Customer Reviews (4)

Check your brain at the door & enjoy!
Very funny mystery that is slight on the mystery but has all its charm in the cast of characters. The Metropolitan Opera has engaged a new baritone who is quite arrogant and he quickly meets with an accident. Or did he? With an opera house packed full of fiery temperaments, anything is possible. Geraldine Farrar takes it upon herself to solve the mystery and Enrico Caruso insists on helping her. Co-sleuths are real-life acoustic era legends Antonio Scotti, Pasquale Amato, and Emmy Destinn. While trying to dig into the tangle surrounding the felled baritone, Farrar has to juggle her dislike of Destinn, her colossal fame among her young female fans, and her long-time amour Scotti.

United States - New York, 1915
Opera fans will love this light, humorous story which fictionalizes the doings of the New York Metropolitan opera diva Geraldine Farrar. They particularly will appreciate the book's reenactments of parts of operas in which Farrar performed her "signature" roles. Farrar's beauty, fiery temper, and numerous flirtations become part of the plot in which a visiting French baritone who has antagonized everyone uses a throat spray laced with ammonia. His vocal chords, indeed his voice, are permanently damaged. "He might as well be dead," intones Farrar, and soon her words come true. With herself as a major suspect, Farrar, urged on by Enrico Caruso, initiates her own investigation, which turns out to be a delightful romp.

Surrounding Farrar are stars who were a major part of her life during the Mets "golden age." The author has created wonderful fictional sketches of Caruso, Pucinni, Emmy Destinn, Pasquale Amato, Toscanini, and actor David Belasco. Even Farrar's young female fans, the famous "gerryflappers," are given a part to play. The short Epilogue tells you what happened to these personalities in the following years.

A more serious leitmotif is the constant references to the looming European war. Most of the singers are from lands increasingly drawn into the conflict. Memories of good times there are recalled amid the growing realization that that the war might last, that America may be drawn into it, and that the inevitable war relief tours will become standard fare. These tense moments are lighten by descriptions of the singers hangouts, the Met and Belasco theaters, Mulberry Street on the Italian immigrant Lower East Side, and, above all, the numerous backstage dramas.

Meddling, merriment, murder and mayhem at the Met
Paul had to do a lot of research to put this delightful story together and she has done a superb job of portraying historic opera stars in a fictional situation. Geraldine Ferrar is the heroine; Enrico Caruso and Arturo Toscanino share the action with fictional characters in this romp through murder at the Metropolitan Opera.

Phillippe Duchon is an annoying, egotistical personality and everyone at the Met has just about had all they can take of him. Suddenly someone replaces his throat spray with ammonia. His vocal chords and his life are finished.

"Rico" Caruso is hard on the trail of the killer but Police Lt. O'Halloran of the NYPD threatens to lock him up if he doesn't quit meddling. Geraldine Ferrar takes over for Rico and the fearless and gorgeous divathrows caution to the wind to find the killer.

This is lightweight entertainment, sheer delight with every turn of the page. Prepare to laugh out loud -- you'll dread finishing it.

a hysterical historical musical romp
This mystery is a follow on to the Cadenza for Caruso mystery. Caruso has been forbidden to interfere in a murder investigation by the police, so he convinces Geraldine Farrar, a soprano at the Met opera, to investigate for him. Narrated in the first person by Geraldine, the novel provides amusing portraits of many famous Met singers and the life they led in WWI New York City. Ms. Paul's portrait of Geraldine is apparently fairly close to the real thing -- a passionate, intelligent, witty, talented, and beautiful woman. Though not a big fan of opera (but a big fan of NYC), I enjoyed this humorous mystery tremendously. I liked it so much, that if I were not an honest woman, I'd have told the public library I lost the book and paid the fine.Hello, publishers! This is one of many vintage mystery novels that deserve to be back in print so a new generation can enjoy them! ... Read more

Product Description
Other than a critic, who'd kill a Broadway play? Playwright Abigail James has long been fascinated by "revenge tragedies," those theatrical classics about getting even. But all of a sudden, she's living in one: The set of her latest Broadway hit has been vandalized, actors horribly attacked, a designer blinded with acid, the brilliant director terrified into hiding. Clearly, they have all committed some grievous wrong, terrible enough to prompt this orgy of destruction. But whom did they wrong? The police are clueless, so James and her colleagues see only one option: They'll examine their collective sins and pinpoint the injured party. And then they'll exact some revenge of their own. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A taut and beautifully written murder mystery.
Although I first read this book many years ago I have never forgotten its cast of characters and genuinely shocking but satisfyingly believable denouement. The theatre world of New York is rocked when a number ofprominient professionals become the victims of viciously personal attacks.A stage manager loses his hand-an actress is disfigured when her face creamis laced with acid... Gradually the link emerges; many years in the pastall of them were members of a one theatre group-but why are they beingtargetted now? Who wants revenge so badly and why? None of them can imaginewho holds this grudge. While being a real page-turner this is a genuinelyprofound character study and the central characters are well-rounded andcomplex. The plot turns are credible as well as fascinating and the finaleis truly explosive. I strongly recommend this to any-one with an interestin detective stories, whodunnits, strong female leads or just fresh andinsightful writing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Fun opera cozy mystery
Mystery and egos collide during the premiere of La Fanciulla del West at the Metropolitan Opera in 1910. The cast of characters are all real people of the time: Enrico Caruso, Geraldine Farrar, Pasquale Amato, Emmy Destinn, Arturo Toscanini, impresario Gatti-Cassaza, and Giacomo Puccini himself. Like most cozies, the plot takes a backseat to the characters, but Paul's affectionate handling of the divos & divas is too fun to quibble over.

Great Fun!
This book is a great diversion!There are times that I don't care to have a learning experience, I just want to escape and be entertained.For that purpose, this is a delightful story.

It is fiction based on real people from a very real era; the golden age of opera!Even if you don't care for opera or have any knowledge of the personalities in this story, you will still find this an engaging piece.
After all; everybody loves a good mystery!

Well Researched, Factual Background For An Intriguing Fiction
This book is the first in a series of stories set in and about the Metropolitan Opera of the early 20th Century. Although the murder mystery itself is fictitious, as are therefore the parts played in it by actual, famous personalities, the real people portrayed here emerge very vividly. Caruso, Toscanini, Destinn and Puccini all seem true to life as entertainingly and carefully drawn by Ms Paul.

It is a pity that these attractive stories seem to be available now only as second hand books. As one reviewer has suggested reissues probably would be welcomed by many potential readers. The three stories of Ms Paul of the team of Met detectives, led by Caruso, indeed seem likely to provide a basis for a most entertaining television mini series, or perhaps even for feature films.

Delightful
Only one review of this marvelous little book?Perhaps because it is out of print. If you are not overly familiar with the "Golden Age of Opera," as I wasn't when I first read the book, you will find the discovery of whodonnit challenging, but much delight is found just in the reading.The characters, from what I have since learned, appear to be very well drawn, and the writing is of the quality you would expect from Barbara Paul.Her second foray into this genre, "A Chorus of Detectives," follows Caruso with some additional characters as they solve another mystery.Just great fun. (And, if you are familiar with the opera world of the early 20th century, you may enjoy the story even more!) Try to track down a copy of either book.

hilarious
The book deals with Enrico Caruso, yes the most famous opera tenor, looking for a murderer. Ok, it is not really the Caruso you think of, when you hear him singing or you read his biographies. May be it has even nothing to do with the real Caruso beside that he loved to play pranks. But it is hilarious and the story funny. Caruso actually looking for a murderer and finding him more by chance than by combination. It is not as thrilling as a 007 and also not as sophisicated as Sherlock Holmes - it's just a funny crime story set in the opera world. Enjoy.... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great Book!
What a fun read! A book that can be enjoyed by the young and the young at heart. It is a book that gives you hope for the underdog. Robert is a student who has trouble with learning...but through his hard work and a series of funny events and his solving of a mystery, he comes out a winner. Robert is a very endearing character and I can't wait to read the other books about him. The added bonus of this book -- I learned a few things I didn't already know.

Delightful story about the value of being a child who cares
Barbara Seuling has created a warm and loving character in Robert, who learns, through the trials of everyday life, what is really important in one's life in order to feel good about one's self.Adults reading alongwith their young child can benefit from the example of "EmotionalIntelligence" (a la Daniel Goleman's book by the same name) whichRobert develops in himself when he deals with a bully and solves a mystery. As a school psychologist and counselor, I am much more interested inseeing emotional intelligence in a child than I am in seeing an"A" paper.Robert, through Seuling's guiding light, provideschildren and parents with an excellent model for striking a balance betweenacademic achievement and emotional growth and development.Parents mightalso benefit from the modeling of Robert's father, who, in just a briefencounter, provides critical support for his son, which stays with him andguides him long after the conversation has ended.Seuling shows accuratelyhow important every small piece of guidance, support and validation can bewhen a parent takes the time to guide their child.I recommend this bookto both parents and children, teachers and pupil personnel staff, toillustrate that there is much more to being a valued human being thanacademic achievement.I hope to see Robert providing examples of emotionalintelligence in subsequent adventures which both entertain and enlighten.

review by a young reader
My name is Ben.I am 7 years old.I read Oh No It's Robert.The book was about Robert who was not very good at school but he never gave up and he always tried his best.My favorite part was when Robert left the stinkyfish in the cabinet. And when Robert saw the bully's pink underwear.Ireally liked this book.I want to read more books about Robert.

delightful and amusing trip into the life of a young boy
Oh No,It's Robert provides a delightful and amusing trip into the life of a young boy struggling to achieve the expectations others have set for him. It fills a void in childrens literature for humor and fun with a male maincharacter. My son and I read this together (although he could have masteredit independently) because I found myself concerned for the likeable andvery realistic Robert. He has characteristics of every young boy growing uptoday and hence,young readers will cheer him on and relate to hisexperiences. Great read Barbara Seuling, I could only be happier if therewere to be a series of Robert books. ... Read more

Product Description
Already a classic in the genre, DoWhat You Are has helped hundreds of thousands of people find truly satisfying work. Do What You Are introduces Personality Type - how you process information, make decisions and interact with the world around you - and shows you which of the 16 types describes you best. It lists dozens of occupations that are popular with people of your type. Then, using workbook exercises and real-life examples to highlight the strengths and pitfalls of each personality type, it shows you step-by-step how touse your unique strengths to customise your job search,ensuring the best results in the shortest period of time.And if you plan to stay in your job, Do What You Are provides savvy advice for getting the most out of your current career.Every other career guide offers generic, one-size-fits-all advice. But because it is based on personality type, Do What You Are helps you determine what you need to be more successful and satisfied. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (155)

Career-Changer
I purchased this book two years ago trying to get something for my brother, so that he could decide what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. I worked as a electronics technician in a factory after ten years in the Navy, and even had gotten a degree in computer database programming. I brought the book home over Thanksgiving, and started to read it one day because I was bored. I count that as was one of my luckiest moments ever.

Two years later I had put aside enough money to go to college full-time and finish a degree I always wanted. I so strongly believe in what this book says, it's changed my life. I hated my job, and hated the prospect of programming databases (I had to pick a degree that was work related, so my job would help pay for it. In addition, there's a lot of databases in the world to work on so I was looking at job security).I always believe That You Do What You Have To Do To, that you sucked it up and worked at where you got paid. I was taking anti-depressants and just hoping I could work one more year, year after year. I was so stressed out about work that my jaw would clench when I slept and I would bite my tongue, over and over again.

I read this book, and found out my personality type. I took the free online test to confirm what I thought. Then this book laid out for me exactly why I hated my job, and exactly why I would hate database programming. And it laid out what job I needed to be in, and why that job would make me happy.

I'm scared every now and then, because it's something new and I'm middle-aged now, and I'm used to having a job. But taking a year out to get a degree in something that will make me happy for the rest of my life will be worth it. Oh, and I've been off anti-depressants for a year now, and Doing Great!

This book won't say: "Mr. Smith, you need to work at an accounting firm for a food company in Dallas Texas." What it will say is: "Hey, you're the kind of person who loved working with numbers, and double-checking digits, here are several Fields of jobs for you, why you would like them, and why you wouldn't, and what other people who are like you are doing."

I'm actually bringing this book to college for some of the younger kids. I'm ordering another just to make sure I still have one. I wish I had had it when I was going, twenty years ago, and maybe my life would be a lot different.

If you are at all like me, get this book. Don't wonder what will make you happy, find it!

Must have
Great if you are just starting to figure out what career you want, choosing a college major or if trying to make a career change.Many friends have barrowed this book.

Good reference work
I'm breaking a personal rule here. I haven't read this book cover to cover. It was a text for a grad school class and not all of the book was assigned (and I did enough of the assigned work to get through. So there.). But it strikes me as useful for managers who want to understand their people better. I believe in personality type and using it for team-building. In that context, this book would be very useful to have on hand.

You Don't Need a Book To Do What You Love
What is it about self-help books like this one that makes them so attractive to otherwise intelligent readers? The overall idea is attractive: know yourself and go for what you know. But think for just a few moments: can hugely complex humans have their hugely complicated personalities carved-up intoa mere 16 types? And please at least ask yourself the question--the elephant in the room--of why people of the same MBIT type can exhibit such vastly different personalities and career paths?

In my opinion, the entire personality quiz business has as much validity as graphology (hand writing analysis)--another subject beloved by busybodies who professed to analyze personality to the nth degree.

The fact is that MBTI is at best a mere scratch on the surface of analyzing functional personality. And personality itself is merely one component of life success. My impression of those who become enamored of MBIT is that they revel in analyzing others on the spot, and gloating in their understanding (and smug superiority) of them. It is a form of voodoo one-upmanship, a perfect cocktail party trick.

As an adult, ask yourself this: How can superficial self-analysis actually lead to understanding yourself? A large part of one's psyche is there expressly to prevent bad news from reaching your consciousness. Think how difficult it is to write your own resume--and yet how easy to correct someone else's. Why would reading a book on your own personality--so heavily guarded by the ego--be any more useful?

Yet the idea of a guide to choosing a career path that attempts to enumerate various key aspects of career satisfaction is appealing, thus the popularity of this any many other pop psychology treatise. But if you really want to know what you'd be best at, here's the real answer to choosing a satisfactory career: OPEN YOUR EYES to what you already like to do best. You've already led part of your adult life--so what parts of it are the ones you always seem to come back to? What are you already good at? What is your secret non-paying vice? Collecting butterflies? Building gas-powered model aircraft? Writing poems?What more self-help do you need than to listen to yourself--and go fully after what you love doing the most. O.K., so stamp collecting doesn't pay well. But if it's all about money, you don't need to know anything about personality-typing anyway, and so you don't need this (or any similar) book.

Thus, forget screwball personality classifications. Make a list of your own likes and skills. And launch your career from there--wherever that may take you.

Wonderful resource
For both career professionals, as well as individuals seeking career guidance, this is one of the best books out there for incorporating the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator for personality into career exploration. It's great comprehensive self-help guide for individuals beginning with the personality self-assessment and ending in enormous amounts of insightful information about each type, what to look for in a job and work environment. It even offers a variety of different jobs for each type to consider, broken into different career areas. I have used this book more than almost any other careers book and would highly recommend it to anyone. ... Read more

Product Description
Here are the letters between Nelly Sachs (1891 - 1970), recipient of the 1966 Nobel Prize for Literature, and the great German-speaking poet Paul Celan (1920 - 1970). Their correspondence lasted from 1954 until Celan's death by suicide. Sachs died the day Celan was buried. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Connection
If you're familiar with these two poets, you can already appreciate the intensity, sincerity, and uniqueness of their vision and the horror the Shoah forced upon each of them.With that background, the sweetness displayed in this correspondence, especially of Sachs to Celan, is doubly remarkable.Little or no melodrama can be found here, despite the difficulty of life's events in the years covered and the poignancy of the subjects of some of these letters.The well-considered footnotes relay highlights of each writer's biography and explicate their difficult circumstances.

The entire collection spans only a few dozen pages, but is a valuable insight into the lives of these two most consquential German writers.For those unfamiliar with their poetry this correspondence may still be impressive, but if you've read and appreciate either of these writers, this book is worth owning.

My review
The book takes the reader through the amazing friendship of these two writers. I found the book to be a wonderful aid while writingmy term paper on the works of Nelly Sachs. The book provides a great insight intothe lives of these two authors.

Correspondence for love with despair
A bunch of letters written over 16 years by two nobel-winner poets. It'sheartbreaking. Nelly Sachs, "his Li", loved him, no doubt. Her"dearest Paul" was married with a child. It is fascinating toread how two poets process the most common story among people. Withtenderness and sadness and so much dignity. And as Nelly Sachs says:"Love is inhuman". This book reveals the sensitivity it takes towrite poetry and how this sensitivity marks your every single gesture,making sometimes life to be simply unbearable. "If only I had youhere" Nelly Sachs says, and that is what the reader wishes with her.An unfulfilled wish. They met only once and never again. Hard for simplepeople, even harder for poets. "You are my light" they say toeach other and from the third letter she feels he is her home. Did theydecrease each others loneliness, or did they make it bigger? It's up to thereader to decide. ... Read more

Product Description
The story of Barbara Greene's travels with her cousin Graham Greene. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

It had been Graham Greene's idea to explore tropical West Africa
From the Back of the Book.

The map of Liberia was virtually blank, the interior marked 'cannibals'. It was a far cry from the literary London of 1935, and the marvellous result of the exploration was Journey without Maps. But the gifted young author was not travelling alone. His twentythree year old cousin Barbara had rashly agreed to go with him, also busy taking notes in the jungle.

Too Late to Turn Back contains the humourous, foot-sore and richly evocative African adventure of a young woman who set out from the world of Saki and the Savoy Grill and returned quite profoundly changed. ... Read more

Product Description

The creation and consumption of content, especially visual content, is ingrained into our modern world. This book contains a collection of texts centered on the evaluation of image retrieval systems. To enable reproducible evaluation we must create standardized benchmarks and evaluation methodologies. The individual chapters in this book highlight major issues and challenges in evaluating image retrieval systems and describe various initiatives that provide researchers with the necessary evaluation resources. In particular they describe activities within ImageCLEF, an initiative to evaluate cross-language image retrieval systems which has been running as part of the Cross Language Evaluation Forum (CLEF) since 2003.

To this end, the editors collected contributions from a range of people: those involved directly with ImageCLEF, such as the organizers of specific image retrieval or annotation tasks; participants who have developed techniques to tackle the challenges set forth by the organizers; and people from industry and academia involved with image retrieval and evaluation generally.

Mostly written for researchers in academia and industry, the book stresses the importance of combing textual and visual information – a multimodal approach – for effective retrieval. It provides the reader with clear ideas about information retrieval and its evaluation in contexts and domains such as healthcare, robot vision, press photography,and the Web.

Product Description

Product Description
Literary Theory/Philosophy

Renowned contributors use the late work of this crucial figure to open new speculations on "materiality."

A "material event," in one of Paul de Man's definitions, is a piece of writing that enters history to make something happen. This interpretation hovers over the publication of this volume, a timely reconsideration of de Man's late work in its complex literary, critical, cultural, philosophical, political, and historical dimensions.

Responding to the problematic of "materialism" as posed in Paul de Man's posthumous last book, Aesthetic Ideology, a diverse and distinguished group of scholars explores the question of "material events" in ways that illuminate not just de Man's work but their own, work at the forefront of critical theory, productive thinking, and writing in the humanities. The contributors work in disciplines ranging from art history to psychoanalysis, from literary studies and philosophy to political science, and include Jacques Derrida, who returns in an extended essay to a celebrated episode in Rousseau's Confessions discussed by de Man in Allegories of Reading.

The importance of de Man's late work is related to a broad range of subjects and categories and-in Derrida's provocative reading of de Man's concept of "materiality"-the politico-autobiographical texts of de Man himself. This collection is essential reading for all those interested in the present state of literary and cultural theory.

Contributors: Judith Butler, UC Berkeley; T. J. Clark, UC Berkeley; Jacques Derrida, cole des Hautes tudes en Sciences Sociales and UC Irvine; Barbara E. Johnson, Harvard U; Ernesto Laclau, U of Essex; Arkady Plotnitsky, Purdue U; Laurence Rickels, UC Santa Barbara; and Michael Sprinker.

Tom Cohen is professor and chair of English at the State University of New York, Albany. Barbara Cohen is director of Humanitech and senior editor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine. J. Hillis Miller is distinguished professor of English and comparative literature, and Andrzej Warminski is professor of English and comparative literature, both at the University of California, Irvine.

Translation Inquiries: University of Minnesota Press ... Read more

Product Description
"Why marvel at the cleverness of the bundled-up natives who have learned to live--or rather, endure--a possible three months of below-zero days? Because long winters have given Twin Citians time to think. And thinking has brought results."

So writes Barbara Flanagan in Minneapolis-St. Paul:Linked to the Future, as she answers the widespread notion that Twin Citians "live in a deep freeze." But that "freezin' season" has had a twofold impact on these Minnesota cities:It has spawned creativity and innovation, which in turn has fostered a certain serenity and mystique.

Creativity and innovation? Because Minneapolis and St. Paul have introduced many new ideas to the world--snowmobiles, Nordictracks, and rollerblades, among others. The area is home to many large corporations--including 3M, General Mills, and Dayton's. And it has consistently nurtured top-notch performing arts organizations. In fact, the Twin Cities are second only to New York City in presenting professional live theater on dozens of stages.

Serenity and mystique? Because residents of the Twin Cities take advantage of their surroundings in many ways. Strolling along Summit Avenue. Sledding on a frozen Lake Calhoun. Paddle wheeling on the Mississippi River. Congregating in Loring Park. These magical places have provided inspiration to the likes of Fitzgerald, Twain, Thoreau, and Longfellow.

As Flanagan leads us on a grand walking tour of the Twin Cities, she is aided by Mary Ludington's comprehensive collection of images from many of the area's finest photographers. The end result is that we come to appeciate the Twin Cities--a "lovely hunk of breathing space" where invention and inspiration abound. ... Read more

Product Description
Born in Japan in 1906, Paul Horiuchi came to America as a youth of fourteen and found work with the Union Pacific Railroad in Wyoming. He held the job for two decades, until World War II brought racist reaction, dislocation, and hardship to people of Japanese descent. And all the while he painted.

Working the railroad by day, Horiuchi painted in any spare moments and eventually exhibited in Seattle, San Francisco, and Oakland. When the war ended, he and his family settled in Seattle to make a new and permanent home. Here his art career began to take root - and with his discovery of collage, it burst into full bloom. Nature was his source of inspiration; collage was his métier. Acting on his friend Mark Tobey's recommendation that he use his Japanese heritage in his art, Horiuchi expressed the beauty of the natural landscape in abstract form. With painted and torn papers laid down on canvas or board, he produced art that ranged from monumental to intimate, from fluid motion to rich repose.

Horiuchi gained national and international recognition for his work, as well as an admiring and devoted following in the Northwest. Paul Horiuchi died in 1999. This book provides a narrative of his life and major accomplishments, generously illustrated with historical photographs and works of art. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Paul Horiuchi
So little information is available about artist Paul Horiuchi that this book by Barbara Johns is a real treasure.I particularly enjoyed the biographical material and look forward to visiting the museum in LaConner, WA. so that I can see the Horiuchi collages displayed there.

Paul Horiuchi
Book came on time as ordered; no problem.The even better news is that it confirmed that a painting I bought at an auction 20 years ago, really is a signed Horiuchi watercolor!

Horiuchi Monograph Overdue
A captivating account of Paul Horiuchi's life and art. This gifted and devoted talent was a shining star in the golden era of Northwest modern art, merging Oriental and Occidental components to create rich and unique forms. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the art of America's Pacific Northwest. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Nice variety
I was impressed by the variety in these stories. Some of them are only meant to be light entertainment, but others like "Jack Be Quick" and "The Favor" really get to you.I especially liked"Scat" -- which uses the title word in four different meanings.

A good collection
These are superior stories, and they're all different.She can make you laugh in one story and give you chills in the next.The title novella is a fantastic piece of writing. ... Read more

Product Description
Describes the life of the silversmith who made the historic ride to announce the coming of British troops to Massachusetts at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

History is fascinating, this book is not.
I ordered this book for my son as he had a book report due on an historical biography.My son is a very reluctant reader and as it was rather lengthy, I offered to read some pages and he could read some pages aloud to me. History is a fascinating subject, but Barbara Ford has reduced Paul Revere's life and contribution to so tedious an excercise, I couldn't even stay interested.The book has too many characters and it is difficult to remember who they are and what they did.Ford uses terms such as "whig" and "tories" and "regulars", without much explanation as to what those terms mean. In chapter six, Ford says, "As Revere helped carry John Hancock's trunk away from the tavern, he heard the first shot of the American Revolution".She doesn't indicate here why Revere secured John Hancock's trunk, what was in the trunk, or why that was important.She does go on to say that the trunk survived and is currently on display at the Worcester Historical Museum in Massachusettes.So?What was in the trunk?There is no definitive timeline, except in the chronology at the end of the book.There is no sense of the drama of being a country at war.The characters have no personalities. The battles have no interest.The book makes no effort to engage the young reader at any level. ... Read more

Product Description
Are men and women from different planets, or is it Personality Type, not gender, that rules the way they relate? The foremost experts in Personality Type, Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger provide fresh insight into the mysteries of love. Drawing from years of experience as well as groundbreaking research, the authors offer an individualized approach to improving your love life: they help you figure out which of the 16 personality types best describes you and your partner; reveal the rewards and frustrations of your type combination; identify the essential aspects of a good relationship for each type; provide the best advice about communicating with your mate, and much more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Really on-target information!
I've used this book to improve my relationships with two different boy friends (one is now my husband), my father and even coworkers. The observations about each type and how they interact with each other seem to be really on target. I have had some professional consultations with career counselors about my own Meyers-briggs type and I still learned some really useful information about myself, too.

I think this book would be most valuable if you have had your MB type done professionally. But, even if you, or the other person hasn't, there's enough info in the book to do a pretty accurate assessment yourself.

I like taking this book on road trips for entertainment!

application of MBTI preferences / type theory to relationships; but hardly "tailor-made"
If you're familiar with Myers-Briggs preferences, this book may be useful in helping to understand challenges in romantic relationships.The authors begin with a good but very basic introduction to the sixteen MBTI types, and then, go through every possible combination of types, discussing the joys, frustrations, and providing specific guidance for how each partner can best communicate with each other.

The authors claim that this book is tailor-made to your relationship.In fact, about a page of the book is tailor-made to your relationship.As there are sixteen MBTI types, there are 256 possible two-type combinations, and consequently, there's not much space devoted to each of the type combos.For each type combination, the authors devote little more than a single page of discussion.Given that there is so much information to cover in that single page, I found the discussions to be a little conclusory and formulaic.

The other thing to know is that this book is about traditional, romantic, couple relationships -- the cover illustration features a heart and eight very traditional-looking couples.The discussions may have some use outside of the couple setting, but the focus is definitely on romantic relationships.

Although not the main substance of the book, most interesting to me were the research statistics in the brief appendix.For example, TJs in relationships with one another reports 74% satisfaction in the relationship; relationship between TPs (not generally recognized as a temperament and not generally reported on) a standard scored 46% satisfactions.And things like -- SPs in relationships with NTs reported a satisfaction rating of 73%, whereas NTs in those same relationships reported only 54% satisfaction.Hmm.

This book is light and easy to read, and the Tiegers present the material in an easy-to-follow manner.There just a lot to cover in a little space, so nothing is covered in any meaningful detail.I would recommend this book to supplement other information you may have on MBTI types.It would be difficult to make the most of the information in this book unless you have a decent understanding of MBTI, and if you're looking for a decent understanding of MBTI preferences, this is not the best place to start.(Try the authors' The Art of Speed Reading People: How to Size People Up and Speak Their Language as a starting point.)

Typing method flawed
I can't say this to people enough; that MBTI method typing is flawed, because of the following reasons. First, the test you take on typelogic dot com determines you internal self. Myself for example-internally I am ESTJ but in reality I am INFJ (ESTJ is my dual-the person who is the best match for my personality type). Second, as you can see from my example of testing ESTJ my internal dual-seeking self is menefesting outwardly flawing the resaults of the test thereby putting you in a pool of people you wouldn't get along with. For correct resaults-type yourself using How to Find Yourself and Your Best Match Socionics by Rod Novichkov then take the MBTI test and you'll know exactly what I'm taling about.

Not an Easy Reference Guide
I'm not saying the book is bad, I'm just writing a quick review for those looking for an easy reference guide to personalities that this book is not it. It will take some time to go through this book to learn your personality as well as your mates (or you can take the Myers-Briggs, which I highly recommend if you want to make this book a easier read/faster reference guide).

Excellent application of the MBTI to relationship dynamics
Despite its somewhat maudlin title and front cover, this book is very interesting. It based on Jungian MBTI theory which in my view is a very powerful tool for understanding people's personality. The book itself is not theoretical: it gives a brief description of the 16 types and then there is a couple of pages for each of the 136 possible combinations. Much has been printed about the MBTI, but this one has a very interesting practical approach. For each combination, you find a paragraph on the strengths, a paragraph on the weaknesses, and a short list of key recommendations for each partner. Even if you know everything about Jungian psychology you can still discover some new insights on personality relationships. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

yawn
I made it to the start of the 4th chapter and gave up. A boring self admitted retelling of Somerset Maugham with spaceships and female protagonists. I am always on the look out for unknown female sf writers; Miriam Ford and Alicia Sheldon were great finds, but I'll be looking for B.Paul's other titles instead because this one was plain dull, with every thought & feeling recounted ad nauseum. ... Read more