On-the-tape

This is a fantastic book, and one I can easily recommend.

In this book, Francis Frangipane outlines the three battlegrounds that are in every believer's life. The first chapter (the battleground of the mind) is a fantastic section that deals with the areas of darkness that the Lord wants to expose. The great thing about the way the author communicates this is how he places the battle in perspective. He encourages the reader to look to Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to transform our minds.

The next chapter concerns the battleground of the church. Here the author focuses the reader on unity and love. Two keys that unlock the power of God to move in cities.
The final chapter deals with the warfare in the heavenly places. To do this he suggests once again that the main battle is by focusing on Jesus and taking ground in our own lives. He exposes the works of the enemy through the spirit of Jezebel and guides the reader through prayer, how to address this stronghold.
I have read this book many times and will probably read it again one day. It is packed with valuable information that will benefit any believer.

For those who are in the throes of spiritual warfare, or those who are studying the topic, this title is a must-have for your library. It's not a long read, but it is a deep read - and one that you will find yourself coming back to time and again.

Mr. Frangipane is one of my all-time favorite Christian writers. He rightly divides the Word and his wisdom abounds; his humble spirit is found in the essence of his writings.

This title, 'The Three Battlegrounds,' will reveal much to the reader on the three most difficult realms of living - with oneself, with one's fellow believers, and with the Lord. The author is astute, with deep knowledge of the Word, and he ever draws the readers back to the source of their faith and love, Jesus Christ.

This is one of his best, though all of his writings are on the mark. Be sure to pick up 'Holiness, Truth and the Presence of God' as well. You won't be sorry!

THE THREE BATTLEGROUNDS is a spiritual warfare manual organized around the theme suggested by its title. The three arenas are the mind, the church and the heavenly places. There are seven or eight chapters devoted to the techniques of spiritual warfare suitable for each separate battleground. The book is based on the belief that spiritual victory depends on both wisdom and virtue. It is suggested that the reader first become familiar with the terms described in the short glossary at the end of the publication.

The text is lean but loaded with useful insights and information. THE THREE BATTLEGROUNDS is most valuable as a handbook which we can refer to regularly during our ongoing struggles while waging spiritual warfare.

Takedown: The Fall of the Last Mafia Empire is by far the best Mob-related book I've read in years. For once we have the perspective of a true good-guy insider, not a bunch of turncoat felons or distant relationss to Mafiosi who heard some stories second and third hand. Detective Cowan's undercover journey was very suspenseful, and this book is definitely a page-turner. Here's an Irish-American cop who did it all, became a believable Italian -American business executive and got up close, wearing wires for YEARS as he met with made guys and capos in the Gambino and Genovese families. Definitely recommended, even if you are not a "Mob buff."

An interesting, suspensful and funny book about how one NY detective, almost unwittingly, found him self the central figure in bringing down the "garbage cartel" in New York. Having been a business owner in Manhattan, who had to pay the unbelievable fees to carters, I hughly recommend this book to anyone looking to get insight into how the "Mob" infiltrated both big and small business.
Kudos to Cowan and Sal Benedetto for following through to the end. Let's hope the politicans have as much back bone as Cowan and Benedetto in insuring that their work was not in vain. A great read. Hope they don't screw up the movie.

Cowan's book is a riveting account of an undercover NYPD's officer infiltration of one of New York's most powerful Mafia families.

Much like a similiar work "Donnie Brasco", Cowan keeps the reader in perpetual suspense as the detective narrowly escapes detection from the Mob and exposure from his own colleagues.

He also provides a detailed and penetrating view of the Byzantine mechanics and day to day grind of the mob controlled "garbage business"

This book is one of the most successful at describing what life is actually like for low and mid level mafiasio.

In 1960, Armando Valladares was arrested in Cuba for being opposed to communism on philosophical and religious grounds. He was kept in the Isla de Pinos prison. His imprisonment was hallmarked by violence, putrid food, squalid living conditions, and the psychological torture of listening to Castro's firing squads eliminating "counter revolutionaries" in the courtyard below his cell. Valladares retained his sanity by prayer and the writing of poetry. It was the publication of his poetry in Europe and America which brought his condition to such international figures as French President Francois Mitterand and numerous human rights organizations. It was the constant pressure of such individuals and international organizations upon the Castro regime that finally led to Valladares release in 1982. Against All Hope is a testament of the endurance of the human spirit in the face of totalitarianism and inhumanity. The 426 pages of text are enhanced with photographs. This new Encounter books edition of a classic prison narrative had been out of print for fifteen years and is a welcome addition to political science, Latin American, and human rights studies, prison literature reading lists, and autobiography collections.

I HAVE NEVER REALLY UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS BOOK, UNTIL MY FATHER READ ME A FEW VERSES THAT HE WAS MENTIONED IN IT THE OTHER DAY. THIS BOOK REPRESENTS THE STORY OF MANY CUBANS THAT GAVE THEIR LIFE TO FIGHT AGAINST THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT. MY FATHER WAS A CELL MATE OF VALLADARES, AND WAS ONE OF THE MEN THAT WERE LEADING STRIKES AGAINST THE PRISON SYSTEM. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE REALIZE THE STORY BEHIND THIS BOOK, AND THAT THE REASON MOST WERE PRISONERS FOR OVER 14 YEARS ,LIKE MY FATHER, WAS TO FREE CUBA OF THE COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT THAT IS STILL ACTIVE. FOR HIS FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, FOR HIS COUNTRY. I HAVE YET TO READ THIS BOOK, BUT BY MEETING VALLADARES, AND ALL OF MY FATHER'S FRIEND THAT WERE IN PRISON WITH HIM, I KNOW THIS IS A STORY OF HOW YOUNG MEN GAVE THEIR LIFE TO TRY TO BECOME HEROES TO THEIR COUNTRY.
ROBERT ALVAREZ

Are you ever against adversity?? Then, I would read this book!

But I do wish to articulate:

I lived near the Northern Border of Mexico, in the early mid 1980s; when Liberation Theology was in Central America; when insurgent movements were across Latin America; I had a shortwave radio and among other things, I listened to "Radio Havana Cuba", I am anglo, but I learned the Spanish language in college. I watched the excellent movie "El Norte" addressing the problems of Mayan Indians from Guatemala migrating to the U.S. (and probably a good unbiased movie to watch as well). I read and read and I saw even Socialist demonstrations in Mexico along with murals for all of the assorted parties there besides those with the hammer and sickle.

But it made me wonder; what is the truth?

So famous, is that "Scarface" movie of the early eighties; about a Cuban Prisoner of all things; coming over to Florida on the Mariel Boatlift. During that time, I took a class on Cuban history and I may have been a shade positive attitude towards Fidel Castro; but after reading this book; I became very neutral, not knowing what to think, about the "workers paradise" of that Caribbean isle.

Fidel; and in fact, others, Che Guevara and the dictator's brother, Raoul; all are mentioned in this book, additionally in no favorable way;

If half of what Valladares writes in this book were true, that would be rather sad for the ruling regime of Cuba; but then, I have to read it, and wonder, what motives would Valladares have to write untruths? How could he even come up with some of the stories in this book, if not true, such as depriving a prisoner of certain minerals (and he eludes to such countries as East Germany, as this era is during the time of the Iron Curtain) so that they develop chemical imbalances in the body, or prison cells that are so tiny, you only have room really, to just lie there; and many, many tales.

We learn of heroes as well; those who die in prison as the victim of the system, of priests and common peoples.

In my life, I have known adversity; this book, is something to read in those times; in fact, I have loaned this book out, not getting it back and making sure I follow up in obtaining another copy.

And again, I tend to believe Valladares, he was finally freed after over 20 years (I believe) of imprisonment through international action. And true, the original charges he was brought up on, are very petty. You will read, in this book, throughout those years, how Valladares was moved from prison to prison.

The left, the right, have all committed wrongs, maybe man in general; but this is a testament to the indomitable spirit of man too. You turn the pages and read it in rapid succession, it is so interesting.

This should be required reading in any colleges offering Latin American Studies or Caribean Studies.

Like his financial books, Charles Givens offers a no nonsense system for becoming your best. You will learn how to flatten your fears, generate goals and add several hours of productivity to your day with more free time for fun to boot.

The tape is an overview. The book is very thorough.

Highly recommended along with Stephen Coveys 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

SUPERSELF is a superbook, maybe the best self-development book ever! Easyto read --- it's not just motivation,it shows what kind of person you haveto be with strategies on how to achieve. Mr. Given's shows how to overcome fear, handle negativity in the workplace, push beyond fatique forpeak performance, relieve tension andworry, get twice as much done in halfthe time and more. Mr Given's writingstyle is informative and entertaining.You won't want to put this book downuntill you've read all the way throughand read again and again.

Interesting that some people are surprised that Charles Givens produced this audio tape program and the book of the same name--SuperSelf; interesting because this is how Givens started way back in 1975 with his first company The Success Motivation Institute which was incredibly successful. SuperSelf is a program designed to take back control. To destroy the control others or events have over our emotions and the direction of our lives. To stop waiting for our ship to come in and go out and swim to it. Not to wait for things to happen but to make thing happen. Not to find ourselves, but to design ourselves. To take the action in our lives to make our dreams into reality.SuperSelf will show you how to design the rest of your life to become the best of your life and to live your dreams.

This was a sweet book and I encourage women of all ages to read it. Our protagonist, Dr. Meggie O'Connor moves back to the family farm from New York City after her many year-old marriage fails and she is fast approaching her fortieth birthday. She is a psychologist and restarts her practice in northern Michigan. One of her early clients/patients is Winona Pathfinder, a Native American "healer" whose daughter has pushed her to therapy because she insists she will be dying soon, thank you very much. As this relationship grows it becomes more quickly evident to the reader than to Meggie that it is she who is being healed. Meggie learns a good deal about Winona's life, her decisions, and her reasons for the calm prediction of death and is drawn into the validity of the pipe-smoking, and the Native American 'medicine' ways. In a very subtle way, Winona draws Meggie into a real change of view about who she is and what her value is. Finally, there is a love interest that, in a surprise in the end, makes the story wonderfully complete.

I heard about Winona's Web from my neighbor Gail Korhonen whose book club thoroughly enjoyed it and so I thank Gail for lending me her copy. Suttons Bay,Michigan is a beautiful & familiar place, so I felt right at home with the characters. The story is about a psychologist who has an elderly patient by the name of Winona Pathfinder who is Lakota. Winona is not very interested in being psychoanalyzed and she becomes the therapist & no matter how much the psychologist tries to be scientific & business-like, Winona always has the patience to be both teacher & guide. The story is about death & life. The plot thoughtfully & successfully pits American Indian spirituality & tradition against science. Everything about this story is respectful to the American Indian people & our culture. It is the first book of fiction I have ever read by an Anglo that did not romanticize or dramatize or trivialize Indian people & our heritage and traditions. I was pleasantly surprised by the clever ways that Phyllis Cogan addressed important social & political issues that American Indian people deal with & frequently found myself rereading specific passages with appreciation for the sensitivity and knowledge. I like the people in this book & recognize them among my own friends. These characters are well developed. When I reached the last sentence in the book I was both satisfied & sad because I wanted to continue to travel with them on their journeys. All I could think about was a sequal.

Cogan is a very warm, introspective author. I have had the pleasure of reading all her books & would highly recommend all of them, starting with Winona's Web, then Compass of the Heart. Her characters have so much depth ~ truly refreshing. She knows the heart & soul of them each. I felt my soul grow reading her books. Do yourself a favor, & give her a try.

What can I say about this book. It made me cry, but it also gave me hope. I admire Zoya's courage and strength. It took me on a journey of Afghanistan and its people. I saw her grandmother praying on the pad, I was there when she almost fell down, because she couldn't see through the burqa. I can't tell you how much this book can change you as a person. You have to read it for yourself and experience the heart of a child and the courage of a woman. That is Zoya. I would like to know what she is doing now.

This was an informative, well written account of Zoya's life as an Afghan woman. Since September 11 Americans have been inundated with news reports about the Taliban and Afghanistan. This book goes inside the country and puts a human face on recent events in Afghanistan. I started reading Zoya's Story this morning and did not put it down until I had finished it. Some may be surprised by the end of the book, in which Zoya says that refugees do not want to return even though the Taliban have lost control. They are just as fearful of the Northern Alliance now taking power.

This book is a reminder that no one, especially women, should take their rights and freedoms for granted.

I loved the book and love the courage of Zoya. Women like Zoya should become all oppressed women's role models!
This book is entertaining and the same time educating!

I enjoyed this book. So much so that I read it within one sitting. It was just that good. SO good that I wanted more info. It was good to know the REAL deal about Stevie's early life and about Lula, who really went through some ordeals. I loved the aunt who took her in but her "good" husband the "Deacon" was an out and out hypocrite. I just lost respect for him. Her 1st husband(Stevie's father) wasn't much better either. I understood her feelings when Stevie was about to be signed with Motown. You could understand why she wanted to not give him the opportunity, because of her own insecurities and limitations, yet, despite her own misgivings, she overcame them and allowed her son to become one of the most beloved musical genuises living on the planet today. My only gripe with the book is what became of the other five children she had. What did they do with their lives?? And why did they rush so much at the end with Lula's life? I would have loved to hear more though I understand one's right to privacy. All in all, a good book.

This is a story that I would recommend to anyone. The story of Lula Hardaway is just as compelling as the story of Stevie Wonder's magical career. Lula Hardaway proves that mother's will do any and everything for the survival of her children. There's nothing like a mother's love and Blind Faith is the perfect example.

Loved  the taped version of BLIND FAITH: THE MIRACULOUS
JOURNEY OF LULA HARDAWAY, STEVIE WONDER'S MOTHER
by Dennis Love and Stacy Brown . . . it is an authorized biography
of Wonder and his mother, based on interviews with the both
of them.

I had listened to Wonder's music over the years, but did not know
too much about his background . . . how he achieved the
success that he did is nothing short of amazing, especially
given his blindness.

He comes across as a talented worker not fazed by his blindness,
along with being a loving son, a prankster and a womanizer . . . his
mother's tale of devotion was particularly moving, though I would
have liked to have heard more about what happened to her
after her son's success . . . I'm also curious as to what
happened to his brothers since very little information is given
about them.

The narration by Viola Davis was excellent; so much so, in fact,
that I want to find more about her . . . I'll be curious to find out if

she has read other books and/or appeared on screen.

Before I get into talking about this novel, let me tell you a little bit about myself, my name is Jason Fisher, I am 17 years old, and unofrtunately I am not the kind of person who likes to read, unfortunately. When I was recomended to read this book by one of my teachers, I thought to myself, let me give it a try, so I did. I got the book and let it sit in my room for a few weeks. When I finally picked up the book to read the first few chapters I realized that I could not put the book down, it was an amazing book. I finished the book in one day, and for me that is VERY good. The book is about two men, Stick and Frank, who go in together on a bunch of armed roberies in Detroit to earn some extra cash. They meet some girls, and their lives get much better. When they do their biggest job of all, rob the Hudsons building in Detroit, they run into some trouble in their robbery. You will have to read the book to find out what happens. I would recomend this book to anybody who wants to read a greeat book, Elmore Leonard paints a perfect picture in your head. It is very easy to make the picture in your head if you are from Detriot because it talks about the actual cities, roads, and even some stores that are in the suburbs of Detroit. This was a great book and I am just about to start reading one of his other novels titled "Sitck." Thanks for writing a great book Elmore.

As a transplanted Detroiter, whenever I need a hometown fix, I read an Elmore Leonard or Loren Estleman novel. This particular Leonard gem, Swag, is especially satisfying. Leonard's characters cruise the streets you've cruised, and encounter people you've met. The premise: car salesman Frank Ryan teams up with Oklahoma cement worker and car thief Ernest Stickley ("Stick") to live the high life, via armed robbery. Frank is the one whose carefully crafted rules allow them to live in luxury, but it's Frank's deviation from the rules that brings about the duo's downfall. The book is a provocative portrait, warts and all, of pre-recession Detroit: before the auto industry collapsed entirely, when Hudson's still had its downtown flagship department store, and before crack infected the streets of the city.

Although it is hard to select Elmore's best work, for my money Swag is the one. Swag is funny, dramatic and tense at the same time. The humor is subtle, but is vintage Elmore. The tension carried thorughout the book is masterful. You really don't know until the final paragraph whether Ryan and Stick will get away or not. All in all, a tremendous book. I would recoomend Swag to any one who has not read any Elmore. Enjoy.

For fans of the literary James Bond, Thunderball is one of the most pivotal works of the series. It was in Thunderball that Bond creator Ian Fleming first introduced the world to perhaps the ultimate Bond villian -- Ernest Stavro Blofeld. Though Bond and Blofeld never actually meet in Thunderball, it is in this book that Bond first battles the schemes of SPECTRE, Blofeld's criminal organization.

The plot of the book (which, as with most of Fleming's best work, is disturbing plausible) deals with SPECTRE's theft of two nuclear missiles and their attempt to blackmail the world with atomic destruction. On little more than a hunch, M (Bond's superior, as gruffly humorous as ever) sends Bond down to the Bahamas to search for the missiles. (It is made clear that other intelligence agents are combing other locations as well. One thing that sets the book apart from the film is the portrayal of James Bond as not the absolute best secret agent in the world but instead as just a hardworking professional who, often times, resents the intrusion of work on his private life.) While in the Bahamas, Bond meets the book's main villian, Emilio Largo (well characterized as an almost likeable rogue), Largo's mistress Domino (who has a nicely vulnerable speech in which she analyzes a picture on a pack of cigarettes), and old allies like Felix Leiter. Along with the usual nonstop action and the vivid descriptions that Fleming was known for, Thunderball contains some of Fleming's most memorable characterizations. While little new is revealed of Bond, Largo and Domino grab hold of the reader's imagination and linger after the end of the book.

Famously, this book was inspired by Fleming and producer Kevin McClory's attempts to launch a pre-Connery James Bond film series. The plot was invented for the movies and occasionally, the book suffers for it. The final battle between Largo and the military, for instance, reads a bit flat and doesn't carry the same charge as the earlier, less epic scenes. Surprising as it may be to some of Fleming's detractors, the writer main strength was always his ability to create compelling one-on-one scenes between Bond and the various eccentrics populating his world. And it is here that Thunderball really shines. It's too often ignored that Fleming was a witty writer whose Bond books often carried a comedy-of-manners feel. This is certainly true in the first part of the book in which Bond finds himself sent to a health salon to recover from a life of hard living. Bond's attempts to quit smoking and drinking are hilariously lampooned by Fleming, who makes little secret that he's mocking the critics who complained that his books were immoral. (Indeed, when we are first introduced to Blofeld, we are quickly informed that this man doesn't smoke, drink, rarely eats, and is apparently a virgin. In short, he lacks all of Bond's vices and, Fleming seems to suggest, turns to the business of international villiany mostly because he doesn't have much else to do.) By the time this book came out, Fleming had certainly grown as a writer from the first Bond books. Gone are the occasional awkward passages that occasionally pop up in Casino Royale. Every character speaks in his own individual voice as opposed to everyone speaking like an upper class English gentleman. In short, Thunderball is an excellent adventure that should thrill Bond fans and non-Bond fans alike.

A thrilling story with James Bond finally meeting the sinister orginization, SPECTRE. From the meeting in the Shrublands Health Facility to the final underwater battle against Largo, there is action, suspence, and thrills that no one can do better than James Bond. One of the best novels in the series. Content is thought out to the last detail, leaving little to question. Bond, as always, is smooth, suave, the debonair 007 we know and love. Even the villians live up to their name. Cunning, ruthless, everything that makes a villian. The locations in the book are some of the best on earth, and Fleming describes them to a "T". If you never read a Bond novel before, this would be a great place to start

THUNDERBALL is a very interesting Ian Fleming James Bond novel. I found the first two thirds of the novel very well written. The final third of the novel seems to lose all its steam and sinks into literary mediocrity and that's what really interests me. The first third of this novel contains some of the best prose that Fleming ever put on paper. It is rich in detail and thoroughly engrossing. It is a true delight to read and savor. As the novel enters the second the third it still remains engrossing but seems to lack some of Fleming's usual drive and coherency. The final third falls below what could even be considered commonplaceness for Fleming. Fleming seems to have just given up on this project at some point and just finished it out to get it into publication. Yet THUNDERBALL remains one of my favorite Fleming novels. The first third truly is brilliant and I enjoy reading it and examining at what point Fleming became disinterested.

This book is based on the romance between Bathsheba and King David, from the bible. It is full of emotion and just written fabulously. The emotion Francine Rivers puts in to the book is just so grabbing. In it, bathsheba is madly in love with David. She is so in love with him, that it hurts; and the way ms rivers describes that made me fall in love with David! Bathshebas story is all about Gods mercy and his neverending grace. Bathsheba and David commited a terrible sin, and had to pay for it dearly; bathshebas own family disowned her and she was spat upon is hatred, plus her first born son died and she had to watch her beloved love, david share his affection with dozens of other wives and concubines! Nevertheless, Bathsheba sought out God and raised her children to be great children of God. Gods mercy was spread upon both Bathsheba and David as they repented and got a taste of Gods love and tender mercy. A must read for any believer.

Unspoken is a poignant Biblical love story between Bathsheba & King David (one of the most beloved Biblical characters). This book gives you an insight of one of the most scandalous love affairs in Biblical history. Francine Rivers did a wonderful job of bringing their story to life with her gift of storytelling. This is the first book I've ever read by Francine Rivers, and it certainly won't be the last one either.

What else can I say? Francine Rivers is awesome and so is this entire series. Easy reading that you can't put down until you are finished.