I was at work when I got the call from the hospital that Mom had a stroke and was taken there unexpectedly. Needless to say I was totally unprepared for this to happen. I picked up a copy of The Complete Eldercare Planner in the hospital gift shop. EVERYTHING I needed to know and do for Mom and for myself was in this book... questions to ask the doctor and discharge planner, finding affordable care for Mom at home, legal documents so I could make decisions for Mom. I found the documents chapter of the book and the checklists very very helpful. I was in a lot of stress at the time and I just followed the plans. I always felt like I was in good hands. And I was. Another great thing about this book is the way the author gives tips on talking about sensitive subjects. I followed Joy's advice on how to open up the conversation because we needed to talk to Mom about maybe moving into an assisted-living home and the talking tips worked! I highly recommend this book -- it's fast and to the point which is great if you are busy and also hold down a job and also have your own family to think about. I was able to put an eldercare budget together based on Joy's ideas. This book gives you every single thing you need to think about if you're planning or in the middle of an emergency. I could go on and on. Just don't leave home without it.

In taking care of my mother for over ten years, I know that caring for aging parents can be a rewarding, but also a daunting, responsibility. Joy Loverde's book is a great aid for bringing structure to these tasks. It can help to keep the responsibilities manageable, even as they increase. It is a practical book - helpful and well organized - so you can find what you need to know now. It is also an action planner, so you can take a systematic approach to meeting the growing needs of elderly loved ones. Furthermore, it has a number of helpful worksheets, checklists and "document locator" pages. As you fill in these pages, you develop a reference of vital family information in a single location. There will be no last minute scramble for critical phone numbers for doctors, lawyer and insurance representatives or trying to find the location of important family documents. Helpful clues to look for as signs that your elders may need your assistance are given, including what changes to look for in health, attitude, cognitive function and hygiene. Tips on making a home safe for the elderly are addressed. How to make family communications run smoothly and the importance of keeping everyone informed are discussed and structured. Worksheets for information, tasks and progress are included. Chapters are concise and well indexed. A special chapter on emergency preparedness insures that a sudden health development will not catch you totally off guard. Even if you do wait until something happens, just having the checklists to review at the last minute can be a big help. The issues of transportation are reviewed with insight. Bringing up this delicate topic to older drivers may make them feel especially defensive about declining driving safety. Alternative transportation resources are reviewed. This book also provides a brief map through the maze of housing, financial, legal and insurance alternatives, and related professional advisory services and/or organizations for supplemental assistance. Tactful and constructive guidelines for dealing with doctors and medical groups are detailed. Health and wellness are discussed as well as death and dying with specific outlines for understanding both the related arrangements and emotions. Overall, this is an upbeat, positive book with an emphasis on improving the quality of life for all concerned. You can use it as a step by step handbook or just lookup and use what you want. It is packed with helpful information and resources. I only which I had had it ten years ago. The Complete Eldercare Planner could have saved me many trips to the library while caring for my mother. This book is organized, even if you aren't. Just having these checklists on the bookshelf may add to one's peace of mind. Highly recommended.

This road map provides an effective tool for guiding family members through their caregiving journeys. It is more of a workbook than a reading book that clearly outlines simple objectives to help caregivers meet their diverse concerns. Covered areas include planning and preparing, money, legal and insurance matters, health tips, quality of life issues and death and dying. An Action Checklist concludes each chapter and an extensive Organizations Index in included. This book, which was written by a professional eldercare consultant, is most beneficial for family caregivers needing a starting point and a point in the right direction. Personal Matches. Better Living. www.personamatch.com.

I first read a book from this series, "the fields of home" when I was 8 or 9, on my fathers recomendation, he said it reminded him of his father and himself. after reading the story, I found that rather than seeing my father and grandfather, I saw my dad and myself. I didnt know any other books from this author existed until a couple of years ago, when I ran accross the entire box set. my whole family has enjoyed them; both as read aloud books for the younger kids but as quiet reading for the older ones as well as my wife and I. I read the entire series at least once a year, and they never fail to bring a warm feeling to my heart, as well as a close feeling of family ties and kinship to the rural way of life. If the kids of today cared half as much for the well being of the family as Ralph Moody did for his, this would be a much better world to live in

Little Britches is the sort of book that you wish could be made available to every man, woman and child in today's mixed up world. It is wonderfully inspirational and would go a long way toward making you think about what is really important in life and how you ought to go about being the best kind of human being that you could be. I have re-read the entire Little Britches series for the last 20-plus years and just recently ordered the entire set from Amazon.com. I am thrilled to think that they are still in print and I look forward to many years of enjoyable re-reading of them again. Do yourself a favor and buy Ralph Moody's books. He had tremendous insight about life and living. He would undoubtedly be the kind of man we'd all like to know, be friends with, have as a dad, husband, brother etc. You'll love his books. You'll laugh and cry and be transported back into a wonderful time of life. You'll be left with some great new thoughts and feelings about what really matters after all.

I read my first book by Ralph Moody, "The fields of home" when I was 8, on my fathers recomendation. He told me that the story reminded him of he and his father, but after reading it I saw more of my dad and myself; rather than father and grandfather. A couple of years ago a friend told me of these great books he had bought, and said that he would loan them to me, once I saw the author I had to purchace the set for myself. I read these books at least once a year, and there hasn't been a time when they dont bring a warm feeling to my heart, and bring a feeling of kinship to Ralph and his family with its rural heritage. If the kids of today cared half as much for family as Ralph does for his, today would be a much better place.

As a former paratrooper, and having several uncles and older cousins who served in airborne units in World War II, I can only say that Mr. Burgett captures the essentials of airborne combat in WWII. One of my uncles had great difficulty reading this book. "It brought back too many memories". Mr. Burgett's earlier book, "Currahee", brought the reader to England prior to the NOrmandy invasion, and then to Normandy with all the confusion, savage combat and gallows humor found in line outfits. This volume continues in that line, and complements greatly works like "A Time For Trumpets" and Toland's "Battle". The book offers no political insights, second guessing of commanders. It offers the insight and observations of a young American GI fighting far away from home, watching friends die, and wondering who was next. A fine job!

This is one of the BEST 1st person accounts of the European theater of WW2 i've ever read. Don provides such detail that the reader is easily drawn in and absorbed in the moment. (How did he remember it all?). Most interesting are his thoughts about personal encounters with the enemy after his various skirmishes. I can almost feel the cold as i read about the GIs' lack of warm clothing, sleep, and food. It's a wonder anyone came out of that alive. Can't recommend this book highly enough.

By far one of the best books written on the Battle of the Buldge and the seige at Bastogne. Burgett gives excellent eyewitness testimony to the horror and slaughter that was the Battle of the Buldge. The reader sees the battle through the eyes that faught it. Burgett brilliantly takes the reader into the heat of the battle and makes the reader understand what it was like to be in the 101st Airborne during World Wae II. I could not put this book down until it was finished and it made me want to read as much as i could about the Battle of the Buldge.Donald Burgett is truly an American Hero. I highly recommend this book to everyone young and old.

This book has truly been a blessing to my life. After reading it four times, I have been compelled to stop complaining and appreciate life, for I am truly blessed. Patti is truly a gem. She is a living testimony. Through the tears and the pain, heartache and betrayal, like a phoenix, Patti rises above it all. She shows that there is gold at the end of the rainbow we call life. This book is no less than Remarkable, compelling, and exceptional. Patti tells all, and each revelation brings about a major learning experience that makes her the powerful, spiritual, and "down-to-earth" Diva that she is today. As you read, it leaves you not only NOT wanting to put it down, but selfishly wishing for a sequel. If there were a class on autobiographies of the stars, this would be a Required Reading. Patti's life has only just begun and through "Don't Block The Blessings: Revelations of a Lifetime," Patti shows us, without reservation, that we can truly overcome anything, as long as we don't block the blessings. Everything in life happens for a reason, and if you learn from each life's experience, you will transcend and begin to appreciate people, as well as yourself, ...just don't block the blessings

Patti is truly a gem to be cherished. She is truly a living testimony. Through the tears and the pain, heartache and betrayal, Patti rises above it all, to show that there is gold at the end of the rainbow of life. This book is no less than remarkable, compelling, and exceptional. As you read, it leaves you, not only not wanting to put it down, but selfishly wishing for a sequel. Patti's life has only just begun, and through "Don't Block The Blessings: Revelations of a Lifetime," Patti shows us, without reservation, that we can truly overcome anything, as long as we don't block the blessings. Everything in life happens for a reason, and if you learn from each life's experience, you will transcend and begin to appreciate people, as well as yourself, just don't block the blessing.

Don't Block the Blessings is an excellent book. When I began to read the first couple of words, I knew that this would be one book that I would not be able to put down. I often found myself reading the book while taking tests, taking a bath, while exercising, and sometimes while riding in the car. I think that the reason it caught my attention was because some of the issues that Mrs. LaBelle faced, I have gone through also. Although I am only sixteen years old, I have been in similar situations. Like Patti, I have often feared death, and I let that bother me for so long. I have lost an aunt, tragically, and me not being able to say to her what I needed to say still haunts me. After reading the book, I've learned to deal with my problems, as did Patti. I know Mrs. LaBelle will remain a true inspiration in my life because through her book, and through God, she has helped me to learn to never block the blessings. I believe that if America were to live by this motto, it would be a much better place. We need more people , like Mrs. Patti LaBelle, to speak out and help make this world a better haven. I commend her and may God continously bless her. I will remain her number one fan!!!

The book starts slow. It builds background knowledge and "flavor", but it may be hard for a pre-teen child to continue to read independently. That's why I think this book would be a good choice for read-aloud or adult-child paired reading. However,the author really grabs the reader by Chapter 10 (The Visitor). It becomes a "can't-put-it-down book" as the reader experiences Omakayas' fear and sorrow because of the White Man's visit. It is an excellent book to show the everyday life of Native Americans before their lives were severely changed by foreigners in their lands. It would be a good book to read with the Little House series to compare lifestyles, but also to illustrate the American Indians' perspective of the pioneer movement.

Reading this story of a young native american girl trying to survive from heart aches, a smallpox epidemic, hunger, the harsh winter, and mixed emotions was one of the best books that I have read in a long time. The author, Louise Erdrich did an outstanding job portraying the life of native americans and the troubles that they went through just trying to survive. The main character, Omakayas, was a young native american girl, who gave this novel life. She learned to hang on by thread on a small island, the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker, through a cycle of four seasons, that the book subdivided into chapters. Omakayas was found crying and was picked up in a canoe by a woman called 'Old Tallow'. She was adopted by a family on the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker where she is faced with many trials and heartaches. This strong minded and spirited girl guided me through the book like I was actually there during this time in history, the smallpox epidemic of 1847. I would suggest this book to anyone that appreciates survival stories and how even a young girl can get through hardships through the land and spirit.-Susan Brown, Oxford, MS

This book could not of been any better than the autor, Louise Erdrich, made this narrative with the authentic illustrations and Objibwa terms that she infused within the story. This book gave readers a since of hope and duration as she portrayed it through a young native american girl, Omakayas, through a cycle of hardships and troubles. There were times that the story made me laugh, but I could not put this book down as this native american family faced an epidemic of smallpox. I actually felt like I was part of these peoples'lives on the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker. To see how Omakayas helped her family and lifted their spirits during these troubling times, I think that it is a excellent and heartwarming story. There were historical documentations that were seen through the young girl, Omakayas's eyes. Knowing that she had to try to get her family through this plague, gave the story more emotion. Omakayas showed devotion to her siblings, parents, friends, animals of the forest, and grandmother. A true enlightenment! -Allison Byrd, Oxford, MS

The Birchbark House was a good book and I think Louise Erdrich is a wonderful author and illustrator. The part I liked the most was when the main character's, Omakayas, grandmother told her a story in the winter. It was about her grandmother when she was a little girl. A sad event in the book was when the visitor came and brought smallpox to the village. It was also sad when Omakayas's little brother died. All in all, everybody should read this book.

Wow - what can I say? A great, gossipy, girl-next-door novel from the nasally voiced girl from Queens. Having read Cancer Schmancer and knowing what happens with her and Peter Marc Jacobson, parts of this novel were really sad. It is so obvious that she was very deeply in love with her husband and I wish they could have worked it out because they went through so much together.

Catty Ms. Drescher is not. She tells stories on herself and you have no doubt that she is as lovely in real life as she is in her books. How could she not be?

What a fantastic book! It's written as though Fran Drescher is there talking to you and I've never read anything so funny in my life.

This woman has been through SO much and yet remains positive and happy. You laugh out loud one minute, then find yourself crying the next, only to start laughing again as you turn the page. It's almost like reading the diary of a friend, it's written so naturally.

You find out how Fran strives to reach stardom and all about her husband and family and it even touches on her terrible ordeal at the hands of a rapist in her own home.

You also get a great insight to her hit show, 'The Nanny,' with some amusing behind the scene's stories and pictures. In fact there's pictures galore throughout the whole book and by the end of it you feel like you're one of the family too.

Even if you're not a fan of Fran's, it's a great read about one woman's struggles and joys on her journey through life. I assure you, you'll find it hard to put down once you've started to read.

Just buy it and see.

Well, actually I don't read biographies, but I'm a very big fan of Fran since I saw her the first time as "The Nanny", and so I thought to read her book would be a little fun, but it was a lot more than "only a little fun"... Most of the time it was a night of laughing, but sometimes really hard to read what happened to Fran... But nevertheless: it is one of the best books I've ever read! And it containes really great pics of Fran, her family, Chester and so on... I loved the book so much that I bought the audio version, too. It makes a lot of fun to hear it while driving my car. I LOVE her voice! I really hope Fran will write a second book... So, for any fan of Fran: read this book! It will be seem to you like Fran's sitting right in front of you and tells the story of her life only for you! Fran, you're the BEST! Judith

The part interested me most is the relationship between Billy Graham and the presidents of the United States from Dwight Eisenhower to Bill Clinton, which takes one third of the book and covers half of the century of the U.S. history. He talked their charactors and family lives. Only Billy Graham has this kind of experience. You will learn those presidents from a different angle, a Christian leader's point of view. It is a very unique book. Regarding Christianality, if you do not have time to read the whole book of 735 pages, you can read the last chapter, chapter 40: The Best is Yet to Be, which concludes his faith and philosophy. It touched me that someone asked him if he thought God was unfair, allowing him to have Parkinson's disease. He answered: "Suffering is part of the human condition, and it comes to us all. The key is how we react to it, either turning away from God in anger and bitterness or growing closer to Him in trust and confidence."

I found Just As I Am captivating from the moment I picked it up, and was unable to put it down. I read Just As I Am while I was convalescing at home for four days after an ankle injury at work. This was four of the most enlightening days I have ever experienced. Starting from the quaint surroundings of a North Carolina farmhouse, I was soon taken on a journey around the world, as Mr Graham described his many fascinating travels and crusades. Rev Graham not only describes his experiences for us, but by each chapter's end he capsulizes the lesson's he has learned during his trips and meetings with people of all walks and stations of life around the world. I was struck time and again by the depth of meaning Billy Graham finds in each of his life's experiences, his clarity of vision, and his ability to poignantly and keenly express what he has seen and learned. It becomes readily obvious why he has been taken into close company by many heads of state for the past 50 years of his ministry. This is a book not to be missed by any serious thinker.

Billy Graham's latest book offers a fresh and personal insight to his life and his life's work. It is truly amazing how God has worked in this wonderful and dedicated man's long life. Yet, he continues to wonder "why"? Why would God take a young man from Charlotte, NC and transform him into the greatest evangelist since Paul? Most interesting is his relationship with his wife, his family, those he worked and works with, presidents and leaders throughout the world. It is facinating to read of his burden of countries closed off from outsiders, yet, in time, God opened the door to Billy Graham to spread the Gospel in those same countries. In this day of dishonest and insincere TV evangelists, it is refreshing to read of one so intent on giving God alone the glory. At seventy-eight he admits that he will not be here much longer. I will miss him even more now having read his book. May we all follow his example

An incredibly well-written and well-paced account of one of the most dramatic moments in the history of the U.S. Space Program. As opposed to the dry (although factually accurate) "13: The Flight that Failed" by Henry S.F. Cooper, it lets us peer into the very human side of the people who flew and guided this mission. But in addition it gives startling and often humorous insights into the very early days of the space program, when Mercury was still underway and Lovell was recruited into the fledgling Gemini program.

I found two other books enhanced my appreciation of everything that went into the Apollo 13 mission. One is "Apollo: The Race for the Moon", another behind-the-scenes history told from the point of view of the engineers who worked on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. The authors are Charles Murray and Catherine Bly Cox. Another book is "Chariots for Apollo: The Making of the Lunar Module," by Charles R. Pellegrino and Joshua Stoff. When you read about everything Grumman did to create the lunar module, you understand just why it fit so well its role of life boat during the Apollo 13 mission.

With the launch of the initial International Space Station components next year, the world will enter a new phase of space exploration -- a time where cooperation, not competition, is the by-word. At such a time, looking back on how we got to where we are now -- our space program roots, as it were -- is vitally important. "Lost Moon" does the job with grace and flair.

Sure, you have seen movies, read books, and heard about Apollo 13, the lunar landing flight that was aborted and placed the lives of three men in severe danger. But you have never read anything like this, the true story. This story was written by the commander of, "the succesful faliure", Jim Lovell(who is a veteran of four flights:Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13) and his wonderful helper, Jeffrey Klugger. This story doesn't just tell you about what happened, it brings you inside Apollo 13. It doesn't just tell you what everyone on the ground was hoping for, it tells you what really happened out there, in the lunar module AQUARIUS and the command module ODDYSEY. It doesn't just tell you what everyone on earth was wishing for during reentry, it takes you inside reentry. There were fuel cell explosions, oxygen tank explosions, power and carbon dioxide problems, and all of this gave astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert(command module pilot), and Fred Haise(lunar module pilot)extreme danger.Read this book and find out what really happened out there, on,"the succesful failure", on Apollo 13.

Lovell writes a gripping account of the space mission that almost made him a permanent fixture in the heavens.

Apollo 13 grabbed the attention of the world and brought back to a confident nation the danger and great risk associated with exploration. On its way to the moon, a tank blew out, causing a partial systems failure and raising the possibility that the three man crew might not be able to return safely to earth -- or even intercept our planet to try a reentry. (they faced the very real possibility of skipping off of the earth's atmosphere and traveling forever through the cosmos).

Although filled with technical talk, this book is very much a human story. It is filled with heros: the astornauts, the men at Mission Control who guided them safely back and the wives who very publicly waited to see if their husbands might be martyred to our scientific ambitions. Lovell puts this all very much into perspective. He gives excellent background of his preparation as well as the planning for the mission. The critical days aboard the spacecraft and at Mission Control as all of the problems associated with bringing him back alive are solved are as fascinating and as absorbing as any Tom Clancy novel.

Lovell tells a great story in a superb manner

This book is basically a collection of essays Gawande has published in the New Yorker, where he is a staff writer, along with a few from Slate. His writing style is similar to that of Malcolm Gladwell, Jerome Groopman, and other New Yorker authors of the David Remnick era - intelligent and clear.

Gawande is a surgical resident, so he is experienced enough to have insight into the medical profession and practices of surgeons, but still new enough in the field to bring a keen critical mind and the clarity of a relative outsider's perspective. Also, his compassion is one of his distinct qualities and shines through in the writing.

If you are a regular New Yorker reader, you probably have already read all of these essays. The brilliant essay about why doctors make mistakes is included, as well as memorable essays about when good doctors go bad, and how the practice of autopsy goes in and out of fashion. The only one that was new to me was the one about a surgeons' convention, which was entertaining but not crucial reading. It is nice to have them all in once place, but unless you are a completist or a rabid Gawande fan, I'd recommend getting it from the library or waiting for the paperback.

I found Complications by Atul Gawande to be an exciting read from cover to cover. It is filled with a variety of topics centering around medicine's fallibility, mystery, and uncertainty, as perceived by Gawande who is himself a surgeon. Gawande's mastery of language makes each chapter come to life by developing the situation and revealing topics often ignored by the medical community. He also does a great job of leaving his own bias or opinions out of the chapters. This undirected, yet thought-provoking prose was ideal for our small-group discussion class which read his book. We found many topics to discuss and ethical issues to ponder. Although our time was limited as a class, I believe we could have spent much more time digging deeper into the issues Gawande addressed. Issues that we especially enjoyed pondering included the idea of "practicing" medicine on patients as part of the educational process, the robot feel of sub-specialty medicine vs. primary care medicine, and the stories of patients living with medical problems such as the "man who couldn't stop eating." Overall, I highly recommend this collection of short stories both because it is a delight to read, and because it raises some very interesting ideas that I hope to further investigate.

Jordan Wilson

Medical Student
UMD School of Medicine

"Complications" is a compendium of essays by surgeon Atul Gawande, with their overriding theme being the fallibility of medical science / the medical system.

This is a great book, first and foremost because it is an engrossing read. This is a work of nonfiction, but each essay has a plot that will keep the reader transfixed.

This book is also a careful and honest examination of many of the important issues with which modern medicine struggles. As a physician-in-training, I can empathize with "Education of a Knife," in which Gawande grapples with the fact that medical procedures are skills which require real-time practice... meaning that in order to have well-trained doctors, not-yet trained doctors have to practice risky procedures on real-life patients (one of whom might be you someday).

My favorite essay is one near the end in which Gawande reviews the case of a woman who had a slight possibility of having the dreaded necrotizing fasciitis (that's "flesh-eating bacteria" to you non-medheads). Had the decisions in her case been based on strict empirical medicine or decision analysis, rather than a vague clinical hunch, her outcome may have been much different. The essay ties together the themes of the book perfectly, underscoring the fact that that the "human factor," the cause of errors in so many cases, still cannot be discarded because our empirical methods and other diagnostic tools are still so primitive.

Although Gawande focuses more on questions than on answers, I think that this may well be a milestone book in medicine. Merely exploring the fallibility of medicine in such an honest, careful way is extremely valuable in that it teaches great humility -- something many doctors could use a little more of. Moreover, discussion of the limits of medicine is what will ultimately improve it. (Note that it is the recognition of the inevitability of human error that has led the field of anesthesia to develop failsafe systems which have so dramatically improved anesthesia safety over the past few decades.)

Awesome work -- thought provoking and actually fun to read. I can't believe that a surgical resident (with KIDS!!!) found the time to produce such great writing -- when does this guy sleep?

Medical schools should consider making some of these essays required reading.

I bought this book for (a great price) in a used book store since I enjoy biographies, never realizing how how moving this story would be. I vaguely remembered the Gary Gilmore story but most of the media attention was around the legal aspects of his execution.

The real facination in this story is only partially Gary. The life that this family lived and the poignant detailed accounting of it by the youngest brother, Mikal, is moving beyond all expectations. The bizarre family life they led and the frequent painful events in their lives is enough to make you wonder how the author of this book continued on with a productive life. His oldest brother, Frank, also contributed to the material. By the end of the book when only the two of them remain alive, the reader is struck by the manner in which the author has conveyed his rawest of emotions and that one of those emotions remains the love he has for his family.

There are many dimensions to this story that could make it appealing to readers of different interests. There is, of course, the legal aspect, but in addition, there is the Mormon religious influences, the paternal history that claims a connection with Houdini, the transient homeless family life, the contined devotion of mother and father through the worst of events and many more.

A recommended good read that will stay with you for a long time. Thank you, Mikal, for pulling this book together for us all.

I was amazed by this book -- in it, Mikal Gilmore attempts to explain how and why his brother, Gary, became who he was. In the way of all great biography, the book actually raises more questions than it answers and really enlightens. The book is truly engrossing. More than a biography of Gary Gilmore, it is a biography of his family and an exploration of the internal and external forces that shaped that family and the members of it. Mailer's Executioner's Song felt cold by comparison, seeking to answer only certain questions rather than exploring the subject matter fully. Mikal Gilmore is a gifted writer and courageous to delve into his family's history in this manner.

Mr. Gilmore's book is an aching history of siblings growing up in an abusive household. He explores complex and painful bartering of abused children's lives: children trading against each other for a little bit of peace or shelter, then he traces how that economy plays out in their adult lives.

This is a book that is far outside the normal boundaries of my reading habits. To describe this book to others, one must resort to words like "true crime" or mention that Gilmore wrote for Rolling Stone and therefore this book is okay for the hip literati to read. These words do such a disservice to Mr. Gilmore's work. He has written a painful biography of himself and his family, from which all of us who are siblings can and should learn, and it is an important book for people trying to make sense of violent family history. It is a transformative book in the best sense: you are not the same person after this book -- he has changed you.