Bond Reviews

The idea of a cooking club with a group of friends is terrific. Too many times we grow apart from those close to us as marriage, kids, and careers occur. I first saw this book about six months ago. I have a collection of cookbooks but am particular of what I add to it. Before I bought it for myself, I decided to give it as a gift. One of my closest friends from high school recently became a stay at home mom. She was trying to broaden her culinary skills in the kitchen and she doesn't consider herself much of a cook. She loves the cookbook and can't thank me enough. I went out and purchased it so we could share the club even though the miles separate us.

The layout of the book starts with a recap of how the club came into existence. The troubles they face living in NY, tiny kitchens and lugging groceries, was interesting to someone like myself who never is without her car. I particularly enjoyed the emails between the women showing how they came up with the monthly theme. It really shows the personalities of the members. The pictures show off the food deliciously.

We can only hope that they will continue to include the rest of us in their club! I highly recommend you try to gather a group of 6-8 and try this yourself. My favorite recipe is the bread salad. I get lots of compliments every time I make it.

As an amateur chef with roots in the midwest, I've long relied on little more than good ol' salt and pepper when it comes time to cook for the crew (except for a shake of Italian seasoning on spaghetti night!). But this fantastic book turned me on to a virtual phantasmagoria of new culinary delights! Even my husband, who usually balks at long john silver, is a fan of the italian fish in crazy water. One added bonus for us gals: we get to see what kind of footwear these sophisticated manhattanites are trotting around in these days. Ouch! I think I'll keep my Stride Rites! But I'm a sucker for the Cellophane Noodle Salad.

Witty, charming, well designed, user friendly, and most of all- the recipes are wonderful!

As a seasoned NYC home chef, the hardest thing to do is to come up with a recipe that involves little space, little equipment and little time. These six girls not only engage you with their wonderfully witty writing, but have simplified the difficult task of apartment-sized cooking so that anyone can do it and have excellent results.

Plus the wonderful photos of the food and of the girls cooking, shopping and dining really does make you feel invited. And the graphic design gets great marks for being as chic as they are!

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of little cooking clubs don't start up because of it! [Word has it that they might be doing another book? Cross your fingers on that bit of gossip!]

PS: this would make a great housewarming or hostess gift!

This is the first time I have taken the time to write an Amazon review although I regularly use those written by others. I went to the book store to look at several book Christmas books including those that introduce the Nativity story and found this one to be excellent for my 2.5 year old. As mentioned in the other reviews, the text is rhythmic and simple, the pictures are large and easily discernable and it is just a perfect 1st introduction to the Nativity story. My daughter is "reading" it back to me already.

This book has the cutest little drawings of baby Jesus depicted so sweetly! It's written in simple poem fashion that will draw the attention of your little one, all the while expressing that even the stable animals were an important part in the birth of our Lord and Savior! A must have for every family with children or grandchildren. Don't hesitate...BUY THIS BOOK! <><

My 2.5 year old son was given this book for Christmas. It is a wonderful way to introduce children to the concept of "baby Jesus." It's simple, rhythmic like a poem and the illustrations aren't overdone. I read him the book then he takes it and reads the first line back to me on each page (I am the Star, I am the Donkey, etc.) I highly recommend it to parents wanting to introduce the reason for Christmas in a very simplistic way.

How inviting and parent friendly. I openned the book and could not put it down. It was so very warm, engaging and funny. As a working wife and mother to a 5 year old and a 3 year old, I rarely have time to sit and do leisure reading, but because of the length of the chapters, ease of reading and the gripping & sometimes even humorus text, I was able to find not only the time to read but to thoroughly enjoy this great book.

Many times I've felt like my family has to be the only one that goes through certain phases or that we must be the silliest family on the planet, but this book reminded me that we are not alone and that many families share the similar experiences, dilemmas,warmth and funny times. I was pleased with myself when I realized that some of the tips Susan gives in the book, I've already introduced into my own family.

It made me smile, belly laugh and Moo like a Cow. After reading the last page on the train I couldn't wait to get home, leave everything else at the front door and embrace my family. Thank you Susan for reminding me of what's most important! Your "Family Bond" has won a place in my heart and on my mantle.

I have a three-year-old son and work full time. It's a constant challenge to conistently nurture a strong bond between me and my tempermental toddler (since I'm away from him four days a week). When I first read "Family Bond" on my commute home from work one day, it actually brought tears to my eyes. It gave me a glimpse into all of the beautiful opportunities that exist everyday (but that we so often overlook) for me and my son to grow together. The book is not only full of great tips, but it is truly insipirational. When I got home that evening, I approached motherhood in a way that I never knew before . . . and I had a blast! My relationship with my family just keeps getting better.

I am 78 years old. I was visiting friends last week and picked up a copy of this lovely little book. I wept when I read it because my children are grown and gone and I wish this book had been around 50 years ago. It has such simple,common sense advice and I know if I had used it when my children were young it would have helped me so much. I was an old-fashioned Mother and it never would have occurred to me to express my love and understanding the way the author suggests. Back in those days, we just fed, clothed and sheltered them and figured they knew that was love. Now I know how much more I could have done and how that could have changed the relationship I have with my children today. I want everyone I know to read this. Thank you, Susan.

I searched all over for a book about Betrayal Bonds, Trauma Bonds, or Stockholm Syndrome. I am a survivor of multiple long-term childhood sexual traumas. I was abused by a parent figure (and also other people). In the primary abusive relationship I bonded to the offender through the need for love, as a means of survival, and in reaction to extreme terror (among many other reasons). As a teen and young adult I was involved in dangerous relationships and again sexually assaulted multiple times. It is amazing how betrayal bonds of all different kinds have so much in common. This book will help you to understand betrayal bonds, and as a workbook it is a great help for learning how to break the patterns of abuse.

I am 25 now, and happily married to a kind and healthy man, but I am often held back from healing because of the bond I still feel towards the abuser(s). I have also come to realize that I still play out these patterns in my life on a smaller scale. I can not recommend this book enough. It truly is a lifesaver. I finally feel that I am able to reclaim my life from the abusers who tried to steal it from me. This book helped me to understand and validate the effects abuse has had upon my life, body, mind, and spirit. It helped me to face what I went through. The very last chapter was most incredible of all. Patrick Carnes offered great insight into why we continue these patterns of betrayal bonding and how we can gain the courage, strength, and self love to end the patterns. He also has a very accessible approach to healing the spiritual effects of abuse (as well as many other common effects of abuse and deep trauma). This book will always be one of the books that has helped me the most on my journey to recovery and healing. This book has also helped me to feel safe in allowing myself to deeply trust.

If you want to change the way you love, this book is for you. It is not for the faint at heart. I found two other people that were interested in this work and met weekly until we had completed the book. Patrick Carnes is a pioneer in his field and has dedicated many years of research to the emotional bonds that we make in our early lives that can lead to years of failed relationships and poor choices. This book changed my life. I highly recommmend it.

A copy of THE BETRAYAL BOND, given to me by who?, I don't recall, had been sitting on my bookshelf unread for at least two years when I finally took serious note of it, last Friday, June 22, 2001, while searching for yet another escapist novel. Actually, I was given no choice in the matter. Like a note to Alice (in Wonderland) the red lettered title suddenly jumped at me, screaming, "READ ME!" A day later, I emerged from reading, and answering the various questionaires, if not a new woman, a profoundly altered one.

Where do I begin? In the beginning I was a severely beaten and incestuously molested girl and teenager. Then I married a man who said I was "nothing" compared to him and abandoned me for months at a time or beat me to make that point even clearer. Then I divorced him and worked my way through a series of disasterous relationships with men who had no intention of remaining faithful. I went to Al-Anon for several years but that only got me over the alcohol-related stuff. Affiliation with a 12 Step group still did not prevent me from entering what proved to be the most devestating relationship of all in which I was sexually exploitated by a Catholic priest who dangled the promise of marriage, only to renig on it after he was ordered by his superior into sex offender treatment.

He is still a priest, who now attends Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings, and I am over the worst of the post-traumatic shock disorder I suffered from after learning about his Mr. Hyde side.

So, I have to assume this was the perfect time for me to finally read this book, because I was really ready for it. I all but inhaled the thing, nodding along rapidly, recognizing myself in so much of it it was painful, but freeing as well. I have tools now. I'm not a lost cause. I don't have to avoid men for the balance of my life; I just have to become a lot more conscious of what I'm doing and why. This is particularly a godsend because the reader can begin to use this, without the help of others, as a way to rebuild the ability to deal with others again.

I particularly like the comprehensiveness of this book. There is not one type of abuse, personal, social or institutional that Carnes doesn't discuss. He hits them all, with bullseye accuracy. There is no where to hide in this book and that's precisely what makes it so great -- a powerful testament to the assertion "the truth shall set you free." Amen!

However, I was disappointed to note that Carnes' support group listing at the back of the book does not include clergy (or religious) abuse support groups. This is a serious omission given the fact he provides so many references to clergy and religious abuse throughout the book. In reprints of this book, I hope he will amend that oversight as there are several such groups in existence throughout the world. I belong to one and know that I would probably be dead of suicide by now if I hadn't been referred to the support group I now belong to, by my therapist. Most people think clergy abuse is only about sexual molestation of children or adolescents by their pastor, but it's not. And people like me, who needlessly suffer alone, in the belief there are not others out there like them need desperately to be told otherwise.

Carnes book represents a remarkable breakthrough in terms of exposing all the insidiously complex and baffling psychological mechanisms that keep abuse and betrayal bonding at the denial level. As with the 12 Steps, this book is only a first step in dismantling the overall problem. But what a powerful Step in the right direction it is. More, more!

I had intended to save Stephanie Sawyer's Facing Me to read on an upcoming road trip, but I made a couple of mistakes. First, I took it out of the box; next, I opened it. Once I did this, I couldn't lay it down. This book is so compelling I had to keep reading. I think everyone at times feels inadequate, but to have had to overcome the stigma that this woman faced as a child and into adulthood, gave me a new insight into how much prejudice hurts. That she should have triumphed over this thing, which was so shameful her own family refused to name it, hiding it and her away until she could be "normal" again, gives hope to all who suffer from being "different," whether it's because of some physical or emotional impairment. Not only has the author overcome her epilepsy, she has used her experience to become the remarkable woman she is today.

I have completed reading Facing Me and I knew all along I would be blown away with not only what you went through to get to where you are, but that I praise God for His love for you, His care of you, His presence with you and His guidance with you prompting you to write the book. But in a larger sense, it seems to me to be only natural to want to tell the world about how faithful God is and how blessed we are when we trust Him completely (and that included trusting those He places on our path). If you had never been delivered from so great a situation what would there be to write about? If you had not "drug the dregs" what good would it be to see the mountain top, let alone get there? And who would ever want a life without the valleys because there would be nothing to rise to?

You put me right there in your house, your life, your heart as I read and pictured myself a visitor in your turmoil, stress and heartache. And you put me right there with you to share your triumph. Though ever so slight in comparison, I felt a small sample of your emotional roller coaster and I am amazed at your, how did you say it, tenacity, determination and perseverance -- almost as if you knew it was going to come out the way it did.

I am certainly thrilled I got to read it and that I, in a small way, know the actual person about whom I read.

As I read "Facing Me," I was very much caught up in Stephanie Sawyer's humble nature. It is encouraging to see that she is so willing to share very personal encounters. In so doing "Facing Me" aids the reader in feeling her pain amidst her struggles. Me, being touched and tested by disease, I was indeed motivated as I witnessed Stephanie Sawyer's relentless spirit.
I was equally inspired to observe that Ms.Sawyer has a deep-seated faith in The Almighty. This surely was an added incentive on a journey of survival. I also found "Facing Me" to be very informative regarding Epilepsy. Being in touch daily by a Neurological Disease, I could relate to many of her emotions as well as symptoms. Stephanie Sawyer and I are so alike in many ways. Her love for music also aroused my attention. Anyone who appreciates music would understand how it helped her throughout her fight. I would recommend this book to anyone who is seeking a reason to celebrate life. "Facing Me" affirms my belief that battles can be won when God is in it!

This great collection of Ian Fleming's three James Bond thriller novels, From Russia, With Love, Doctor No, and Goldfinger is the best deal anywhere if you're looking for cheap classics. Even though it's not avaliable anymore, ... so if you get an oppurtunity buy it instantly.

From Russia, With Love is about a Soviet conspiracy involving a code machine called the Spektor, a lovely Russian female named Tatiania Romanova, and a professional killer who is affected by the moon. The girl sends for Bond, pledging her love and at the same time luring him into a trap that would seriously damage the Service's image. Great read and the best Cold War thriller out there.

In Doctor No, James Bond is sent to investigate two agents who have disappeared in Jamaica. He soon discovers the clues linking him to Doctor No, a Chinese/German doctor who has an island base in Jamaica, where he disrupts U.S. missile firing. James endures through his toughest physcial test of his career, and some consider Dr. No to be the best 007 novel ever written.

Goldfinger is in my opinion the best 007 novel of all. While investigating a cheat at cards by the name of Auric Goldfinger, James is informed that he is also involved in smuggling Great Britain's gold reserves to India, where the Russians wait for it. As James is captured, he discovers Goldfinger's master plan--to raid Fort Knox itself! With the smartest villian, the toughest henchman, and the most thrilling climax of all the James Bonds, Goldfinger is the by far the best masterpiece ever to come from the desk of Ian Fleming.

This wonderful trilogy is an enthralling epic of the Cold War, and I recommend it to anyone who has either read Ian Fleming before, or is thinking of starting very soon.

This is a great book, and after reading this I watched all the movies again, and they can't even compare. If you enjoy James Bnd you will enoy this, I mean I am only eleven and I couldn't tare my eyes away. I enjoyed the action, suspense, romance, and even the detail, Iam Flemming is truly a master writer, and can only portay James Bond. The movies are nothing comapred to this, this is a must get.

These three books together are, in some ways, the epitome of James Bond. However, I must correct one of the reviews. These books *are* sequential. These books are 5, 6, and 7 in the order that Fleming published them. The 8th was The Spy Who Loved Me and the 9th was Thunderball, the first book in the Blofeld trilogy. Aside from the 10th book, For Your Eyes Only (a collection of short stories), the story picks up in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and ends with You Only Live Twice. These three Blofeld books are available in the James Bond Omnibus, volume 2.

This book is absolutely brilliant. Let's say that from all the books I've ever read, I'll always love Bond of Hatred best. It shows such potential, imagination and a sense of real life.

Sarah Hartwell has just lost her sister Carrie, after she gave birth to a baby boy. The father's brother Alex Terzakis demands to have custody of the baby, Nikos. But Sarah loves Nicky and refuses to let him go. So they argue, compromise and argue some more. The decision is made when Sarah, in a burst of desperation, propses to Alex thinking that he would leave her alone after that outrageous proposition. But he doesn't! He agrees to marry her!

So they get married and Sarah is of the opinion that this marriage is strictly in name only but Alex has different ideas and shows them to her on their wedding night..... Well, anyway they both fall in love but refuse to admit it. Sarah starts talking about divorce and seperation and Sarah thinks that Alex is having an affair. That's what brings them together at the end.

I really really admire Lynne Graham's work. She truly captures the emotion in words and basically paints a picture that's very vived. I recommend this book to any proper romance fan. I certainly loved it and I'm a hundred percent sure that nobody would ever be disappointed by it.

This story has got to be the best one that I have ever read and believe me, I've read many. I'd recommend this to people who are... well, kind of confused about their own relationships. This may help them to understand about other problems and let them think anew about where they went wrong in their own love life.

Lynne Graham is one of my favourite authors and I think she has remarkable ability to capture true life in her words and present it to the public so that they're sucked into the story and so that they feel as if they know the characters personally.

I read this book a few years ago and I can still remember it very well because I have thumbed through it so often after reading it. This book is very high on my KEEPER list. Here's a brief synopsis: Alex Terzakis took Sarah's breath away. Marrying him was the last thing she was thinking of! When she'd impulsively flung that proposal at him, she had two things on her mind: revenge for her young sister's death, and the chance to raise Nikos, her sister's baby son. True, family was all to Alex, and he would fight to keep Nikos, who was his nephew. But, in her anger and her grief, Sarah had believed that her demand would send him packing -- she had never expected that he would accept! The hero is to die for! He is one gorgeous billionaire! He enters the marriage thinking that he would make it a marriage at his convenience but he soon finds that the heroine would not take it lying down. Though the story is told exclusively from the heroine's point of view, you can tell that the hero is falling for her and falling hard by what he says and does even though he does not tell her he loves her until the end of the book. I have read some Anne Mather and Penny Jordan book where you can't tell that the heroes are falling for the heroines because they don't show it through there actions other than tell the heroines at the end of the book. With Lynne Graham, you alway know that the heroes are falling for the heroines or are in love with them even though they try to resist it or even deny it. This book has everything -- incredible chemistry between hero and heroine, memorable hero and heroine, great dialogue, beautiful setting (chateau in the Loire Valley), the right amount of humor, and excellent story. Overall it was one well-written book. Read it for yourself and see.

This is a wonderful book. I've recommended it to many people who are trying to love and live with someone with depression--a truly difficult task. Sheffield is a terrific writer, her style is easy and engaging, and she has a wealth of practical advice to offer. Her stories of people who've talked to her about this problem are sure to strike a chord in the reader. She is addressing a very serious problem, because people with depression will often do everything they can to alienate those who love them, thus adding more guilt and more trouble to their already out-of-control lives.

It seems that society forgets that depression not only has a major impact on the depressed person, but it also affects their family, significant others, and friends. This book, as well as Anne's other book, "How You Can Survive When They're Depressed: Living and Coping With Depression Fallout," are extremely helpful to those who love someone who is depressed. Many times we blame ourselves for our loved-ones' behaviors when, instead, many of the things they say and do are a result of their depression. "Depression Fallout..." helps the reader to better understand depression and how to deal with his or her own behaviors in response to the depressed loved-one. As the reader reads the stories shared by men and women who have loved a depressed person, the reader will see that he/she is not alone in what they are experiencing.

This book was exactly what I needed to help me understand my husband's depression. My world was turned upside down when he suddenly began to act like a different person. After his hospitalization, I was left wondering what happened. Upon looking up depression on tons of websites and in loads of books, I was convinced he had been misdiagnosed. The "sad, empty, lonely" description didn't explain the hostile, angry, and seemingly emotionless person I was now living with. All of that was explained in Depression Fallout. The "Unofficial Symptoms" in the book described my husband's behavior to a T. I felt like I was reading about us. My husband also agreed that this book contained the most accurate description of the way he felt, but could not easily put into words. The real life accounts of people who have lived with and are still living with this are great. It creates a true picture of depression from the point of view of both the depressed person as well as their spouse.

I truly enjoyed reading this fast-moving, rapid-paced novella. I can't wait to read the next book. The author writes with real enthusiasm and his descriptions help you to visualize the characters. Definitely a one-nighter! Can't put it down until you have completed the book!

Chain-smoking Sheppard Earl owns a bail-bond company. Business was good in Baltimore, Maryland before the 9/11/01 tragedies. Now, with crime down and too many "skips", the bail-bondsman is almost bankrupt. Middle-aged and married, with two children, Shep is concerned about his financial future, while his wife, Marie,
is concerned for his safety.

Best friend, Terrance (Terry) Jones, is Shep's main hope for keeping business open and bankruptcy at bay. Terry is six-foot-six, weighs 285 pounds, and carries a Glock-17 semi-automatic
pistol. As a modern-day bounty hunter, Terry is the last thing any bail-jumping criminal wants to encounter. Terry, too, is middle-aged and married, with a couple of kids, and facing
financial hardship.

Between the two friends, tips and clues lead one or the other to locate runaway fugitives, keeping both men in business and providing income to support their families. But family relationships are strained, as the work is dangerous and requires odd and long hours away from home. Meeting the demands of work and family
responsibilities proves more of a challenge than either man ever
realized.

Peter G. Engelman digs deep into the lives of his characters, drawing out past and present experiences, and future hopes and concerns. He gives an insider's view of what it actually must be like to be a bail-bondsman or a bounty hunter. Mr. Engelman also gives glimpses of fugitive lives and provides realistic court proceedings of a bail client's defense.

Although the pace is slow, as narration is heavy and some author intrusion apparent, RUNNING FROM JUSTICE is a believable drama. I recommend RUNNING FROM JUSTICE for people who seek more character background, emotional depth and problem solving in a book, rather than fast-paced action from beginning to end.

Patricia Spork, Reviewer
eBook Reviews Weekly
July, 2003

Peter Engelman does a fine job of giving us insight into a world that most of us (hopefully) have little contact with. The book is an enjoyable, fast read. I would have preferred a full novel length...perhaps next time.

My father was an air traffic controller (firstly in the air force and then in civil aviation) so I grew up around airports and aeroplanes.

I can just sit with this book for half an hour any time. It is a wonderful combination of humour - "Airplane travel is nature's way of making you look like your passport photo." (Al Gore) - might be my favourite. But there is also the deeply profound and quite moving.

It'll be a well thumbed and much quoted book for years to come.

What a fun book. It belongs on all of your bookshelves! I use these quotes in my emails and have found some true winners! Thanks Skygod!

This collection of quotes describes all of the emotions of flight perfectly. As a pilot, I found the quotes to be a perfect tribute to flight. This book made me feel proud and honored to be a part of aviation. I highly recommend this book to everyone. To you pilots, you will walk away from this book with a feeling of pride and inspiration.