Editorial Review

365 New Words-A-Year is the perfect gift for students, crossword buffs, writers, wordsmiths, and language lovers. Every day, boost your vocabulary with a smart new word—including definition, pronunciation, sample sentence, and a detailed history. Here are hundreds of contemporary words (phishing), fun-to-say words (jackanapes), loans from other languages (schadenfreude), short, simple words (hew), and words that are a mouthful (bildungsroman). But every one is a good-to-know word. From the editors at Merriam-Webster, America's
most respected dictionary.


... Read more

Editorial Review

Foreword by Stephen R. Covey, Author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

A PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

"Most books make promises. This one delivers. These skills have not only helped us to change the culture of our company, but have also generated new techniques for working together in ways that enabled us to win the largest contract in our industry's history."--Dain M. Hancock, President, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

A powerful, seven-step approach to handling difficult conversations with confidence and skill

"Crucial" conversations are interpersonal exchanges at work or at home that we dread having but know we cannot avoid. How do you say what needs to be said while avoiding an argument with a boss, child, or relationship partner? Crucial Conversations offers readers a proven seven-point strategy for achieving their goals in all those emotionally, psychologically, or legally charged situations that can arise in their professional and personal lives. Based on the authors' highly popular DialogueSmart training seminars, the techniques are geared toward getting people to lower their defenses, creating mutual respect and understanding, increasing emotional safety, and encouraging freedom of expression. Among other things, readers also learn about the four main factors that characterize crucial conversations, and they get a powerful six-minute mastery technique that prepares them to work through any highimpact situation with confidence. ... Read more

Reviews

For when the going gets tough, November 30, 2010
We all face situations in life where things are tense and saying the right things is critical. This is what the authors call a "crucial conversation," as opposed to a casual discussion. Crucial conversations happen between two or more people when opinions vary, stakes are high, and emotions run strong. Whether you are approaching a boss who is breaking his or her own policies, critiquing a colleague's work, or talking to a team member who isn't keeping commitments, keeping the conversation productive can be very difficult.

The main technique the authors teach is the talent of dialogue. This is the free flow of meaning between two or more people. People who use this technique are able to find a way to get all relevant information from themselves and others out in the open and make it safe for everyone to add their meaning to the shared pool. These people try hard to ensure that all ideas find their way into the forum; and as this "pool of shared meaning" grows, it helps people by exposing them to more accurate and relevant information so they can make better decisions. This wise and witty guide gives you the tools you need to step up to life's most difficult and important conversations, say what's on your mind, and achieve positive outcomes. You'll learn how to:

* Prepare for high-impact situations with a six-minute mastery technique
* Make it safe to talk about almost anything
* Be persuasive, not abrasive
* Keep listening when others blow up or clam up
* Turn crucial conversations into the action and results you want

All in all, it's a great book for developing advanced "people skills" and I rank it right up there with Emotional Intelligence 2.0

Fluffy, but very good, April 23, 2007
This is kind of a fluffy business book... I generally hate these books, but this one has a creamy nougat center of knowledge that I've never encountered before. At 200 pages, its a must read. Please ignore the Franklin Covey vibe: the authors really have something important to say.

This book solidifies what many have said before: those who genuinely understand how to communicate have all the power in this world. It's not about knowledge, skills, manipulation, or strength... Those who can get groups of people who distrust each other to come to genuine consensus will always have power. Why? Because its so incredibly difficult... and its so incredibly important.

This book helps you identify the behaviors that help -- and the behaviors that hurt -- when building consensus. Make no mistake about it: human beings are poorly designed to get along with each other. Our brains are wired for competition. At most we co-operate with genetically similar groups. Evolution has wired us to not want to work together with people too different from ourselves, lest we threaten our own survival.

That may have been useful 2000 years ago in highly competitive tribal cultures, but in the modern world such prejudice is usually counterproductive.

This book helps you identify which behaviors may be hindering you. When confronted, a human's instinct is fight or flight. In a conversation, the fight instinct comes out in argument, sarcasm, or belittling. Likewise, the flight instinct comes out as keeping quiet and doing nothing, or totally ignoring what the other person said... typical passive-aggressive behavior.

This book also presents exercises to help you keep a cool head, communicate clearly, and get things done... despite your evolutionary wiring.

If you read this book, and practice their exercises a lot, you will slowly gain a reputation as somebody who can really make things happen.

Highly recommended!

Crucial Conversations, March 5, 2003
As an executive coach working in merger integration activity for many years I have found that the wisdom found in Crucial Conversations can be worth millions and even hundreds of millions of dollars to the clients I work with. Far too many mergers fail because executives avoid having crucial conversations. Finding an authentic path to work through tough issues and critical moments of truth while building long term relationships is a real art. Crucial conversations is filled with practical wisdom from individuals who have discovered "simplicity on the far side of complexity" as it relates to this most difficult and important subject. In my business and personal life, I have found the ideas in this book are invaluable in helping get to the root of difficult issues while maintaining and even enhancing relationships. Very insightful and brilliantly practical.

Insightful, practical, engaging--an exceptional book!, May 6, 2003
When I obtained a copy of Crucial Conversations, I had very high expectations of this book having read the authors' outstanding earlier work, The Balancing Act. I must say I wasn't disappointed; in fact, I was delighted! Crucial Conversations is an extremely insightful and very practical book. Indeed, it is a very rare combination to find a book that contains profound ideas as well as provides actionable tools and Crucial Conversations delivers both.

The book addresses a topic that is largely misunderstood and vastly underestimated: high stakes dialogue. The authors define crucial conversations as those where 1) stakes are high, 2) opinions vary, and 3) emotions run strong, or in other words, much of both our professional and personal lives. We're all involved in crucial conversations at home and at work but most of us are not very aware of the interpersonal dynamics at play and/or we're unskilled in how to respond differently. The book helps the reader first understand the principles involved in "crucial conversations" but then also helps the reader develop real skills and abilities to choose or change their communication patterns. The end result is remarkable. The book's impact is a much bigger idea than simple communication--it's all about effective human interaction and getting results with and through people.

The book is highly readable, extremely engaging and actually quite fun. It is filled with illustrations and stories from all walks of life: business examples, personal examples and family examples. The fact that the principles and skills the authors teach can be applied in all dimensions of life--work, home, personal--is very appealing to me and made the book extremely helpful on many fronts.

I benefitted most from this book from a business standpoint and have found that applying these skills has made a real difference at work. I'm more courageous and more considerate at the same time. I understand people better but I especially understand myself better. I'm far more conscious and aware of my dialogue with others and I've greatly improved my skills and abilities to lead effectively. The bottom line is, I'm helping my company get better results and I'm far more effective personally. If more people in business were to apply these principles and skills in the frequent crucial conversations they have at work, they would make better decisions, achieve better results and do it all in a way that would build the trust and strengthen relationships. I couldn't give a book higher marks. Outstanding!

worth listening to, May 9, 2007
I'm not a fan of self-help books or motivational speakers. Usually I'm driven off by the smarmy tone or self-serving verbal gimmicks. But that's not what you get with Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High.

The purpose of this book is to teach skills for managing verbal dialogue in the face of emotional conflict. The authors stay focused on this topic, teaching a series of behavioral, planning, and interpretive techniques for developing a more effective communication style. They are NOT selling happiness, fulfillment, total quality satisfaction, competitive transformation, etc.

Crucial Conversations uses a variety of instructional methods (examples, diagrams, memory devices, and repetition) to reinforce a modest set of techniques. It avoids gimmicks and hyperbole. The writing is smooth enough to be readable, without diluting the message with entertainment.

Probably I should wait a few months before writing this review. The authors point out that their dialogue skills can't be mastered without sustained practice and review. But already the book has made me more aware of my own conversational habits and responses. I've got some "crucial conversations" coming up and I'm looking forward to trying some techniques to ratchet down the emotion and cultivate information flow.

Every adult and teenager should read this book!, February 24, 2006
Since most of my career has included public speaking I am rarely intimidated by confrontation. I have been the employee negotiating for my salary and a boss dealing with overworked, stressed employees. Even with years of experience, this book helped me to be more aware of how my own speech patterns may affect the people I deal with - on both sides of the fence.

After reading Crucial Conversations, I more easily recognize words that usually invoke an emotional response and avoid them.

This book makes a wonderful gift for employees, friends and family - all careers from CFO to Coffee Barista to Secretary. I highly recommend this book for seasoned professionals and college students.

Crucial Conversations - Crucial Results, March 4, 2003
I have read Crucial Conversations cover to cover 4 times now. The results in my business and my marriage have been amazing. The book is well written and easy to understand. It teaches step by step skills to help you master the content. Before reading this book, I thought influential people possessed a natural ability to effectively handle conflict. After reading the book, I now realize that there are specific skill sets that anyone can learn (and master) to effectively deal with these "High Stake," "Strong Emotions," and "Opposing Opinion" conversations.

My confidence and productivity has increased in every area of my life (My business has increased by 30%-50% since I read the book the first time) and I am now effectively handling conversations with my wife that once caused constant upset.

I would recommend this book for anyone 1) wanting increased results and 2) willing to have a profound breakthrough in how they communicate. It has made a profound difference for me.

Start now and change your life!, September 17, 2002
Too many of us never say what is really on our mind, that is until we let the pressure build and it escapes in a way we regret. This book will change your life. It provides the tools you need to commit to meaningful dialogue with those who matter most: family, co-workers and friends. You can have candor and respect at the same time.
The book is a delightful read, adding humor along the way. It is powerful in the examples taken from real life. It is meant to be read time and again. You will want to practice and perfect these skills, using the time-tested principles until they become a part of you.

It helped me immediately!, March 24, 2004
I see now why now why my principal gave others and me this book. Earlier today our committee of educators came up with a new program to replace a set of undefined steps that had us three months in arrears in our caseload. The unanimous and accepted consensus, I believe, only came about from applying the ideas in Crucial Conversations. Those that had disagreed with the new program did behave badly, but this did not side track the process. Applying the authors advice of keeping focused on what I want enabled me to avoid being sucked in.

I offer one snippet the books ideals. They say, If you behaved badly apologize but if your intentions have been misunderstood don't apologize do a clarifying "don't/do" statement: "Don't think I mean this awful thing you have been thinking. Do realize that I mean this." They indicate that such statements are just the beginning of repairing what they call safety. This repair was crucial to obtaining today's agreement. Try it!

Life-changing book, February 5, 2007
This book should be required reading for almost everyone! It describes how to initiate and carry through difficult conversations which effect everyone's lives. It teaches the reader how to examine his own motives and desires before attempting to share his ideas with someone else. It shows how to clarify issues and then present them openly and honestly without offending the other person in the conversation. Too often we resort to silence or violence when dealing with crucial conversations and the authors point out the futility of either position. This book is now being used in many businesses and is required reading for employees. Whether dealing with business or personal issues, this book is a superb resource. ... Read more

Editorial Review

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Reviews

Should be your First Kindle Purchase...for Free!, April 17, 2009
How can you go wrong with this? Some of the great classics from Chekhov, Tolstoy, Turgenev and a few other surprising gems I'd never read before.

To read the Overcoat again, after about 20 years, was a true delight. There's something so real, palpable and compelling about the clerk and how the story unfolds...I can see why it's a great model for the short story form.

Can't go wrong with this one, March 4, 2010
At first all the stories are just depressing. Some memorably so, others humorously so, others still just morosely so. Many are about poverty, vices, the lusts of money, and the fear of the cold, or loneliness, oppression, and cruelty, but each of them seems to focus very strongly on the crappiness of life. They stay with you, and they keep pulling you along. Best of all, they can be taken in at length- most short stories collections get tiring after three or four stories, here it's possible to read them all in a sitting without getting tired of them.
But about 60% of the way through these very well written pieces you realize that these Russians understand something that modern Western culture doesn't understand: people are rotten; and somehow that formerly depressing literature becomes a work of art. They are painting you a picture of life that you won't hear, the truth that right down to the smallest child, when the veneer of life is stripped away people are just no good. Counter-intuitively, it's very refreshing to see the honest truth played out in front of your imagination. These Russian writers, they *get* it, they make it hit home in a way that doesn't happen very often from new books or television or movies. Alas, the writers are a post Christian bunch, so instead of celebrating their brokenness and the kindness of God they are left with a void, but unlike Camus who decides to fill his philosophy with nonsense words the Russian masters quietly abstain in favor of just showing you life through their eyes. They just stare at the void in humanity. They don't explain it, nor mourn it, nor fantasize on what might make it go away, nor do they really accept it, they just show you to it. They show you real life, a life without redemption, without long term goals, and it's frankly brilliant.
Really it is. It's a free download; what are you waiting for?

Amazing read, February 1, 2010
This is my first time reading any Russian author(s) and I am amazed how much I have been missing by not reading Russian authors. This is filled with great well written short stories, they make you what to go out and buy more from they authors (and I have). ... Read more

Editorial Review

"Long live the King" hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it—fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told. ... Read more

Reviews

Uncovering the Fossil
For the legions of Stephen King fans out there (which is to say a lot), the first third of the book containing his short memoir is truly a gift. One can't help wanting to read about his/her favorite writer after being transported to fantastic worlds countless times in Mr. King's prolific career. Some fans would have paid... gladly for the first 101 pages of the memoir ("C.V." he calls it), which includes heartfelt tidbits about his brother, mother and his long battles with alcohol and drug addiction.

The second part, "On Writing," is where the aspiring novelists will find inspiration. Assuming you're a serious writer (or wanting to be a published one), you'd no doubt would have read the countless manuals on the mechanics of writing. With Mr. King, you do get short lessons in the mechanics of prose here and there. What he mostly offers to the aspiring writer is the inspiration, the cheerleading, and as some have already suggested, after reading it makes you want to sit and write something. He actually allows you into his writing routine, when and where he writes, how many months it takes to write the first draft, and even how he goes about editing the second draft.

Some very original thoughts I found quite interesting:

1. Story is a fossil you find on the ground, and you gradually dig it out slowly.

2. He doesn't plot his stories. He puts "a group of characters in some sort of predicament and then watch them try to work themselves free." In fact he even goes as far as to say, "plot is shift, and best kept under house arrest."

3. Write first draft with the "door" closed, and the second draft with it open.

There are truly gems here for writers, simple, direct, to the point. As always, he doesn't talk down to you. There is even advice on finding agents.

The final section elaborates his near-death experience in summer of 1999, when he was hit by a van driven by Bryan Smith. The book is actually a sandwich: two slices of autobigraphy with the writing advice as the meat of the book.

Though the thin volume was not your edge-of-the-seat thriller or horror, I found myself reading the darn thing in one seating. A pretty good deal for a non-fiction book. This may sound funny, too, but I felt like the book became a good friend of mine. In a word, this is book is intimate. As a fan, and perhaps a writer, that might be worth something.

For writers and readers -- get inside King's mind
The cover shows an inviting scene, a country house with a warm light glowing in the living room window, a set of double doors leading down to the cellar, the house lined with pink and white flowers. "Come on in," the picture seems to say. "I have a story to tell."

It generally takes Stephen King about three months to finish the first draft of a book. He began "On Writing" at the end of 1997, but put it aside a few months later, unsure how to finish it. Over a year later, in mid-1999, King decided to spend the summer "finishing the damn writing book."

The events of late-June, 1999 interfered with those plans. King spent three weeks in the hospital after he was struck by a van. In late July he decided it was time to start writing again, and it was "On Writing" that he chose for his return to work. The finished product, "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft" will be released by Scribner in early October, 2000.

It was a discussion with Amy Tan while on tour with the Rock Bottom Remainders that inspired King to write this book. "No one ever asks about the language," Tan said in response to King's query about the sorts of questions that she doesn't get at author appearances. "Serious" authors get asked that but they don't ask the popular novelists who, he says "care about language in our humble way, and care passionately about the art and craft of telling stories on paper."

King opens with a lengthy memoir that "attempted to show some of the incidents and life-situations which made me into the sort of writer I turned out to be." He calls this section "C.V," as in "curriculum vitae," his list of accomplishments and job skills. Some of the story is familiar, though many of the details are new. He works his way through his stages as a writer from childhood to novice to apprentice to worldwide success.

For the first time in any detail, King addresses his battle with alcohol and drug abuse, when it started, how it evolved and how he eventually was forced to confront his problem. He reveals that he has little memory of writing "Cujo" ("I wish I could remember enjoying the good parts as I put them down on the page"), that he hadn't realized that when he was writing "The Shining" he was writing about himself, and how Annie Wilkes in "Misery" could well be seen as a symbol for coke and alcohol. "I decided I was tired of being Annie's pet writer," King says.

King is more revealing of his life in this book than ever before. He is frank in discussing the merits and deficiencies of many of his books. Of "Rose Madder" and "Insomnia" he says: "These are (much as I hate to admit it) stiff, trying-too-hard novels." He talks about how he reached a point in "The Stand" where he had to set the novel aside for several weeks until he could figure out how to go on. If he had written a couple of hundred pages less at that point he probably would have abandoned the book completely. Also described in some depth are the issues he had to deal with in writing "Carrie," "The Dead Zone" and "The Green Mile." He spends some time relating an event that inspired him to write the upcoming novel "From a Buick Eight" and the research required for the second draft that had to be deferred after his accident - a couple of weeks riding with the Pennsylvania State Police.

"But I'm not a writer," the prospective reader of "On Writing" might cry. "Why should I want to read this book?" While a substantial section of the book is about writing, King's approach to it and his advice to writers at all levels of the art, there is much here for the non-writer as well. King's success has made him a high-profile personality, more so than many other authors, and the level of public interest in his life is easily demonstrated by the overwhelming number of requests for updates on his condition received by his office and official web site in the weeks following his accident. Here is the opportunity to read King on King, and on his books. He describes the symbolism in many of his novels, rarely planted intentionally on the first draft but uncovered, as an archaeologist uncovers a ruin, during the writing of the second draft.

For writers, though, the book is chock full of advice, some of it common sense, some of it uniquely King's. His taboos of writing: adverbs (especially those in dialog attributes) and the passive voice. His description of the writer's toolbox: Common tools on the top shelf (vocabulary and grammar), elements of grammar and style on the second level, along with an understanding of the paragraph as the basic element in fiction, and a synthesis of all of these along with innate and developed skills at the bottom.

"If you want to be a writer," King says, "you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot." King calls reading the creative center of a writer's life. He advocates reading in small sips as well as long drinks - in waiting rooms, in line at the theater, in the checkout line at the grocery store, on the treadmill at the gym and in the john.

When it comes to writing, though, King is more selective. "We do best in a place of our own," he advises. The most important feature of this place: a door that you can and are willing to shut. No TV, no phone and no video games. Curtains closed. Write first with the door closed. Write for yourself without worry about theme, symbolism or accuracy of details. Those are for the second draft, which is usually written with the door open, after he has sent the book to a select group of critical readers.

King includes examples of both good and bad writing, sometimes taken from his own work, sometimes taken from such writers as Elmore Leonard and John Katzenbach. The final chapter of the book is an annotated rewrite of his first draft of the opening section of "1408," one of the three stories in the recent "Blood and Smoke" audio release. This section should silence critics who suggest that King doesn't rewrite his work. It is an interesting look at the creative process and what an author should look for when editing his or her own material.

He also describes his approach to research. It's all about back story, he says. "What I'm looking for is nothing but a touch of verisimilitude, like the handful of spices you chuck into a really good spaghetti sauce to really finish her off."

Toward the end of the book, King tackles the subject of his accident. This section, called "On Living," is partly a bully platform for him to get his version of the story down, as well as his opinion about how the legal system handled the case of driver Bryan Smith. It also describes how an otherwise ideal day went wrong, the minute details of his injuries and some of the challenges of his recovery process. "Life isn't a support system for art - it's the other way around," he concludes.

Throughout the book, but especially in this chapter, King pays tribute to wife, Tabitha. She is King's "Ideal Reader," the person for whom he writes all of his books, the one who he wants to make laugh or cry through his writing. His love and admiration for her shines through, from a touching scene in their early courtship where he sits at her feet as she reads her poetry in a workshop, his hand on her calf, to her organization of a group intervention to make him confront his addiction problems, and all the way through to her support and encouragement of him during his convalescence.

At the end, King includes a list of nearly a hundred novels that he considers the best that he's read in the last three or four years. "A good many of these might show you some new ways of doing your work. Even if they don't, they're apt to entertain you," he concludes.

The same might be said of "On Writing."

Get out your notebooks, sharpen your pencils...and learn.
Though far from the definitive writer's guideline, this book shines a unique perspective on the craft. Stephen King lays down the law and then teaches it. He shares his techniques, his pet peeves, and his own personal horrific experiences - both as child and adult - and he does it all within the cerebral classroom of the printed page. He wraps a juicy filling of personal tragedy, growth and experience within a tight covering of his famous story telling style.

As a human, I was touched by his childhood anecdotes and often laughed with him about his insecurities. I am still in awe at what he has recently had to overcome physically. I mean, damn.

As a writer, I am grateful for a brief glimpse into his vocational world. I gained confidence from learning about things I have been doing right and have changed many bad habits (may the adverb rest in peace). I've read several tomes on the subject and believe his reigns as the most complete.

I've been a fan of King's since the seventh grade when I was given The Dead Zone and Cujo as an Easter present. A year later I had read every book he'd published (with the exception of the dreaded Limited Editions of which I could opine negatively for hours - suffice it to say that writing should be for everyone to read, not just the rich). I've read or listened to all his books since. I can honestly say, that this is my favorite.

Sometimes the coldest hands to wrap around your neck are the true ones.

The only bad thing I can say about this book is that it's too short, something one rarely has the opportunity to state regarding the beloved author.

A huge thank you to Mr. King for a brief indulgence into the life of a genius.

An Amazing Look Into The Mind Of An Amazing Author
Being a huge Stephen King fan I knew that I would enjoy this book. What surprised me was just how good this book was. It provides valuable insight not only into the mind of King but on the writing process itself. You will find yourself inspired to actually sit down at the computer yourself and finally put down those ideas that have been floating around in your head. However, King does make it clear that writing is a serious job and that it is not for anyone. His insight into the business side of the craft will prove to be valuable to any aspiring writer. I always enjoy the "note to the reader" section that King often includes in his novels. On Writing reads like one long "note to the reader" and is often funny and at other times quite touching. King is amazingly honest about his own troubles and faults and the section of the book detailing his accident and road to recovery are inspiring. Most of all the best thing about this book is that King's love of writing, reading and all things about books comes shining through. What an amazing man.

Climbing out of a pidgeon-hole.
First of all, I should probably mention that I had never read a Stephen King book in my entire life. I've never had much interest in horror or mystery or suspense. Naturally, I wasn't sure what to expect, and I was a little wary. Another motivation for picking up this book was the fact that I've been writing for the vast majority of my life, and I was curious to see if I was on the right track. I received 'On Writing' for Christmas and read it through a week in January.

I was absolutely stunned. Sure, I respected Mr. King as a successful novelist, and knew a little of his personal life; after this book, I felt like I'd known him personally for years. As many others have mentioned, this book is really divided into three parts: a short memoir, a manual of writing technique, and the now well-publicized accident.

The first part, "C.V.", was really glimpses into Mr. King's life, interesting little episodes that he considered life lessons or things that sparked his sense of humor. It also provides a very important part of a good writer: He grew up loving to read, and reading frequently. He also started writing and submitting his work at an early age. "C.V." paints the picture of a real-life struggling novelist: how he had to work at several different crummy (though interesting) jobs while supporting a family, a drug habit, and a hefty manuscript.

The second part was "On Writing". In this, Mr. King takes almost no credit for what he's saying. He constantly refers back to 'The Elements of Style' by Strunk & White. He also gives you, flat-out but not in a patronizing tone, what you need to succeed as a decent writer. The best way to summarize how I felt about the section as a whole is this: when he revealed that he taught high school English for several years before the success of 'Carrie', I was desperately jealous of those students. He'd teach an *awesome* class.

I was most impressed by the last section of the book, where he explores his painful memories of the accident and his slow road to recovery. It literally wrenched my heart when he talked of his wife setting up a table in the stuffy hall that he sat at to write for the first time. It was obvious that writing is more than just a business occupation--it's obvious Mr. King has a true passion for the craft.

I applaud him for it--such people come few and far between.

Read this book. You won't regret it.

A teacher who's actually done it.
I have never read Stephen King's work, but being an aspiring writer, I bought this one simply because the reviews were too good to ignore.

I'll add to this pile now.

The biographical first part is written in a smooth and flowing style that keeps you turning the pages late into the hours. It details King's journey to becoming a published author, as well as his battle with substance abuse. All the humour, heartbreak, and hardship shine through to inspire anyone who is unlucky enough to want to write.

The second part contains the truth about the craft. The work, sacrifice, and the suggestion that writing is something you just might *not* be able to do. In addition, it contains helpful sections pertaining to building good writing habits, things to avoid, exercises, etc. There are some things I don't agree with, such as avoiding adverbs if possible, but it takes nothing away. The information in this part of the book is something you'll be hard pressed to find anywhere else. To some, it'll be ugly, to those who really do want to write, it'll be comforting to know that everyone doing it is fighting the same battle.

The third part is King's view on his close brush with death and how it's affected his life.

The two "And Furthermore" sections at the end contain a fully corrected piece of fiction that is an invaluable lesson, and a recommended reading list.

If you want to be a writer, buy this book. Whether you read King's work or not.

Instant Classic
Stephen King has produced what I believe will long be considered one of the greatest instructional works on fiction writing. If you are an aspiring creative writer, there is no excuse - you need this book.

"On Writing" is divided into two sections. The first comprises a series of essays, relating everything from his childhood to the publication of Carrie. This is entertaining writing within and of itself, and really shows King's ability to engage a reader. In the second section King tells us what he's learned in a lifetime of being one of the world's top writers. This is what you're paying your money for.

Unlike the many other books of this sort I've read, "On Writing" doesn't pull any punches and isn't afraid to state it plainly. King has something that most other instructional writer's don't have - about 8 zillion sales to back up anything he writes - and therefore isn't afraid to tell us that "the road to hell is paved with adverbs" and "it's impossible to make a competent writer out of a bad one." There are several examples given of both good and bad writing, laced with King's observations on many of the authors he has read over the years.

I can't recommend "On Writing" high enough. This line alone was worth the price of the book - "...You must not come lightly to the page..." - and it's only a fraction of the wisdom you're sure to encounter. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

A step-by-step guide to writing and managing the writer's life covers each portion of a written project, addresses such concerns as writer's block and getting published, and offers awareness and survival tips. Reprint. Tour. K. NYT. ... Read more

Reviews

Laughs and Lifelines!, December 27, 2000
This is not a how-to book. This is not a New Age manual for freeing your creativity in ethereal ways. This is Anne Lamott, for heaven's sake...and that means it's funny! As in, laugh- till-you-can't-read-the-words-through-the-tears-in-your-eyes funny. (Some call this therapy, and I'm inclined to agree.)

Though aimed at writers, this book is full of sage advice and razor-edged honesty for the average joe. If you're a writer--and I claim to be one--it's more than a few anecdotes and good advice; it's a lifeline in the thrashing seas of rough-draftdom, a foothold on the sands of jealousy and vain ambition. Anne makes it clear that writing must be pursued for something other than mere publication. (Though, to be honest, I know she's just trying to let the majority of us down easy.) Writing is about letting go, growing, facing truths, and holding on.

I'm hooked on Lamott. She slaps me in the face with her startling revelations, nudges me in the ribs with her unpredictable humor, and prods my frozen little writer's hands back into action with warm compassion. This book won't solve the mechanical aspects of my writing, or lead me on the path of structural excellence, but it will spark my creativity, free my characters to be true to themselves, and, ultimately, shake me from my doldrums back into the writing mode.

In a society addicted to mindless facts and information, "Bird by Bird" reminds us--writers or otherwise--that it's all about heart. Heart and mind and soul dancing together, even if they step all over each other's feet.

Funny, inspiring, & wise--but get your craft elsewhere, June 16, 2000
If there's a better book to read when you're doubting yourselfand your writing ability, I don't know what it is. IF YOU WANT TOWRITE by Brenda Ueland may be more profound, but it's not as funny... I don't think Lamott copied Ueland at all. Both books are wonders, Ueland's more spiritual or mystical--i.e. how to express your own unique self and write your truth--and Lamott's more worldy--how to get your rear in gear and start producing copy. Lamott's chapter on crumby first drafts lets you know you must start somewhere and can't do that if you're constantly criticizng and editing yourself. And she is so right--once you have a beginning, you can make it better..and better...and better. She doesn't really tell you how to do that in very specific terms, but for that there's great sourcebooks like SELF EDITING FOR FICTON WRITERS and ON WRITING WELL, which more than cover the job. Bird by Bird may be short on craft, but it's long on motivation, humor, and practical ways to get yourself writing.

Expert writing advice with a funny and easy style., April 26, 2001
This author is a new find for me, but I will surely read much more of her. She is fabulously funny, incredibly informative, and absolutely generous with her thoughts and feelings and expertise on writing. The book warmed me, and made me feel that I could continue my writing with a stronger and better perspective. For aspiring writer's everywhere, and for writers published and not, this book will take you on a journey and offer invaluable advice for your hard work. It will help you revive that natural urge to write and keep you plugging away at the keyboard during the very worst of slumps. You will also laugh with Anne Lamott, the author, who is hilarious and honest and very witty. The practical and real life advice will stay with you as you struggle to become the writer you already are.

A lovely experience of a painful process, January 30, 2006
BIRD BY BIRD: SOME INSTRUCTIONS ON WRITING AND LIFE by Anne Lamott is a lovely, lovely, lovely book! Of course it is about writing, but it is also about any kind of longterm endeavor that is challenging, that creates self-doubt, and that is a channel for self _expression and self actualization. Lamott's Christianity and general spirituality, which is expressed in this book as a side note to her writing focus, is warm and friendly, and her personality, humorous and inclusive and confident, is wonderful for the reader to share. I LOVED the process of reading this book, of being with it.

This book has a charming and engaging introduction and then is divided into parts on Writing (which includes chapters called "Getting Started," "Short Assignments," "Perfectionism," "False Starts," "Plot Treatment," and "How Do You Know When You're Done?"), The Writing Frame of Mind (with chapters like "The Moral Point of View," "Broccoli," "Radio Station KFKD," and "Jealousy"), Help Along the Way ("Index Cards," Calling Around," "Writing Groups," and "Someone to Read Your Drafts" and "Writer's Block"), and final sections called "Publication -- and Other Reasons to Write" and "The Last Class."

While I actually think the writing lessons of this book are secondary to the wonderful life lessons this book contains, I have found myself using these lessons. I love the idea that first drafts can be BAAAAAAAAAAD with no harm to anyone! It's incredibly liberating and freeing, and allows one to write whatever one has to write with self-permission to do a bad job the first time round because you know you'll correct it later on. If you write ANYTHING this book will give you practical, helpful advice to advance and improve.

I underlined in this book, which is something that as a librarian's daughter, I almost never do, but this book feels like a reference, a guide, in a way that other works do not. I underlined things like, "Hope is a revolutionary patience" on page xxiii and "Because for some of us, books are as important as almost anything on earth" on page 15.

Lamott quotes from other wondrous writers, she writes about events in her own life that elevate her and that enervate her. But everything she writes is about taking lots of small steps in one direction. I literally laughed and cried while reading this wonderful and wondrous memoir about the process of writing and how life's pains and joys illustrate this process for Lamott ... I nearly wished I still taught freshman composition so I could use it as a text book. It is the most honest, charming, personable and true description of the painful and rewarding act of writing that I have ever read. I recommend it to anyone, writer or not, who is engaged in a longterm, or even lifelong endeavor. Anne Lamott will simultaneously soothe and inspire any reader of BIRD BY BIRD.

Funny, poignant, and powerful, September 28, 2001
I can honestly say that this is the best book on writing that I've ever read, and yes, it's also the only book on writing that I've ever read. But what a way to start. I've avoided the genre because I've wanted to figure things out on my own, but this book is more like a conversation with a writer than a tome on how to write. She's talks about how she started, what keeps her motivated, what she does when she gets stuck, and how she deals with various writer anxieties (re: publication, rejection, validation).

Above all, this is a very funny, laugh-out-loud book. Lamott has a quirky sense of humor and a refreshing, spot on ability to create memorable pictures. Despite writing of her own spirituality, Lamott doesn't get preachy or smug or self-righteous, and so her stories end up being truly inspiring. She talks about giving as a writer, and I found in her stories many gifts.

A couple of gems that I've tucked away:

* One-inch picture frames: big ideas can engulf you; write about a moment in time, one short scene, something that would fit into a one-inch picture frame.
* Writing is putting down one word after another (the best advice for a writer is to...write).
* You have to give your best stuff to your current project (she references Annie Dillard for this idea) and not try to save it or hoard it; sort of a 'use it or lose it' attitude.
* The myth of publication: if you weren't enough before publication, you're not going to be enough after publication.

Lots to digest, and worth rereading.

Insightful and humorous, but also annoying, September 5, 2001
As some of the other reviewers have said, the actual writing advice in this book is slight and conceptual. I also found it inspirational, to a point.

The book's failing is in assuming that the author's reason for writing--to uncover the truth in her life experience--is the only important one. Lamott dismisses other writing (presumably commercial fiction) as "making candy."

This stance is elitist and annoying (it's the same one you get from most college writing instructors). The argument goes like this: you must aspire to uncover the Truth, because that is what literature is for. Writing that doesn't do this--writing that merely entertains, for example--is less than worthy (it's just "making candy," and candy rots your teeth). Lamott at least tells you that you probably won't be good enough, and probably won't make any money even if you are--but she still insists that you pursue Truth.

I don't buy it. Humans have a fundamental need for stories of all kinds. Creating a story and telling it well enough to be published is noble enough, without burdening yourself with the fear that you're not writing "truth," or that your writing is somehow less important than any other.

Bird by Bird, December 7, 2000
Anne Lamott makes her guide to writing, Bird by Bird, personal, effective, and endearing by sharing embarrassing stories--everything from her three and a half year old son's cussing habits to her own struggles with writing to her debilitating bout of jealousy after the tremendous success of a writer friend. From her unabashed openness, the audience comes away with a good sense of Lamott's personality, and her humor makes it easier for the reader to accept her advice. Lamott does an excellent job of keeping the writing style conversational, which reinforces the book's personal quality. The writing is eloquent but simple, insightful but interesting. "Me, I'm a nice Christian girl, and while I wish I could quote something kicky and inspirational that Jesus had to say about writing, the truth is that when students ask me for the best practical advice I know, I always pick up a piece of paper and pantomime scribbling away" (37). From the first line of Bird by Bird the reader can tell that Lamott's voice is consistent; she is a caring coach, comic, and expert who offers sage and useful guidance. Her wit and wisdom capture the reader's interest; her practical counsel and experience build the reader's ability and boost his motivation.

Most Helpful Book on Writing I Know, March 3, 2000
I've been a publishing fiction writer for over twenty years and been teaching fiction writing for almost twenty. When I discovered this book ten years ago, I seized on it as a work to use in class, but it's become increasingly important in my life and work as well. When I teach, I ask my students to read it the first week of class so that they can hear the things I want to tell them in a funnier and more congenial voice than I can muster, and we refer back to it all semester long. Whenever we talk about it, I'm reminded not only of the great lessons about writing Annie has enclosed, but about the truths about the writing life we find here: the act of writing is more important than publishing, and striving to be a good person is more important than either.

A Romp Through Anne Lamott's Writers Workshop, December 15, 1999
If you've ever thought of signing up for one of those writers workshops with some successful wordcrafter but were put off by the price or the possibility of somebody asking, "What are YOU doing here?" this is your chance to do a test-run on what it might really be like.

If Anne Lamott's workshops are anything like her book "Bird by Bird: Instructions on Writing and Life," then whatever the cost - dollars or pride - it will be worth the price of admission.

Lamotte is funny - poking fun at herself as well as doing a running, withering commentary on society and human nature. No thought is too important to permit a digression which is part of her style of writing (and speaking?). On the other hand, no thought is too trivial to put on a 3X5 card for possible intrusion (not a Freudian Slip, thank you!) in something she is writing or saying. Her philosophy of life and writing seems to be: If the shoe fits, it probably isn't yours, but wear it anyway. Whoever left it for you should have been more careful where they leave their shoes.

Besides the fun, no there's nothing besides fun in life - except despair and you don't want to go there - the fun in no way takes anything away from Lamott's sound advice for writers, especially those with low self-esteem, poverty status, lack of writing skills, and nagging in-laws who wonder why you don't get a REAL job.

Her practical advice includes: getting started (sit down everyday, same time, same place, quiet your mind, and start writing until you "get to that one long paragraph that was what you had in mind when you started, only you didn't know that, couldn't know that, until you got to it"); try doing short assignments ("...writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." E. L. Doctorow); developing characters ("Just don't pretend you know more about your characters than they do, because you don't. Stay open to them. It's teatime and all the dolls are at the table. Listen. It's that simple."); and plot (Plot grows out of character. If you focus on who the people in your story are, if you sit and write about two people you know and are getting to know better day by day, something is bound to happen.").

One of my favorite chapters is "Broccoli" which begins with Mel Brooks' old routine in which a psychiatrist advises a patient, "Listen to your broccoli, and your broccoli will tell you how to eat it." Don't try to find out who that psychiatrist is - she's booked up 'til January 3000! Lamotte is affirming the shy attribute of intuition - trust it, tease it, test it, listen to it, get to know it. There is a gentle, tender, wondrous part of each of us that aches to be honored and invited to tea with our other toys, but like E.T., it has the right stuff to transform our lives and awaken the dolls.

"Bird by Bird" offers the pat on the back and kick in the pants every aspiring writer needs. Lamott does not think everybody who writes should publish . But she does believe everybody who wants to write should do it! There are characters in each of us just waiting to enter the stage of our minds and come to life. So, what are you waiting for? Get started all ready! They may not wait for ever.

Quietly inspiring, April 9, 2002
Anne Lamott has written the first openly honest book about the process of writing that I have read, and it was amazingly refreshing to have this perspective. She doesn't get all dewey-eyed about the wonder and the joy that is being a published author; in fact, she does quite the opposite. Without being overly-negative, Lamott points out the many pitfalls and false expectations so many of us aspiring authors are going to fall into. There's a bit that sums this up for me:

"But their fantasy of what it means to be published has very little to do with reality. So I tell them about my four-year-old son Sam, who goes to a little Christian preschool where he recently learned the story of Thanksgiving. A friend of his, who is also named Sam but who is twelve years old and very political, asked my Sam to tell him everything he knew about the holiday. So my Sam told him this lovely Christian-preschool version of Thanksgiving, with the pilgrims and the Native Americans and lots of lovely food and feelings. At which point Big Sam turned to me and said, somewhat bitterly, 'I guess he hasn't heard about the small-pox-infected blankets yet.' Now, maybe we weren't handing out those blankets yet; maybe we were still on our good behavior. But the point is that my students, who so want to be published, have not yet heard about the small-pox-infected blankets of getting published. So that's one of the things I tell them."

And so she does - she tells us about what torture it can be not only to try to get published, but to suffer through the writing process itself. Lamott is every bit as neurotics as the rest of us, and makes no bones about expressing her neuroses - she is as honest as we could possibly hope for. But even though she points out those booby traps that we have yet to experience, she still allows her love of writing to shine through, simultaneously encourages us all to Just Keep Writing while managing our expectations of what will come of it.

I'm intensely grateful for her voice of experience, and now I feel that I have distanced myself from a lot of the dreams of fame and glory I had about Publishing A Book - writing shouldn't be about that, it should be about writing "the truth as I see it," even if what I write is a work of complete fiction.

Lamott notes many of the mistakes new writers make, including assuming that everything which has happened to us is inherently interesting, making every character sound and feel the same, writing horrible dialogue, not letting characters determine their own destinies, and forcing a plot to do what we want it to do. She offers solid advice on how to get around these issues, and gives us examples of her writing as well as others' to guide us.

This is not a quick, light read by any standard - it's a two- or three-day investment in learning how to be a better writer. There are parts which are somewhat disheartening, but Lamott always manages to bring back a writer's enthusiasm for doing what we love - that's the whole point of the book.

Her writing style is very entertaining, no-nonsense, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny; if the reader cannot see him- or herself thinking or doing many of the same things Lamott does, I would be very surprised.

I really recommend this book to anyone who would like to become a published author, or for that matter, anyone who writes for any reason at all. Wonderful advice with a realistic edge. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Bento fever has recently swept across the West, fuelled not just by an interest in cute, decorative food, but by the desire for an economical, healthy approach to eating in these times of recession. A leading light in the popularization of bento has been Makiko Itoh, whose blog, Just Bento, boasts hundreds of thousands of subscribers, all of whom love her delicious recipes and practical bento-making tips.

Now, for the first time, Itoh's expertise has been packaged in book form. The Just Bento Cookbook contains twenty-five attractive bento menus and more than 150 recipes, all of which have been specially created for this book and are divided into two main sections, Japanese and Not-so-Japanese. The Japanese section includes classic bento menus such as Salted Salmon Bento and Chicken Karaage Bento, while the Not-so-Japanese section shows how Western food can be adapted to the bento concept, with delicious menus such as Summer Vegetable Gratin Bento and Everyone Loves a Pie Bento.

In addition to the recipes, Itoh includes sections on bento-making equipment, bento staples to make and stock, basic cooking techniques, and a glossary. A planning-chart section is included, showing readers how they might organize their weekly bento making.

In a market full of bento books that emphasize the cute and the decorative, this book stands out for its emphasis on the health and economic benefits of the bento, and for the very practical guidelines on how to ensure that a daily bento lunch is something that can easily be incorporated into anyone's lifestyle. This is the perfect book for the bento beginner, but will also provide a wealth of new bento recipe ideas and tips for Just Bento aficionados. ... Read more

Reviews

Makiko Itoh does a wonderful job in making an easy-to-follow bento book for the Western audience in mind., December 6, 2010
For many non-Japanese who enjoy Japanese culture, especially the pop culture and have watched many anime series or drama series, or even read the manga, it is no surprise if you are curious about bento. The way they are put together and how creative they are (as well as economical), it's no surprise that more people outside of Japan are catching bento fever and wanting to make bento at home.

So, what is bento? Think Japanese version of the school lunch but instead of a big thick lunchbox, there is creativity on the portions of what one eats and are typically set in a special container in which food is split. There is no big bulky apples or bananas or a big sandwich, for the Japanese, you have your steam rice, egg, vegetables, meats, etc. and it all fits into a container.

And it's no surprise that bento boxes have become popular outside of Japan. People wanting to create economically cool bento boxes and who best to write about it than food blogger Makiko Itoh, owner of justhungry.com and justbento.com.

Makiko has written "The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches to Go" featuring 25 attractive bento menus and features more than 150 recipes which include the Sushi Roll Bento, the Chicken Karaage Bento but as it does feature Japanese style bentos, she also has a not-so-Japanese section which has a Summer Vegetable Casserole Beto and Every Loves a Pie Bento.

And what is important is that Makiko doesn't focus on cuteness or for the sake of having cute bento, she writes with care about nutrition and has easy-to-read, concise instructions that go along with photos.

For example, using the cover image (featured above), the photo is for "Chicken and Three-color Pepper Stir-fry Bento". She shows you how to create the stir-fry with a recipe, plus how to make instant cabbage and cucumber pickles and blanched broccoli. Also, information on how to prepare basic white rice.

She also has a time line of how long it takes to create the dish as well.

After you make the dish, she then features how to prepare the food and place it into a single-tier and two-tier box.

So, these are easy-to-follow instructions.

So, what about the rolled up egg? How do they roll it up? No problem, she has pictures on how she does it.

What about the zig zagged vegetables? No problem, she explains how to do it as well.

And it's important to note that the ingredients featured on the Japanese recipes are ingredients you can find at your local grocery store. Especially if you have an Asian grocery store nearby. Granted, sesame salt or kabocha squash may not be at your local grocery store, but the goal is to improvise if you don't find some of these ingredients.

Now, by using Makiko Itoh's "Just Bento Cookbook", you may be thinking...great, we got the recipe down, ingredients for the Japanese and non-Japanese dishes can be found but what about the actual bento box and equipment that Makiko uses. Now, this is the cool part of the book where she actually showcases bento boxes and accessories and where you can purchase them.

Itoh also goes into foods that can be refrigerated or frozen and for those who are not familiar with the Japanese ingredients, she also has a glossary at the end of the book. So, for those who read and are not sure what "bonito flakes", "miso" or what "edamame" are... no problem, she explains what they are.

Overall, this is a fantastic book for those wanting to prepare bento dishes. Sometimes blogs on how to prepare bento are hard to follow and Itoh recognizes the weaknesses of what others have tried to do and focuses on making the experience as easy as possible for those creating bento for the first time.

So, if you are interested in making bento, I can easily say that "The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches to Go" is perhaps the best book I have reviewed on bento thus far.

Highly recommended!

Bento for grown ups, November 26, 2010
This is the best and most accessible bento box I've ever seen.

Its for grown ups. Chucking out most of the cute bits and hard-to-find ingredients, this book is perfect for someone who wants to have a fun lunch but not make a scene in the breakroom because of a smiley face on a sandwich (not that there is anything wrong with that!).

Most ingredients in the book are easy to find (cherry tomatoes, egg, chicken, etc), and some of the more specialized ingredients (mirin, dashi stock, etc) are available any almost any asian grocery store or online. There are tons of recipes, with pages followed by variations on those recipes, cooking time charts and timelines, and even a glossary of Japanese food terms. Fantastic.

Practical bento recipes, December 11, 2010
This book is not a showcase of selected posts from Makiko Itoh's excellent blog; it contains 150 especially created recipes, and instructive and attractive photos and diagrams and tips you won't find there. The recipes are practical enough for everyday use, with ingredients that won't leave you lost at the supermarket, and much effort has gone into explaining and illustrating the preparation of sushi rolls, onigiri, tamago, and so on; even explaining how to properly lay ingredients into single or two-tier boxes. Makiko has succeeded in distilling her experience making bentos in countries where staple Japanese ingredients are obscure and exotic, into a volume that's readably succinct yet shows impeccable attention to the needs of her audience. She even groups recipes into complete bento meals, with timelines showing how to prepare multiple parts of a meal simultaneously. It's clear that a great deal of effort has gone into producing a bento recipe book intended for everyday use rather than mere novelty.

Absolutely wonderful, November 29, 2010
This book is everything I had hoped it would be, and my hopes were very high, since I saw the quality of the author's food blogs and subscribe to her Just Bento newsletter.

The recipes are easy to follow, and have a lot of variations for both main dishes and sides. They're also widely varied. It shows just how much you can do with your bento!
There are beautiful photographs that show the meals in lots of different styles of bento boxes.
There are also lots of tips for making your food the best, most efficient way possible. The time lines are a great way to plan out your bento making (though I'm not as fast as she is yet!).

I highly recommend this book.

Worth waiting for, November 27, 2010
I waited for this book since Makikoh Itoh announced it on her website. It's fantastic and better than I expected.

Her recipes are simple enough that someone who isn't a cooking master can make, but not so simple that people who want a challenge are left bored. They're all quick and make amazing lunches. I've made several of her recipes before and they are just fantastic.

It is definitely not the kind of Bento book with cute pictures of chara-ben and how to make ham and cheese rolls. No, no, it is MUCH more than that. It teaches you the basics you should know for making healthy, delicious lunches, even if you don't want to make them cute and fancy.

If you're interested in starting to make your own bento, stop looking and start here.

Excellent Recipes, December 8, 2010
This is a great book. Even if you already follow[...], you will see lots of NEW recipes with Maki's excellent directions and suggestions for variations. I started packing lunches after finding her site, and it definitely makes your day more enjoyable when you have a great lunch to look forward to!

Just perfect, December 6, 2010
I've barely made any of the recipes in this book, but I'm already happy I bought it; it's exactly what I was looking for in a book about bento. I was not looking for a book to teach me how to spend hours making cute manga charaben lunches for kids (though I appreciate the artistry), I wasn't looking for a book to suggest ridiculously, inaccessibly gourmet dishes, or dishes with ingredients I can't easily find...I was looking for a book that had quick, healthy, balanced, tasty meal suggestions, with some Japanese influence, but with non-Japanese dishes as well.

This is it.

It has great tips about what kind of food to look for for a particular dish, which parts to make when, planning ahead, food safety, which parts are optional, and little details that many cookbooks seem to assume you may know, without getting all fussy (the explanations about how to make good, basic white rice were great). The photographs are nicely done, though I do wish more of them were in color (I know, color printing is expensive), but the presentations were simple, elegant and visually appealing, the format of the book is easy to parse, and the glossary of Japanese ingredients she mentions in recipes is helpful.

The one gripe I have (and it's certainly not enough to deduct a star) is that some of the ingredients use weight instead of volume measurements--most people use cups and tablespoons where she suggests grams. I've checked out several bento books from the library, and while some had useful suggestions, I wouldn't bother owning any--I'm glad I own this one, I'll be gleefully trying most of these recipes.

Simply wonderful., November 28, 2010
Amazing book, highly recommended. It's better, even, than I expected, as a fan of the justbento.com and justhungry.com sites. Most dishes have an element of meat, but this book is very suitable for vegetarians. It's the kind of book that gives you a main recipe and bunch of delicious variations and/or alternatives, which helps keep things interesting while also getting you familiar with making your own combinations and variations. Brilliant stuff.

Marvelous Resource For Bento!, December 27, 2010
As a regular visitor to the "Just Bento" and "Just Hungry" websites, I have been anticipating this book release for a while now, and I can say it was certainly worth the wait! The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches To Go clearly illustrates step-by-step methods, provides variations on themes, and delivers the same approachable type of instruction provided on the aforementioned sites. It does not overwhelm, but is not condescending, so it is a helpful tool for both the beginner and the experienced bento maker. What I really like about it is the practicality - the author provides solutions for dieting, cost control, finding equipment and supplies, and using non-traditional components. I intended to buy two more copies this evening for gifts, but it is sold out! I can attest that it will, once again, be worth waiting for.

Very nice cookbook, December 26, 2010
My mom saw this book on the Just Bento website and said she wanted it for Christmas. I decided to get it for her along with another cookbook. Once I received it, I was flipping through pages to see the overall quality. The pages were vibrant and the directions were pretty straight forward. The book is organized into sections so finding recipes is a cinch. I'm surprised to see this cookbook is sold out right now. For the price, it's a must have.

Btw Just Bento is one of the most popular Japanese cooking blogs on the web. If you're looking for good Japanese cooking, check out Makiko Itoh's blogs. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Indispensable learning aid includes definitions of common Spanish words arranged by such categories as foods, numbers, days of the week, months, colors, seasons and family. The heart of the book is a dictionary, from a to zapato, in which each word is used in a Spanish sentence (with English translation) demonstrating its proper use.
... Read more

Reviews

Great Little Book!, May 10, 1999
With only 55 pages, it packs a ton of vocabulary! It's so thin I can put it almost anywhere, even inside another book! Wonderful for building vocabulary on the go. It has the Spanish word, it's definition, then it has A SENTENCE IN SPANISH to show context, AND the English translation!!! If that wasn't enough, the last few pages it has groupings of words under various subjects. AND some vocabulary tips!!! I can't say enough about this little book. And did everybody see the price??! Unheard of!! Every new student of Spanish should own one.

P.S. I think the person who gave this book a poor rating was being extremely unkind. This book never says it's anything other than it is. A book to build vocabulary. It's not a dictionary. Dictionaries cost a lot more, and are heavy. (This book weighs 2 oz.!)

$1.95?? Are you KIDDING me?, October 28, 2003
Okay, I thought that $1.95 was a misprint, and I bought it just to get a bargain. But omigod, talk about a bargain! At ten times the price, this book would be a bargain. It's not going to teach you to speak Spanish. It's not going to help you conjugate Spanish verbs. It's not going to make you fluent or able to read the newspaper in Zihuatenejo. But know what? It's going to make your next foray into a Spanish-speaking country a whole lot easier.
Overall, it's a dictionary, but there are subsections like food, colors, travel, clothing, and within those sections things are arranged alphabetically. Each word is used in a whole sentence (many of which are very handy sentences to have at your disposable) with translation, of course.
Anyway, stop reading this review and buy this book. Hell, at this price, buy 10 and give them to everyone in your family the next time you go south of the border.
Highest recommendation, and an utter steal at this price.

Spanish - Light & Easy!, August 6, 2000
A light (and I really mean light - the book weighs about 2 ounces) and helpful book for anyone trying to build their Spanish vocabulary. Printed by the good people at Dover Publications, the book lacks the fancy designs, illustrations, and other graphics that books are generally well known for, however it is a very resourceful book to have around.

Author Seymour Resnick does a great job in compiling the 1,001 most used words in the Spanish language, however there is one negative thing about this book. There is not a pronunciation guide throughout the whole book. Although it's not a dictionary, it is always helpful to have this reference mentioned in a foreign-language book. Besides this fault, this book will make excellent reading material for anyone trying to brush up on their Spanish before a trip, meeting, or just to chat with a friend or relative.

Useful on a small scale, September 3, 2002
This book has about 50 pages of dictionary, followed by word lists by category (such as the family, days, months, numbers, colors, foods, and animals, among others), and finally a page of "vocabulary tips," which are things like "English -ous is often Spanish -oso."

One major disadvantage of this book is that the dictionary section is Spanish-English and there is no English-Spanish section. Obviously, with only a little over a thousand words, the book is not meant to be an exhaustive dictionary, and it does not really function as one. I was surprised at how useful I found one part of the book- the list of foods (Spanish-English, like the dictionary section). There were many words on this list that I did not know but felt I should, such as "almond" and "celery."

I went through the dictionary section and found that each page (with about 22 words) had an average of 4 words I didn't know. (To give background on my Spanish knowledge, I have taken 4 years of high school Spanish, plus a lot of reading and studying in my spare time). I happily highlighted those words and began studying them, since they are, as the title claims, very useful. I think that this book might be most helpful for someone who has taken around 2 years of high school Spanish, as that person would know far fewer of the words. On the other hand, it might be an overwhelming amount to memorize, so maybe not.

Here is an example entry taken from the book (I think this falls under fair use...):
"arrojar to throw Se prohibe arrojar objetos por la ventanilla. It is forbidden to throw things out of the window." At times the entry will also specify that the word is used in a certain country or region, which is very helpful considering the variation in the language in different Spanish-speaking countries.

All in all, a useful little book, and a good resource for learning Spanish. Its scope is small, but it achieves what it aims for very well.

I never leave home without it, June 23, 2006
I am "conversational" in Spanish. I am not fluent in the language but confident that I will eventually become completely fluent in Spanish. After trying many different methods to learn Spanish with little success, I have devised my own method.

Both 1001 Most Useful Spanish Words and Easy Spanish Phrase Book have been two of the most important tools in my arsenal. My method of learning involves the following:

1.) Use both 1001 Most Useful Spanish Words and Easy Spanish Phrase Book to build you vocabulary.

2.) The two books that I mentioned above are very easy reads. It's a good idea to read them more than once. You can read them at your convenience because they are very compact and easy to carry around. That explains how I got in the habit of never leaving home without one or the other. And if I have to wait at the doctor's office, have my hair done, or wait to have my
car serviced, I always have one or the other book to read.

3.) You'll also need a comprehensive course to serve as your basis. Any of the big-league courses will do (e.g. Learning Spanish Like Crazy, FSI Spanish, Pimsleur Spanish). But I prefer Learning Spanish Like Crazy. Not only do I find its method to be a fun and easy way to learn Spanish but I don't have a lot of time on my hands so it is rare that I can actually "stop" in order to study. I like Learning Spanish Like Crazy because I can use it for 30 or 40 minutes per day while I am in my basement running on my treadmill. Let LSLC serve as your foundation. IMHO, it's the best of the big-league courses with one caveat: Make sure that you download the revised LSLC lessons as advised in the instructions that come with the LSLC CDs from Amazon. Use this course to develop a good Spanish accent and to learn how to form your own sentences in Spanish, think in Spanish, etc.

4.) The next step is a very important part of my lesson plan (only second to #6). Whenever I am in my car I'll have 2 different CDs in the CD changer from Learn in You Car Spanish and I'll also have 2 different CDs in the CD changer from Behind the Wheel Spanish. So whenever I am in my car, I'm exposed to a different teaching method and hearing different Spanish speakers.

5.) When using Learn In Your Car Spanish CDs and Behind the Wheel CDs, listen to each CD at least 4 or 5 times. And do the same with the Learning Spanish Like Crazy CDs. If you are not able to make your response before the speakers on the recordings, then you know that you have not mastered the CD and that you need to repeat the CD again before replacing it with another CD.

6.) The next step is probably the most crucial in my lesson plan. Make sure that you practice what you have learned with native Spanish speakers. Using 1001 Most Useful Spanish Words and the other resources will give you all of the fundamentals that you need, but to perfect your skills and become conversational and eventually fluent, you'll have to practice with a native.

useful for a beginning speaker, April 14, 1999
I found this book really useful. If you already know how to put together basic sentences in Spanish (I've only taken first semester Spanish)then studying from this book gives you a really good basis for conversation. When I was travelling in Mexico last year I remember trying to look up a lot of these important words and phrases in the dictionary but being unable to find them. If you plan on trying to use your Spanish you should study from this list of essential words, many of which are often left out of beginning Spanish books for some reason. The book also gives clear examples of how the word should be used in a sentence, which is helpful.

Make sure you need it before you buy it., July 22, 2003
If you've taken more than one semester of Spanish in school, this book won't be able to help you much. For me (my wife is Mexican and I have learned a lot from her. I have also completed up through Spanish 201 in college), this book did not teach me a thing. However, for my grandma who has no experience with Spanish and wanted to learn some voculary words in order to communicate easier, this book was perfect. This book could be one of the most useful you have or one of the most useless, depending on who you are and at what level of Spanish you are at. Make sure that you need it before you buy it, but for two bucks you can't do much better if you are looking for a good vocaulary list.

Well worth the money!, March 31, 2002
I am in Antigua, Guatemala, 7 weeks into an immersion spanish program. I have glanced through a number of small dictionaries or books that seek to build vocabulary. The choice of words is always puzzling. For example, you might find the spanish word for "elf" but then be unable to find "fork".

This book on the other hand has a very wise choice of words. It covers most of the verbs and nouns and what not you will need for basic conversations. "to have", "to want", basic foods, basic prepositions. So far, it has the wisest choice of words I have seen. Furthermore, each word comes with a sentence, which helps with grammar and usage. ...

Good little vocabulary-builder for intermediate student, November 26, 2004
It's appropriate to judge a book's success based on how well it fulfills its intended goals. If I write a book on modern popular music, for example, I would not expect it to be disparaged if it insufficiently covers medieval architecture or Roman medical advances.

This analogy comes to mind when thinking about this book. At first, I was myself tempted to dismiss the book. On the negative side, each word has only one sentence, and there's no English-to-Spanish section. What good is that?

Other reviewers have taken this tack. A book with 1000 words isn't going to be useful if you know much more than 1000 words. And a book with no pronunciation guide is not going to be very useful for beginngers.

On the other hand, the clear purpose of this book is one that I feel it does quite well: it's for the intermediate student (like me) and shows you which words to concentrate on learning. In other words, it helps me build my working useful vocabulary. I have several dictionaries: the problem for me is to know which words out of the 80,000 to concentrate on learning and which to ignore.

In some cases, you can look at the English and take a guess: the word meaning "talk" is likely to be very useful and "disambiguate" less so. Again, though, it's that middle category I want to know about: the ones that are useful even though, not having made a serious study of word usage, they don't seem so to me. And that's where the book really shines. It's a handy list of those words.

Its small size is also a plus. I carry it around with me and look at it from time to time when I have a free second.

In summary, this is a good little book that will help the intermediate student build his working vocabulary. It's not perfect, but it's a decent little book to have around.

Excellent value!, May 28, 2000
This is a great book to increase your everyday vocubulary. As a resident of Mexico, I used this book with great success and you certainly can't beat the price! The words used really are among the most common in everday speech. ... Read more

Editorial Review

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Reviews

good...but lacking. an incomplete edition., January 11, 2006
While this story is truly an essential writing of Dostoevsky, it lacks the appropriate context to be read as sold in this copy. If you are interested in reading "The Grand Inquisitor" without reading the rest of The Brothers Karamazov, I would recommend the Guignon edition, sold for only a little more. This work includes the two chapters preceeding "The Grand Inquisitor" as well as what Dostoevsky intended as the refutation for this tale, "The Russian Monk," which follows this legend. Dostoevsky did not intend for this to be separated from the book as a whole, but I think it could be legitimately done when read with a little more context than is present in this copy. Additionally, this alternate edition includes a very complete introduction by Charles Guignon, which is much more informative than the brief one by Anne Fremantle provided in this copy.

It is important to remember that "The Grand Inquistor" was not Dostoevsky's final answer in The Brothers Karamazov. Reading this edition alone provides a flawed view of both Dostoevsky's writing and philosophy and The Brothers Karamazov.

I would recommend reading the book as a whole instead [and I particularly recommend the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation for that: it is much more accurate to the original Russian]. Or at a minimum, reading the other edition of this book. Either way, you will get a more complete glimpse to the genius of Dostoevsky, which this fails to provide.

The Grand Inquisitor is truly an essential read, but not in this presentation of it.

Powerful, provocative, and more relevant today than ever!, October 25, 1997
This is the best short piece I've ever read. This fictional dialogue between the head of the inquisition and Jesus is more than just a metaphorical commentary on the debate over whether or not humans willingly give up their existential freedom in order to avoid the sometimes awesome responsibility that accompanies it. Dostoyevsky's classic also serves as a powerful critique of institutional religion and, by implication, all institutions (gov't, education, corporations, welfare system, etc.) who offer "bread" in exchange for the sacrifice of free choice. A "must read" for educators, social scientists, politicians, organizational consultants, policymakers, and corporate executives.

The Grand Inquisitor reveals much about Human nature, November 16, 1998
The Grand Inquisitor argues that the coming of the Messiah during the Spanish Inquisition is a hindrance to the Catholic Church and to humanity as a whole. He explains, ?nothing has ever been more insupportable for a man and a human society than freedom.? The returning of the Messiah can only disrupt what the Catholic Church has done to rid humanity of this cursed freedom that God has bestowed upon humans. The Inquisitor goes on to list three temptations that the Catholic Church has remedied. ?The first temptation: the problem of bread.? The Inquisitor feels that it is better for the Church to give human society the gift of human bread -- declaring falsely that it is heavenly bread -- than it is for humans to take the actual heavenly bread. ?And we alone shall feed them in Thy name, declaring falsely that it is in Thy name. Oh, never never can they feed themselves without us.? ?The second temptation: the problem of conscience.? The Inquisitor says, ?Nothing is more seductive for man than his freedom of conscience, but nothing is a greater cause of suffering.? He proposes that the Church has successfully lifted this freedom and hence the suffering. ?The third temptation: the problem of unity? The Inquisitor goes on to say, ?But with us all will be happy and will no more rebel nor destroy one another as under Thy freedom.? The Church provides unity for the people. All of these temptations have been lifted from the human conscience by the church. ?We have corrected thy work and have founded it upon miracle, mystery and authority.? Thus, the Messiah has no duty coming back to this world and will be destroyed, as a heretic would be. This book gives many insights to human nature. It does not answer any questions, it simply asks the right questions. All who have at one time questioned human nature should read this novella.

Yes, Read the whole thing!, May 8, 2005
I don't see how you can isolate "The Grand Inquisitor" chapter from the novel in which it is situated, The Brothers Karamazov. I think that knowing who is telling the story, who he is telling the story too, what the story means to each of these people, and what the consequences of what the Grand Inquisitor have to say, are ALL important; important because it is a great novel and important in understanding the grand inquisitor!!!!!!! My suggestion: Buy The Brothers Karamazov instead of this. It's excellent.

Perfect edition!, February 5, 2010
There are some books that everyone should read, and this is one of them. The idea was so fresh for its time and remains intriguing to this day. Whether or not it was Dostoevsky's intention to skewer the church, he certainly succeeded at doing so. He took the church's use of Jesus to achieve its ends to the next level by brilliantly constructing a tale that takes place during the Spanish Inquisition in which the church decides that a newly returned Jesus is wrongheaded and a hindrance to the church's power thirsty ways and condemns him to death. It's a brilliant work, full of truths, and excellent food for thought. I can't recommend this book enough.

Thought Provoking, July 8, 1998
Dostoevsky does a wonderful job portraying a tainted church (Spanish Inquisition and the catholic) in an effort to prove how important a pure religion is as well as a pure government and other authoratative institutions. His depiction of man's self-induced hopelessness in the work is a call for man to empower himself through his faith, something the prisoners of the society under the Inquisition have not done. The final action between Christ and The Grand Inquisitor is not ambiguous, but in fact shows the man that God is all-encompassing and all-forgiving.

A Story witnin a Story - One of the Greatest., October 18, 2009
When I first went to Russia, I was told by a Russian friend that Dostoevsky's "Brothers Karamazov" was required to understand the Russian. I read it and learned so much. I discovered in the chapter titled "The Grand Inquisitor," not only great writing, but as usual, a "third side" of the Russian coin that I always talk about. For if the author was giving Ivan, the narrator of this chapter, a tirade against the Catholic Church, which seems obvious as it was a tale set in the Spanish Inquisition. But it was and is something much greater than that. It was also a veiled attack on the autocracy of Czarist Russia and a prescient view of causes of the violent revolution that followed shortly after this was written. But even beyond that, it is a clever and grand statement for the silent omnipotence of the Christ.

In Ivan's story (he being an atheist) to his brother Alyosha (he being a wannabe priest) the Grand Inquisitor in Spain sees a returned Jesus walking out of a city having healed a girl. The Inquisitor orders Jesus arrested and then visits him in jail. The wizened Grand Inquisitor lectures the silent Jesus on the folly of freedom and individual choice and says to him, "There are three forces, the only forces that are able to conquer and hold captive forever the conscience of these weak rebels (the people) for their own happiness--these forces are: miracle, mystery, and authority." As the monologue continues, the whole rationale for an autocracy (be it religious or political) is explained. Also growingly obvious is the fact that Jesus, in his silence, is winning the argument. In the end, Jesus is set free.

My post-Soviet experience in living in Russia and doing business there I at times ran into this mentality: the idea that good, if any, will come from some unexpected outside source (miracle); that man is not ordained to be responsible for his own welfare and progress (mystery); and that guidance and protection come only from constant dependence on and obedience to someone else (authority). Today that situation is changing with the young, but it still pops up at times.

Yes, I agree with some of the other reviewers that in is better understood as part of the whole novel (hence the 4-stars.) But, it still has a stand-alone lesson to teach us all.

Frederick R. Andresen, Author, "Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia"

Very Interesting Premise, October 11, 2009
I loved the premise of the Grand Inquisitor. There is something all so curious about what Jesus was thinking during the Grand Inquisition. It is also interesting to see Dostoevsky's perspective of the church and human nature as they surrender their freedom to the church so easily. It is a very interesting read.

The Grand Inquisitor is a Russian Russian story, January 25, 2006
The 'Grand Inquisitor ' is the central chapter of Dostoevsky's great work , "The Brothers Karamazov". In it the brother of intellect Ivan tells a story to the saintly Karamazov brother, Alyosha. He tells of how Jesus came once to Spain in the time of the Inquistion .He tells how Jesus performed a series of miracles which caused the people to cry out for him. He tells how the 'Grand Inquisitor ' whose exposition fills a good share of the text, tells why Christ must be banished and the Grand Inquisitor must continue to rule. The essence of his message is that the people cannot endure freedom. They are not really able to bear responsibility for themselves and must be fed, spiritually protected by an authoritarian power, the Grand Inquisitor and the Church.
This assumption that the people cannot bear their own freedom seems to me very Russian. It is I think quite difficult for an American who supposes that freedom is natural and most desirable, to understand this.
Dostoevsky as usual in powerful, dramatic, psychologically penetrating prose creates in this work one of World Literature's great chapters.
A number of readers have rightly commented that it is preferable to read this chapter in the context of the whole novel. But it too can be read and understood on its own terms.
One more point which comes to mind is that here the Church is made to be the instrument of interfering with true freedom. ... Read more

Editorial Review

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Editorial Review

On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth of its style. It is a book for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost everybody does in the age of e-mail and the Internet. Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts or about yourself in the increasingly popular memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you fundamental priciples as well as the insights of a distinguished writer and teacher. With more than a million copies sole, this volume has stood the test of time and remains a valuable resource for writers and would-be writers.

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

THE STORIES BEHIND the WORDS THAT MAKE HISTORY

"Four Score and Seven Years Ago"
The Gettysburg Address as told by an eyewitness of the event

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"
Franklin Delano Roosevelt's stirring call to courage

"Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You"
John F. Kennedy's unforgettable inaugural address

"Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall"
Ronald Reagan's demand for freedom for the people behind the Iron Curtain

Plus Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton on the speeches that influenced them most

Also hear...

• The voices of every U.S. president since Benjamin Harrison in 1889
• A reading of the first presidential speech ever, George Washington's "American Experiment" address
• A reenactment of Abraham Lincoln's incendiary "House Divided" speech
• Campaign recordings of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson
• FDR's assertion that Americans have a "Rendezvous with Destiny"
• Dwight D. Eisenhower's warning against the "Military-Industrial Complex"
• JFK proclaiming "Ich Bin Ein Berliner"
• Lyndon Johnson adopting the civil rights hymn "We Shall Overcome"
• Gerald Ford promising that "Our Long National Nightmare Is Over"
• Ronald Reagan consoling the nation after the space shuttle Challenger explosion
• George H. W. Bush's call for a "Kinder and Gentler Nation"
• Bill Clinton speaking from the pulpit where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his final sermon
• George W. Bush's ultimatum to Iraq and his promise to its people that "The Day of Your Liberation Is Near"

"All students of American history, indeed, all civic-minded Americans, will find a place on their bookshelves for My Fellow Americans."
-Senator JOHN MCCAIN

"My Fellow Americans makes the voice of American presidents ring in our ears and makes us understand in a new way the nature of political leadership in this country."
-ELENA KAGAN, Supreme Court Justice

"The best of presidential speeches, compiled by one of the finest presidential speechwriters."
-DAVID FRUM, George W. Bush speechwriter, author of The Right Man

The history of the United States lives in the words of its presidents-words that heal, inspire, and sometimes divide a nation and the world. My Fellow Americans brings to life two centuries of American history as you read and hear the presidential speeches that defined our nation's most dramatic moments.

My Fellow Americans presents, in text and on two audio CDs, more than forty of the greatest speeches from American presidents. Former White House chief speechwriter Michael Waldman introduces them, telling their dramatic stories and explaining their impact. In original essays, presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton describe the talks that influenced them the most. You'll also find captivating photographs, illustrations, and handwritten manuscripts, including:

• Never-before-seen handwritten speech notes used by President Clinton
• The speech, announcing an attack on Cuba, that President Kennedy did not have to give during the Cuban Missile Crisis
• An actual photo of Lincoln at Gettysburg
• And much more...

The accompanying audio CDs let you hear these great speeches as they happened-some recordings are more than one hundred years old-and reenacted speeches from before the dawn of recorded audio. We hear the voices of every president since Benjamin Harrison. Experience some of our greatest moments, such as "The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself "; "Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You"; and "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down this Wall." Hear Lyndon Johnson adopt "We Shall Overcome" for all Americans; John F. Kennedy proclaim "Ich Bin Ein Berliner" at the Berlin Wall; and a fascinating account by a man who saw and heard President Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address.

My Fellow Americans presents a fascinating journey through American history that can be shared with your family and friends, whether you're reliving the event or hearing it together for the first time.

"Reading [these speeches] and listening to those available from the late 1800s onward reveals the styles and strengths of each president and also the prevailing American outlook in times of war, peace, confidence, and anxiety."
-JAMES FALLOWS, author and national correspondent, The Atlantic Monthly

"The grand panorama of American history unfolds through these presidential speeches, shrewdly selected and ably annotated by a veteran presidential speechwriter."
--ARTHUR M. SCHLESINGER JR.

About the Author
MICHAEL WALDMAN was director of speechwriting for President Clinton from 1995–1999, after serving as special assistant to the president for policy coordination. He wrote or edited nearly two thousand presidential speeches, including two inaugural addresses and four states of the union. Waldman is the author of POTUS Speaks: Finding the Words That Defined the Clinton Presidency, A Return to Common Sense, and Who Robbed America? He is executive director of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, a leading law and policy institute that focuses on democracy and justice. He lives with his family in New York City.

About the Narrator
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS is co-host of Good Morning America and appears regularly on World News Tonight and other ABC News broadcasts. He is the former anchor of ABC's Sunday morning program This Week with George Stephanopoulos. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller All Too Human. Prior to joining ABC News, he served in the Clinton administration as the senior advisor to the president for policy and strategy.

Reviews

Presidential Tour Guides, February 11, 2004
The history of the United States comes alive in the words of its presidents.

There comes a dramatic time in the life of a person, party, organization or nation that cries for the uplift and release of a speech. Someone is called upon to articulate the pride, hope or grief of it all. The speaker becomes the center of attention and the world stops to listen.

That responsibility is often shouldered by our President. Great Presidents not only act as the country's head of state, but also the voice of its people. They help define who we are and what we experience. In my opinion, their speeches constitute one of the best expressions of the nation's mood.

This book presents 40 of the nation's greatest Presidential speeches. Former Clinton Speechwriter Michael Waldman, introduces them, anchors them in history and explains their impact.

Acknowledging that speeches are written for the ear, not the eye, this book contains two CD that allow you to hear many of these actual speeches. Some of the recordings are more than 100 years old. The voice of every President since Benjamin Harrison is included.

This book takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the nation's history guided by the words of our Presidents.

A Splendid Approach to Learning History, October 31, 2005
This book has a concept or format that is guaranteed to make American history come alive as never before. It's a reprint of the most significant speeches by all of America's presidents. In addition it is supplied with two CD's. These contain the actual voices of every president since Benjamin Harrison in 1889. It also includes comments by ex-presidents Ford, Carter and Clinton on the speeches that influenced them the most.

This book is a capsule of American history done in a way that brings it home faster and easier than any standard history textbook. It's a large format book and at 480 pages it can contain a lot of material and it does. It is a splendid book.

Excellent reference book, March 23, 2006
I actually heard Michael Waldman (the author) give a lecture regarding the genesis of this book. Mr. Waldman was President Clinton's chief speech writer for 5 years. When Mr. Waldman once asked an aide for a reference text on the most important presidential speeches in history, he was told that no such text exists. It is my understanding that this was the primary motivation for Mr. Waldman to write this book.

I thoroughly delight in reading the speeches that Mr. Waldman has selected. In particular, I am in agreement with Mr. Waldman regarding the centrality of Abraham Lincoln's speeches in American History. I have come to agree that the Gettysburg Address is "the most important speech" ever given by a president.

This is a book that I have read over and over again. It continually inspires and challenges my views of myself as an American. I highly recommend it to everyone. ... Read more

Editorial Review

You know the authors' names. You recognize the title. You've probably used this book yourself. This is The Elements of Style, the classic style manual, now in a fourth edition. A new Foreword by Roger Angell reminds readers that the advice of Strunk & White is as valuable today as when it was first offered.This book's unique tone, wit and charm have conveyed the principles of English style to millions of readers. Use the fourth edition of "the little book" to make a big impact with writing. ... Read more

Editorial Review

In this witty and infectious book, Madsen Pirie provides a complete guide to using - and indeed abusing - logic in order to win arguments. He identifies with devastating examples all the most common fallacies popularly used in argument. We all like to think of ourselves as clear-headed and logical - but all readers will find in this book fallacies of which they themselves are guilty. The author shows you how to simultaneously strengthen your own thinking and identify the weaknesses in other people's arguments. And, more mischievously, Pirie also shows how to be deliberately illogical - and get away with it. This book will make you maddeningly smart: your family, friends and opponents will all wish that you had never read it. ... Read more

Editorial Review

How did die become kick the bucket, underwear become unmentionables, and having an affair become hiking the Appalachian trail? Originally used to avoid blasphemy, honor taboos, and make nice, euphemisms have become embedded in the fabric of our language. EUPHEMANIA traces the origins of euphemisms from a tool of the church to a form of gentility to today's instrument of commercial, political, and postmodern doublespeak.

As much social commentary as a book for word lovers, EUPHEMANIA is a lively and thought-provoking look at the power of words and our power over them. ... Read more

Reviews

Choosing words with care, December 6, 2010
Ralph Keyes has delved into our human nature here. We use euphemisms to soften our words. To disguise them. To wrap them in pretty distracting language. We say what we mean on occasion but mostly we dissemble. We euphemize. We hide behind words that are seemingly less offensive than what we could say if we didn't resort to euphemisms.

Fascinating stuff here. Keyes explores the things we get uncomfortable discussing; sex, our bodies, our bodily functions, money. You name it-we have the euphemisms for it. Keyes employs a distinctive punchy style here that will have readers spinning and laughing as he keeps those euphemisms pouring non-stop.

It's terse. It's pithy. It's succulent. Try it, you'll like it.

BookHounds [...]., December 2, 2010
If you are a word freak like me, you are going to love this book. Euphemania explains where we get common turns of phrase like "pushing up daisies" and other obscure references. The book is very entertaining and gives insight to historical references. I really enjoyed reading this one and it would make the perfect gift for that closet wordy in your life.

Euphemisms from One Culture to Another, December 28, 2010
A great title for a well researched (check the complete bibliography) and enjoyable book that, anyone who likes language, and the way it evolves will read in a day.
Keyes draws almost all of his examples from the anglo-saxon culture, switching from England to the USA. He mentions a few Spanish words but as a French native, I especially enjoyed the references he makes to my heritage.
From "manger les pissenlits par la racine" or eating dandelions by the root when the French talk of death, to the frequent use of French mouth-watering words in the American cuisine, Keyes show that euphemisms vary from one culture to another.
When I moved from Paris to California with my baby daughter I had a hard time to understand what her new pediatrician meant when he asked me about her BM. French aren't embarrassed when it comes to body functions and it took me a while to refer to the contents of my baby's diaper as a BM. After many years in the USA, I also say UTI, PMS and IBS, and have learned that stomach in American covers a much larger territory than the organ used in the human digestive system.
However I still favor the word the French use when they want to wish good luck. In American, its polite version is shoot.
Thank you, Mr. Keyes for a fun, well researched and engaging book.

Bridget's Review, December 17, 2010
I had so much fun reading this book! EUPHEMANIA is unbelievably witty and entertaining. I never really gave much thought about where euphemisms came from and why they started. Ever since I finished reading this book, I've noticed how much I use them and it's astounding! When you're in the mood to learn something interesting, I recommend this book. It would make a great gift! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Widely adopted by universities, colleges, and secondary schools, the MLA Handbook gives step-by-step advice on every aspect of writing research papers, from selecting a topic to submitting the completed paper. For over half a century, the MLA Handbook is the guide millions of writers have relied on.

The seventh edition is a comprehensive, up-to-date guide to research and writing in the online environment. It provides an authoritative update of MLA documentation style for use in student writing, including simplified guidelines for citing works published on the Web and new recommendations for citing several kinds of works, such as digital files and graphic narratives.

Every copy of the seventh edition of the MLA Handbook comes with a code for accessing the accompanying Web site. New to this edition, the Web site provides

- the full text of the print volume of the MLA Handbook
- over two hundred additional examples
- several research-project narratives--stories, with sample papers, that illustrate the steps successful students take in researching and writing papers
- searching of the entire site, including the full text of the MLA Handbook
- continuous access throughout the life of the seventh edition of the MLA Handbook ... Read more

Reviews

An essential book for college students, October 28, 2003
With his MLA HANDBOOK, Gibaldi has written one of the best stylebooks for college students. Accessible yet detailed enough to help students navigate tricky issues of citations and format, this book offers excellent advice for writing term papers. The electronic citation section is especially helpful since many style manuals have not been properly updated to embrace contemporary research practices.

This book should be on every college student's shelf. For those already well-versed in MLA style, consider Gibaldi's more advanced MLA STYLE MANUAL AND GUIDE TO SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING.

A necessity for writers of college research papers., January 22, 2004
Knowledge of MLA formatting is a necessity for writing college research papers these days. As an older, part-time college student, I found myself lacking the skills to properly cite information in my papers. Not having time to take an entry level English class, to learn the MLA style, I turned to the MLA Handbook for guidance.

This easy to use book has been a lifesaver! The book is well organized and provides plenty of examples. The table of contents is broken down so well, something that is not common enough in textbooks, that within minutes of picking up the book, you have a concrete example of what you need.

Each section starts with the most basic example of citing from a particular type of work and builds, step-by-step, to a complete citation. The applicable example for entry into the Works Cited Page can be found with ease as well.

If you will be writing research papers, or currently find yourself having difficulty citing, this is a tool you should strongly consider.

"Tight Lines!"
~..~..~.. ><((((*>

The MLA Handbook is indispensible for research authors., December 12, 1996
Easily the most useful book any college student could own, the MLA Handbook is full of information on how to correctly cite almost any source. It helps to please any professors who insist on 100% accurate citations. A must have for anyone who writes any number of research articles, it is definitely a sound investment. If you don't have the MLA Handbook, you're left guessing on new citation standards such as CD-ROMs, Online postings, speeches, television shows, radio addresses, etc. The book has bailed me out on a number of occasions, especially when I have been forced to go to 'unorthodox' sources for information.

Perfect for basic college papers, June 10, 2002
I am incredibly anal about formatting my papers correctly, because it represents easy points to me. As most of you know, a large portion of almost any grade on a paper is format. I have bought many handbooks and guides for the MLA format, and I can say with absolute certainty that Joseph Gibaldi's is the best. Of course everyone has their own format, and as you become more specialized in your education you will no doubt be prodded away from MLA into that of your own niche (APSA modified version of CMS for me... ~groan~), but this book will prove most valuable for the majority of your undergraduate education. It has basic tips for research and the mechanics of writing; which, unless you slept through all of your high school English classes (or, as in the case of myself, have an emnity with commas), you'll probably know already. Where this book is indespensible is in its exhaustive documentation listings. To date, I have never found a source which this book doesn't list. I thought I had it stumped this morning when I needed to know how to cite an online congressional record of a speech, but to my surprise it was there, prompting me to write this review! This book has been a lifesaver many times; every college student needs it. Sit down, follow the instructions in the book (well first make sure your instructor wants your paper in MLA format!), and I promise you that you will receive full marks for the format portion of your grade! My only quibble is that it says you don't need a title page, yet I have never had a professor that didn't require one. However, that is an issue for the people who sit around and think up the MLA rules, not with the book. I do believe this has been the most useful book of my college education!

Required & Almost Complete, October 4, 2004
The MLA is the standard for most literary papers. The book itself is well-formatted and easy to read. It is fairly easy to find what you need except when it is not in the book.

Because of the lapse in time from writing to publication, style requirements change as new forms of information become available. One type of citation I needed was not in the book and I finally had to search for the MLA website. That is the reason I do not give this book 5 stars, they do not list their own website for up-to-date style references. By using the website with the handbook, I find answers to most of my style questions.

For reference, the website is www.mla.org/ Enjoy!

Acceptable Guide for Writing Acceptable Research Papers, December 16, 2003
The best parts of this edition of the MLA guide are those that enforce the mechanics of strong writing, though if you're the creative type with unconventional ideas, there is no need to be constrained by these guidelines. Another good section concerns plagiarism, especially the tips on how to avoid both malicious and accidental plagiarism. The guidelines on how to conduct research are better presented elsewhere, while the chapter on how to format a paper is not entirely useful unless you have an assignment that demands that particular type of formatting. Otherwise you will often be free to use a format and construction style of your own choosing. Of course the meat of this guide is the sections on citations and bibliographies, which quite clearly explain the punctuation and mechanics of just about every type of citation imaginable (including new-fangled Internet sources). The only problem is that these sections are difficult to search because of a fuzzy index that sends you to annoyingly demarcated section numbers rather than page numbers. [~doomsdayer520~]

A definite reference for College students., January 28, 2004
I use this book almost in daily basis. As a graduate student - I write several journal articles and research papers weekly. This book is my primary reference book when I edit the final draft copy. If you are in college - I suggest you should invest the money and get this book - you will need this book many times for proper referencing, quotation, and correct punctuation style.

MLA Handbook: The Savior of College Students, March 6, 2006
The MLA Handbook is the most useful writing instruction manual available. The handbook's straight-forward English and clear-cut presentation of its contents, will make writing research papers, formal letters and yes, citations, a smooth and swift task. College freshmen and sophomores will be sharpened and formed into skilled and knowledgeable writers. And their anxieties will be consumed by a confidence that no longer fears those dreadful words "research paper." But this does not mean that you should sell it back after you meet your requisites! The MLA handbook is a not something you discard like those odious textbooks that are reprinted and updated every semester. It is a trustworthy handbook there for your literary refinement, always. The MLA handbook should be issued to all incoming students at orientation.

A Must-Have for Writers, December 2, 2000
Comprehensively indexed and meticulously cross-referenced, the MLA Handbook seems to have format and style guidelines for each and every situation you may need help with. Many times when I have been stumped on some strange, complicated, and obscure format or style issue that could cost me points, I have been pleasantly surprised because MLA had anticipated just such a situation and explained a way out. Because the Modern Language Association is nationally recognized (USA) as the definitive authority on writing style, format, mechanics, and source citation, few instructors will be presumptuous enough to take exception to it. By using this handbook, you are safeguarding your grade.

THE SOURCE OF ALL WRITING MANNER, May 25, 2002
I recently had to write a 10 page research paper for a Greek history course I was taking. One of the required books to use when writing this new style of paper was the MLA handbook.

At first glance I thought that this book would be a rough overview of things I already knew since that is what most books of this are. However, the MLA is much different, I am convinced, after 7 months of use, that this is THE PERFECT format book ever.

If you are trying to write a well written and comprehensive paper, this book is a must. If you are trying to pull up your grade with perfect formatting and source citing, this book is a must. If you want a good grade period, this book is a must.

Do not brush this book away, buy it, keep it, and cherish the tons and tons of information it gives in a very readable manner. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Based on the student's ability to create--not memorize by rote--the Madrigal method can help readers convert English into Spanish in an instant, develop perfect pronunciation (thanks to a handy pronunciation guide), form sentences from the very first lesson, and more. Previously announced in September. ... Read more

Reviews

Entiendo Espanol..., May 9, 2001
I got decent grades in college Spanish; two “A-‘s” and a “B+.” However, when I needed to actually speak Spanish, I was lost. I couldn’t say much except “Mas cervezas, por favor (More beer, please)!”

"Madrial’s Magic Key", along with the expensive (but quite worth it) Pimsleur tapes, have corrected the “mis-education” I was subjected to. The drills Ms. Madrigal presents are easy to remember and fun to do, not like those tedious translations and verb conjugations that college texts are so fond of. In two months, studying this book in my spare time, I retained more Spanish than I did in an entire academic year. And, for the first time, I can actually say that I understand Spanish.

I would supplement this book with a comprehensive book on Spanish grammar (I have the Barron’s, but I suppose any would work) and a dictionary. I would definitely recommend “Breaking Out of Beginner’s Spanish” by Joseph Keenan for an in depth take on colloquial Spanish as well. Further, if you have the money, buy the "Pimsleur Comprehensive" series as well. Get vol.’s 1-3, even though they are pricey. If you are an audio/tactile learner like me, I guarantee that you will retain more Spanish idioms using the Pimsleur method than any other.

Fantastic start to learning spanish, January 10, 2004
Magic Key to Spanish is one of those rare books that you come back to again again, it inspires progress and there's so much to learn from it- it's certainly not going to be a dust gatherer if learning Spanish is what you truly want. If I've convinced you already buy it- if not read on.

The book starts with a very positive introduction and goes on to explain that an English speaker already knows hundreds if not thousands of words in Spanish and it gives you the rules that unlock this 'magic key' to Spanish. It then moves on to teach you grammar in a very novel way, none of the boring conjungations that had to be learnt by rote when doing languages at school. She starts with the past tense as this is how we speak to friends and then moves through much of the essential grammar required to Speak, Read and write Spanish.

I would recommend this book to all beginners in Spanish. It has got two downsides which are the layout, which is now dated (it was written in the early 1950's with Andy Warhol as the illustrator) and also (for me living in England) the fact that the emphasis is on South American Spanish not peninsular Spanish.

I wish the Magic Key to French and German were still in print as I have made substanital progress with my Spanish using this book, the method obviously works. If the publisher is reading this, please consider a reprint of the other two editions given the success of the Spanish version.

The late Margarita Madrigal was ahead of her time as the method she used in this book is akin to what trainers would now call Accerlerated Learning. A word of warning, make sure that you do all of the exercises and tests or you will not be learning to your full potential.

I recommend that you buy this book and use it in tandem with an audio course either the Pimsleur series (expensive) or Michel Thomas would be great- as these will give you the pronunciation which you will require to progress further. Both the audio courses are structured so that there is no repetition and so you have to consciously form the language and remain motivated not bored. If you would like more in-depth information on Spanish grammar I highly recommend 'Buscalo'

Hope this helps you with your introduction to the beautiful and very useful Spanish language- buena suerte!

An Excellent Book for Teaching Yourself to Speak Spanish., October 27, 1999
I have searched for years to find good books to teach myself Spanish, and this one is head and shoulders above the rest. The clear structured organization and presentation make it easy to read and to study. Most others are too basic or, it seems, oriented to very young students. If you are seriously interested in teaching yourself conversational Spanish, then this book will be very helpful. It progresses at a good rate, integrates vocabulary painlessly and uses excercises that build conversational ability. If you are interested in teaching yourself Spanish, then this book is very effective. It uses some very effective shortcuts. For example, it omits the familiar form which reduces the number of verb forms without limiting your ability to comunicate. Many books seem oriented to college course work and seem tediously and academically oriented to stucture and detail, rules and form. This book does not suffer these defiencies. It is committed to teaching you to communicate in Spanish easily (at least as easily as possible)and effectively. I am just someone who wanted to learn to speak Spanish and for that purpose, I found it very effective.

A brief note about accents, July 13, 2002
Since the original date of publication (1951), the Real Academia de la Lengua Espa�ola (guardian of the Spanish Language) officially removed the accents on some one-syllable words. The old spellings appear in the book. For example, in Chapter 31 (common irregular verbs), these words have changed:

Old form: v�, vi�, d�, di�, fu�, fu�
New form: vi, vio, di, dio, fui, fue
(NOTE: this is not a complete list!)

Old spellings also appear in exercises using these words.

These changes don't change the pronunciation of the words! Accent marks are used to show how a word should be written in accordance with the way it is pronounced. The rules on pronouncing weak-weak, weak-strong, strong-weak and strong-strong vowel combinations apply: so, for example, vio (new form) sounds the same as vi� (old form).

This is a great book for learning Spanish. Don't let the age of it throw you.

My plug for a top-notch dictionary: get the Pocket Oxford Spanish Dictionary Second Edition (2000).

Simply the best book I've found....and I've bought them all, July 17, 1998
Learning Spanish should be fun and easy. If not, the odds are that you'll get frustrated and never learn this fantastic language.

Madrigal's Magic key is trully "magical." The book simply is entertaining and a very easy read. It makes learning Spanish fun and not a chore. The book gets the student right into the language without all those complicated rules. The emphasis is on buidling your confidence and establishing a Spanish vocabulary quickly without pain. This is accomplished based on your knowledge of English. For example, she teaches you the tricks of converting english nouns into verbs. The result is that you're not memorizing verbs but focusing on applying simple rules to building a large spanish vocabulary quickly and maintain conmfidence.

The book would truly be outstanding if it combined more exercises (writing) with her "See It and Say it in Spanish" book which is great also.

This is not a book that you'll read and forget a! ! bout. The second and third time I read it increased my comprehension significantly. My ownly regret is that I found this book after spending alot of money on books that only frustrated me, were virtually useless and definitely too much like work.

Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish, July 4, 2000
I've been studying Spanish for over 3 years and I have purchased dozens of books. I've also completed 2 years of study in a local college. This book is by far may favorite of all the books that I have collected during my studying. The lessons are put in a very logical order and the book has been written so that it is much easier to learn! I hope to see more of Madrigal's work in the future. This is a great book. It's worth every penny. In fact, soon I will have to purchase another because I have dog earred the pages and have written all inside of the book, soon it will fall apart because I have used it so much. How's that for a write up? Seriously, it's a great book for the student who really wants to learn the language and understand how the language is assembled, etc.

Leverage the 'Spanish' you already know within English, June 8, 2001
This book is loaded with great info on vocabulary-building, grammar, verb-conjugation, usage, etc. even though it was originally written in the 1950's. But what makes this book stand out for me is the "magic key" that Madrigal provides that allows one to derive or intelligently "guess" hundreds and hundreds of words, including verbs, based on words you already know in English which can be converted into Spanish with little to no modification following a few basic rules. It's actually AMAZING!

In addition to the "magic key" and the other useful info it presents, Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish is written in a very informal, unpressured style that reassures the reader constantly that they will master the material in short order, with quizzes and periodic self-tests to reinforce the learning process.

As I was already a beginning to intermediate Spanish speaker when I first encountered this book, I cannot say how well it would work for someone with little to no previous experience with the language. My sense is that it will be more helpful for people who are at least familiar with Spanish pronunciation and rudimentary grammar, although it is written as if the reader has no previous knowledge of the language.

It's also cool that Andy Warhol did the illustrations for this book.

I love this book! I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to exponentially leap forward in their knowledge of the living Spanish language.

The fastest way to learn conversational Spanish, August 6, 1999
This book is the clearest, easiest and most rapid way to learn a foreign language I've ever experienced, and I speak 6 languages. I learned to speak rather fluent Spanish in record time because of the ease of using this book. I was able to rapidly perfect my fluency later because I was fortunate enough to find the late Margarita Madrigal in New York to teach me. She was a fun person, hence the fun of using Magic Key to Spanish to learn the language. I'm now using it to teach Spanish to my friends and they are advancing rapidly. It is an amazing book

The BEST Spanish guide, January 22, 2004
I found this book by chance in a bookstore in Berkely California 12 years ago. At the time I had only taken 3 years of Spanish in high school. My spanish took off after studying this book and most people now think I am a native speaker of Spanish. I think this book boosts your confidence from the start by showing you all the Spanish that you already know (the conjugates) and by teaching you the past rather than the future first. I highly recommend it. Also remember to practice at every opportunity! Speaking a new language is like learning to dance. You feel silly at first and will make mistakes. But with practice you will become more confident and you will experience the joy of communicating with others in this beautiful language.

Best 1st Spanish book I've ever seen, September 8, 2001
This book is undoubtedly the best that I have seen for people starting their study of Spanish. Its rapid introduction of past tense and simplified grammar rules are unique as far as I can tell, and I have an extensive library of current texts. It's a great way to get "up and running" in Spanish. When I first started studying Spanish, it was amazing to me how everyday after studying a chapter I would hear examples of what I was learning as I would walk around Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. This book stimulated me to further study because it made me conversational much more quickly than the more conservative, "let's master the present tense first approach" of other academic text books. Also, for the price it is unbeatable. It's nearest competitors in value per dollar would be books for a more advanced level of study, "Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses" and "Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Pronouns And Prepositions," they are great supplements to any text. You cannot go wrong with Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish! ... Read more

Editorial Review

A masterpiece of linguistics scholarship, at once erudite and entertaining, confronts the thorny question of how—and whether—culture shapes language and language, culture

Linguistics has long shied away from claiming any link between a language and the culture of its speakers: too much simplistic (even bigoted) chatter about the romance of Italian and the goose-stepping orderliness of German has made serious thinkers wary of the entire subject. But now, acclaimed linguist Guy Deutscher has dared to reopen the issue. Can culture influence language—and vice versa? Can different languages lead their speakers to different thoughts? Could our experience of the world depend on whether our language has a word for "blue"?

Challenging the consensus that the fundaments of language are hard-wired in our genes and thus universal, Deutscher argues that the answer to all these questions is—yes. In thrilling fashion, he takes us from Homer to Darwin, from Yale to the Amazon, from how to name the rainbow to why Russian water—a "she"—becomes a "he" once you dip a tea bag into her, demonstrating that language does in fact reflect culture in ways that are anything but trivial. Audacious, delightful, and field-changing, Through the Language Glass is a classic of intellectual discovery.

Editorial Review

“Italians say that someone who acquires a new language ‘possesses’ it. In my case, Italian possesses me. With Italian racing like blood through my veins, I do indeed see with different eyes, hear with different ears, and drink in the world with all my senses…”

A celebration of the language and culture of Italy, La Bella Lingua is the story of how a language shaped a nation, told against the backdrop of one woman’s personal quest to speak fluent Italian.

For anyone who has been to Italy, the fantasy of living the Italian life is powerfully seductive. But to truly become Italian, one must learn the language. This is how Dianne Hales began her journey. In La Bella Lingua, she brings the story of her decades-long experience with the “the world’s most loved and lovable language” together with explorations of Italy’s history, literature, art, music, movies, lifestyle, and food in a true opera amorosa—a labor of her love of Italy.

Throughout her first excursion in Italy—with “non parlo Italiano” as her only Italian phrase—Dianne delighted in the beauty of what she saw but craved comprehension of what she heard. And so she chose to inhabit the language. Over more than twenty-five years she has studied Italian in every way possible: through Berlitz, books, CDs, podcasts, private tutorials and conversation groups, and, most importantly, large blocks of time in Italy. In the process she found that Italian became not just a passion and a pleasure, but a passport into Italy’s storia and its very soul. She offers charming insights into what makes Italian the most emotionally expressive of languages, from how the “pronto” (“Ready!”) Italians say when they answer the telephone conveys a sense of something coming alive, to how even ordinary things such as a towel (asciugamano) or handkerchief (fazzoletto) sound better in Italian.

She invites readers to join her as she traces the evolution of Italian in the zesty graffiti on the walls of Pompeii, in Dante’s incandescent cantos, and in Boccaccio’s bawdy Decameron. She portrays how social graces remain woven into the fabric of Italian: even the chipper “ciao,” which does double duty as “hi” and “bye,” reflects centuries of bella figura. And she exalts the glories of Italy’s food and its rich and often uproarious gastronomic language: Italians deftly describe someone uptight as a baccala (dried cod), a busybody who noses into everything as a prezzemolo (parsley), a worthless or banal movie as a polpettone (large meatball).

Like Dianne, readers of La Bella Lingua will find themselves innamorata, enchanted, by Italian, fascinated by its saga, tantalized by its adventures, addicted to its sound, and ever eager to spend more time in its company. ... Read more

Reviews

A must read for Italian language lovers, May 12, 2009
For anyone who has been enchanted by the always beautiful, often frustrating Italian language and tried to grasp its basics as well as its intricacies, Dianne's tales will not only ring true but also comfort you.

From obscure word etymologies to entertaining anecdotes, La Bella Lingua will keep you turning pages, nodding along in agreement, laughing, and even learning--I picked up quite a few new words myself even though I've been living in Italy for six years now.

And Dianne's writing? A sheer pleasure. Truly.

La Bella Lingua is a *must* for any lover of the Italian language and assolutamente warrants five espresso cups out of five.

~ Michelle Fabio
bleedingespresso.com

An Italian Vacation in a book, June 29, 2009
When I saw this book, I wanted to read it right away. I did so and as a result, I have fallen even more in love with the italian language.
When I was a student in Firenze years ago, before I knew much of the language, I used to read billboards and ads and think that the italian words were the most beautiful that I had ever seen without knowing what they meant.
This book covers all aspects of the language from historic to artistic to poetic to the not so poetic! I learned so much in every chapter that I hated to see it end. This book will take you on a memorable voyage over the landscape of what is truly the world's most beautiful language.

"great little stories about fascinating people and places", June 10, 2009
Don't dismiss La Bella Lingua by thinking it's only for people who are interested in learning Italian. I don't speak Italian and frankly have no interest in learning it but what has been pure pleasure for me is reading about the origins of the language and history of Italian. This book is for readers who consume great little stories about fascinating people and places. It's about the joy of life that Italians have shared with all cultures over the centuries but it's never been written about like this before. Dianne Hales is my BFF so I've had a ton of rollicking fun along the way watching Dianne as she follows her passion. In Mill Valley we enjoy wine, food and laughter but in Italy with her husband, Bob, they roll up the rugs and share the dance floor at 3am. After each trip to Italy she shares the adventures of her "other life" with me. With La Bella Lingua, she shares these adventures with the readers. The book reminds me of the way history used to be passed from generation to generation - story telling and history lesson all in one delicious book that you won't want to put down. This is my 2009 gift book.

Grazie, Sra Hales!, June 21, 2009
As a languishing adult student of Italian, I am grateful for Sra Hales' book and envious of her linguistic and cultural accomplishments. Her enjoyment of all things Italian both in Italy and her native San Francisco area are generously shared with the reader.
There are two improvements I would like to see in the next edition: More translations - a fair number of words weren't translated and, if possible, a glossary.
I would also love a well-spoken unabridged audio version.
PS. I've added Mastroianni's I Remember DVD to my Netflix list.

Bravissima!, September 1, 2009
I loved every minute of reading and thinking about this book.I bought an additional copy to lend to friends, because I want to keep my autographed copy. But a caveat: Dianne and I were both members of a fiction writing workshop. Dianne was a wonderful reader and great critic, working to make everyone's writing better. And despite her protestations, she wrote an elegant novel that was inbued with all things Italian and created living, breathing characters. I never told her, but I was always jealous of her felicity with the language. I was thrilled when I learned that she wrote La Bella Lingua.

It has exceeded all my expectations. As a lover of romantic languages and the opera, I would have been happy had the book only been about Dianne's adventures with the language. But it is far more than that. It is a wonderful tapestry woven from well researched history or the Italian peninsula and personal anecdotes, with a charming narrative voice, as though you were having a glass of wine with a good friend who was telling you stories. Dianne creates real, recognizable people, even if they died four hundred years ago. I found myself laughing out loud many times.

Dianne manages a mountain of research and wisely divides the book into areas like the history of Europe; art; music; architecture; cuisine; film. and my personal favorite, what we would call swear words. There is so much material, but she deals with it with humor, while always focusing on the human aspect.
I learned an amazing amount. Who knew that there was an important female Renaissance poet, for example? I can no longer impress my friends by explaining with Viva Verdi meant during and immediately after his lifetime, now that Dianne has explained it.

I loved the tone of the book and the fact that Dianne gently pokes fun of her own linguistic gaffes. I'll Always remember Signor Domani Mattina from Milano. Everyone who has ever dared speak a language other than his native one has made similar mistakes. This stops a lot of people from ever trying. As Dianne illustrates, just keep going; laugh at your own
mistakes, and think of them as material for future stories.

I've studied both French and Italian for years, but have developed nowhere near the mastery which Dianne has with Italian .I even studfied at some of the same schools, but it just didn't take with me. I think this fascinating and eminently readable book should be taught in Italian courses, as well as courses in Western Civilization, and art. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys good storytelling and learning about another cradle of civilization.

great for the curious, May 29, 2010
If your curious about language and meaning, like to find out the history and background of how words are used this is an interesting book. If you love Italian yourself -- you'll love these insights.

PC

What your book has given me!!, November 20, 2009
Thank you for writing such an amazing book. Being of Italian heritage it was fantastic to learn a little more about how our language has developed over time. The best part about your book was how it provided for the opportunity to sit back and have a great meal with my dad (80 years old) and uncles and talk about the history of the country and the creation of a wonderful language. My father was born just outside of Rome in San Vittore del Lazio and actually lived in Rome for many years prior to emigrating.

I also am looking forward to having my daughter Veronica (17 years old) read the book over the holidays this year (way too busy with grade 12 studies to read it now!).

Thank you for your dedication to the language and culture and sharing with us the history.

I gave 2 copies away and had mine signed, October 20, 2009
As a long time Italophile I was delighted with this book. The many factoids about Italian history and culture, made this book one which I hated to see end. Although I speak fairly good Italian, the new vocabulary Dianne added was really fun to learn. For anyone interested in Italy, its people and culture, this is a terrific book. When I attended Dianne's lecture at the Sacramento Italian Cultural Center, I was so impressed with her enthusiasm and passion that I am re-reading the book once again. It's even better the second time around!

A surprising charmer, August 23, 2009
I picked up La Bella Lingua in preparation for my first visit to Italy, but even those not planning to go to Italy will enjoy it. La Bella Lingua does for the history of the Italian language what Eats Shoots & Leaves does for English punctuation: Takes a seemingly dry linguistic topic and turns it into a page-turner. Talented writer Dianne Hales could make any subject entertaining!

Only wish I had written it!, July 16, 2009
When I picked it up at Barnes & Noble to thumb through it didn't take much convincing... as I read it I can see myself standing in the Piazza della Repubblica and hear the bustle around the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo and the leather stores around Santa Croce. On my last trip there I was fortunate to find Ognissanti open (in all my other trips my timing was off) and fell in love with the sweet little Franciscan church (and was mortified to be asked to leave because I was wearing a skirt that was a little too short, even with tights on!). I am fortunate to have dear friends in Siena, Poggibonsi and San Gimignano -- such delightful people and spectacular sights to behold.

Thank for the delicious book you have given us to devour! And if you ever want a travel partner, I'm available! A presto ... Read more