Author: Bergers Book Reviews

Author and book reviewer.
self improvement, spirituality

Dare to Wear Your Soul on the Outside

Bergers Book Reviews


Author: Gloria Burgess
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Genre: Personal Growth / Spirituality
ISBN: 978-0470241837
Pages: 256
Price: $16.95

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Have you ever thought about the life you’re living, and what kind of impact you’re having on the people around you? You may know you want to leave a positive legacy, but don’t know exactly how to make the changes you need. Dare to Wear Your Soul on the Outside can offer some suggestions to guide you.

Dr. Gloria J. Burgess has determined that there are Seven Sacred Promises of legacy living. These are: gratitude, faith, love, vision, integrity, creative action, and legacy.

Through the examples of others who have followed her guidance, Burgess shows the reader how these women aligned their lives with their soul purpose. As they learned to wear their souls on the outside, they connected with their living legacy and are now contributing to the greater good in society.

Exercises are provided in this helpful book, and the reader is encouraged to keep a notebook to explore feelings and record the answers that are uncovered. Although it’s tempting to expect easy solutions, the process of creating your living legacy isn’t always a straightforward process, and it may take years. But the journey will be well worth the rewards.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

children, finance

Can I Have Some Money Please?

Bergers Book Reviews

money
Author: Twyla Prindle
Illustrator: Lorie Miller Hansen
Publisher: Prindle House
Genre: Children / Personal Finance
ISBN: 0-9759527-2-2
Pages: 32
Price: $7.95

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Little Twyla wants some money, but she doesn’t know how to get it.  Someone wise explains there are three simple steps to prosperity.  If she can follow these spiritual steps, she will have as much money as she needs.

Prayer, tithing and generosity are all important in creating an abundance of money. Children and adults alike will read, in gently flowing rhyme, how to create that positive energy that attracts wealth into one’s life.

Can I Have Some Money Please? is not really about income, but more about trusting in the source of all wealth – God. If we trust that our needs will be met, and don’t hoard what we do have, we will always receive all we need.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

children, holiday

Secrets of a Christmas Box

Bergers Book Reviews

christmas
Author: Steven Hornby
Publisher: Ecky Thump Books
Genre: Children / Christmas
ISBN: 978-0-9815883-0-8
Pages: 248
Price: $18.95

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It’s Christmas Eve, and the family has pulled out the Christmas Box to decorate the tree. They string the lights and strategically place their ornaments on the branches, before celebrating the magical evening. But what happens once they turn in for the night?

As the family sleeps, awaiting Santa’s arrival, the tree-dwellers come awake and have their own celebration. After a year in the Christmas Box, they’re eager to enjoy each other’s company and snack on pine needles. But not all tree-dwellers rejoin the tree every year, which leads Larry, Debbie, Tinsel, and newcomer, Splint, on a journey to find the Christmas Box for some answers.

Not all is well in the land of tree-dwellers, and there is malice among the revelry. Will this brave foursome find out what’s going on, and will they make it back to the tree in time to join the others for the big sleep?

Secrets of a Christmas Box is a fun holiday tale, with romance, intrigue, friendship and adventure. Although there are some sad moments, all ends well as the tree-dwellers finally find safety. Reading this unique Christmas story every year may well become a new family tradition.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

children

The Little General and the Giant Snowflake

Bergers Book Reviews

snowflake
Author: Mattea Harvey
Illustrator: Elizabeth Zechel
Publisher: Tin House Books
Genre: Children
ISBN: 978-0-9820539-1-1
Pages: 64
Price: $10.95

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The Little General lives in an orderly, general-like world. He counts out his peas into neat rows, lines up his hedges, and doesn’t believe in the imagination. But as his troop practices battle formations, the troop across the way plays with imaginary animals, not even bothering with tactics and strategies.

One day a mysterious giant snowflake appears to the Little General. No one else can see it, or so he thinks. He tries to ignore it, but it’s just too powerful. His life starts to change, as his dreams become colorful and fanciful. What mysterious power does this giant snowflake have over him?

The Little General doesn’t know that one of his soldiers also sees the snowflake and knows the proper way to handle it. And the answer is a lot more simple and fun than he could ever imagine.

In The Little General and the Giant Snowflake, Mattea Harvey has written a delightful story about a very orderly little man who needs to lighten up. Dreams, snowflakes and lemmings dance throughout this story, creating wonderful word pictures, and the pencil drawings add charm to this enjoyable tale. I highly recommend this darling little book.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

business

The Fun Minute Manager

Bergers Book Reviews

fun
Author: Bob Pike, Robert C. Ford & John W. Newstrom
Publisher: Creative Training Techniques Press
Genre: Business / Management / Human Resources Development
ISBN: 978-1-935291-04-6
Pages: 107
Price: $21.95

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Are you having fun at work? Many people could probably say they like their work and get along with their coworkers. But fun? Work isn’t supposed to be fun. Well, not according to Bob Pike.

Following the format of the popular One Minute Manager, Pike takes us through the thought processes of a manager who comes to believe work can be fun. In this fictional story, Bob listens to an inspirational speaker on the subject of fun in the workplace. Then he meets with several other managers who share their experiences and knowledge of how to implement fun practices.

Besides the obvious benefits of just being happier coming to work, fun, if structured properly, can also benefit the company. But as Bob found out, fun has to be handled in a way that doesn’t hurt anyone and also doesn’t hurt the corporate image.

Especially now, when economic times are tough, fun in the workplace can really make a big difference to employees’ states of mind. If you’ve ever thought about bringing more laughter, joy and happiness to your office, The Fun Minute Manager will be a terrific guide. Work doesn’t have to be a drudge – it can be fun, too.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

art

Color Is Everything

Bergers Book Reviews

color
Author: Dan Bartges
Publisher: The Oaklea Press
Genre: Art: Techniques / Painting
ISBN: 978-1-892538-36-9
Pages: 96
Price: $14.99

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Sometimes the biggest difference between a mediocre painting and a truly spectacular one is the artist’s choice of color. In Color Is Everything, Dan Bartges demystifies this important technique, and shows us how to choose a color scheme for our paintings.

Working with a basic color wheel, he shows us how to use it to maximum advantage. Whether we decide on an analogous, split complementary, tetrad, or another specified combination, we can be sure we’ve chosen the right colors if we follow his simple directions.

Once Bartges explains these combinations, he then shows us how master painters used them in their own creations. We’re then encouraged to try to replicate their results, so we can develop this color sense for ourselves.

If you’re interested in creating master works of art, and you’ve never explored the use of color, you will find this book a valuable tool. I’d also highly recommend it for anyone who wants to be sure they choose the most appealing colors for anything from painting the living room to crafting a bedroom quilt. These techniques will ensure your color scheme is the best it can be.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

history

World War II

Bergers Book Reviews

war
Author: Stuart A.P. Murray
Publisher: Hammond Undercover
Genre: History
ISBN: 978-0841-610934
Pages: 72
Price: $13.99

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In 1938, Germany invaded Poland, and Britain and France declared war. But in the 7 years that followed, World War II became a truly global affair, as Japan, South Africa, and the Middle East, as well as the United States, became involved in Europe and the Far East.

Taking us through the chronological events of these years with photographs, Hammond Undercover’s World War II is surprisingly easy to read for a war history book. Side trips explain Hitler’s rise to power, the help of the Red Cross and advanced medical care, and how women became more liberated in the workforce as a result of their wartime efforts.

The horrors of concentration camps and the dropping of the atomic bombs are also described, though not in graphic detail, but no one who reads this book can come away unchanged by how deadly a war of this magnitude was. World War II is a great illustrated summary of the events of this war, suitable for any history buff or library collection.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

children, dogs, holiday

Snow Valley Heroes

Bergers Book Reviews

heroes
A Christmas Tale (Planet of the Dogs Vol. 3)
Author: Robert J. McCarty
Illustrator: Stella Mustanoja McCarty
Publisher: Barking Planet Productions
Genre: Children / Dogs / Christmas
ISBN: 978-0-9786928-2-7
Pages: 81
Price: $14.95

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The King of the North has decided to put an end to Christmas, so he hatches a plot against Santa and the elves to be sure no one will ever celebrate again. But he doesn’t count on the Planet of the Dogs coming to Santa’s aid.

When word reaches the dogs that Christmas is in jeopardy, they come back to earth to join the two human children they’ve worked with in the past. Executing a daring plot to infiltrate the Ice Castle, they wreak havoc on the King and his men. But will they be successful?

In this third volume of the Planet of the Dogs series, readers are once again treated to the kindness and cooperation these dogs embrace as part of their very nature. Not only do they save Christmas, but they also teach the King of the North an important lesson he’ll never forget. Written in folk style and illustrated in beautiful pencil drawings, Snow Valley Heroes is a charming and heart-warming Christmas tale.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

Christian, spirituality

Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow

Bergers Book Reviews

hearing Jesus
Author: Nancy Guthrie
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Genre: Christian Living / Spiritual Life / Personal Growth
ISBN: 978-1-4143-2548-4
Pages: 192
Price: $14.99

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Being a Christian doesn’t mean life will be without its share of heartache and loss. But when the pain cuts us to the core, questions naturally arise about God’s involvement. How could He allow this to happen? Does He even care?

Jesus healed lepers, caused the blind to see, and even raised the dead. Why wouldn’t He want to help us in our time of need? But a closer look at Biblical passages reveals exactly why Jesus healed, and what He would say if we asked Him why He hasn’t stepped in to fix things for us.

Nancy Guthrie knows the depths of pain, having lost two babies to the same incurable disease. She knows what it’s like to wrestle with her spiritual beliefs, wondering if maybe she’s missing something. But she also knows God’s infinite love, and trusts in His knowing a higher purpose for her life.

Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow shares Guthrie’s insights about what Jesus would say if we turn to Him and share our pain with Him. And she reassures us that His answer will comfort us, despite our circumstances.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

humor

Everything Hurts

Bergers Book Reviews

hurts
Author: Bill Scheft
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 978-1-4165-9934-0
Pages: 288
Price: $24.00

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Phil Camp never intended to become a self-help guru. All he wanted to do was come up with the money to pay off his ex-wife. But when Where Can I Stow My Baggage? becomes an instant hit, his career suddenly takes off.

Phil doesn’t want anyone to know he’s the genius behind the pseudonym of Marty Fleck. Everything is going fine, as the book turns into a regular column, Baggage Handling. But then one day Phil develops a strange and unexplained limp, and he’s forced to turn to a real self-help guru for answers.

His journey through the layers of pain lead him to the Irish Shrink, who helps him unravel his past and try to make sense of it all. Phil uncovers several disturbing and shameful events, and an undercurrent of rage runs through it all–the rage that’s causing him so much pain.

Everything Hurts is the humorous account of how Phil Camp comes to terms with his past and his pain. But there’s more to this story than just laughs, as he delves into the healing of age-old family rifts. After reading this book, you’ll never look at your past, your family, or your pain the same way.

Reviewer: Alice Berger