Books

Will It Fly? How to Know if Your New Business Idea Has Wings...Before You Take the Leap

Average customer rating:

Entrepreneurs, you need this book!
Crain's Communications names this book a top 10 must read
Excellent Tool
Unreadable
Too Complicated ....

Will It Fly? How to Know if Your New Business Idea Has Wings...Before You Take the Leap
Thomas K. McKnight
Manufacturer: FT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Successful Business Models (Entrepreneur Mentor Series)
The Ultimate Competitive Advantage: Secrets of Continuosly Developing a More Profitable Business Model
Business Models: A Strategic Management Approach
Business Models
Business Models Made Easy

ASIN: 0130462217

Customer Reviews:

Entrepreneurs, you need this book!.......2006-08-16

My husband and I and many of our friends are on the leading edge of the Baby Boom Generation - huge, powerful, successful, and often feared for the trends and traits that we collectively might perpetrate. Many of us plan to "retire" early, but only from our high stress/high profile professions of today. We're young, we're healthy, and we're energetic. And, yes, we're egotistical While some of us may continue to work in the corporate world at least part time, others will determine that the time is right to launch out on our own.

We need Tom McKnight's book - his experience and wisdom - to guide us into the next stage of our lives, as entrepreneurs.

The author walks you through the thought process of evaluating whether your bright idea could become a viable business, with his application of fine detail, giving examples that clearly illustrate, and with analogies that sometimes surprise you. His Innovator's Scorecard with its 44 critical success factors makes good sense, and the suggestions are actionable. Besides, it's enjoyable reading. The author seems to be having such fun with words, and with Dr. Market, his wise owl.

Being a Librarian who has a passion for reading, I'm often asked - both professionally and socially - to research various topics and recommend books to satisfy the inquiry, curiosity, and/or quest for knowledge. Tom McKnight's book is a great find. I already have an extra copy on hand to give to any friend who hints at wanting to start his/her own business.

Crain's Communications names this book a top 10 must read.......2006-01-12

Crains publishes Chicago Business and in their 2004 Resource Guide for Small Business, they stated the following about Will it Fly?: "Mr. McKnight's 44-item checklist for evaluating business ideas is somehow both easy and rigorous, suitable for startups and established firms thinking of branching out. Why didn't someone do this before 2004?" The mention was among the ten "Essential Reads" for entrepeneurs and you can look it up at http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?portal_id=47&page_id=1506 Awesome kudo!I don't know the other authors but I sure have heard of them! Thanks Crains! Signed: Thomas K. McKnight, blushing author.

Excellent Tool.......2005-11-20

The Times Warner Exec's endorsement on the cover is so true: I would've saved me a loads of money and saved years of my life if only I got to read this book before my last venture.

Unreadable.......2005-11-17

I hate to do this but it only deserves a 2 out of 5. Why, I hear you ask. Because it's unreadable. For example, there is no table of contents to give you any clue as to where the book is headed. There is also something about the writing that just makes you put it down for a very long time after each 5 page chapter.

I'm a voracious reader especially of business books on entrepreneurship. But this is just unreadable. After having it for close to a year, I have only read about a third of the 44 chapters.

Too Complicated ...........2005-09-26

I bought the book because I wanted guidelines to start a small business. I was really excited because I thought I had found the key to all my doubts and questions. The more I read the book the more frustrated I got. I have an MBA and I know how complex a business could be, but this is too much. 44 variables maybe could count on a BIG BIG launch, but what if you want to start a small dojo or a small language academy? The more I read the more frustrated and dissapointed I got. I believe that in my particular case I bought the wrong book.

Average customer rating:

Outstanding and Comprehensive
Fly the Wing
The Best Book on Transport Category Flying, Period.
If I had only one book
How to fly large airplanes and pass check rides

Fly the Wing
James Webb
Manufacturer: Iowa State Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Handling the Big Jets: An Explanation of the Significant Difference in Flying Qualities Between Jet Transport Aeroplanes and Piston Engined Transpor
The Turbine Pilot's Flight Manual
Ace the Technical Pilot Interview
Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators (FAA Handbooks series)
Encyclopedia of Technical Aviation

ASIN: 0813805414

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding and Comprehensive.......2007-05-06

This is a fantastic book that comprehensively covers the areas pertaining to flying large aircraft. It is well written and interesting to read and follow. Few books cover this subject so expertly and clearly as this one.

The areas covered range from aircraft performance to instrument flying and weather. The experienced pilot as well as the newly minted ones will benefit immensely from the enlightening and erudite presentation.

Overall, an excellent book that every career minded pilot should possess and thoroughly read.

Fly the Wing.......2005-07-22

This is a great book. It covers all the subject areas for the young aspiring pilot or for the seasoned veteran pilot. I've been an airline pilot for over twelve years and I find this book to be a must read. I highly recommend it regardless of experience.

The Best Book on Transport Category Flying, Period........2003-11-09

I have read many books from introductory student pilot texts to Operating Manuals for the A-320, L-1011 and B-747-400 in my aviation career, but if I had to pick any one book that best explains the nuts and bolts of advanced turbine flying, this is my pick, with no close second. This book has no peer.

Jim Webb makes this information come alive and makes often difficult to grasp (or remember) concepts like weather and aircraft performance second nature. I have instructed in many models of jet transports, and when I can't find an answer to a tough question, I never fail to refer to my well used copy of "Fly The Wing." Many of Webb's examples reference information specific to the DC-9 and L-1011, but understand that the general points being made translate equally well to all commercial jets. As a side note, I have been to school on both the DC-9 and L-1011, and Webb's information is as good as gold, which reinforced the solidness of the underlying text for me.

If you are a turbine pilot now or have any interest at all in becoming one, this book is absolutely indispensable to have on your bookshelf. If you are a student, private, or new commercial pilot, this book has loads of accessible, relevant, and important information for you. Don't worry about the turbine specific information and you will still find this a most worthwhile book to read. No pilot should be without it!

If I had only one book.......2002-03-26

As a Check Captain for a major airline I have to stay up on procedures and techniques. This book has been my constant reference source for over 18 years. Every time I pick up my dog-eared copy I am astounded at the wealth of information that is contained between its covers. It is a postgraduate course in flying in the real world and should be on every pilot's bookshelf. I recommend it to all the new hire First Officers I work with. The other book that belongs on your shelf is Robert Bucks "Weather Flying".

How to fly large airplanes and pass check rides.......2002-01-19

"Be your own greatest critic. Accept each flight as a challenge. . . . Work to your maximum ability; endeavor at all times to fly clearances exactly; stay right on your heading and course and altitude; try to fly so smoothly that the passengers will never know when you've made a mistake. You will know when you've flown a good flight, and your self-satisfaction will surpass any complement that may be given you."

Where 'Stick and Rudder' is perfect for a Cub student 'Fly The Wing' is perfect for the SAAB 340 or B-757 student. It's one of my most dog-eared books, as I try to read it before every training session. Covers in detail all major procedures required to master handling a large airplane. Written by a master who learnt to fly with a barnstormer, earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses flying B-24's, and retired as an airline check airman with 35,000 hours and 500 students taught. If you are going from a Cessna to an RJ, buy this book now.

Average customer rating:

Very insightful, captivating book

BANG!

Inspirational and Intriguing

Opening My Wings To Fly: What Animals Have Taught Me

Opening My WIngs to FlY: What Animals Have Taught Me"

Opening My Wings to Fly: What Animals Have Taught Me
Tera Thomas
Manufacturer: Hummingbird Farm Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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Similar Items:

Talking With the Animals

Animal Talk: Interspecies Telepathic Communication

When Animals Speak: Advanced Interspecies Telepathic Communication

Animal Reiki: Using Energy to Heal the Animals in Your Life

If Only They Could Talk: The Miracles of Spring Farm

ASIN: 0971090211

Book Description

A moving narrative of the author's journey of awakening to herself through her deep experiences with animals. Tera Thomas weaves a fascinating story of communication with other species and our profound connection to all of life. Rich, magical, life affirming, and provocative, this book will take you deep into your own connection with all living beings.

Customer Reviews:

Very insightful, captivating book.......2005-06-30

If you are interested in spirituality, animals, and the connectedness of all living things - this is an extremely well written, superb book.

BANG!.......2004-12-01

Opening My Wings to Fly - What Animals Have Taught Me
Tera Thomas, 2001

"I have opened my heart and let this story flow onto the paper." - Tera Thomas

I know you have witnessed people that babies and animals just seem to be drawn to. Tera Thomas is one of those people. I like Tera Thomas because she represents so many of us who just knew that if we just asked with intention for our guide to be made physically manifest for us to see and hear, that - BANG -- the light would appear, the metaphysical body would be made manifest, and pearls of wisdom would flow straight into our waiting brains! She represents those of us who were getting up, going to work, and coming home to a confusing sense of emptiness at the end of each day. Opening My Wings to Fly is a series of short essays about the hard work and the subtle intricacies of Tera Thomas' journey toward communion and communication with physical and non-physical animal guides. Thomas offers us intimate glimpses of the learning curve she experienced as she discovered that it is not our brains but our hearts that are at one with all that is. Her story is a success story. She is living her dream as it unfolds before her in a small town in North Carolina far away from her roots in New York City.

Lucy Means Light is an essay regarding the transition of Thomas' beloved cat, Lucy. Thomas tells us how she had been so busy running around "doing" that she had failed to notice Lucy's "being." As Lucy finally commits the cat faux pas of urinating on herself, Thomas stops in her tracks and realizes that her beloved is frail and fragile. A trip to the veterinarian confirms that Lucy is terminally ill with leukemia. Lucy conveys upon Thomas the gift of communion for another seven weeks. She teaches Tera how to finally drop her guard and feel. She reminds her of the energy dynamic that nothing ever dies but rather simply transmutes. As Lucy teaches Thomas of the sacredness of transition, she also teaches her that death creates a vortex into which we can pour all that we desire to permanently release from our lives. As Thomas thinks about Lucy after her death, she looks up Lucy's name in a name book and discovers what she already knows in her heart - Lucy means bringer of light.

Lucy's transition story is only one of the essays in this gloriously well-written book that brought my own feelings welling up within me. Some of the stories brought me to the brink of tears and others had me laughing until I cried! When Thomas calls to the snakes to help her learn about them and guide her they begin showing up everywhere! Their sheds, their coils, their non-nonchalant observation greets Thomas' every move as she glories in her first North Carolina summer. I believe this may fall into the category of Be Careful What You Pray For! Opening My Wings to Fly is a must have for anyone interested in animal communication.
.

Inspirational and Intriguing.......2002-09-30

Tera's book captures both her journey and the message of interspecies communication in an easy to read, moving story. I didn't want to finish the book because I wanted there to be more to read, more to learn. My heart and mind felt such an expanse. Thanks Tera!

Opening My Wings To Fly: What Animals Have Taught Me.......2002-01-19

This wonderful book will change the way you look at life! In it, Tera Thomas takes us on a personal journey where we can learn for ourselves -- what animals have taught her.
Written with alot of openness, heart and humor, it is the story of her development as an animal communicator. It is filled with delightful stories of animals she has known, unforgettable characters who impart tremendous wisdom about the meaning of life and death, and the importance of acceptance. And, because of what these special beings (animals and Tera) share with the reader, I finished the book with a much greater acceptance of life -- and self -- than when I had first begun.
It is a very spiritual book, with much to be gleaned from within its pages.
You can't help but feel as if you have, if not flown, then certainly stretched your wings a bit. To be savored again and again.

Opening My WIngs to FlY: What Animals Have Taught Me".......2001-12-22

"Opening My Wings to Fly" is a magnificent book. Tera Thomas and her precious animal friends have created stories that are beautifully written, inspiring and moving. I learned so much from reading this book - not only about the wisdom and love of animals but also about how to live in a grateful and generous way. All the while, I was captivated by the stories - stories which moved me to tears, made me laugh out loud, and motivated me to open my own wings to fly. I am very grateful to Ms. Thomas for this gift of a book. It is a treasure.

She Flies Without Wings: How Horses Touch a Woman's Soul

Average customer rating:

Disjointed, difficult read.
Loved it!
Loved this book!
She Doesn't fly
A Blessing of a Book!

She Flies Without Wings: How Horses Touch a Woman's Soul
Mary D. Midkiff
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Of Women and Horses
Horses Don't Lie: What Horses Teach Us About Our Natural Capacity for Awareness, Confidence, Courage, and Trust
The Tao of Equus: A Woman's Journey of Healing and Transformation through the Way of the Horse
It's Not About the Horse
Horse Sense and the Human Heart

ASIN: 0385335008
Release Date: 2002-02-26

Amazon.com

Although author and longtime equestrian Mary Midkiff once presented a straightforward book on women and horses (Fitness, Performance and the Female Equestrian), she now explores the more ethereal terrain of this compelling feminine attraction. "Women and horse have always been drawn to one another," Midkiff writes. "They rode together in Greek myth and Celtic poem, Native American legend and Wild West folktales.... Women and horses emerge in life and literature as a huge tribe of spiritual sisters." (In fact, more than one million girls and women are involved in horse-related activities in the U.S. alone.)

Midkiff spent years researching this exquisitely written book that loosely mirrors the arc of a women's life. Using her life story as the backdrop, Midkiff shows how horses nurture feminine development. For example, the freedom to roam the earth on horseback liberates the dreams and ambitions of a young girl. Or how an affinity with horses can help awaken a teenager's emerging sensuality. And when women reach full adulthood, horses help women stay compassionate and spiritually grounded. This is a highly recommended book for older teens (15 and up) and women who value the equestrian relationship as much as the riding. --Gail Hudson

Book Description

From a renowned horsewoman and gifted storyteller comes this groundbreaking new book that explores a powerful relationship like no other: the magical kinship between women and horses.

Drawing from myth and literature, the author’s own experiences, and interviews with countless women, we learn, through women’s deeply personal stories, how horses enrich our lives and connect us to nature–making us readers of rhythm and invisible signs, helping us harness our youthful sexuality, sharing the “horsepower” we need to reach our dreams. And here we see how, for thousands of years, the deep kinship between women and horses has connected us to our most intimate feelings of delight, helped us learn to solve problems, and set our creativity free.

From the poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer to the fiction of Jane Austen to folktales from around the world, She Flies Without Wings uses great literature and myth to encompass a wide spectrum of beliefs and perspectives–and creates a true celebration of speed, air, and the spectacular animal that connects us with both.

Filled with the moving lessons–-about sensuality, commitment, power, nurturance, and spirituality–women riders have known for centuries, written with a loving hand by an expert equestrian, She Flies Without Wings is an eloquent paean to a pairing that enlivened history, inspired literature, and continues to enchant us all.

Customer Reviews:

Disjointed, difficult read........2006-12-26

I don't understand all the hype about this book. It is trying to be 3 or 4 books at once. The most interesting strand is the memoir. That is sweet and reveals a life growing up around horses. But it also tries to be a poetry collection about horses and a quotable quote book about horses and a book of lilterary references to horses. I found all of those parts distracting and not very interesting. Not recommended.

Loved it!.......2005-10-27

This was my first book about women and horses and I loved it. I especially enjoyed reading the progress with Mary and Theo. This book has a poetic feel and is one that probably will not touch the heart of woman that doesn't yet know how a horse can effect her spirit and soul. What it does for the horsewoman or any woman who is drawn to a barn, is to confirm the feelings she's already experienced and encouraged her to continue in her journey. I loved it!

Loved this book! .......2005-02-19

I loved this book, and yes, I am a horsewoman! However, thus said, I don't think a person has to be a horsewoman to enjoy this book thoroughly. It is very insightful, it deals with many issues and topics dear to women, it makes one think. It is a very good read. I found myself not wanting it to end; loved reading about Theo's progress, and about her and the author's bonding. As an owner of more than 20 show horses and school horses in my lifetime, not to mention the 100 or so racehorses I have trained - now retired and "totally dedicated" to a Morgan mare with a "former" attitude, I could relate to every aspect of the author's encounters with Theo. I'm married, have children, grandchildren, a full life... but it would be life with a void without horses. This book is indeed about how horses touch a woman's soul. As a horsewoman and author, I give this book two-thumbs up!

She Doesn't fly.......2004-03-03

I am not a "horse person" and only read this book because it was selected by my book club. I found it of little interest and was unable to make any connection with the author and her intimate relationship with horses. The style of inserting excerpts from literature, poetry etc in the middle of the text was distracting and made the text disjointed. Perhaps if one is a horse "nut" it would be of some interest but personally I couldn't relate and found all this emotional and spiritual attachment to horses quite annoying.

A Blessing of a Book!.......2003-08-15

With uncanny insight and wisdom Ms.Midkiff has put eloquently into words the very emotions I have experienced my past 25 years with horses. This book has touched me and made me even more aware of the gifts I receive on a daily basis. As she so simply and profoundly states in this book - "When I ride [my mare] her unity with the outside world is so absolute that I have no choice but to follow her into it. I must stop thinking about deadlines and the grocery list... because they have no place the the world my equine guide is showing me. I can't help but open my eyes to what she sees and my ears to what she hears. I note the flicker of a cottontail disappearing into the brush ahead and hear the call of the meadowlark before spotting it. I swim in her quiet." Bravo, Ms. Midkiff! Though we have never met I am certain we are of the same herd. Thank you for such an inspiring read!

Wittgenstein Flies a Kite: A Story of Models of Wings and Models of the World

Average customer rating:

Sterrett Flies a Kite
A search for Wittgenstein's inspiration
Very intriguing thesis!

Wittgenstein Flies a Kite: A Story of Models of Wings and Models of the World
Susan G. Sterrett
Manufacturer: Pi Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Ludwig Wittgenstein: There Where You Are Not
Wittgenstein
Wittgenstein's Ladder: Poetic Language and the Strangeness of the Ordinary
How to Read Wittgenstein
Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius

ASIN: 0131499971

Customer Reviews:

Sterrett Flies a Kite.......2007-04-24

As a newly arrived student at Cambridge University Ludwig Wittgenstein bluntly demanded of his tutor, Bertrand Russell, to tell him whether or not he had any talent for philosophy - "if not, I shall become an aeronaut." His pre-Cambridge aeronautical and engineering studies (including at an experimental kite-flying station) are briefly discussed by his biographers, Brian McGuinness and Ray Monk, without, however, attaching much importance to their relevance for his subsequent philosophical work. Although it is part of Wittgenstein lore that he was led to philosophy through a preoccupation with the foundations of the mathematics he was using for his engineering studies, until now no one has suggested that there was a close linkage between his work on aeronautics and his first book, the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. This is Susan Sterrett's thesis.

Sterrett does have some interesting things to say about the kinds of aeronautical problems which would have preoccupied Wittgenstein during his studies, and about the role played by leading theoretical physicists, like Ludwig Boltzmann, in exploring the foundations of heavier-than-air flight. She also has some illuminating insights into the parallelism between Wittgenstein's ideas on how language can represent reality and the work of physicists on how the models used in aeronautical experiments can represent the real thing, a flying machine.

Unfortunately, however, the book doesn't much further our understanding of this period in Wittgenstein's life, not least because of its heavy reliance on secondary sources (in particular the biographies by McGuinness and by Monk). It also veers between labouring over some quite obvious points (I lost count of the number of times the reader was reminded that Wittgenstein was born in 1889) and explanations of scientific and engineering concepts that left this philosopher, for one, floundering. If this book was intended for a general readership it seems to have missed its mark.

In the final analysis, however, Sterrett fails to establish her central claim - that the leading idea of the Tractatus was derived from an obscure mathematician called Edgar Buckingham. We're asked to believe that Wittgenstein was influenced by a mathematician he never mentioned in any of his work, published or unpublished, or in conversations with friends and pupils. Yet, if nothing else, Wittgenstein was punctilious in recording his influences, including people who influenced him in surprising ways. Moreover, Buckingham's paper was published in an obscure American journal in mid-1914 when Wittgenstein had already returned to Vienna and was preparing to go to the Russian front. The only person flying a kite, it seems, is Sterrett herself.

A search for Wittgenstein's inspiration.......2006-05-14

A reviewer of my book, `Concepts: A ProtoTheist Quest for Science-Minded Skeptics,' was critical of my not having cited authors "... such as Hegel, Wittgenstein and Rorty ..." and for not making "... aspect[s] central to postmodern narrative construction ... part of [my] approach." In order to understand what he's taking about, I've since read several books about Wittgenstein. Admittedly, based on my previous readings of scientists who dismiss postmodernism as unscientific, I had not open-mindedly explored postmodern authors. Sterrett's grounding Wittgenstein in the technology of the turn of the twentieth century appealed to my engineering background so I thought she might provide the key to my understanding.

In her first chapter Sterrett cites Wittgenstein seemingly equating the recording of music in a groove of a phonograph record with its musical score. This struck me as a gross misunderstanding. The groove contains a recording of the air vibrations which we hear as musical sound whereas the musical score is an encoding, a transcription of that sound into the `language' of musicians. The recording of sound in the groove is similar to remembering that sound in one's brain; that is, a phonograph can reproduce that sound just a person can imagine, hum, sing, whistle or play it on a musical instrument from memory without having to transcribe it into its musical score. Thus the recorded sound is not the equivalent of the musical score.

But it really doesn't matter whether that analogy is valid if that's what inspired Wittgenstein to his insights about philosophy; so be it. Thru-out Sterrett's book she speculates about what in Wittgenstein's milieu may have influenced him and helped shape his thinking; for example see pages 203-5. For a Wittgenstein scholar, this may make fascinating reading, but for me it was only marginally helpful in understanding his ideas, altho I found her history of the early days of aeronautical research interesting. It also took me back more than fifty years to my course in fluid mechanics.

What I gained about Wittgenstein's ideas from reading Sterrett is the distinction between facts and propositions. A proposition is an attempt to depict a fact in some language, whatever that language might be. A musical score is a `language' of musicians. A formula is a mathematical `language'. And of course there are many spoken/written languages that are only intelligible to those who know that language. These `languages' are attempts to encode perceived reality, facts, into propositions, that is, statements about reality that humans can comprehend provided they know that language. Then there's the relation between language and models. I would argue that, while languages may be analogous to models, they're not the same, any more than the musical score is the same as the record groove.

Curiously, Sterrett only covers Wittgenstein's thought processes up to his "Tractatus" eventho later, as reported by other authors, he reconsidered and rejected much of what he'd said in the "Tractatus". Another minor quibble: on pages 182, 185 & 201 she refers to Figure 3 with no mention of where to find Figure 3; it doesn't appear until page 225.

Very intriguing thesis!.......2006-02-22

I do not even recall Ray Monk delving into this connection though I will have to go back and look. Looking at the link between modeling in engineering and language analysis certainly seems to supply some intriguing questions with answers.

Bright Wings to Fly: An Appalachian Family in the Civil War

Average customer rating:

A Fabulous Account of a Family
One of the best books I ever read

Bright Wings to Fly: An Appalachian Family in the Civil War
Bruce Hopkins
Manufacturer: Wind Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Spirits in the Field: An Appalachian Family History

ASIN: 1893239551

Book Description

In 2003, Bruce Hopkins uncovered more than his ancestors' bones when his family cemetery was moved for road construction. As a result of that experience, Hopkins wrote Spirits in the Field which introduced the reader to nearly 200 years of his family history, and which was, in microcosm, a history of the coalfields of Eastern Kentucky.

In Bright Wings to Fly Hopkins returns to the Civil War era for the first of a trilogy that deals with three great periods of Eastern Kentucky history. Bright Wings tells of the struggles of mountain families, broken and in poverty, as they attempt to deal with and recover from losses that had been unimaginable prior to the Civil War. In the next two books, Hopkins will deal with the coming of the great coal camps and the impact of industrialization on mountain life, and conclude with the dangers facing the very soul of the mountaineers as the last "easy" coal is removed and the scourge of mountaintop removal inches its way across the coalfields. Throughout all his books, however, the ghosts of his ancestors watch as their descendants struggle with the realities of a modern age in a region that has been aptly described as a "national sacrifice area."

Customer Reviews:

A Fabulous Account of a Family.......2006-08-11

The title of this beautifully written, historically rich prequel to Hopkins' "Spirits in the Field," that takes us deeper into the lives of the Hopkins families of Pike County in Eastern Kentucky in the 19th century and the effects of the Civil War on them and their region, comes from a version of the old English tune, "The Water is Wide." "The water is wide, I can't cross o'er, nor do I have bright wings to fly, give us a boat, which can carry two, and both shall row, my love and I..." It is an apt title, because "crossing over," from the past to the future, from one stage of life to the next, from grief to survival, from one political position to another because of change and war, is at the core of this story.
Hopkins successfully blends first-person narration, of his own research that corroborates tales told him by his grandmother Rissie, and his own musings and analysis, with gripping third-person storytelling, often using italics and flashbacks as a way to delve more deeply into a certain time period, life of one of the characters, and his or their memories. With a passion and sacred duty to tell the stories, he weaves their fates together with suspense and compassion. Family relationships reveal a sequence of love stories, with the author's great-great-great grandfather Elisha Hopkins and his four wives at the center, like a massive tree whose branches are the generations of people whose stories unfold like leaves. And like the leaves of Indian Summer and Redbud Winter, they fall, becoming part of the tapestry of the tale. By the end of the book, the location of each person's burial place is explained, thus fulfilling Hopkins' goal of making whole what had been torn when the family cemeteries were moved to make way for Route 460 in Pike County, the subject of his first book.
Pike County, specifically Greasy Creek which flows into the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy, is treated with the same attention to detail and empathy as are the generations of people. We see how closely tied Virginia and Kentucky have been historically, and how the war drew sons from the same family into both sides, Union and Confederate. The Civil War "destroyed nearly everything they had built, and more importantly, nearly everything they believed." Special attention is given to the units his own ancestors fought in, the [Confederate] Tenth Kentucky Cavalry and the [Union] Thirty-ninth Kentucky Mounted Infantry. Hopkins brings to life the action, calamities, and repercussions of a war fought on the doorstep of families who lost their livelihoods, their men, and their hope. Woven through the family tales is the history of the importance of Saltville (VA) to both sides, the Battle of Saltville, the ridge-top skirmishes, the marauding deserters, the hunger and desperation of the women and children left alone, and the military atrocities of Union General Stephen Gano Burbridge, "still the most hated man in Kentucky."
There are surprises in this book in addition to the gratifying validation of the accuracy of his grandmother's stories. In the heart of this eloquent recounting of a family saga in wartime, is a soft center: a small pillow. It symbolizes, as a genteel gift created in a calm and prosperous time with hope of an abundant future, the whole era and its telling. The story of the pillow links a former Vice President of the United States to Elisha Hopkins' cabin and daughter on the eve of war as the powerful Confederate leader, John Cabell Breckinridge, came to a mountaintop for advice and strength to proceed....and left with both and with a pillow lovingly-made by a girl who adored him. It is a snippet of an anecdote Bruce learned as a young boy from Rissie, who heard it from Belle (Dorcas).
Another stunning feature of the book is how the little map of the river and creek is used: at the beginning, there is just a line drawing that looks like a tree branch with twigs. As the stories progress, this bare branch blooms with an 1825 depiction of place names and location of Cornelius Hopkins' farm. Still living through much of the book, he was Elisha's father, born in Virginia during the Revolution, and spoke in a "Colonial Tongue." An 1860's version of the map shows how their creeks tie into the larger Kentucky and Virginia topography. Another shows the area in relation to southwest Virginia and General Burbridge's attack and retreat near Saltville. A final map reveals all the family homes, churches, narrow gauge railroad line, railroad under construction, dock and ferry on the Levisa Fork, logging camp, school, Old Prater Cemetery, Old Hopkins Burying Ground, Elisha Hopkins Cemetery, the grave of Zachariah Phillips, in sum, the world of Greasy Creek after the war and of "Spirits in the Field." The final map hints at the devastation brought by northern timber companies, the coal industry, deforestation, and the end of pre-war prosperity of a different kind.
Gone were the giant trees that were sacred to the Indians and gave cabins to the settlers, the yellow poplars that nurtured bees and their honey that Elisha had used for the whiskey that was his livelihood. "The stumps...were like huge flat gravestones covering the tombs of giants, but there was no honor to these markers, and the giants themselves were nearly forgotten." With "Bright Wings to Fly" Bruce Hopkins, an administrator with the school system of Pike County, has carried on the tradition of Dorcas and Rissie of not forgetting the family history. Hopkins demonstrates in both books the most effective combination of scholarship and memoir. The reader is enriched. When you finish "Bright Wings," you will want to explore Saltville, Pound Gap, Grundy, Pikeville, and Pike County. You will want to "cross over" into another era on the banks of Greasy Creek. "If that old place could talk, he thought, the stories it could tell." It has.

One of the best books I ever read.......2006-08-10

This book hid beneath a pile on my desk for a month. But recently, I uncovered it and began reading. Once I started, I couldn't put it down until I had finished.

This book is Bruce's second in what will be a trilogy on his family. I found this book to be even better than the first one. This book so captivated my attention that I no longer thought of it as merely a book by a local author. This is a serious book which has the qualities of a best-seller.

Bruce writes once again about Greasy Creek, which to me is an unlikely place. I always stumble on the name. But that's where Bruce's people lived, the "old ones," as he calls them. His family has lived for generations on Greasy Creek in Pike County, Kentucky, and Bruce writes about the real-life events that happened to his family there.

As a child, his grandmother recounted stories of the Civil War generation of his ancestors. Bruce admits that he didn't pay enough attention to those stories as she was telling them. But when the new Highway 460 was designed to run through the family cemetery, Bruce began digging into the past. He wanted to find out where in that cemetery his people were buried. Where were the ones whose grave markers had long disappeared?

That investigation led him to uncover historical documents that confirmed the stories his grandmother had told him. Those stories kept coming back into his memory as he conducted his research. He found that his grandmother had been faithfully transmitting to him the family history, and that led him to even more historical confirmations.

At some point most of us get interested in our genealogy, and enjoy filling in the names on our family tree. We are glad to have the names and maybe a few facts about those who have gone before us.

But Bruce didn't just find names, and he didn't just find stories. Somehow "story" seems too weak a word for the dramatic, heart-wrenching, life-celebrating accounts in this book. His vivid language makes these characters become far more than just a genealogy. They quickly became people that I found myself caring about as well.

There is an ebb and flow in this book between Bruce's contemporary search for his roots and the narration set in the Civil War era. It seems to me that this shift would be difficult to achieve, but Bruce seamlessly carries the reader from today to 1860 and back again.

I kept hearing Bruce and other local historians observe that the Civil War had a huge impact on Eastern Kentucky and Pikeville in particular, but I didn't understand how. I knew there were some skirmishes and even battles in the area, but I had no concept of the devastating impact of the war on local families until his vivid story unfolded for me.

Bruce Hopkins not only knows history; he can make history come alive. I found myself caring about the people in this book and not wanting it to end. I am still stunned that this was not a fictional account. These amazing events happened to real people in his family and, I suppose they represent similar stories that could be told about many families in Pike County.

I can honestly say that this is one of the best books I ever read, and I have read a lot of books. This is a well-crafted book. The narrative is convincing. The writing never seems forced. Mystery and suspense appear just enough to make the reader eager for more. I highly recommend it to you.

Spread Your Wings and Fly: An Origami Fold-and-Tell Story

Average customer rating:

Filled with Positive Affirmations
A charming read-aloud book

Spread Your Wings and Fly: An Origami Fold-and-Tell Story
Mary Chloe Schoolcraft Saunders
Manufacturer: Bear Cub Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1879181754
Release Date: 2001-11-01

Book Description

This magically illustrated "fold-and-tell" teaches children, step-by-step, how to make an origami crane and offers lessons in life along the way.

• Includes illustrations of each paper fold and instructions in language appropriate for children as young as 4 years old.

• Presents a story that emphasizes life's successes, joys, creativity, and triumph over adversity.

• Provides an additional succinct summary of all the folding steps and a paper template for parents and teachers.

In this delightful "fold-and-tell," the author teaches children to create the traditional origami crane. Through inspiring, accessible prose interwoven with richly detailed illustrations that seem to burst exuberantly from their borders, Spread Your Wings and Fly cleverly combines clear folding instructions with a simple story of the ups and downs, missteps and wondrous flights that are part of life for all of us.

The author's words conjure images of perennial delight in each folding step toward creating a finished bird: first it looks like a kite, then like an ice cream cone; at one moment the folded paper resembles a sailboat, at another an elephant with large ears. The story reminds youngsters that sails may lose their wind or ice cream may fall from your cone--but with the next fold of paper, children are brushing themselves off and moving on with their paper creations. For extra clarity, a separate, detailed step-by-step summary of folding instructions is provided for adults, along with a pattern for paper squares perfectly sized for small hands to fold. Spread Your Wings and Fly is a remarkable tool for parents, teachers, or anyone who spends time with children and wishes to share with them the gifts of storytelling, creativity, and craft.

Customer Reviews:

Filled with Positive Affirmations.......2006-03-18

The art of Japanese paper folding is called Origami. It is an ancient art, a discipline that has entertained and amazed both children and adults alike.

I learned to fold the Origami paper crane when I was a teenager. It is something I have remembered all my life, and I have always enjoyed showing someone how to make one, or taken delight in seeing the happiness in a child's eyes as the piece of paper turned into a graceful bird.

Spread Your Wings and Fly is a positive affirmation book that you read as you learn to fold your paper crane. The beginning of the book discusses how the author learned to fold the crane and there is even a little history of the art of origami. She also discusses how to use the book and achieving the end result, a flapping version of the paper crane.

But it was getting into the story, into the folding of the crane that really grabbed me. The crane can be a difficult feat if not shown by someone who can patiently teach the art. Ms. Saunders has the pictures of folding the crane broken down into the easiest and most basic way of folding. I followed through, page by page, fold by fold, and while it is a little different than the way I was taught, I had no problem following and achieving a proper and working crane.

Then I went back and read the story. Each fold has a purpose in making the final product. Each time you fold, you are presented with a fold that life can offer you. Sometimes the fold can resemble the shape the paper has taken, sometimes there is a ripple in the fold. While a fold can remind you of a mountain, the mountain can be a big dream or it can be a small one. As you flatten the mountain out, you are reminded that dreams can be squashed also. Wonderful visuals to accompany the process of making the crane, to discovering the folds in your own life, and finally flying free with the finished crane, no matter how life folds for you.

This is beautifully written, well explained, and to top it all off, there are the excellent illustrations, quality print on glossy paper, all of which only compliments the entire work. Together, Ms. Saunders and Ms. Mihelich have given us a book that will provide parents and children with some quality time and some insightful mini-meditations for both of them. Or, if used by a child alone, it is time this child will spend exploring him/her self.

Give this one to your child, or grandchild, and see the delight in their eyes as they create something wonderful to fly to their hearts delight. boudica

A charming read-aloud book.......2002-06-08

Mary Chloe Schoolcraft Saunders' Spread Your Wings and Fly: An Origami Fold-And-Tell Story is a rhyming children's book that teaches young readers how to fold a paper crane. Rapturous color illustrations by Carla McGregor Mihelich add a wondrous touch to this charming read-aloud book; the last two pages feature very detailed, step-by-step, text and pictoral instructions for crafting a crane that can flap its wings.

Wings of Adventure: Paper Airplanes that Really Fly! (Paper Airplanes That Really Fly!)

Average customer rating:

best in the series

Wings of Adventure: Paper Airplanes that Really Fly! (Paper Airplanes That Really Fly!)
Andrew Dewar
Manufacturer: Periplus Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0794602169

Book Description

Wings of Adventure takes paper airplanes to a thrilling new level. These lifelike, three-dimensional aircraft have everything from wings to authentic fuselages. Using the simplest of tools, you can make airplanes that mirror the originals, and let them fly on a breeze or launch them with a rubber band.
Wings of Adventure presents some of the most thrilling tales in the annals of aviation, featuring such fearless pilots as Charles Lindbergh and Chuck Yeager, and a host of storied aircraft including the Spirit of Saint Louis and the space shuttle.

Customer Reviews:

best in the series.......2005-01-23

I happened across the first two books in the series at a bookstore and could not resist buying them. Since then, I've bought this book.

To date, I have not made any planes in this book yet (though I have made planes from his other related books). I have looked through it extensively and am impatiently waiting for having spare time to work on the planes. There is a nice selection of planes from a WW1 Tiger Moth all the way up to Burt Rutan's Voyager that flew around the world on one tank of gas. I personally look forward to building and flying the Voyager and the GeeBee R-2. The planes are from a variety of countries, as well.

In addition to the planes, there are nice historical backgrounds for each aircraft included. I'm an airplane nut, and there are some planes in here that I'd never heard of.

I should mention that this is not a typical 'paper airplane' book. You do not simply take a sheet of paper and fold it in various ways then fly it. You have to cut out numerous pieces, form them to get the proper curves, glue them (carefully, so that the paper doesn't warp when it's drying), and THEN fly them. Even though that may sound challenging, the first few airplanes are enough to learn the skills necessary for the later (and more challenging) airplanes. And...THE PLANES FLY GREAT when built with patience and care. Mine have survived some great crashes into walls and radiators since I have a habit of launching them indoors (all the planes have a hook for launching via rubber bands).

Average customer rating:

Hair-Wing Atlantic Salmon Flies
Keith Fulsher , and Charles Krom
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 096075220X

Average customer rating:

Not a typical pape airplane book

Wings and Things: Origami That Flies
Stephen Weiss
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312882289

Book Description

This deilghtful book shows how to make thirty two origami (folded paper) models that really fly. All designs are made simply by folding squares or rectangles of paper (and even dollar bills!) without cutting, gluing, taping, or weighting.

Included are:
Manta Ray
Blackboard Bomber
Astro Tube
Flying Bat
Mach III Jet
Dollar Bills Gilders
Swooping Hawk
Origami Kite
Flying Nun
SST
Gliding Swan
Maple Seed
Monoplane
Seagull
Delta Jet
Penta-Flinger
Flying Fish
Art Deco Wing
and many more!

Wings & Things is great fun and will challenge and inspire beginning and expert folders alike-perfect for anyone who ever tossed a paper airplane.

Customer Reviews:

Not a typical pape airplane book.......2000-02-02

This is a great book for paper airplane enthusists who are looking for the next step. It also is reat for the oragami folder who wants to bring their creations to life. The designs range from simple to complex. Designs also span a number of different papers: letter, oragami square, and dollar bills. The drawings and directions are simple to follow with photos of finished flyers. As with all oragami, these creations require patience and attention to detail. This can be a great way to introduce a child to origami while tapping into their love of paper airplanes. It teaches patience and is a great parent/child activity. Thought the book doesn't cover the math and geometry of paper folding, you can use these exercises to teach these concepts.

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