Product Description
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Who knew there could be so much to learn about boomerangs!
My son has an affinity for the Aussie weapon.He often would try to construct a model boomerang from cardboard and other materials.A few would last for a brief duration while others failed altogether.I purchased this book to help him better understand the structural considerations among the various boomerang designs in use.The book is a quick read, and soon afterwards my son was designing better boomerangs.

Very easy to read
Very easy book to read and understand. I have yet to try to build any of the booerangs it explains how to build, but I now have the basic understanding of how to do just that.

boomerang making
This is an excellent introduction to making and throwing boomerangs, but is a little out of date. Unless you want to make a left handed boomerang, this book will show you everything you need. I found the section on tumblesticks especially interesting.

Pretty good reprint...
I loved this book as a kid so I purchased a copy for my kids.
Everything you need to know to make boomerangs of all types is covered here.The book does show its age some, as do many Dover reprints (you are unlikley to find the wooden sticks used by service stations for checking gas level anymore... use a thick yardstick instead).

A classic book on boomerangs
Would you like to make a boomerang?This book will teach you how to do that.And it tells us plenty about all sorts of boomerangs and how to throw them.

You start with a stick.You round the top side to a roughly convex shape while the bottom remains flat.And you bend the ends slightly towards the convex side.If you do it really well, it may already be a boomerang (called a "tumblestick").You can try it.But it is better to make two of them and attach them to make a "cross-stick" boomerang.These tend to work very well indeed, unless they get caught in a wind.You can even put three of these sticks together, to get a "pinwheel" boomerang.And Mason describes a bunch of variations on all these designs.

Of the variations, the most interesting are the "boomabirds," which look like birds.There is some fascinating material on how to make them.

The book also includes a section on Australian boomerangs.There are two types.One is called the "return" boomerang.When thrown vertically, it makes an arc and returns (unless it hits something).The other is misleadingly called the "non-return" boomerang.When thrown horizontally, it returns.But when thrown vertically, it just keeps going until it lands.Australian boomerangs are weapons, and birds (which generally do not realize that they need to avoid them) are the prime targets.

I enjoyed reading this book, and I recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description
Lighthearted devotional that will increase your faith and joy. Written by a favorite women's author.Amazon.com Review
"The game of life is a boomerang," says the optimistic authorBarbara Johnson in Boomerang Joy, a collection of 60 briefdevotional essays. Johnson contends that our thoughts, deeds, andwords return to us sooner or later with astounding accuracy. If youinitiate joy, if you learn to "fling a smile a mile," Johnson promisesthat the happiness you send out will return to you "more accuratelyeach time you toss it out." Johnson's writing style occasionally fallsinto Pollyanna chattiness, but, overall, fans find her narrative warmand inspiring, as she tells humorous anecdotes and testifies to thepower of boomerang joy and Christian prayer. Topics for devotionalsinclude: "Unquenchable Grins," "Love More and Regret Less," "Nestle,Don't Wrestle," "Power in Forgiveness," and "Fling Out Jesus' Joy."--Gail Hudson ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Funniest and Down to earth Book that everyone can relate to
When this was given to me by a Christian neighbor, I sighed internally as I had 5 books already in the process of being read and wondered when I would get to it. The difference in this book is every chapter, which is only 3 to 4 pages is a stand alone chapter, has it's own theme and is something every parent, grandparent can relate to.Her down to earth, tell it like it is, with humor makes you laugh over situations that had you screaming years ago. To be honest, I kept it in the bathroom and would read it everytime I was in there.She is an inspiration to everyone who has major diversity in their lives and who hasn't!She has had more than her share of grief in her life and she draws from it and spits it out as humor.After the last laugh is over and you close the book, you walk away with a knowledge that God is always with us and you have two choices, cry all the time and have a permanent red nose or laugh it off and move on with your life, praising God for bringing you through the fires of life.I ended up buying two extra copies and now recommend it to everyone who comes into our Church library where I volunteer!Thanks Barbara for your wisdom and sense of humor.You are right, joy has already Boomeranged back to me!

Didn't get it yet!!!! Sent to wrong address could you check on it please
Didn't get the book we have a po box and we live in Malden on Hudson Ny and apparently the mail service that is being used keeps picking up our address as the Town next door but we are in a hamlet of this town. I would really like to get all of the books that I ordered.

Lots of Laughs
Bommarang Joy is Barbara Johnson at her best! Always funny with a message.
It will make you laugh until you cry and cry until you laugh.

Boomarang Joy
Good for the laugh you need when you are down and need a pick me up no matter what the reason for the depression or trouble going on in your life.

Receiving Joy from Boomerang Joy
Barbara Johnson makes me continuously laugh and cry as I read this book.She has gone through and is currently going through bad times, but she shows that the joy of the Lord is our strength.I reread this book every year and give it to persons going through a hard time themselves.I thank God for the person who first gave it to me. ... Read more

Product Description
Author Lynn Melville believes that people caught in abusive relationships -- whether Borderline or not -- are stuck in the middle of the Grief Cycle. They are unable to move forward to acceptance of the reality of the abuse they're receiving, because their abuser continues to change, back and forth from the person who acts like they love them -- to the person who hurts them.

Melville began writing Breaking Free from Boomerang Love for herself, words to help her stay focused on reality. Over time, her writing began to change into letters to others who were still stuck in abuse.

Written in a daily affirmation style, readers will re-feel and finish the grieving of their pain, laugh and then watch their denial disappear, achieve a new strength to stand up for themselves, and re-connect and reach for guidance from the God of their understanding. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

MUST read if you're in a relationship with a BPD/NBPD
This book has been a salvation for me and I often carry it with me.Being the partner of a NBPD husband, this book has given me so much comfort.Reading the short verses and the drawings help lift me up when I'm down... if you are in the situation, you MUST read this!!!I wish they made a pocket version.

OUTSTANDING !!!
It's as if Lynn Melville's book "Boomerang Love" was written specifically for me ! I finally got out of a 22 month relationship with a BPD and this book helped me SO much to understand why my BPD partner was the way she was - from the Jekyl and Hyde personality, the lies, the broken promises, lack of values, moral compass &conscience to the love me / hate me treatment, impulsive spending, using sex to get what she wanted and the insatiable need for attention - its ALL here! I just wish I had found this book eighteen months ago and saved myself SO much heartache. Fortunately for me, after going back to the BPD WAY too many times, I finally got out before I bought the ring and built the house I was planning - now she is someone else's problem as within a week she had moved on to another victim. Lynn has done a TREMENDOUS job of detailing what its like to live with a BPD and offers, in a very thoughtful, supportive way, the knowledge that I needed to figure things out and make the break. THANK YOU LYNN MELVILLE !!!!!!

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK.
IF YOU ARE DEALING WITH A BPD DISORDERED LOVED MATE\LOVED ONE THEN THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ.IT WAS WRITTEN BY THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE.WITH THEIR POINT OF VIEWS.AMAZING INSIGHT.PRACTICAL ADVICE FROM REAL WORLD VICTIMS OF BPD'S. I WAS ABOUT TO MARRY A WOMAN WHO WAS ABUSIVE.SHE WAS ACTIVELY CHEATING ON ME & JUST ACTING TERRIBLE.BEYOND ALL THAT I FELT COMPELLED TO HELP HER & MARRYING HER.WHEN THE BOOK ARRIVED, I PUT OF READING IT UNTIL I WAS READY.WHEN I WAS READY, A WHOLE NEW PERSPECTIVE OPENED UP TO ME. IT WAS LIKE A CONTINUOUS DUTCH UNCLE TALK THAT I NEEDED BADLY.

Perpetuating myths and stereotypes about an entire group of people
As a borderline person who spent a year and a half in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, I take great offense when people say that you should run screaming from borderlines, and that relationships with a borderline person are necessarily turbulent, unhappy, and something to be gotten out of.When I found a therapist who said BPD could be managed, even "cured," and that she would stick with me throughout the treatment (as opposed to getting sick of me and firing me as a client because I was too great of a suicide risk), I began to get well.I was able to enter into a healthy relationship with someone who was NOT codependent.I note that another reader said that the only way a borderline could have a relationship was with a codependent, similarly self-loathing person.This just perpetuates the notion that we can't get better, we can't be sane, and we are people who should fundamentally be avoided.The stigma around this disorder causes a lot of people who are genuinely suffering and seeking help to be turned away by therapists and partners over and over again.According to this book and the user comments, it's all about saving yourself from becoming involved in a relationship with a borderline, something to be avoided AT ALL COSTS!Is there a book out there that suggests avoiding any other mentally ill people, shutting them out, getting away from them?No.If you're schizophrenic, bipolar, or have OCD, you're allowed to have relationships, but if you're borderline, you should be treated like a leper.Where is the logic in this?BPD can be very successfully managed.I used to be in and out of the hospital at least once a year, but that hasn't happened in four years now.Why?DBT.Please, please, if you are in a relationship with a borderline, consider suggesting DBT to them, and make sure they know you support and love them.We can be wonderful, vibrant, talented contributors to society.Why not attempt to love us and support us in finding effective treatment, rather than listening to this book and abandoning us?This just perpetuates a cycle that can, in fact, be ended.

A Must Read for those who love a BPD
Each page of this book brings new revelations to those of us who have been involved and even still love a significant other or parent with BPD.It brings mental relief because the author so clearly defines what terror, pain, bewilderment and exhilaration we have been through.She provides guidelines in each chapter of how to be good to ourselves and reach out for spiritual support.The checklists alone are worth the read as you say "yes" outloud to line after line of perplexing BPD behaviour that you have never had detailed before and you thought you were the only person going through it.

God bless all of us who love the BPD, as the author says, "we are the best of the best", the most giving, forgiving, understanding and loving people who have commmitted their hearts to loving these afflicted people.God bless the BPD's as well, whose suffering we cannot understand and who we do not hold entirely responsible for the harm they bring to us.They did not ask for the emotional burden and pain they battle every day.We can get away if we must, but they never can.

... Read more

Product Description
How did the debate on health reform turn into the most concerted attack on government in recent American history? In this incisive account, a prize-winning social scientist offers deep insights into the changing terrain of U.S. politics and public policy. Because of far-reaching changes in the Reagan era, Theda Skocpol shows, the Clinton Health Security bill became a perfect foil for antigovernment mobilization. Thus its defeat provides a unique window into the new political landscape. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Skocpol does it again
Theda Skocpol's "Boomerang" is nearly as interesting and sharp as her opinions. It's another winner.

Boomerang falls short.
Boomerang by Theda Skocpol, a professor of government and sociology at Harvard University is subtitled, "Clinton's Health Security Effort and the Turn Against Government in U.S. Politics." And indeed, this bookis about politics, not about the reality of what went on in those crucialyears. One comes out with the impression that the book was written to bringthe author to the attention of the Clinton administration.

For example,she writes that Hillary and President Clinton had found an ideal"middle way" for health care reform, but that unfortunately,their plan was sabotaged by the conservatives in 1994 following the lead of Bill Kristol, former chief aide to Vice President Dan Quayle. She lamentsthat the Democrats were not able to marshall their forces at a criticaltime to pass what she obviously considers the "good" legislationof the Health Security Act.

While she gives Bill Kristol considerable,unflattering credit, she fails to even mention the Association of AmericanPhysicians and Surgeons (AAPS), whose landmark lawsuit, AAPS v. Clinton,against the secretHealth Care Task Force, derailed to a significantextent the Health Security Act of 1993. Neither AAPS nor the lawsuitappears in the text or index. The book is therefore quite incomplete. Injust one chapter of his book, The Seduction of Hillary Rodham, author DavidBrock gives by far a more accurate portrayal.

The book is an apologia forthe ill-fated Health Security Act which carried with it a significanttransfer of control of health care delivery from the private sector to thegovernment bureaucrats and an assortment of central planners in the variouslevels of the bureaucracy, such as the Purchasing Cooperatives, theNational Health Board, HHS, and numerous other alphabet soup government orquasi-government agencies that were to be established. The American peoplewere correct in rejecting socialized medicine and the Clinton plan.

A fine, scholarly work on an important event
This book promises to explain to the reader why the Clinton health care plan failed.The author does this rather well, pointing out how flaws in Clinton's "selling" of the program along with the disunity ofsympathetic interest groups could not match the unity and purpose ofRepublican opponents.It is important to remember that Ms. Skocpol is ascholar, which can be good and bad.Her work is scholarly so it iswell-proven (like a scholar) but also very narrow in scope (also, sadly,like a scholar).If you want an analysis of what went on behind closeddoors in the 1993-94 fight or want a real discussion on the merits ofhealth care reform, go elsewhere.But if you want an analysis solely on"why Clinton failed," this book does a very good job. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Some Books Do Come Back
Most activity books are just about the activity; //The Paper Boomerang Book// is about so much more. It's essentially about the creation of little indoor paper boomerangs. Not only does it encourage experimentation, but also exploration into how the boomerangs work from a physics perspective. //The Paper Boomerang Book// includes detailed instructions on how to create the toys, and they are simple enough that anyone can follow them. It includes websites for more information, as well as ways to decorate the boomerangs. It also gives an in-depth discussion of how the boomerangs work, and how wind helps make them fly, as well as ways to tweak the boomerangs, such as how to add weights or ways to shorten or increase range.

Although the emphasis is on how to create boomerangs that work best inside, it does include instructions for outside boomerangs as well. For parents looking for something that's educational and for kids looking for something that's fun, this is a very nice compromise.

Reviewed by Jamais Jochim ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's large-scale digitization efforts. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the original text that can be both accessed online and used to create new print copies. The Library also understands and values the usefulness of print and makes reprints available to the public whenever possible. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found in the HathiTrust, an archive of the digitized collections of many great research libraries. For access to the University of Michigan Library's digital collections, please see http://www.lib.umich.edu and for information about the HathiTrust, please visit http://www.hathitrust.org ... Read more

Product Description
It is late 1955. From tumultuous Nicosia, snooping US Navy crews regularly taunt the Soviet giant with their "Boomerang" surveillance flights north into the "Pond" - the Black Sea. Nasser is in power in Egypt, Israel is independent, and Great Britain is retrenching her Middle East forces to newly strategic Cyprus. There, at the center of waning British influence, these flights super impose Cold War tensions on the brittle politics of the region, while in Washington, they fuel inter-service rivalries and stir up memories and paybacks long overdue. Against a backdrop of see thing Cypriot tensions and growing terrorism, one American crew bravely pursues an important intelligence catch, and their story spins out against the unusual ethical and romantic conflict their pilot faces as he grapples with the drive to protect his men and, at the same time, perform his top secret mission. We watch the "Beast," the specialized American surveillance aircraft, take center stage in the lives of its crew in their adventures on a dark night in a strange part of the world. Cypriot patriots and Cold Warriors, the British and (as the alluring Czech spy-for-hire describes them) the "not so British," churn toward a showdown engineered by a crafty American intelligence master. Finally, we watch as an American Admiral and a British Field Marshall - both historical person ages - maneuver to insure that greater values are preserved as they cope with the fall out from the highly charged intersection of their national interests. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great Book!
This is one of the most realistic, accurate and compelling books I have ever read. The author is from my home town but I do not know him.I was absolutely enthralled and fascinated by the story, the setting, the incredibly rich detail of the background material and the total realism of the aircraft flight scenes.This book has just about everything.It is exquisitely plotted -watch out it's complicated - and the tie-in with such familiar objects as the 1946 Dodge transmission, the marvelous music ("Blue Star") of the period and the intricate business of electronic intercepts in a thunderstorm blew my socks off.This is a really great book!

Wow!
This is the best book about Cold War exploits I have ever read, and it delves into a subject very few people are familiar with - our surveillance in the Black Sea during the fifties.The book is tightly plotted with an ingenious twist on the "duty-honor-country" theme, and it's the first book I've read in a long time in which each character comes alive to the reader.The flying sequence is just magnificent, and the author - whoever he is- really knows his background and his subject.I strongly recommend this to anyone of any age group or background.

Be Prepared To Stay Up Late!
This Naval Aviation/Spy thriller will captivate you.The mission flight 'over the Pond' is especially realistic.I should know.I flew this very aircraft on this type of mission in this location, but from a different operating base.

Pay close attention because the characters intertwine in intriguing ways and you are given lots of clues as the plot thickens.This book will appeal to anyone who enjoys a well crafted mystery.But it will be especially riveting for those with any aviation backgrould.

Highly recommended.

What a Book!
What to make of this unconventional first novel that seems to work equally well on three levels?As a techno-thriller, it delves into the primitive state of the art of electronic intelligence a half century ago, capturing the audio clicks and clack of Soviet radar signals frozen in time on wire recorders "on the darkest night of the year" in a thunderstorm over the Black Sea.On another level, it plumbs the psyche of its straight-arrow pilot protagonist as he justifies a desperate romance by convincing himself that it and it alone insures the safety of his secret missions by deceiving their targets, only to find that he's gotten it all horribly wrong.And as a sophisticated political examination of the geopolitics of power and its balance in Nasser's Middle East, it does a creditable job of placing the players in their historic field positions in the game of influence and strife. In the meantime, we are treated to mini-tutorials on aircraft mechanics, celestial navigation, inter-service rivalry and old-fashioned skullduggery between an Admiral and a Field Marshall, both historic people, who seem to come alive and sweat the problem.Put them all together and the word "non-traditional" comes immediately to mind.A lot of fictional molds have been broken with "The Last Boomerang."This is a revealing, fascinating, delightful read. ... Read more

Product Description
As the second book in the Boomerang Love series, is a compilation of many of the hard-hitting statements and truths published in Melville's first book, Breaking Free from Boomerang Love -- the statements you yourself highlighted as you read it. This second book is meant to be a companion to the first.This is your emotional first aid kit to carry in your briefcase for quick booster shots of courage and empowerment when depression starts to take you down. Or the book to reach for when the doubts and uncertainties hit you -- when the "woulda, coulda, shouldas" begin to weaken your decisions. Grab this book when you need support and only have a few minutes to drink in the words."Whatever you are willing to put up with is exactly what you will have.""Welcome to the club for People Who Had Too Much Patience.""What most people don't understand is that the person we made our commitment to is not the person we ended up with."Take a quick dip into Reality Checks and get back on your path again, feeling confident and rebooted. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A must have for someone living with a BP partner
This book is great, almost done with it.It has
really helped - ALOT.I no longer feel the problems are my fault, and now realize there was nothing that I could have done to keep things together.By my trying to hard to keep all going, that actually feed her problem.I no longer will accept her badgering or abuse directed to me.I am still working on true bounderies, but trying to get stronger with keeping the my
acceptable bounderies.This book is great at helping to put those boundries together.I has helped me become free of the weight of living with a borderline spouse. ... Read more

Product Description
The Deadly River Has Them Trapped-.

The continuing search for his missing father has Patrick McWaid discouraged. Even news of the circus coming to town fails to lift Patrick's spirits. But when the circus barges have an accident on the river, tumbling all the animals into the water, the possibility of tigers on the loose has Patrick worried about John McWaid's safety!

Then their grandfather's paddle steamer is chosen to give the visiting Prince Alfred, duke of Edinburgh, a tour of the river and the famous Barmah eucalyptus forest, and Patrick and Becky ride along. But the heavy winter rains have made the river extremely dangerous, threatening to capsize the boat. Will Patrick and the others reach safety before it's too late?

Customer Reviews (2)

Gimmee more Hannah
I'm not a writer so I will not attempt to say anything other than I am so glad that I was introduced to Mr. Hannah's writing. I've gotten so jaded at the emptiness in between the dust jackets that is being passed off as literature or prose. Mr. Hannah is the real deal. I'm thrilled!

Barry Hannah Recycled
With masterpieces such as "Airships" and "Ray" under his belt, this one-volume collection of Barry Hannah's two 90s novels comes as somewhat of a disappointment. Barry Hannah is no doubt one of the mostgifted and interesting writers in contemporary America, but in the 1990shis best work has to be found in short story collections like "BatsOut of Hell" and "High Lonesome".

"Boomerang" isan obviously autobiographical story, and unlike what you might expect, itis not that exciting. Like "Ray", Hannah's best novel,"Boomerang" consists of small vignettes and lacks a plot. Theonly thing that holds it together and which makes it interesting to read isthe language. There are moment of hilarious and tragic insight in thisstory of friends and lovers; the one that still stands out to me after twoyears is the passage about a friend who dies on the golf course:"Maybe he knew he was going to end up on the fairway, on the practicetee. Maybe he was playing for little Jeff his son, and for my son, Po, andfor me, and for JoElla his wife - to go away with your sport shoes on,trying to get the ball to go into the sky and hit God's dumb foot"(52). In "Boomerang" the language is there, but the story isnot.

"Never Die" takes place in the dying Old West. Rarely hasHannah displayed a set of more bizarre and grotesque characters, butunfortunately the story, and interest for it, gets lost in this postmodernpuzzle of honor and revenge. It is not a bad novel, but knowing that Hannahcan do (and has done) so much better, it seems only halfway done. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Book
I could really relate to this book.It really hit home concerning my daughter.I was reading things that sounded just my situation.Things I had known I needed to do, but just couldn't bring my self to do them.But I'm trying every day and sometimes i go back to the book and read certain chapters.I definitely recommend this book for parents who have a child either living at home and doesn't want to leave or follow the rules, or if your child lives out but wants you to help support them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

highly informative
a wonderful presentation of facts on boomerangs.it's filled with lots of facts, pictures, and folkloric tales.a must have for any boomerang fan!

Well presented.
This book is filled to the brim with quality photos and text of Australian historical information. An absolute must for boomerang followers. ... Read more

Product Description
Ted Hogwood's beloved Sarah, a jazz guitar, is in the window of Topp Dollar Pawn. The only way he can get the money to rescue her is to accept an assignment from the AABC, a not nearly official branch of the United States Intelligence community. He is partnered with Jerry Kwiatkowski, master of the Hammond B-3 organ and chronic flatulence sufferer, to steal a boomerang containing secrets that should have died with J. Edgar Hoover over thirty years ago. It would be a simple job if only they knew what they were doing. And if a crossbow wielding assassin, two unemployed Australian women, the Director of Central Intelligence and a clothing optional ex-cheerleader were not also hot on the boomerang's trail. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Well written and wonderfully entertaining!
I loved this book! Alan Hutcheson is a very talented writer. I am amazed at how he set the stage for this story. Each chapter of the book details the events of different characters that in the beginnning seem unrelated. However, as the story unfolds, each character or set of characters are drawn from places as far away as Australia to a little house in Arizona. Once each party involved in this tale find their way to a dark, soggy Arizona backyard in their pursuit of a handcrafted boomerang, the conclusion of their quest is delightful, entertaining, and satisfying . The characters are funny - some are wonderfully likeable, and some you just like to hate. I plan to read this book again sometime soon!

Fun Read!
This reminded me of a cross between Dave Barry's Big Trouble and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.Don't be mistaken, Alan Hutcheson has his own brand of talent and shows it off in Boomerang.This is a funny, convoluted tale of mystery and mayhem.It's a mad dash to see who can get to the boomerang first.Why?The Boomerang contains detrimental CIA secrets.I'll try to sum it up:Ted is a jazz musician but his guitar, Sarah, is in the window of a pawn store. In order to get some cash to spring her Ted teams up with Jerry for an assignment from the AABC an unofficial branch of the government.The assignment is to get the boomerang... but so many things can go wrong with such a simple assignment.Things like a crazy pair of Australian sisters, an insane assassin who carries a crossbow, a cheerleader who rarely wears clothes, and a senator or two.I strongly recommend you follow Ted and Jerry (I kept wanting to say Tom and Jerry!) on this adventure.You will laugh the whole way.

It was a fast and easy read which is high praise.
This book was very enjoyably.
It's a whimsicle story that just about anyone can enjoy. I would have no problem recomending it to children above 12.
When the stress gets too high, read this book. And you won't forget to smile, trust me.
I will definitely buy his future books.

Delightful characters
Unique and delightful characters abound.I found the sisters to be particularly funny in a somewhat sneaky kind of way.Laughter would erupt almost before I knew it!Most enjoyable.

Conjunctive intrigue
Great read. Funny, creative, quirky and curiously entertaining. I can totally see a Tarantino film here. I'll be watching for more from this author. ... Read more

Product Description
You can go home again! Boomerangers are on the rise. Named for the nearly eighteen million 18- to 35-year-old Americans currently living at home, this rapidly growing phenomenom is becoming a way of life for many college graduates and adults looking for a rent- and hassle-free way to get out of debt and plan a course of action for their futures.

Written by Elina Furman, who happily survived living at home the second time around, this timely, information-packed guide offers Boomerangers -- both practicing and aspiring -- wisdom on how to cope with the practical, economic, emotional, and psychological realities of moving back in with Mom and Dad. Furman debunks popular myths, such as that college graduation marks the beginning of domestic and financial freedom, and offers dynamic action plans, proven strategies, and practical advice on:

• Taking the plunge -- are you ready to move back home?
• Making a financial plan and sticking to it
• Discovering the hidden benefits of living at home
• Determining whenter you have a Cool, Reluctant, or Perma-Parent
• Maintaining privacy
• Setting and following house rules
• Handling the stigma
• Dealing with sibling rivalry

With special chapters on brainstorming new career objectives and dating under your parents? roof, and featuring inspiring tales from the trenches by independent and successful Boomerangers, Boomerang Nation proves that not only can you go home again, you can survive and thrive there.Amazon.com Review
Rents aren't getting cheaper, high-paying jobs aren't getting easier to find, and the result is that financial independence can be tough for young adults to create. For many, the answer is moving back home with their parents; it's a phenomenon that gets more sitcom jokes than thoughtful discussion. Enter Boomerang Nation, a how-to guide that helps ease family frustrations when the empty nest is suddenly full again.

Author Elina Furman's (The Everything After College Book) mix of sympathy and snarky humor manages to simultaneously give you a hug and a firm kick in the rear. Rather than focusing on her own experience (many years of living with mom after college), Furman covers a full range of possible reasons for moving in with the folks: break ups, job loss, grad school, parents in need of assistance, and saving money for a specific goal are all included. Tidbits from a number of interviews with boomerangers are found in every chapter; though short, the personal stories add a friendly touch.

The advice covers highly specific topics with pleasing bluntness. Her insistence on helping out around the house and chipping in financially will have parents delightedly highlighting sections, while her understanding of modern dating and examination of parenting styles helps the younger generation sort though complex issues. Don't let the lighthearted writing style fool you: Furman's sensible suggestions can help everyone in the family straighten out the wrinkles of redefined relationships. Jill Lightner ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Good book from the perspective of boomerang kids
I have found there are many books for parents hosting boomerang kids but this is the first one I have found for the kids themselves.Most of her examples were from people in their 20s and 30s but a few were from people in their 40s.I have boomeranged several times since college, between college and graduate school and moving back to my hometown without a job.These times went well for my parents and me.


However, I think this book is necessary for when things don't go as well, and for all involved to set ground rules.The best parts of the book were the quizzes about when to move back with parents and when to move back out.

This book is also necessary because there are many multi-generational households due to the economy.

Written just for me!
Before I even realized of this concept or label for what the book is about, I was having to move back in with the folks to finish what I started, which was going back to school. I had to quit my job because of physical health issues, yet at the same time, I wanted so much to finish going to school. I never imagined a word for this or even knew of a book written about it until I found this one. It is an excellent book with a comical aspect; anyone that has gone through this can relate to its contents.

random dispersion of thoughts
Let's assume the author is scatterbrained.Then the topics discussed make sense.She loves to quote government statistics so let's assume they are true.What do we learn?1) many many Generation Y kids continue to sponge off their parents long after they should have developed a desire for independence, initiative and ambition.Projections suggest the trend will continue indefinitely.2) thanks to sex in schools, Generation Y is hooking up in highschool and afterwards (college or no).Just so we are clear, hooking up implies sex without commitment because you can't be tied down when there are other opportunities in the wings.These are absolutely not relationships.Holding down a regular job cramps their style.It implies reliability and stableness.Traits shunned.3) thanks to a lack of parenting from Baby Boomers, Generation Y is getting tattoos, piercings, smoking, and using drugs.Probably worse, they insist on owning designer label clothing, the latest in electronics and living in a home with access to digital cable tv, wireless internet and cell phones with texting and MMS calling plans.4) thanks to additional lack of parenting from Baby Boomers, Generation Y lacks budgeting skills.What good is all that stuff if you cannot show it off so of course they must have mad money to go be seen somewhere trendy and expensive.Assuming they are working and not just mall or coffee shop rats, the money is going directly to food, drink, smokes and drugs.Thank god for plastic!No wonder their debt is spiraling.Entry level jobs without a college degree or even with one cannot afford this lifestyle so run home and mooch.5) despite so many young people moving home and a weak economy, older people without Generation Y kids are not very sympathetic so living with your parents after oh say age 20 is still viewed as lame no matter what spin you put on it.

Why then is the author discussing only college grads and devoting whole chapters to saving for retirement, buying your first home, and buying a car?It clashes with the introductory premise that moving back home is a temporary solution until you can 1) pay off your debts, 2) save up to get back out there or 3) catch your breathe and choose a new career or recovery from the end of a bad relationship?

The author encourages the hedonistic lifestyle.Parents want to use the computer?Take your wireless laptop to Starbucks and surf for free after buying a latte.Spent one whole day (well... actually only a few hours but let's round up) sending out resumes?Unwind by going clubbing with your friends and buying a round.Haven't been laid in 2 days but your parents have a no sleepovers policy?Hit the clubs, hook up, then find a hotel.Can't make the payments on your creditcards?Apply for a new one and transfer the balance.Ummm.How do you save money let alone pay down debt when spending so frivilously?It gets better.Getting attitude from anyone over 30?Bond with your friends or surf for new ones online then form a whiners club.Or better yet, hit one of the many recommended websites.Parents have a no smoking, no drugs or no loud music or no random sex partners policy?No problem.Pretend you are in high school again and do it behind their backs and lie like a rug every time caught.After all assures the author, they love you and would never dream of throwing you out no matter now much they threaten.

What is helpful?A realization that those Baby Boomers have once again trashed America; this time with bad parenting.Write your Congressmen and request that we open the floodgates of immigration.At least, they want to hold down jobs.It is also good to know just now narcissistic these little brats are so you can save your breathe and not waste time empathizing or offering solutions.They don't want to work period.But why are Baby Boomers behaving this way?1) divorce has left about half sad n lonely as they aren't able to easily find new mates so living vicariously through their children is an acceptable substitute.

What is perhaps unhelpful?Nothing in this book directs the reader to learn to live within his/her means, get out from under a self-made mountain of debt or grow up.The author herself doesn't seem to understand that entry level jobs exist for a reason or that capitalism dictates that benefits earned correlate well with effort input.

Couldn't Have Come at a Better Time
Fascinating look at what people go through when they move back home. I just got home 2 months ago because of layoffs after 12 years of living on my own, and it's been really weird. One minute my mom is looking at my emails, asking me who so and so and my dad is yelling at me to change all the lightbulbs in the house. Even worse my old room is horible.. It's become this huge catch-all for my mom's magazine collection and all my dad's old clothes and paintings. Furman is pretty funny and doesn't talk down ever!! Which is nice since everyone says people who move are basically losers with no life. I have a graduate degree and have held down excutive positions so it's kinda strange to be in this position. But as soon as I find a job I'm moving out again, hopefully by next year.

You CAN Go Home Again?
Which writer was it wrote the "you can't go home again?"He was right.I have tried it twice and neither time has it worked.But, Elina Furman in New York City was thinking of another way to go back home.It is increasing done these days (18 million have done just that to the dismay and disgust of their parents), and is getting to be a pattern of not being responsible for one's own destiny.Going back in life is never good, as you are not moving forward -- the past is never better than the future.

She did survive a second time around living at home and is proud of it, but I'd really like to know what 'side of the story' her parents would reveal.It is never easy to have a grown up son right under you feet at all times. Didn't he learn anything in school about coping?I have a friend here whose thirty-something son moved in her small apt. with his child out of wedlock.My youngest son, age 30, did the very same thing with his dad only when the girlfriend left, she took the child with her.

As a result I lost contact with the two grandchildren I love the most as their mother moved them to Athens, Alabama, to keep them away from their stupid father, my ignorant son.It may benefit the grown up 'kids' (if you can call them that -- they are supposed to be adults when they finish college) to not have to pay rent and get all the free food they desire, free housekeeping and utilities.None of the responsibilities of adulthood.Will they ever grow up?Not as long as the long-suffering parents let them get away with this intrusion.

This is much more than a silly boomerang game.It is serious business and should be stopped.Let them go out and see how the homeless live; they'd get free clean clothes everyday, a free bus ticket (so they can look for work!), free meals and a place to sleep, but they are on their own (and the town) the rest of the time.They lug around all of their belongings and beg for 'change' to buy shoes (ha) -- they get free shoes (I've told them which church will give them walking and hiking shoes.) and to buy a cup of coffee.I bought two of the morning 'specials' twice not realizing I would have to carry around two cups of coffee, which I spilled.One fellow asked for change to buy a cup of coffee, and I said, "I will give you a cup of coffee."Just today, one young man asked for change to ride the bus, I told him I didn't have any.He was able to get fifty cents from a man and promptly walked away, telling me he was not going to ride the bus.I was waiting for the bus.So, what else is new?Let some of those freeloaders who take advantage of their old parents see what it is really like if they don't grow up and get a good career to take care of themselves. How's that, note-worthy friend, to talk about something I know something about.Elina Furman wrote THE EVERYTHING AFTER COLLEGE BOOK and THE EVERYTHING DATING BOOK. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A great book
This is a wonderfully informative book on boomerangs.It gives very detailed information on the history and physics of boomerang flying as well as very good instructions on doing it yourself.Perhaps one of the most "user friendly" boomerang books out there.If purchasing, however, make sure the seller is including the boomerang that is supposed to come with the book.It is a very good beginners boomerang as it is easy to throw, and does not break when it hits the ground! ... Read more

Product Description
Take a walkabout on the wild side. Book one, The Thorn Brothers When you toss a boomerang, you know it will come back. But all bets are off when it’s a lover you’ve let go. Cohen Thorn and Hayleigh Davenport shared one night of wild sex neither of them can forget, then went their separate ways half a world apart. But now Hayleigh’s back in Australia for one more weekend of passion. If she can’t get this Outback rancher out of her system once and for all, she’ll at least have memories to last a lifetime.

They’ve only got three days to steam up Sydney and the Outback, but in the place known as Never-Never, anything can happen. Soon they realize there’s a powerful force drawing them together.

Customer Reviews (3)

You've got to be joking.
Somebody teach this woman how Australians actually speak, and then perhaps she could write a decent book.

Why Americans insist on writing stories set in a country and culture they know nothing about I have no idea. Right across the board they use terminology that either disappeared form usage about eighty years ago, or has never seriously been spoken at all. And on top of that they throw in words that Australians consider to be insulting and/or discriminatory ('sheila', for example) that must have been picked up from Crocodile Dundee.

Writers should stick to what they know.

Melissa Lopez has far overreached herself with this ridiculously inaccurate series.

Boomerang Love
Cohen Thorn and Hayleigh Davenport spent a passionate night together a year ago when Hayleigh visited Sydney, Australia. They both said they'd meet the following year. As Cohen sat worriedly watching the door a year later, Hayleigh shows up and it's then that Cohen realizes that night meant a lot more to him than he thought. Hayleigh can't believe how much she missed Cohen until she sees him again. This time they have three nights together. Hayleigh isn't planning on coming back again, but you what they say about the best laid plans.

Boomerang Love is an incredibly hot story with a heartwarming romance. Hayleigh and Cohen are insatiable. Their chemistry lasts beyond their erotic romps. I love Cohen's Aussie accent and his earnest desire for Hayleigh and Hayleigh hides a sexy siren behind her sweet beauty. Hayleigh and Cohen's uncertainty about their future together is endearing. The Australian setting creates a fun atmosphere throughout the story.Boomerang Love is very romantic and very sexy. I can't wait to read about Cohen's brothers!

Nannette
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

quick fling leads to love in the Outback
It's been a year since Cohen and Hayleigh's passionate one night together.They'd promised to meet again in Sydney, Australia in a year.Neither of them is sure the other will actually show up but that doesn't stop them from hoping.

Cohen doesn't make the trip from the Outback to Sydney very often but he does make sure to be at the pub where he and Hayleigh met exactly one year ago.His brother Miller is convinced that Cohen has completely lost it and refers to him as a `bloody fruit loop.' Cohen knows he's probably right, it's nuts to think that a woman from the U.S. would seriously be thinking about him after all this time.

Cohen's worries are put at ease when Miller points out that there's a `spunky sheila eyeing him.'Hayleigh's returned as promised and they have three days to indulge in all their sexual cravings and get to know each other better.

Cohen and Hayleigh pick up right where they left off but this time they have a little more time to get to know each other better.The sexual attraction between them is still as strong as ever but is that enough to form a real foundation of a relationship?

Hayleigh can't help but admit to herself that her feelings for Cohen go beyond simple sexual desire, but they live on completely different continents and they have so little time together.Everything about their lives seems to be polar opposites so is there any chance their time together could lead to a happily ever after?

Melissa Lopez's THE THORN BROTHERS series is off to a good start with its first book, BOOMERANG LOVE.As a reader who's always romanticized the Australian Outback I love that Ms. Lopez incorporates the lingo and mannerisms of the region.I found myself infinitely curious about Hayleigh and Cohen's relationship and couldn't help but wonder how a relationship based on so little time together turns out.Fortunately there should be stories for Miller and Ethan, Cohen's brothers, coming soon - and I have to confess I'm really looking forward to Miller's story.He's so tortured and bitter, I'm infinitely curious about the sheila who can win him over.

Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies) ... Read more

Product Description
An account of Clinton's use of health-care reforms during his presidential campaign and their relation to present-day attacks on government concerning health care draws on contemporary documents, media coverage, and confidential White House strategy memos to offer deep insight.Amazon.com Review
The defeat by the Republicans of President Clinton'ssweeping health care initiative was a critical turning point in modernAmerican politics. A disaster for the Democrats, it led to the Republicanconquest of Congress in 1994. Theda Skocpol rejects the prevailing view,which lays most of the blame at the feet of Hillary RodhamClinton, offering the real culprit as something called "Reagan'srevenge." She believes that the tax cuts of the Reagan years gutted ahost of once-effective federal programs, generating widespread publicmistrust of government. An incisive look at Clinton's defeat on health care,Boomerang also provides a fresh, and at times frightening, perspectiveon the legacy of the Reagan years. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Boomerang, Reform For Universal Health Care!
Dr. Skocpol provides a fantastic primer for comprehending the machinations of the Clinton Administration failed "Health Security Act" initiative of 1993. Particular chapters which might be of interest to the reader are two, four and six. Especially, chapter six, which delineates the shortfalls, miscues and its lasting legacy in American politics and with the public. Culturally, Americans may or may not ever achieve universal health care, and this reform attempt so illustrates the dilemma that various actors had to contend with.

This is a good read for those looking for a historical basis in the pursuit of universal health care in the United States. Recently,I just brush-off a little dust and became reacquainted with this book. The politics of this time, 1993 are comparable with those of 2009, very strange indeed. Especially, now with the present attempt by the Obama Administration, it their pursuit of health care reform for covering the 47 million insurance-less Americans. Parallelisms with the former reform attempt and the present attempt are discernible.

Great Book, Excellent Price, Fantastic Shipping
Theda Skocpol delivers a fascinating overview of the Clinton healthcare debacle focusing more on the political and social forces working for and against this bill rather than getting bogged down in mundane policy details.Excellent book for those wishing to understand where we are at in our healthcare debate, and a good source to help answer the question "what will happen and why?"

entertaining AND informative
National Health Care?--The compassion of the IRS!--The efficiency of the post office!--All at Pentagon prices!Theda Skocpol's Boomerang--Clinton's Health Security Effort and the Turn against Government in U.S. Politics opens with this collection of irreverent aphorisms sighted on the bumper sticker of an old American pick-up truck in the summer of 1994.Later that year, however, a political pundit hailed the Democratic party for "believ[ing] in great government enterprises to solve great problems."A real health reform effort was ignited.American optimism was high.Mere months later, the wind behind the sail of Clinton's proposed reform vanished and the effort lay in defeat--a casualty that seemingly leant credence to the Chevrolet's shameless propaganda.Skocpol's incisive work wends the reader through the course that was "the rise and resounding demise of the Health Security effort." Boomerang is not an explanation of health care reform.Rather, it is an exercise in politics--an eye-opening account of a massive political undertaking from a vantage close enough to be well inside the Beltway, but far away enough to spare the reader sleepy academic dogma.Skocpol begins our journey with a proclamation:"The presentation and decisive defeat of the Clinton plan in 1993-94 was a pivotal moment in the history of the U.S. governmental and political system."Ostensibly, the American political landscape is now irrevocably changed.That said, we enter the first of six chapters.The author initiates us with the embers of health reform talk from the early twentieth century.She then springs to the beginning of the current decade to explain how a Pennsylvania state senate hopeful put reform back into the American consciousness with a simple television campaign advertisement.Following the candidate's victory, several schemes for national reform were promulgated.Eagerly, 1992 Democratic presidential hopefuls picked up on the reform rhetoric.In time, the Democratic candidate emerged toting "an alternative middle-of-the-road approach to comprehensive reform"--and William J. Clinton was elected. Skocpol relates the fascinating story of the President's quick assembling of a health reform Task Force of experts charged with constructing the would-be plan for reform.The document, some 1,300 pages, arrived several months later into Clinton's tenure than planned and was very eagerly received by Washington insiders who quickly obtained leaked copies.After White House tweaking of the plan, which included such features as mandatory regional purchasing alliances (one of several features that was largely unrecognized and/or poorly understood by the citizenry), public approval was considerable. Skocpol's third chapter, "Democrats in Disarray," recounts what "went wrong...for the Clinton Health Security proposal."The author blames in part the virtual "dissapear[ance]" of Health Security from the President's agenda.Ostensibly, Clinton's agenda was supplanted by NAFTA, foreign affairs, and congressional problems at home.Skocpol then observes the remarkable power of political action committees and the effects such key organizations had on the once-burgeoning reform effort.Even PAC's whose support was expected seemed to offer lukewarm embraces.What is more, Congress could not agree about "exactly what kind of health reform they wanted." Chapter Four, "Marketing an Ambivalent Message," reflects Skocpol's attitude that the conveyance of the details of the reform effort to the general public "proved thin and unconvincing."The goals and themes of reform were presented, but the details were not.Such was the prescription of the consultants charged with the marketing of the proposal.In the author's assessment, such "vague and evasive explanations" of the workings of health reform left Americans vulnerable to the rhetoric of the manifold naysayers.Attenuated public support for reform resulted from this scenario. Boomerang's lengthiest chapter, "Mobilization Against Government" is the author's thrust toward her thesis.In this chapter, Skocpol paints the boomerang course of the reform effort--the hawkish biting back of those who would oppose the Clinton effort.She recounts the mobilization of stakeholders ("groups with an occupational or financial stake in the $800 billion-per-year business of health care...") against the proposal.Of particular import were the efforts of the Health Insurance Association of America.This anti-Clintonian association undertook to lobby at the grassroots level and utilized television advertising with the infamous "Harry and Louise" doubt-casting commercials.Moreover, key congressional members began to attack the Clinton plan in the media.Such aspersions seemed to propagate exponentially and were eventually aimed at the First Lady.This uncontrollable disparagement coupled with the public's general fear of "managed care" rendered the citizenry even more averse to the reform effort. "Ambitiously launched but poorly explained by its own sponsors, Health Security gave antigovernment conservatives exactly the target they were looking for--a proposed federal initiative that could be portrayed as threatening to the American middle class." Skocpol's conclusion, "Legacies and Lessons," portrays the impetus for the downfall of the Clinton reform effort as "Reagan's Revenge"--a rampant distrust of government borne of President Reagan's evisceration of federal programs."[T]he Clinton Health Security proposal--in its ultimate irony--gave new life to the outcries about [the problems with big government]."Moreover, Skocpol alleges that even more moderate approaches toward health reform would likely have suffered the same defeat because Clinton "was trying to deal with the aftereffects of previous conservative attacks on government." Did Skocpol support her thesis?Is the political landscape irrevocably changed?Time will tell.However, the author's resolute charge that the demise of the Clinton proposal was a "pivotal moment in the history of the U.S. governmental and political system" can be construed as overstatement.Perhaps, more plausibly, only future thoughts of monumental social reform and over-arching federal programs will resound from the aftershock of the toppled Clinton proposal. Skocpol's Boomerang is a well written, compelling account of the events that surrounded Clinton's health reform effort.Replete with pertinent, illustrative political cartoons, the work is a comfortable read with great appeal for those who crave the war stories of the American political machine. ... Read more