The Baby Boomer Financial Wake-Up Call: It's Not Too Late to Be Financially Secure!

Customer Reviews:

The best one of many that I have read........1999-10-01

Dr. Shirley's advice is realistic, practical, and useful. She covers a lot of ground, gives specific advice for different ages, different circumstances. She's ready to tell the truth, which for most of us is that we need to live less expensively, save money, and face facts about finances. I can't recommend this book highly enough. Others I have read are more general, repetitive, and don't give solid reasons for their advice. Dr. Shirley explains her advice, and, unique in this kind of book, names names.

This book does not cover enough real-life scenarios........1999-08-20

This book if fine if you have had the time and opportunity to put money aside for retirement.

It does not even touch upon those of us who are married for the second time, are basically just starting out all over again with nothing in the bank and no retirement packages at work and who are paying astronomical amounts in child support and will be until we are a hair away from retirement. How are we supposed to amass any money when the "ex" gets it all?

WE are the people who need the help. WE are the people who will be living on a very "fixed" income while the ex-wife will be living in security using the child support money for her retirement.

I'm totally disgusted.

I used the book to motivate my parents to plan.......1999-02-22

I like the real world examples. I really felt as if I could apply the techniques to my life. I liked the author's personal interjections. It made her more credible.

It has very useful information.......1999-02-11

The neat thing about this book is that it gives examples of normal people and how they managed to come up with the money to invest. It's hard to think about investing when you've got kids in school and elderly parents, but I really learned a lot.

Protecting and Rebuilding Your Retirement: Everything You Need to Do to Secure Your Financial Future

Average customer rating:

Hands on and helpful--a must have
Basic Primer on Preparing for Retirement

Protecting and Rebuilding Your Retirement: Everything You Need to Do to Secure Your Financial Future
Les Abromovitz
Manufacturer: AMACOM/American Management Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Introduction | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Financial Planning | Personal Finance | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Personal Finance | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0814471854

Book Description

For many people, retirement planning feels much like driving in unfamiliar territory, unsure of whether they're going in the right direction -- or if they'll ever even reach their destination. Between taxes, job loss, stock market reversals, and the threat of fraud, building up a nest egg can be an intimidating prospect. Protecting and Rebuilding Your Retirement helps readers concerned about savings and investment strategies assess their situation and explore their many options.

Illustrated with anecdotes and real life stories, the book advises readers on:

* Making investments that combine safety with the potential for growth * Maximizing the benefits of the latest Social Security rules * Understanding the insurance issues affecting retirees

The book delves into the nitty gritty of stocks, real estate, annuities, insurance, Social Security, 401(k), and other savings plans to help readers address the serious issues that will affect their future, protecting their estate and ensuring their peace of mind.

Customer Reviews:

Hands on and helpful--a must have.......2003-12-02

After recently retiring, I was looking for a book to help me deal with some of the financial and psychological issues that crop up in retirement. I heard a radio interview with the author of this book and immediately purchased a copy of it.

I found the author's advice to be extremely helpful, practical and easy to digest. Most chapters contain a "back to basics" section which will help people who need a primer on certain retirement planning topics. The author then moves forward with more sophisticated advice.

What I liked most was that the author recognizes that each of us has his or her own comfort level when it comes to investments. He also understands that the early years of retirement are stressful and sometimes require us to reinvent ourselves.

Basic Primer on Preparing for Retirement.......2003-09-05

This book is simply written, easy-to-understand, and provides practical advice for everyone. The author recommends a realistic approach to investing that includes buying a diversified portfolio of index mutual funds. Other topics covered are investing in annuities ? fixed and variable, IRAs, and 401(k)s, and insurance (life, health, and disability).

Abromovitz, an attorney and financial educator, provides readers with a well-written explanation of the key components of developing, protecting, and rebuilding decimated retirement accounts. He recommends a pro-active hands-on retirement planning approach. In this 224-page, nineteen chapter book, Abromovitz covers how to make relatively safe investments that will continue to grow, how to plan for health issues and large medical bills, how to maximize your social security benefits, and how your financial safety can be improved by investing in stocks, real estate, annuities and 401(k)s.

There is no earth-shattering advice in this book. However, the author provides straightforward advice that can help individuals get and stay focused on the right track so that they can accomplish their retirement dreams.

Most individuals have not really thought about all aspects of the retirement process and have let the chips fall where they may. The devastating bear market of 2000-2002, unfortunately changed the retirement landscape for millions of individuals whose retirements have been postponed and many potential retirees have been forced to keep working to make ends meet. The reason for this was that most individuals did not understand or consider the risks of investing in the stock market.

Book Description

In Never Retire, Dan Benson helps you answer the question, "How do I make the money last- while making the most of the rest of my life?" Dan goes beyond the traditional view of retirement. He puts you on the road to a financially free "New Retirement." Gone are the days of dependence on children, charity, or Social Security. After reading Never Retire, your future will seem brighter as you discover fresh, creative ways to become financially secure while staying young at heart, strong of body, and keen of mind.

Escaping the Coming Retirement Crisis: How to Secure Your Financial Future

Average customer rating:

Clear and precise plan for a secure retirement

Escaping the Coming Retirement Crisis: How to Secure Your Financial Future
R. Theodore Benna , William Proctor , and Theodore R. Benna
Manufacturer: Pinon Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Public Finance | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Financial Planning | Personal Finance | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0891099131

Customer Reviews:

Clear and precise plan for a secure retirement.......2006-06-30

This is the first book that I have found that gives a clear and precise plan for how to estimate how much an individual will need for a secure retirement. Mr. Benna gives a step-by-step plan for projecting how much money a person needs to accumulate in order to have enough money to last them throughout their life. The charts are easy to follow and can be individualized for each persons particular circumstances, risk tolerance and level of sophistication. Previously I was apprehensive as to my ability to accurately project my financial needs in retirement but after reading this book I felt that a huge load had been taken off my shoulders. Now I know I will not be surprised by running out of money during the most vulnerable part of my life.

Streetwise Retirement Planning: Savvy Strategies and Practical Advice for a Secure Financial Future (Adams Streetwise Series)

Average customer rating:

Streetwise Retirement Planning: Savvy Strategies and Practical Advice for a Secure Financial Future (Adams Streetwise Series)
Lita Epstein
Manufacturer: Adams Media Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Personal Finance | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Retirement Planning | Personal Finance | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Expert Advice on Ensuring a Comfortable Retirement!

Millions of Americans reach retirement each year. Many of them realize too late that their savings is inadequate to meet their long-term needs. Even with careful preparation, the path to reaching retirement goals is not always a straight line. Streetwise® Retirement Planning provides you with savvy, yet practical, information on retirement fundamentals.

Streetwise® Retirement Planning covers how to anticipate and plan for the inevitable surprises and contingencies that can deplete a savings nest-egg, such as layoffs, medical crises, divorce, and market downturns. All the necessary tools for assessing your retirement needs are provided. Streetwise® Retirement Planning helps you pull all the pieces together for a successful and rewarding retirement.

Evaluate Your Retirement Needs

·Lifestyle

·Post-retirement expenses

·Knowing your assets and liabilities

Work Around Your Retirement Gap

·Investing and budgeting fundamentals

·Strategies for making up retirement shortfalls

·Options for post-retirement income

·Managing multiple retirement investments

Choose Your Best Retirement Plan

·Annuities

·Pensions

·IRAs

·401(k)s

Know Your Options

·Preparing for the unexpected

·Plans for the self-employed

·Protecting your benefits

Book Description

John A. Logan, called "Black Jack" by the men he led in Civil War battles from the Henry-Donelson campaign to Vicksburg, Chattanooga, and on to Atlanta, was one of the Union Army’s most colorful generals.

James Pickett Jones places Logan in his southern Illinois surroundings as he examines the role of the political soldier in the Civil War. When Logan altered his stance on national issues, so did the southern part of the state. Although secession, civil strife, Copperheadism, and the new attitudes created by the war contributed to this change of position in southern Illinois, Logan’s role as political and military leader was important in the region’s swing to strong support of the war against the Confederacy, to the policies of Lincoln, and eventually, to the Republican party.

Customer Reviews:

John A. Logan.......2006-01-03

John Logan was considered one of the best "political generals" in the Union Army, rising in rank from a private at First Bull Run to general only a few months later while under U.S. Grant's command. Before the war he was a US Congressman representing southern Illinois (called "Egypt"); he was a Democrat and a major critic of Lincoln. By the end of the war Logan had switched parties and had won a surprising victory to Congress as a Republican. Although not a full biography (it ends with his return to Congress in 1867), Jones has written a workmanlike account of Logan's early life and political career, and especially his role in the army during the war.

Logan was born in Illinois in 1826, fought in the Mexican War, and began practicing law by 1851. A staunch Democrat (southern Illinois, his district, was rural, Democratic, and Southern in sympathy), he was elected to the Illinois legislature in 1852. He served a number of terms before being elected to Congress in 1858. An anti-abolitionist, he felt much of the troubles facing the nation in 1860 was caused by "the impertinent spirit of the anti-slavery party of the North." But he believed in the preservation of the Union above all things, and when war broke out he was among the first to heed the call to arms.

He was with Grant at Belmont, MO, and Fort Donelson, distinguishing himself at both places. He took part in the Vicksburg campaign and served under McPherson during the Atlanta campaign, taking over command of the XVII Corps upon McPherson's death in July 1864. Sherman relieved him, however, only days later, a move that drew Logan's wrath. Logan continued to serve, though, participating in the famous march to the sea and once again commanding the Army of the Tennessee from May to August 1865. After the war Logan returned to Illinois and ran for Congress again, this time as a Republican - a Radical one to boot. Jones's biography ends with Logan's election, though Logan served many years in Congress and the Senate, helped form the Grand Army of the Republic and establish Decoration Day, and was on the Presidential ticket as VP with James G. Blaine in 1884. He died in 1886.

Jones's biography is quite good: it is serviceable and measures the man well. There is not a lot of analysis or behind-the-scenes conjecturing, just good, solid factual information presented in an efficient manner. One wonders if Jones ever contemplated a complete biography of Logan, seeing how prominent his post-Civil War life was.

Readable bio of an unusual general........1998-03-17

"Black Jack" Logan was perhaps the best of the "political" generals of the Union army.
His military service, from Forts Henry and Donelson, through Vicksburg and Atlanta and on to the Carolinas, demonstrated not only his own abilities and personal courage, but also was emblematic of the skilll and sacrifice of his "Egyptians" of southern Illinois generally. His political thought, too, illustrative of the times, reflected the shift in Illinois opinion from initial confusion and wavering, to near-solid support for Lincoln and his war policies.
In conjunction with this very readable biography, the reader might be also be interested in "Reminiscences of a Soldier's Wife", Mrs. Logan's memoirs, which cannot be regarded as entirely reliable but which are a valuable adjunct to Jones' biography and give a colorful insight into the times.

(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not 'score" books.)

Book Description

He survived Pearl Harbor. He survived Tulagi. He survived the wilds of Africa and the steaming jungles of Central America. This is just one chapter from the extraordinary life of Thomas J. Larson.

Ensign "Swede" Larson arrived at Pearl Harbor on December 5th, 1941. He was Executive Officer on YP 109 (Yacht Patrol) through a great storm from Long Beach, California. He was transferred to CinCPac staff, and on December 7th, 1941, was delivering messages to Admiral Kimmel and his staff when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He served with Admiral Chester Nimitz until July 1942, then was assigned to Admiral Ghormley's ComSoPac staff in New Caledonia. On November 30th, he was flown to Guadalcanal, and then next day went to Tulagi as a communicator. He ended the war on the USS Lexington aircraft carrier going into Tokyo Bay in late August of 1945. His peace time career was as an explorer, and professor of Anthropology with many years of field research in Africa. He has degrees from UC Berkeley, MA American U, M Litt Oxford, PhD University of Virginia.

Customer Reviews:

A tedious read.......2000-04-28

Could not get through the first 50 pages. To much emphasis placed on his own, in my opinion, boring stories & his belief in a higher power for motivation.

Book Description

Yes is one of the most successful rock bands of all time. Along their twenty-eight-year journey came Grammys, fiascos, pranks, squabbles--and million of fans around the world.Yesstories is the story of their rise from garage-band amateurs to arena-rock superstars, told as only they could tell it.

Customer Reviews:

Intersting read.......2005-09-17

This book is not a page-turner, but it is interesting to read what the bad members say about their most memorable works. If you are a true Yes fan, you will enjoy the book.

Documents the recordings, but not much else.......2004-12-11

For the serious Yes fan, Morse presents an amalgam of quotes from the dozen-odd guys who were at one time or another members of the seminal progressive rock band. The book is heavily slanted towards discussion of the recorded legacy, up through and including the then-current release, "Talk". All in all it's a fast, easy read, but it's clearly more for hard-core fans than for casual listeners.

The biggest shortcoming of this book is the band-mates' unwillingness to talk about themselves and each other, and the fact that Morse does nothing to fill in those gaps. For example, the band starts getting together on page 8. That means each of the musicians gets about 2 paragraphs to give us his life story up to the point where he joins the band, and with that trace some of his musical influences. Later in the book, there's a chapter that describes life "On The Road": 12 pages. There's almost no mention of their families or their relationships or their interests outside of music, political concerns, religious beliefs, sexual exploits, etc... This is the sanitized version of Yes - perhaps this book was primarily directed towards young teens. Certainly they're not saying anything they wouldn't want their own kids to know. In any case, don't expect to come away from this book feeling you know these guys personally.

What they are willing to talk about is the recorded legacy of the band, and that's where this book really shines. Every single album is commented on by all of its participants, and some non-participants as well, usually track by track, providing a set of differing and often conflicting viewpoints on each recording in the catalogue. Of course that doesn't mean that all will now be revealed. Nobody ever discusses the lyrics except Jon Anderson, and what he has to say about them is frequently no less cryptic than the lines themselves. So if you were hoping for a line by line analysis of the song lyrics, this book will give you very little. No, the most common topic for discussion is: who wrote which parts of each of the songs. In fact, Patrick Moraz warns readers not to believe the credits on the albums - certainly there's a greater difference of opinion about this single topic than any other. But soon enough this petty squabbling gets tiresome, and ultimately meaningless, since we can never know the truth. Meanwhile, we do get a pretty fair view of the kaleidoscopic personnel changes that were this band's hallmark, and a pretty good feel for how difficult, and indeed how unpleasant it must have been to be a part of this exceptional band.

If you like to sit around with your friends and discuss which Yes album is your favorite, this will be an invaluable source book, but if you're looking for a literary treatment, or musicological analysis, or details of the band members' private lives, you should look elsewhere. A band this good deserves better.

Just wanted to clarify.......2004-03-14

First of all, I would like to say that I haven't read the book, so my five star rating is just giving the book the benefit of the doubt. This rating system is unreliable anyway, because the only people making ratings are people who are fans of the music, book, or whatever it is that is being rated.
I was prompted to write this by something Mr. King said in his review. He referred to the album Tormato being a stinker. It is not. It is one of Yes' finest works. Union is not a stinker either, though not great. Talk and Big Generator are the stinkers in the Yes discography. Did anyone find this review helpful?

Good Bits here.......2003-04-23

Tim Morse provides a good structure of history here, coordinated with interview material collected from the past. Good insight into the song creation process etc. I enjoyed reading Steve Howe, and Bill Bruford's accounts. Both are very honest with their answers. I've often wondered if Steve Howe or any other bandmember or former band member would write an account specifically for their own biography of YES apart from Rick Wakemans book which was more of an autobiography just on himself. It would be nice to know more just how each member contributed ideas, difficulties, and of post production. Some of this was covered in Chris Welch's biography of Yes, but seen through his own experience with some bits of interview material. Jon could write a book on his lyrics of Yes. Steve could write a detailed studio account of the recording accounts from being in Yes. Chris Squire could write on the different musical infulences that changed with the members who had left or re-joined Yes etc. Many Possibilities here. Yes had almost reached some incredible musical complexity but they still have much to deliver.
Dave Carlin, Philadelphia

Easy to read, a handy reference guide to the band.......2002-08-03

Are the members of this 34-year-old progressive rock band quotable? For the most part, yes -- especially when you consult about a hundred sources. That's what author and fan Tim Morse did for the first bui (of sorts) in 15 years of a group that created such rock classics as Owner Of A Lonely Heart and Roundabout.

Of course, while all this was happening the band went through enough members (12 by the time this was published, two more since then) to fill a bus. And it was the pretentious, convoluted sound of groups like Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer that spawned the punk rock movement. But never mind that. Yes is still together and now fans can find out what members thought of successful albums like Fragile and 90125, as well a such stinkers as Union and Tormato.

To his credit, Morse managed to interview all but four members as well as long-time producer Eddie Offord. Magazines, videos, radio shows and the Internet filled in for the rest. And he's conveniently organized the book by album, adding chapters of quotes about life on the road as well as members assessing each other. This makes it easy to skip around and read small chunks at a time.

You'll find yourself gravitating toward the Morse interviews rather than earlier quotes, since by 1996 (when Yesstories was published) members had the gift of hindsight and weren't so interested in promoting their albums or each other. Indeed, that's how we find out that drummer Bill Bruford was glad he didn't have to work with bassist Christ Squire on the 1989 Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe project, and actually hated the 1991 Union album.

Then there's the fun of members contradicting each other. For example, the classic Roundabout is credited to vocalist Jon Anderson and guitarist Steve Howe. But in a Morse interview, ousted guitarist Peter Banks claimed to be responsible for the song's main riff.

There are some truly banal quotes in Yesstories too, but you'll find so much good stuff you'll barely notice them. Buy this and Chris Welch's Close To The Edge: The Story of Yes and you pretty much have the band's history covered.

Average customer rating:

A year later....a different thought

A year later....a different thought

This book is her hands.

Tom Fish Gives 2 Thumbs Up

Big let down, after the hype of hope for justice.

Who Would Unbraid Her Hair : the Legend of Annie Mae
Antoinette Nora Claypoole
Manufacturer: Anam Cara Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Native American | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Life and Death of Anna Mae Aquash

The Unquiet Grave: The FBI and the Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country

ASIN: 096738530X

Book Description

Antoinette Nora Claypoole has unleashed a monster of a book that delves deeper into the mysteries surrounding the murder of Annie Mae Pictou-Aquash than many of her one-time friends and lovers will be comfortable with. The book, _Who would unbraid her hair: The legend of annie mae_, published by anam cara press, was released in November, 1999.

Claypoole's book is, like Anna Mae's life, a harrowing journey into the maze of idealism, paranoia, and blind spots of Indian activism and its nemesis, the miscellaneous COINTELPRO operations run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Claypoole's intentions for the book, as Anna Mae's for her life, are nothing but good: "The continual intention of my work is to encourage a healing of the fear and sorrow, anger and injustice which surround the memory of Annie Mae, and to help her wondering spirit settle into her journey home" (p. xiv). And in the end, both Anna Mae and Antoinette Nora were stymied, through no fault of the! ir own, Anna Mae by a bullet through the back of her head, and Claypoole by a pervasive silence that still blankets Indian Country like a shroud.

Customer Reviews:

A year later....a different thought.......2001-01-29

My last critique of this book looks harsh to me now. While it is true that this isn't a who done it, it does raise awareness. The only words I still agree with from my last review after a year of contemplation is.....The (only-NOT ONLY) good thing I find about this book is that it does get Anna Mae's name out and about and on people's minds. The book is not a who done it. -- The writing style no longer seems to be so crystal mystic'y', it has a flow of its own. I recommend this book as a source of background information regarding some of the details surrounding the life of Annie Mae. Jennifer

A year later....a different thought.......2001-01-29

This book is her hands........2000-10-10

This book begins with a five page list of AIM casualites that occured on Pine Ridge Reservation between the years of 1973-1976. As the author points out, these are "documented homicides"-the actual number could be as high as 300 or more. One of the documented homicides is Annie Mae Pictou, a 30 year old AIM leader and mother of 2 small daughters. Claypoole's book is a passionate investigation of her life in the various genres of poetry, journalistic writing, and interviews of people who knew Annie Mae, but are reluctant (to this day) to speak any truth regarding her life, and death...she was found in a ravine on the edge of Pine Ridge Res, February 24, 1975 with a bullet wound in the base of her skull. As part of the autopsy, her hands were severed at the wrist and sent to Washington, D.C...she was then buried as "Jane Doe", cause of death listed as "exposure".Urged by Canadian family members, the body was later exhumed, revealing the execution-style death, and identified as Anna Mae Pictou...in the words of Anna Mae Pictou: "I am a part of this creation as you are, no more and no less than each of you within the sound of my voice. I have a right to continue my cycle in this Universe undisturbed." This book speaks for Anna Mae Pictou's fierce desire to exist with the dignity of a free human being among other free human beings. THIS BOOK IS HER HANDS.

Tom Fish Gives 2 Thumbs Up.......2000-08-05

This book is filled with passion and insight; they ooze from thepages....Knowing the author and knowing the book, I can state that there is honesty in each line. Integrity in each concept. Read the book. Experience the heart.

Big let down, after the hype of hope for justice........2000-04-02

I am let down by the mystical poetry and non revealing innuendo that fail to inform the reader. I felt like the author has trivialized such a serious subject. The riddle filled poetry only hints at suspicions, implying that the author herself is only grasping at straws for many facts. If someone wants to know about Anna Mae they will be let down by reading "Who would unbraid her hair.... The only good thing I find about this book is that it does get Anna Mae's name out and about and on people's minds.The book is not a who done it.

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