic industrial demands, as well as the far-out world of nanotechnology.

The book's real value lays in chapters on nanotech's likely and UNLIKELY impacts on industries as diverse as semiconductors, medical, computing, pharmaceuticals, communications, alternative energy, pollution control and advanced materials. From there, Lawrence leads executives (and investors) on an examination of specific industry-related opportunities and then the step-by-step tools on exactly how to conduct a nanotech audit in any particular company. His strategy will help businesses, large and small, identify both commercial opportunities and threats stemming from advances in nanotechnology.

If there is any "weakness" to the book some might argue that it is too short. At only 200 pages perhaps several chapters and discussions could have been expanded and more time could have been spent debunking ideas and processes, current in the nano-community, that have little or no commercial future. That said, Gasman covers all the important topics, markets and applications.

I feel that scientists and engineers can also benefit from Nanotechnology: Applications and Markets simply because it orients any reader to a perspective where solutions to problems and products that are needed or useful become the key areas of interest. Clearly, a fruitful place for engineers to start . . . I think one that more and more scientists will find a beneficial focus.

All and all, along with Nanotech Fortunes, of course, this is one of the few books related to nano, that belongs on everyone's shelf.

Here is a book that I have been looking for for some time, a book that incorporates the magnificent artwork of the Napoleonic period along with a detailed profile of Napoleon. The result is magic and a pure delight to the eye. Proctor Jones has done a splendid job at merging the two memoirs of Menval (Napoleon's secretary) and Constant (Napoleon's valet) to provide a detailed and intimate account account of Napoleon. This is not a book that details Napoleon's battles or strategic genius but is a book that provides a wonderful insight into his character and personality instead. What comes across is that Napoleon was indeed human with many strengths and weaknesses and is not the ogre or monster as often portrayed by British propaganda. One can see the the unboundless energy, emotion, magnetism and even quirky habits of the man as seen through Menval and Constant. The artwork is plentiful and compliments the events as described in the narrative. This is a superb book, printed on high quality paper and an essential addition to any buff of the Napoleonic period. You will not be disappointed, only delighted.

There are numerous books on Napoleon Bonaparte, but this is THE book that I had to possess on the great man himself. The visual feast of illustrations compiled in this book alone more than justifies the ridiculously low price of the book relative to other pictorial books on the same subject. The judicious use of illustrations and the careful editing of two writing styles, one by Meneval (Napoleon's secretary) and the other by Constant (Napoloen's valet), by Proctor-Jones has transformed what could have been a boring translation of two French diaries into a vivid account of Napoleon's life as Emperor of Rome. Both accounts may have been biased in favour of the Emperor but Proctor-Jones was clever in not interjecting any of his personal opinions as editor and thereby, has created a classic work on the subject.

There are numerous books on Napoleon Bonaparte, but this is THE book that I had to possess on the great man himself. The visual feast of illustrations compiled in this book alone more than justifies the ridiculously low price of the book relative to other pictorial books on the same subject. The judicious use of illustrations and the careful editing of two writing styles, one by Meneval (Napoleon's secretary) and the other by Constant (Napoloen's valet), by Proctor-Jones has transformed what could have been a boring translation of two French diaries into a vivid account of Napoleon's life as Emperor of Rome. Both accounts may have been biased in favour of the Emperor but Proctor-Jones was clever in not interjecting any of his personal opinions as editor and thereby, has created a classic work on the subject.

I will begin this review by saying that I knew Proctor Jones and liked him very much. I had the privlege to travel with him and visit many of his friends while I was living and working France. He was a wonderful man and an enjoyable companion and I will fondly cherish my memories of him.

Even today his memory is still strong for those of us who knew him and his name is a talisman which opens doors which otherwise would be sealed.

Many people claim to have access to special or unknown collections. Proctor was the real deal.

This book was a labor of love for Proctor. He set out to publish pictures that had not been seen in other books...he spent an unbelievable amount of money, time and effort tracking down unpublished art and securing the right to publish it in this book.

He then published this book himself because no publisher would print it at the level of quality he wanted. He was particular about the paper, the binding and the detail of the reproductions...

Proctor then was able to get Jean Tulard to do the preface...virtually impossible for an American author...and even launched the French version of the book at a reception at Malmaison (I was there).

Proctor never intended to make money on the book...It was his intention to bring these works to an audience who would otherwise find them inaccessable. I know for a fact that at the print run he authorized he lost tens of thousands of dollars just on the royalties and fees he paid for the permission to reproduce these paintings.

This book is in a limited print run in English and in French and when they are gone they will be gone. Just like Proctor.

Proctor I will miss you and I thank you for producing this book.

This is a fantastic book as it includes within its cover a feast of great Napoleonic paintings and memorabilia which is worth the price alone. The text is finely edited by Proctor-Jones, comprising of an interwoven thread based on two memoirs of two men who were closely linked to Napoleon. One was his secretary, C Meneval and the other is his personal valet W Constant.
Every dedicated Napoleonophile should own a copy.

Why didn't they write history books like this when I was a student?! The reader will breeze through nearly 500 pages, featuring 150 historical firsts. History was never so exciting. It reads like a movie with over 160 photos and illustrations.

This book interested me because I was looking to learn more about American history. I have a high school history education and was looking to read something that was neither intimidating or dull. Further, I do not have a lot of time in the day to devote to reading, so this book proved to be perfect due to the style of the book. The book contains 14 chapters that address different aspects of the Civil War. Within each chapter are a dozen or so mini stories (approximately 1-4 pages), which describe a specific "first" that occurred during the wartime period.

I learned a lot and finished the book within days, which is rare for me. I have shared many of these mini stories with friends and family who were quite impressed about my newly acquired knowledge of the Civil War. This is a great read if you want to learn more about the war that revolutionized America. This is by no means a text book that discusses the war in a boring and chronological fashion. This book was so much fun to read and I look forward to future books from these authors.

Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (6/07)

"A Nation Transformed: How the Civil War Changed America Forever" is the most comprehensive look at the Civil War that I have ever seen. The authors have definitely done their homework; their approach is much more than a pedestrian read. The book is very detailed and reader friendly.

I took this book on vacation with me to read on the beach in South Carolina where I spent a week with my sister's family. My brother-in-law is a huge Civil War fan who has read almost everything on the subject and visited all the famous battlegrounds. It did suspiciously disappear for 48-hours after he saw what I was reading. After I finished it, we sat and shared our different perspectives. He is much more knowledgeable about this subject than I am, so I am including his comments as well as mine in this review.

The book has an amazing amount of detail and the authors did an excellent job of including material that has never been written about. The comprehensive information includes personal information and background of the characters, how they grew up and how their personalities affected each other and the war. There was also a lot of information about African Americans and women not usually seen in period pieces. And, they not only wrote about the many aspects of the Lincoln presidency and how it affected the war, but about ordinary people doing extraordinary things throughout this time period.

The only fact in the novel that we found that was not correct was about the Monitor. The author's mentioned that it was discovered but nothing found. The turret was actually retrieved and is on display in Newport News, Virginia.

I read this book from a Northern perspective and found it to be excellent. The Southerner's might not necessarily agree with me. If you enjoy United States history and are looking for a book rich in detail about the most painful time in our history, then "A Nation Transformed" is the book for you.

This book is more than just a story of battles and casualties and the carnage of war; it tells the story of a country struggling to define its character and set the course for its future. Driven by the impetus of war, great leaders came to the fore in all fields; military, government, science, transportation, medicine, journalism, communications, and education. Their discoveries benefit us even today. Their trials, tribulations and triumphs come alive once again in the pages of A Nation Transformed; How The Civil War Changed America Forever.

The authors tell their story in a style that flies with the speed of a rifle bullet and hits home with the impact of a cannonball. Calling the Civil War America's second revolution, they show that this second great struggle in our history allowed us to become not what we could be but rather what we should be, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

I've just finished A Nation Transformed: How the Civil War Changed America Forever by CSU East Bay/Hayward Professor Gerald S. Henig. Burnt out on chick lit, my boss recommended this book and to my surprise it's a pretty quick, easy, but fascinating read. With the exception of Gone with The Wind, Glory & my 11th grade history teacher, I've had very little exposure to the Civil War until this book, which is all the more reason why I felt compelled to write this review. For me, it's rare to discover, let alone dive head first into such a genre. Dealing with all the firsts that occurred during the Civil War era, the book is written in a series of short stories that anyone can pickup at anytime & not have to worry about losing their place. For example, it was the first time America had an organized intelligence agency ; first time passports to enter/leave the country were required; first time Blacks, Jews & Catholic served as military chaplains (obviously, only for the North); and first time there was a bearded president. What I really enjoyed, however, was how the author included many firsts regarding women: first time a female was executed by the U.S. (which was how the author got the idea to write the book; you'll have to read it to find out J ); served as a nurse; and was a spy. Best of all, you don't have to be one of those civil war junkies who love to reenact our country's transformation to enjoy it!

hubby and I can rate it with 5 stars since he didn't stop laughing while reading this until the very end!!!! I highly recommend this for any of you out there who laughed along with the movie!! ENJOY....

This book is a must have for Animal House fans. You will laugh untill you cry.

This book (by Chris Miller who co-wrote the screenplay) is like having an extended version of the movie. Lots of scenes that didn't make it into the final cut are here in the book, and some of these were probably filmed (there's plenty of photos of scenes not in the movie(!)).

A great job, and a worthwhile buy for the fan of the movie.

In a very real sense I've been waiting about twenty five years for this to be reissued. I tried to buy a copy from who over runs National Lampoon these days about ten years ago, even called long distance to California and spoke to a confused receptionist who said everything was in a warehouse in New Jersey waiting for lawsuits to be settled. Now, at last, Chris Miller's novelization is available. It was barely available back in the day (summer of 1978 for you chilluns) but I recall reading and re-reading this many many times, even Doug Kenney's hilarious Faber College Orientation Manual ("do co-eds really matriculate standing up?)Anyone who loves the movie will love this book. As is often the case, there's more material that didn't fit in the movie. Loads of autobiographical material like the real reason Larry got the pledge name Pinto. Lots of photos from the movie, art by longtime Lampoon artists like Sharry Flennikan. This is a book to be cherished and passed down to future generations. Buy several and your Christmas shopping is done six months early. Cheers!

I got a copy of this book as a radio station giveaway in 1978. I've read it so many times that it's falling apart. The writers of the movie are the book writers, and some of the movie scenes are drawn cartoon style. There is so much more background info on the characters here than in the movie. This represents the peak of the National Lampoon era for writers and cartoonists, and all their best work is here. After reading the book, go back and watch the movie again. It'll be like seeing it for the first time.

This is a beautiful and truly enlightening book. I read it in less than a week because I couldn't put it down. I bought about 9 other copies and passed them out to my professors and my friends in the Christian ministry. The only regret I'll ever have about my life is that I didn't get to meet this man in person to express my gratitude.

For a more formal account of the Chinese philosophy of Nature you may want to look to Mr. Watts book, "The Way of Zen", or to Joseph Needham's "Science and Civilization in China".

This book is about the problem of man's relationship with Nature. A problem that gives rise to the problem of man's relation to woman and to himself. This book was published in 1958. I am certain that today Alan would have taken a more egalitarian approach to the subject of Mankind's alienation from Nature. Even our sages are to an extent the product of their immediate environment. Nurture is the yang to Nature's yin. In my opinion this book should be read by every High School student in America,.. by everyone.

The Taoist philosophy of Nature is more than a theoretical system, it is primarily a way of life in which the original sense of the seamless unity of Nature is restored without the loss of individual consciousness. To follow the watercourse way of Taoism is like a hand that has been reunited with its body. It is still a hand, but now it is part of something bigger than its narrow sense of self.

For the Taoist the mystery of life is not so much a problem to be solved intellectually as it is a reality to be experienced intuitively. Intuition is of a higher order because it includes the rational mind. Synthesis is the product of the whole person. The left and right hemispheres of our brains working as one. Nature is a synergetic whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, a synergetic organic unity. Nature, though it has mechanistic characteristics, is not a machine. We are a microcosm of the macrocosm, Nature in miniature. Nature is not made up of space and matter. Nature is an energy field of varying density. Nature is whole, more a volume than a line. The Taoist comes out of Nature, not into it. We are not strangers in a strange land, we are home, Heaven is beneath our feet. We do not need to try and control Nature, we need to go with the flow of the grain of reality. To recognize the yin/yang polarities of life as being two sides of a unified whole. Day without night is meaningless. Each pole contains the seed of its opposite pole, it is darkest before the Dawn. The Thread of Life has two ends, birth and death, and yet the thread is whole. Our world is not an illusion, maya. Life matters. If there is a bias to Taoism, it is an optimistic one. It is the thinking that anything is separate from the whole that is illusion, that is pessimistic. The inside of the inside of all outsides is the same inside. The eternal Tao is omnipresent. There is a grain to reality that is the path of least resistance, the Way of ways.

For the Taoist "Nature" is a guide book, the lone book written solely by the hand of Providence. "Nature" is a manifold collection of parables. The Sun shines on good and bad alike. God, the eternal Tao by another name, is impartial. God's love shines on everyone for God's love is whole. It is we that divide with our rational minds. We have been taught by our culture here in the West that our spotlight focus, generally the left hemisphere of our brain, is not only superior to our floodlight awareness, the right hemisphere, but that we are our narrow focus, our left hemisphere. We are fragmented. The Fall from the Garden was due to eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, of thinking that polarities are separate, that we are separate from God. As Ken Wilber theorizes in his book "Up from Eden", the Fall was a necessary evolutionary step up in our mental development, a necessary evil. Or as Julian Jaynes theorizes in his book "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind", the consciousness of consciousness is a relatively recent development in the history of Man. Except for the rare sage or saint rationality is a new tool Mankind has yet to learn how to use properly, myself included. By fixating on a part of ourselves as though it was all of ourselves we have become fragmented and thus alienated and in need of reintegration with our whole selves. Not a return to the naive holism of Tribal Societies, but to evolve from the Individual extremism of our current civilization, to the mature holism of Global Man. This is the way of the Taoist. As Barbara Marx Hubbard has stated in her forward to Ralph Alan Dale's excellent translation of Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching"-the Old Testament of Taoism, "The spiral of our evolutionary progress is turning back in time to reconnect with the great sage Lao Tzu". God did not kick us out of the Garden, we kicked ourselves out. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he". Proverbs 23:7. Sometimes we rationalize too much.

Meditation is a master key that all wisdom traditions use to reconnect us with our feelings, with our whole selves. "Be still, and know that I am God". Psalm 46:10. Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Rumi, Ghandi, Maharshi, were all master meditators. They meditated before they acted, often for forty days and forty nights. Nature is the action of awareness. We can all be more aware, wake up, be born again, through silent meditation. No one can do it for us. No one can give us anything we don't already have. The Kingdom of God is within each of us. It is in silence, in awareness stripped of the chatter of our rational minds, that we hear the still small voice of God. Khamush!

PS: Alan Watts is one of my favorite presenters of Eastern Wisdom to the West. I have learned much from his writings. Much, that for me, has stood the test of life. Possibly my favorite of his books is "The Supreme Identity". Though attacked by some as overly syncretic, trying to join things naturally opposed, I find Alan Watt's writings for the most part wholly illuminating.

This is possibly my favorite of all Watts' books, and according to his autobiography In My Own Way (another of his best), he considered this one his best-written (not that he was putting down the content, either).

Although clearly directed to a male audience, I as a woman found much of interest here -- in the application of a Taoist/Zen approach both to love and life in general. A deeply thought and well-articulated book, the scope of Watts' topic is wide but well-supported both logically and factually. A deeply satsifying read with profound implications.

Using some of the basic principles of Taoism, Alan Watts is able to explain to us the true meaning of life, love, and simple existence in an astonishingly simple way. This book is both creative and enlightening. It provides a fresh new perspective on Western culture and how we have sent ourselves to purgatory by developing a certain type of consciousness emphasized in Western culture. If you read another exceptional book called "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato, you will also learn that this is part of the process of both life and evolution. These are the kind of teachers we truly need more of in this age of chaos and confusion. Highly recommended!

The Healing Touch series does not have as much suspense as the Hideaway series, but I still really enjoyed Necessary Measures. Hannah Alexander's books are always entertaining reading with some good messages or lessons included. I always seem to find something to apply to my life when reading the books. A couple of the messages from this book are praying for your enemies and accepting your singleness. As always there was interesting medical information included.

The husband and wife writing team behind the pen name Hannah Alexander have struck gold with Book Two of the Healing Touch Series. Personally, this reviewer has not read the first book in this series, but found this did not effect the reading experience. Those that have read the first book are reintroduced to some of Dogwood Springs citizens. The authors do a great job of catching the first time reader up with background information.

Grant Sheldon, the ER director, at Dogwood Springs Hospital, and his twins Beau and Brooke have setted into their new home. Life has had it's difficulties adjusting to the loss of wife and mother, Anette. Grant and his children have grown to love family friend and nurse, Lauren McCaffery. The relationship between Lauren and the Sheldon family becomes more intertwined when Grant goes out of town, leaving the twins in Lauren's care. The growing drug problem in Dogwood Springs hits too close to home as Beau, Brooke and their friend are endangered.

The pace of the ER was reminiscent of some of today's hottest medical shows on television. Reading the details proved to be very exhilerating especially as the emotions ran high among the staff members. At the same time while the hospital scenes were fast paced, other scenes such as those between Grant and Lauren were favorably slower. The slower pace will allow readers a chance to build up an ernest desire for these two individuals to break past the boundaries of their friendship. Looking forward to the next book in this series!

--- reviewed by Tyora Moody for Christian Bookshelf

I have read Hannah Alexander books now for two years.
They are great books to read full of drama and lovable, moral
characters. There is humor, mystery and a little bit of romance.
I highly recommend his entire series. After finishing his book,
you close the book feeling good about life.

I read a lot of Christian books, but most of them are non-fiction. I'm very selective about the fiction I read - there's just not enough time to read all the good stuff out there! I used to enjoy reading Robin Cook's medical suspense books, so I was glad to find good medical fiction novels by Hannah Alexander!

The first ones are a trilogy: Sacred Trust, Solemn Oath, and Silent Pledge. I highly recommend all these! Then the authors started a new series called Healing Touch and Necessary Measures is the second book in that series. Second Opinion is the first one, and you should read that before you read this one.

This wonderful series is centered around a small-town hospital emergency room in Missouri. The medical parts ring true for a good reason - Hannah Alexander is a pen name for a husband/wife writing team and the husband is an ER physician! These books will appeal to both men and women, and contain suspense, drama, a little romance and a lot of inspiration. The authors really make their characters come to life and you will find yourself reading quickly to find out what happens next.

The only downside to these books is that, as of April of 2003, there are only two books in this series! A third will release in May - will there be more from this great author team??

Happy reading!

If you like the television drama "ER", you will love Hannah Alexander's newest ER novel, Necessary Measures. Like the TV show, Necessary Measures has all the intrigue and heroism of an active emergency room. Unlike the TV drama, this Christian novel weaves a message of inspiration and hope without compromise.

Characters Dr. Grant Sheldon and Nurse Lauren McCaffery face real-life dilemmas, with difficult people and heart-rending situations. Fast-paced and compelling, this book will keep you turning pages until the issues are settled in the end.

This is the first book I've read by Hannah Alexander, but it will definitely not be my last. This husband and wife team truly knows how to craft a believable, touching story. If you like tales surrounding the medical world, Necessary Measures will more than satisfy.

I love reading books like this because they make me think I'm part of some cool, hip crowd that "gets" these books. Fried writes in minimalist terms, yet that doesn't keep both the story and characters from having a whallop of an impact. I found myself thinking about Alice for weeks after I'd finished the book--replaying some of the scenes and dialogue in my mind. "Nellcott is My Darling" is up for a major book award in Canada and after reading it, it's easy to see why. This is a gifted author and I look forward to reading her next novel.

I am no expert in girls coming of age. If you doubt me, ask my daughter. Still we could all be better for knowing Fried's Alice. Alice is more amenable than Jane Eyre and more secure than Franny Glass. She is the emergent heroine for our era.

Golda Fried's language is economical and sincere. Her episodes ring true. Her analogies are sound. You'll laugh out loud at her metamorphisis. It is our own.

Read it.

Don

Golda is so funny and deep at the same time. Her metaphors are wonderful...."'Stay away from boys, her dad said. They will only rape you and leave you with nothing.' Her parents looked back and forth at each other and then at Alice. Alice felt like running, like calling Nellcot, but he would somehow find out where they were and show up at their table like a spilt drink."

As I read the book, I felt each scene as if I were in it myself...."Allegra yanked Alice to the women's bathroom. Their trips to the bathroom were becoming familiar. Allegra spent ten minutes putting on her deep raspberry-bruise lipstick and then kissed Alice on the cheek, making Alice feel like a substitute tissue."

The truth about how confusing relationships can be is easily understood in this charming story....
"'Why don't you ever call me?' he asked her.
'You usually call me. You don't even have an answering machine if I did call you.'
'You could call me at work.'
'But you're working.'
'French girls are much more aggressive.'
'What does that mean?'
'It means, I guess we're going to have to practice this. I'm going to go home now and you're going back to your dorm and you are going to call me.'
'Will you answer?'
"We'll have to see.' He went home.

And I have felt just like this many times...but Golda Fried put it in such original terms......
"'I don't need another guy or anyone else telling me what to do. What do you tell people about me? Does he know I'm a virgin too?'
'Um'.
'God, Nellcot, Lovers should not bring their love to the light.'
'We aren't lovers.'
Ouch. A pigeon flew into a sordid cloud and her hair was violent on her face and if she had been chewing gum, it would have gotten caught in her hair."

The fact that I just want to quote the book in this review makes me realize it's like me saying...." Listen to this!....Isn't this great?" I read the book right through to find out how it ended. I was surprised in the end though and want to read the book again, this time savoring the very unique creative writing style of Golda Fried, my new favorite author. I hope she is working on her next book. I hope you who are reading this will have the rare pleasure of reading this book too.

Golda Fried takes us deep inside of Alice Charles, her incredibly fresh and naïve character who takes our heart and makes us remember every awkward moment of the path toward womanhood. Alice, our hero, is unsure of herself and awkwardly waiting to have her first real love. When she finally finds him, she has just one problem: her virginity. Nellcott, Alice's first love, is really no darling at all. The sweet Alice is instantly drawn to his "bad-boy" appeal; he is drawn to her naiveté and sweetness, like dark to light. To his credit, though, the eyeliner- wearing aspiring rocker does not take Alice's virginity lightly. He is surprisingly patient, despite his shock at her virginity.
" What were you doing all of high school?" he asks upon her confession, which occurs just moments before he is poised to make love with his boots still on.

Despite her attempts to be a bohemian Montreal girl, Alice is still very much her parent's daughter, the same loving parents, who, after replacing Alice with a dog, lovingly attempt to find out if their daughter is still a virgin during their Thanksgiving meal by asking outright: " Everyone at this table who's had sex before, raise your hand." A mortified Alice freezes as their hands shoot straight up in the air.

In an era where children grow up entirely too fast, and middle-schoolers "do it" routinely and without pause, it is nice to know Alices do exist, as rare as they may be. Like Alice, they too struggle their sexuality and their need to define themselves as women, and not just as daughters.

Thank you, Golda Fried, for giving us a wonderland in Alice, who is both our darling and our hero.

Who knew that such dreamy decsriptions of love, longing, and life could be so achingly accurate. Golda Fried writes from the corners of her heart.

It has been a very moving and educational experience to become involved with the characters in this series, as well as other of series by this author. The story line, historical and fictional, offers those of us interested in the slavery issues a wonderful way to go back and be a part of that history from the pages of this book. This is definitely a "feel good/feel bad" experience.

You don't have to be young to be in love. Simple concept, nicely presented by Michael Phillips in yet another book featuring the charming Carolina Cousins and their growing cast of cohorts.

An almost-fatal car accident lands the main character in a hospital after she catches her husband cheating. Several other men enter her life, and it's time to choose.

THIS BOOK TELL THE BEGINING OF JOSEPHA STORY, I LIKE THIS BOOK BECAUSE GOD IS A HELPER IN BAD TIMES.

Seffie was born a slave. At seven years old or about she is bought by Peter Mesiner as a companion to his sickly eight year old daughter Grace who suffers from the after effect of scarlet fever. Grace may now be blind and her heart very weak, but she loves to read so Peter buys Seffie and takes her to his Louisiana home. Life seems good to Seffie who learns to read and even to speak French, but as before when she and her brother were accused of arson by their previous owner who sold them to punish them by separating them from their mother, life intercedes and she is gone again.

In 1869 in Greens Crossing, North Carolina the Ku Klux Klan secret men's vigilante club set afire the home of free Blackman Henry Paterson for no apparent reason except the color of his skin. He and Seffie, though victims of many heartbreaks and tragedies caused by god-faring righteous individuals, are attracted to one another, but too many unfair and unjust setbacks make any relationship between them unlikely.

The third Carolina Cousins historical tale (see A PERILOUS PROPOSAL and THE SOLDIER'S LADY) brings home the plight of free blacks just after the Civil War is over and they have been emancipated yet with few real rights. Seffie is terrific lead character as she has learned life's lessons that the powerful can do anything to impoverish people and that tragedy is the norm. Whereas she fears close relationships, Henry remains optimistic for the future and willing to risk his life in spite of the threatened vigilante injustice of the KKK to lynch or burn him. Together enhanced by a strong cast they make an inspiring Reconstruction Era thriller.

Harriet Klausner