Not only are readers allowed a glimpse into an obviously warm and loving family, we are allowed to experience cottage life, with all of its charms. The sense of closeness they share and experience at the cottage almost convinces the reader Ja-Ma-Ca has magical qualities, which indeed it may have!

I have traveled around somewhat and still have many places I yearn to visit but now Walloon Lake is on my list. I long to collect a Petoskey stone, to eat planked whitefish, to go for a boat ride on the lake, and most of all to play petanque! Read this book and share it with others. You won't be disappointed, especially if you have a cottage or have summered at one.

Springsteen's 78 tour is widely regarded as one of the seminal moments of his career. Coming of the back of Born to Run, the settled courtcase with his ex-managers and the Darkness album, Springsteen undertook a triumphant tour accross America, playing 1,000 to 5,000 seater concert halls.

This tour was a pure celebration of rock n'roll and Lynn Goldsmith's unrivalled access (she was Bruce's girlfriend at the time) allowed her to record it for posterity.

The concert shots capture the excitement of the shows perfectly, the sweat pouring off the performers, Bruce's mock collapse, the interaction with the audience. I've seen bootleg videos and heard many tapes from the tour but I have to say that Lynn Goldsmith's book captures the excitment of being in the crowd at one of those concerts better than any medium I have seen.

But this is more than a collection of superb concert photos, it also captures the quieter moments backstage both pre and post show (including the infamous Bruce shower shot!) Shots of the band eating breakfast, Bruce writing etc.

This book is pricey but will definately appeal to all Bruce fans and admirers of outstanding photojournalism.

Very well written, interesting, informative, humorous and sometimes tragic, The Stars Were Big and Bright is one book that will remain in my personal library for years to come. It is sure to be reread whenever the urge to revisit the history of Texas' contribution to the U.S. Army Air Force's efforts during WWI and WWII.

I was impressed also with the numerous vintage photograps, maps, descriptions of the relevant airfields, aircraft photos and specifications, as well as the high level of documentation from primary source documents.

This book absolutely has to be the best book on this topic yet written. Perhaps the author, Thomas E. Alexander, will treat us to another great book in the future.

No, I'm not talking about the urban legend about him being cryogenically sealed and stashed below the Pirates of the Caribbean exhibition. Nor is this some soft New Ageism about spirits inhabiting the celestial plane.

He's alive down on a plot of land outside of Orlando, Florida, a boom city that was a dumpy little crossroad when Walt began buying what became a 30,000-acre spread there is the late 1960s.

Walt's gone, but his vision and energy lives on, and once you start dipping into "Since the World Began," you'll see that the scope of his vision is nothing short of awesome.

There are many faces of Disney, the producer of family-friendly and highly profitable movies, the creator of family-friendly theme parks, but also a visionary who thought that, as one associate put it, "bad information was responsible for all the evil in the world." Who tried to change people's attitudes within the confines of an amusement park, the man whose idealism spawned the Epcot center, and under Michael Eisner, the Disney Institute, where education and learning are on a par with entertainment.

What the book won't tell you -- this is published by Hyperion, Disney's publishing arm, and written by Jeff Kurtti, a longtime Disney employee -- is just what hell Walt went through to realize his vision. You won't hear of Disney's fundamentalist upbringing, his retreat into fantasy to escape a brutal father and life in poverty, his endless hard work to make animated movies, his multiple nervous breakdowns. His brother Roy is idealized as the business brain behind Walt's success, but you won't hear that Roy constantly opposed Disney's ideas as a waste of money. When Kurtti writes that Disney founded the design firm Walt Disney Imagineering in 1952 "because he realized that he wouldn't be able to create Disneyland within the boundaries of the studio system," he doesn't mention that it was also because Roy and the Disney board refused to advance Walt the money to design Disneyland, fearing that it would be a failure.

There was plenty of reason for Roy to be worried, too. Disney's ideas constantly threw the company perilously close to bankruptcy, generally on the order of every 18 months, until Disney's deal with ABC in 1955 made him very wealthy and put the company on a firm financial footing. Walt Disney was an idealist and a visionary, and if it wasn't for his tenacity, the company would not be the worldwide giant it is today.

Even while ignoring those shadings, there is still plenty of story left to make "Since the World Began" an awe-inspiring overview of Walt Disney World. It's probably the single largest and most complex construction project this side of the space shuttle. Its statistics are jaw-dropping: 55 miles of canals and levees were built to control the water levels, nine acres of underground corridors thread through the park, housing sewer lines, pipes and cables, and a pneumatic system for hauling trash, 60,000 plants and 800 varieties of trees acquired, moved and transplanted to build the park, 100,000 pounds of linen had to be washed every day.

As befitting its creator, the theme park was ahead of its time in its use of innovative technology. WDW was also the first area to implement 911 service in Florida, the first commercial venture to use fiber optic cables, the first telephone system using underground cable instead of overhead wires.

But the park was also a reflection of Walt Disney's vision of a global coming together of different peoples and cultures, learning about each other and attempting to find and enjoy peace as a result. It's globalization with a human face, to borrow someone else's phrase, and even if it seems outdated or even impossible in this post-9/11 world, Walt's beliefs is a hopeful and sustaining vision, and as American as the culture from which it sprang.

This is fantastic series of books covering the history and evolution of the LRRPS/LRPS/RANGERS during the Vietnam War.

Rey Martinez, Kenn Miller, and Gary Linderer interviewed a great number of the surviving members of the LRRPS/Rangers to bring their history alive. While some members were able to tap into their memories, others wouldn't touch the pain from long ago. The authors did a terrific job bringing the histories together for a strong narrative.

If anything, I found myself wanting to know more! What were they thinking? What were you feeling? I'm sure much ended up on the "editing room floor".

The "SIX SILENT MEN" books are a very honest account if the units actions. They're packed with adventure and daring. While reading their books, I was filled with tension and dread, other times I had to laugh aloud, and a few times I became misty-eyed. You feel for the teams as they "will" themselves to become invisible while on patrol.

Don't be mis-lead by a negative review. The reviewer misquoted the book. This I know since I pulled my copy off the shelf and checked the text. The reviewer claims the authors are liars --- NOT SO. A great number of books on the Vietnam War are written very honestly, and the publishers do "Fact Checking" before publishing these books. Read the review by Harold Nealy, who was a LRRP! His testimonial supports this fine series. If these books were embellished tales, then Vietnam Vets who served in the LRRPS/Rangers wouldn't hesitate to post a review here and let the truths be known. As you see this isn't the case.

I have never met a veteran who has panned these books. Never.

If you enjoyed this series, I would also recommend Jim Morris' WAR STORY, John Plasters' SOG, James Rowe's FIVE YEARS TO FREEDOM, Larry Chambers RECONDO, and Leigh Wade's TAN PHU.

I had the honor of meeting Kenn Miller, Jim Morris, and John Plaster (and other Vietnam Vets) two years ago. They freely answered my questions. I was going to 'buy a round' when one of them said, "Put your money away kid." I was 33, and that gathering was enjoyed by all.

Read the books. You won't be disappointed! God Bless and Attack life!

One thing that recently got my attention was that shortly after the Columbia disaster, I looked in the book for information about the tile problems they were having before the first flight. I wound up on page 265, which has a photo of the external tank with cargo netting wrapped around it just before the flight readiness firing. As it happened some of the foam insulation had begun to come loose after a tanking test from near the same area the foam insulation is suspected to have come off and hit Columbia.

In an earlier chapter that discusses the development of the solid rocket boosters McDonnell Douglas is quoted as cautioning NASA about the very scenario that would doom the Challenger roughly 15 years later.

There is no way for me to check the accuracy of every detail in this book. But I did notice a difference of launch dates for one shuttle flight from the book to what I read on a NASA web page so one might want to double check the book on occasion.

Because this 3rd edition discusses the first 100 missions of the shuttle program Mr. Jenkins has eliminated some of the earlier materials about the development phases. This doesn't take away from the quality of this edition but I thought I would mention this. If the development phase is what you are really interested in the 2nd edition might be worth checking on.

The novel is set in the United States. The theme of the novel would be if you stick together you could go though anything. The characters Ruth and Lisa adjust the most in good in bad ways. Lisa starts doing the things she likes and what she did in Germany. Everyone was very proud of her. Ruth fits in great and everyone likes her. She has a problem and doesn't know how to solve it. My favorite part in the book is when everyone starts getting better. The ending of the book was satisfying...

The author's style was very good. It was like you couldn't put the book down. I think that the author gives to many details. The vocabulary was very easy I either knew or I had already learned it in school. The part of the book I really dislike is when something really bad happens everyone gets under a lot of stress. I would recommend this book from ages 9-15 to read this book. People who like to read books about when we had wars and would like to learn what it would be like being in the middle of the war and people being prejudice would like to read this book. ...[Five stars.]
HLW

Dr.Gitell includes real-life inspiring stories from insiders, which makes the book a more entertaining read versus your typical analytical reference text written by an academic. But, this is not a touchy feely book based on anecdotes, it is academic and the ideas presented are fact-based. The reader gets a glimpse into day to day practices and people who run the company and work on the frontlines, but also Gittell has compared and contrasted these practices and people to those of competitor airlines and other industries. This is where the reader can easily see why Southwest's basic values have given the airline a significant competitive advantage. And, this is where readers can see Gittel's theoretical premise in action.

The Southwest Way is a book that will most certainly appeal to general business audiences, to airline leaders, and to any business person who is engaged in efforts to build a legendary organization and organizational culture. Human resources professionals will identify secrets to creating value in organizations through people practices, leadership development, conflict resolution, work-life balance initiatives, performance management, and building a culture that fosters productivity, innovation and organizational success.

In this book, Dr. Gittell has managed to identify and even quantify the powerful formula of Southwest's success. Simply stated, it is the company's ability to achieve high performance relationships by sharing goals and information in a climate of mutual respect. This allows the coordination and communication necessary to attain efficiency and customer service in the complex and multi-functional environment of an airline.

Lest this appear too simple or 'soft', Dr. Gittell provides detailed analysis of Southwest's approach. She identifies ten specific practices used by the people of Southwest to achieve their incredibly consistent performance. These practices range from those that might be expected in a successful company such as credibility of leadership, emphasis on hiring and training, and positive relationships with unions and suppliers, to those that are contrary to today's accepted wisdom such as increasing frontline leadership positions and creating human 'boundry-spanners' as opposed to relying on electronic interfaces.

The good news is that Dr. Gittell clearly identifies and explains each of these elements in a highly readable way that is also backed with data. The hard part is that these are not quick fixes and that the evidence indicates that most, if not all, of the practices must be adapted/adopted if another organization is to duplicate the success of Southwest. Nevertheless, thanks to the author, the lessons are revealed for all to benefit.

I would recommend that the value of this book not be limited to the airline industry. These concepts and practices are applicable to any organization or industry that is striving for quality, efficiency and customer service in a complex, competitive environment.

Rinaldi, in her classic style has taken an event in history and built a wonderful, captivating story around it. No matter how old I get, as long as she keeps writing, I will be reading. I highly suggest you do the same. If you are have never read her books before, this is a great place to start.