The book is masterfully structured like individual short stories from all the characters’ points of view, except that they are not short stories, though each could actually stand on its own. Rather, they are a coalesce to form an absorbing tale that would be fun to read by the pool this summer. It’s available at Amazon, but you could also check your local bookstores for it as well.

Short review by SL

These days most of the talk among single woman is about relationships and finding men who are willing and even more importantly happy to commit. Single women search for opinions and advice from anyone they believe is experienced and will give them the hard truths and I believe it is for this reason, why this book has become such a popular read.

I was hesitant about the advice Steve Harvey, popular comedian, “King of Comedy” would provide. Would this be another big joke about what could be considered a serious and sometimes depressing issue for women? However, Harvey has partnered with relationship expert, and columnist for Parenting magazine Denene Millner to help women understand what men really think about relationships, intimacy and commitment.

In Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, Harvey and Millner provide their readers, which we will assume are predominantly women with direct and often comical information to help in dealing with and understanding men.

Harvey, decided to write this relationship book after his advice from the “Ask Steve” segment of his popular syndicated radio show, the Steve Harvey Morning Show, became very popular and men and women began asking when he would write a book. Act like a Lady, Think Like a Man is divided into 3 sections and 15 chapters exploring common scenarios that women will encounter in their quest for a long –term committed relationship: dealing with but not limited to; how men view sex, mama’s boys, cheaters, and marriage.

This book is written in a conversational style and provides advice in the way one would expect coming from their big brother, cousin or best friend. The information is easy to relate to and Harvey comes across as a close male friend providing you with the real truths and basically the inside scoop on men, their thoughts and their view on women and relationships.

Overall, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man is enjoyable, entertaining and sometimes “slap your knees” hilarious, while allowing the reader to empathize with several of the case studies used in the book.

This book when you really think about it provides women with the advice they have heard before, but decided to turn a blind eye or deaf ear to. Harvey doesn’t really explore new areas of advice and issues. Actually much of what is written has been written before by several authors. However, Harvey does bring it to the forefront of our minds once again, telling it as brutally honest as we could think of getting it and it’s that honesty that is truly appreciated and quite enjoyed. Get this book @ Amazon.

Submitted by Kathy C., Atlanta, GA

But once in a while a Marley book comes along that sheds much new light on the subject and manages to convey something of the reality of the reggae psalmist. Soul Rebel: an Intimate Portrait of Bob Marley is one such book and though the word ‘book’ conjures up expectations of word-filled pages, this book’s pages are instead covered with never-before-seen photographs of the reggae legend that takes us back to a time in Marley’s history when he was about to enter life’s superstar spotlight.

Photojournalist David Burnett interned at TIME Magazine and covered the Vietnam War for two years. Returning to TIME, he first photographed Marley in 1976 on an assignment to cover an interview by David Devoss. Only one photo was used in the story, but Burnett’s photos of Marley taken that day impressed Island Records enough to invite him to accompany Marley and the Wailers on part of their Exodus Tour of Europe in 1977. His photos from that trip were published in Rolling Stone magazine.

The photos in ‘Soul Rebel’ are from these two meetings with Marley, while the text consists of Burnett’s own report of both occasions that give interesting insights into these two important times in the singer’s life. A foreword by noted reggae writer Chris Salewicz and an introduction by Chris Murray, director of the Govinda Gallery where the original photographs are on display, constitute the only words. The other 140 pages of this lush, large coffee table book tell their story in beautifully photographed windows into Marley’s life and the reggae 70s that were bursting onto the world. Burnett’s Jamaica journey begins in Ocho Rios, when he met a young Burning spear, producer Jack Ruby, Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith and Sly & Robbie, and continues later in Kingston meeting an equally young Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Toots Hibbert and Peter Tosh. (The Tosh photos, by the way, are iconic and will surely surface soon as new posters of the Reggae Rebel.)

But concentrating on images of Marley, Burnett’s book reveals a young Bob Marley; his locks barely shoulder length, photographed inside the house and in the yard of 56 Hope Road. Marley’s eyes transfix the viewer in many photos – large, full-face close-ups of a serious man showing both pain and determination that seem to come from the depths of his soul. Transfixed as the photographer is with Marley’s eyes, it is no wonder that the four-page fold-out centerfold prize of the book is simply, and only, the man’s eyes.

Burnett found Marley “extraordinary”. He writes: “Here’s a person who can actually put into words and with a really interesting phraseology, thoughts that are way beyond what I was thinking about. Here’s just a kid from Trench Town who started playing the guitar and who knew he had a mission.”
The photos taken at 56 Hope Road include several that have not been seen before bob, lighting and smoking his famous spliffs, as well as some of Bob posing with his favourite guitar in the yard of the old house.

For me, some of the most interesting, and certainly most poignant, photographs are those taken on the European ‘Exodus’ tour, where for the first time we see the icon wearing sandals with the big toe of his right foot bandaged. Marley poses for the camera with the cancerous toe pointing forward, while in other photos one can’t help seeing the white bandaged foot as he plays football with the band during rehearsal breaks for the night’s concert. It is sad to see the happiness on his face as he plays his favourite game, as with hindsight we know that this wound would lead to his death.

Other interesting insights come from photos of Marley and the group in the tour bus that will provide new photographic icons for Marley fans, especially a sequence of Marley sleeping on the bus, while the Exodus Tour performance photos are a print slide show of another great Marley concert. Gorgeously printed and presented, the hardcover book’s dust jacket features a black and white photo of Marley leaning on his guitar, while removing the dust jacket reveals a full colour wraparound photo of the singer in performance.

This is one Marley tribute book I am glad to own because it offers new glimpses, not previously revealed, of the genesis of the global reggae movement. The young music people in my life who have looked through the book say the photos of Marley while he was still virtually unknown, display a confidence and sense of purpose that have infused them with new insights and inspiration for their own careers. That’s how powerful these photos are. Buy it online @ Amazon.

Submitted by A.S., Miami, FL

The Glass Menagerie was published as a book by publishers Chelsea House. It is set in 1930s St. Louis, USA, and is the consummate dramatic pleaser. In the Wingfield apartment in St. Louis, the mother (Amanda) lives with her crippled daughter (Laura) and son (Tom). The action is drawn primarily from the memories of Tom, the narrator, an aspiring poet who toils in a shoe warehouse to support his mother and sister since their father ran off, years ago, and has not returned.

Amanda, once a sprightly Southern belle from a well-to-do family, regularly bombards her children with tales of her idyllic youth and the scores of suitors who once pursued her. She is disappointed that Laura, who wears a brace on her leg and is painfully shy, does not attract any gentleman callers. She enrolls Laura in a business college, hoping that she will make her own and, consequently, the family’s fortune through a business career.

Weeks later however, Amanda discovers that Laura’s debilitating shyness has led her to secretly drop out of the class and spend her days wandering the city alone. Amanda then decides that Laura’s last hope must lie in marriage and begins pressuring Tom to invite someone over for his sister.

The Glass Menagerie unfolds with ease, and Williams crafts the characters expertly, which is no surprise since he’s the mastermind behind such classics as “Sweet Bird of Youth” and “A Streetcar Named Desire”. It undoubtedly succeeds in telling a surreal tale of an all-American family and their diverse struggles with fantasy and reality, leading to a devastating conclusion.

By Tyrone R., Miami, FL.

The book’s foreword argues that all of us have a latent potential for genius and it is the aim of the book to point the way to awaken the genius that lies dormant in us all.

The introduction points to some of the characteristics of the great genius, Albert Einstein. He had the capacity to look at things differently. Nowadays we call this ‘thinking outside of the box‘. At the start of each of the 12 chapters of the book, there is a specific quotation and thought from the great man himself – Einstein. These specific quotes are often used by the author to develop the material for that chapter itself. For example, the quotation from Chapter one (which has as its theme ‘Secrets of an Inside job’), the chapter highlights the gift of imagination and the capacity for creative thinking that is characteristic of human kind. Creative thinking cannot begin too early.

Chapter two, ‘Start Early’, starts with the quotation from Einstein: ‘I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.‘ The chapter has quotations from a number of sources which help to support the basic theme of starting early. For example, Kohlberg’s six stages of ethical development is used to outline the process whereby children learn ethical principles which would lead to critically thought-out decisions.

Chapter two, as with many others, also has a series of quotations which add to the overall theme being developed. These insertions from time to time can be a bit distracting unless they are read in the context of the chapter. So basically, this book is not one for ’straight reading’, but rather needs time for full ‘digestion’.

Boger traces the development of the brain, and how human capacity for creativity and well-being follow as our brains are properly developed. That creativity is enhanced as we grow closer to the source – which is God. Reason, memory, imagination and creativity are all the outcome of the proper development of our human brains.

In chapter five ‘Secrets of Intelligence’, some of the inputs to human development are listed – music, mental exercise, thoughts that become things and creative outcomes. The extensive chapter on ‘Secrets of Health’ has many sections that give significant insights on the topic.

‘Disease and its effects’ challenges the reader to think and act positively:

• The person with a strong gait, great attitude and bright spirit almost never ill
• Water is the stuff of our bodies and it is important to take due care at the source of our water
• Air quality is another of the factors affecting health
• Sleep is a powerful factor in human recovery and strength
• Nutrition and the choice of foods represent critical decisions for bodily care
• Exercise is vital for the care of the body

Recognition of these and other factors will lead to the development of a personal health plan.

Other chapters in “Your Einstein Complex” speak about the secrets of wealth, networking, real estate, investing and ‘An Inside Job’. The final chapter, ‘The Universal Secret’ quotes Einstein as follows: “Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe – a spirit vastly superior to that of man – ikn this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is indeed quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive.”

This is a deep book that is definitely not meant to be read in a single sitting. Check it out.

Submitted by A.S., Miami, FL