ENDED Book Giveaway: Cheating Death by Sanjay Gupta

Cheating DeathThe Doctors and Medical Miracles that Are Saving Lives Against All Odds by Sanjay Gupta MD

An unborn baby with a fatal heart defect . . . a skier submerged for an hour in a frozen Norwegian lake . . . a comatose brain surgery patient whom doctors have declared a "vegetable.

"Twenty years ago all of them would have been given up for dead, with no realistic hope for survival. But today, thanks to incredible new medical advances, each of these individuals is alive and well . . .Cheating Death.

In this riveting book, Dr. Sanjay Gupta-neurosurgeon, chief medical correspondent for CNN, and bestselling author-chronicles the almost unbelievable science that has made these seemingly miraculous recoveries possible. A bold new breed of doctors has achieved amazing rescues by refusing to accept that any life is irretrievably lost. Extended cardiac arrest, "brain death," not breathing for over an hour-all these conditions used to be considered inevitably fatal, but they no longer are. Today, revolutionary advances are blurring the traditional line between life and death in fascinating ways.

Drawing on real-life stories and using his unprecedented access to the latest medical research, Dr. Gupta dramatically presents exciting accounts of how pioneering physicians and researchers are altering our understanding of how the human body functions when it comes to survival-and why more and more patients who once would have died are now alive. From experiments with therapeutic hypothermia to save comatose stroke or heart attack victims to lifesaving operations in utero to the study of animal hibernation to help wounded soldiers on far-off battlefields, these remarkable case histories transform and enrich all our assumptions about the true nature of death and life.

Sanjay Gupta, MD, is a practicing neurosurgeon at Emory University Hospital and associate chief of service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

Thanks to Hachette for this Giveaway.

Giveaway Rules:

• One entry only - just say "I like to cheat death"
• Leave your email (I cannot contact you without your email)
• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
• Please no PO Boxes!!!
• The drawing will last till October 29
• Random number generator will be used - 5 copies to give away
• I will post the winners here on October 30
• Winners have 24 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected

WINNERS - gwknox, 1agordon, carolrector, ryanw, trishden948

ENDED Book Giveaway - Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms by Jane Doiron

Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms

The Make-Ahead Meals for Busy Moms cookbook consists of make-ahead recipes, which are recipes that can be frozen ahead, assembled ahead, or cooked ahead and reheated. The cookbook’s recipes are a combination of all three.

The make-ahead strategy insures that with a freezer stocked with make-ahead meals, busy moms will spend less time at the grocery store and less money on unhealthy prepared or take-out food. With her recipes in Make-Ahead Meals for Busy Moms, Doiron hopes to inspire busy moms to plan meals ahead now, to save time and money, later.

The cookbook includes recipes for freezable meals like Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs, Sloppy Joe’s, Chicken Noodle Soup and Hearty Chili. Recipes for frozen marinated meats such as Teriyaki Chicken, Thai Chicken and Taco Meat allow for quick meals on busy nights.

Recipes for appetizers, side dishes and desserts are included in Doiron’s cookbook. For recipes like Big Ginger Cookies and Brownie Cookies, Doiron provides make-ahead instructions for flash freezing the cookie dough.

Doiron anticipates other busy moms will enjoy her family-favorite recipes and by making a meal or two in advance, when time does permit, they will be rewarded with quick home-cooked meals, appetizers, or desserts, when they really need them.

Giveaway Rules:

• One entry only - just say "I am busy"
• Leave your email (I cannot contact you without your email)
• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
• Please no PO Boxes!!!
• The drawing will last till October 31
• Random number generator will be used - 1copy to give away
• I will post the winners here on November 1
• Winners have 24 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected

WINNER - mzpaw

ENDED Book Giveaway - SUPREME COURTSHIP by Christopher Buckley

SUPREME COURTSHIP by Christopher Buckley

President of the United States Donald Vanderdamp is having a hell of a time getting his nominees appointed to the Supreme Court. After one nominee is rejected for insufficiently appreciating To Kill A Mockingbird, the president chooses someone so beloved by voters that the Senate won't have the guts to reject her -- Judge Pepper Cartwright, the star of the nation's most popular reality show, Courtroom Six.

Will Pepper, a straight-talking Texan, survive a confirmation battle in the Senate? Will becoming one of the most powerful women in the world ruin her love life? And even if she can make it to the Supreme Court, how will she get along with her eight highly skeptical colleagues, including a floundering Chief Justice who, after legalizing gay marriage, learns that his wife has left him for another woman.

Soon, Pepper finds herself in the middle of a constitutional crisis, a presidential reelection campaign that the president is determined to lose, and oral arguments of a romantic nature. Supreme Courtship is another classic Christopher Buckley comedy about the Washington institutions most deserving of ridicule.

CHRISTOPHER BUCKLEY is the author of eleven books, many of them national bestsellers, including The White House Mess, God Is My Broker, Little Green Men, and No Way to Treat a First Lady, which won the Thurber Prize for American Humor. He has published more than fifty comic essays in The New Yorker. In 2002, he received the Washington Irving Medal for Literary Excellence. He is the editor of ForbesLife and lives in New York and Washington, D.C.

Thanks to Hachette for this Giveaway

Giveaway Rules:

• One entry only - just say "I like courtship"
• Leave your email (I cannot contact you without your email)
• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
• Please no PO Boxes!!!
• The drawing will last till October 30
• Random number generator will be used - 5 copies to give away
• I will post the winners here on October 31
• Winners have 24 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected

WINNERS - edeliz, rhondastruthers, susansmoaks, cmurphy, rhoneygtn

ENDED Book Giveaway - CONNECTED by Nicholas A. Christakis MD, PhD, James H. Fowler PhD

CONNECTED by Nicholas A. Christakis MD, PhD, James H. Fowler PhD

Your colleague's husband's sister can make you fat, even if you don't know her. A happy neighbor has more impact on your happiness than a happy spouse. These startling revelations of how much we truly influence one another are revealed in the studies of Drs. Christakis and Fowler, which have repeatedly made front-page news nationwide.

In CONNECTED, the authors explain why emotions are contagious, how health behaviors spread, why the rich get richer, even how we find and choose our partners. Intriguing and entertaining, CONNECTED overturns the notion of the individual and provides a revolutionary paradigm-that social networks influence our ideas, emotions, health, relationships, behavior, politics, and much more. It will change the way we think about every aspect of our lives.

Visit connectedthebook.comBecome a fan on facebook

Use this Facebook app to make your visual chart of how CONNECTED you are

Follow @connected_book (twitter)

Thanks to Hachette for this Giveaway

Giveaway Rules:

• One entry only - just say "I am Connected"
• Leave your email (I cannot contact you without your email)
• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
• Please no PO Boxes!!!
• The drawing will last till October 31
• Random number generator will be used - 5 copies to give away
• I will post the winners here on November 1
• Winners have 24 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected

WINNERS - kngmckellar, tiffanys819, shawnac68, dlodden, william.knox

Review: NORMAN ROCKWELL: BEHIND THE CAMERA By Ron Schick

This book will bring good memories to baby boomers. My parents subscribed to the Saturday Evening Post and every month it would arrive with a new cover from Norman Rockwell. I grew up thinking that was the way life in the United States was all about -- very idyllic view.

The book covers the way Norman Rockwell created his covers by taking pictures of the different aspects of his design. Once he captured the parts he would piece them together and create a portrait. The book has interviews with some of the models (people) in the photos plus information on the techniques used by Rockwell. He was a perfectionist and he kept working on the details to get them perfect. I for one thank him for such care as I fully enjoyed his covers.

This book was reviewed by David Kamp in the November 2009 issue of Vanity Fair.

Thanks to Hachette for the opportunity to review this book.

Review: How to Roast a Lamb by Michael Psilakis

When I saw this book, I was impressed by its look. Big and Pretty. I love greek food so I though that the best way to review this book was to cook a meal from it. I opened the pages randomly and selected my dishes. I am not a great cook but can follow instructions very well. I crossed my fingers and wished for the best.

The first dish that I tried was on page 55, Roasted Scallops with Cauliflower, Tart Dried Cherries & Capers in Brown Butter Sauce. WOW, WOW, WOW... It turned out great!

The second dish was on page 104, Tomato & String Bean Salad. My husband loved it. He wants me to keep doing this one at least once a week!

The third dish was on page 173, Stuffed Peppers with Beef and Rice. I did peppers and tomatoes (as suggested by the author). The flavors were clean and yummy.

One warning: the dishes are not that simple. You have to read and understand each recipe before trying them. Also, make sure you have all the ingredients listed. I did not try any substitutions but Chef Psilakis has some suggestions.

Another highlight of this cookbook are his stories of him and his family. He has old family pictures and stories that even if you do not cook they make this a good book to buy.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes greek food.

Thanks to Hachette for the opportunity to review this book

Review: Ansel Adams in Color

For me, Ansel Adams was a black and white photographer. I love his exquisite photography and own several books of his photos. I was surprised when this book came out. I never knew that he had such an extensive portfolio of color photography. I was apprehensive about what was inside of the book and to my surprise it was beautiful!

The book has 2 sets of writing and in between them the color photographs. I could not find a "bad photo". Some of the pictures are color pictures of his black and white ones. If you are a fan of Ansel Adams you will probably not like this book too much. But the writings are the best part. The second set of writings are from Ansel Adams himself. They express his feeling quiet well.

On page 147, Adams says "My own reaction to color photography is a mixed one. I accept its importance as a medium of communication and information. I have yet to see -- much less produce -- a color photograph that fulfills my concepts of the objectives of art. It may approach it, give pleasure and induce contemplation but it never seems to me to achieve the happy blend of perception and realization which we observe in the greatest black-and-white photographs. I believe that color photography, while astonishingly advanced technologically, is still in its infancy as a creative medium."

This says it all about this book.

Thanks to Hachette for the opportunity to review this book.

ENDED Book Giveaway: Simon's Cat by Simon Tofield

Simon's Cat by Simon Tofield

Simon Tofield's animations have taken YouTube by storm. Now, the feline Internet phenomenon makes his way onto the page in this first-ever book based on the popular animated series. SIMON'S CAT depicts and exaggerates the hilarious relationship between a man and his cat. The daily escapades of this adorable pet, which always involve demanding more food, and his exasperated but doting owner come to life through Tofield's charming and hilarious illustrations.

Thanks to Hachette for this Giveaway

Giveaway Rules:

• One entry only - just say "I love cats"
• Leave your email (I cannot contact you without your email)
• Only residents of the US and Canada may enter
• Please no PO Boxes!!!
• The drawing will last till October 15
• Random number generator will be used - 5 copies to give away
• I will post the winners here on October 16
• Winners have 24 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected

WINNERS - bluebelle0367, hblaser, zenrei57, esldiane, pboylecharley

Review - Knockout Entrepreneur by George Foreman

Knockout Entrepreneur by George Foreman

In this book Mr. Foreman draws from his own personal experience in writing this book. He is best known for his “products” such as the George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine, George Foreman Knockout Cleaner, fitness videos, Elgin watches and a clothing line with Casual Male, among others.

Mr. Foreman takes the lessons he's learned throughout life and uses them to show how you can be successful in your own "ring" in life. You will not find a get rich quick manual in this book; instead, Mr. Foreman consistently emphasizes that hard work; persistence and dedication are crucial elements in any plan for success. He also stresses the link between job satisfaction and family life.

Sprinkled throughout the book are Georgisms, his words of advice to help achieve success, such as:

• Being successful depends upon having a great team around you and especially someone who will tell you the truth
• Success depends upon what you put into it - your life, your business, your career and your family
• Success often includes failure at some point - how you respond to failure will define you
  Know your competition - study the competition, learn what makes your competitor good and what their weak points are
• Take responsibility for the products and services you endorse, it is your name (legacy) and reputation at stake
• Significance and legacy - are you leaving behind something that is honoring to your friends, family and God.

The book has a total of 240 pages which makes it an easy read so it didn’t take long to read the entire book. One thing that I liked was that each chapter ended with Knockout Ideas to Stimulate Your Success which recaps the ideas in each chapter.

This is a book review for Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger. This book is also a Nelson-free book, along with the hard copy; you also get an eBook and an audio version. I recommend this book for your personal library as well as public libraries.