My Whole Family's positive view of the world. » Book Reviews – Adults

Empire State Building a vidid part of the Wicks’ family history.

Marcy McCann — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:37:57 +0000

Although you won’t find his name listed as a member of the construction team, my grandfather Edward Wicks did in fact help build the 1,252 – foot Empire State Building. I have photos to prove it as they say. When I was very young I was shown a photo that looks so much like the one on the back of the book I own that was edited by Carol Willis that I could swear one of those guys is my grandfather. My father Doug Wicks Sr. said “No.” when I asked him to ID the man so I have to trust his judgement. BUT on the other hand my sassy self says “It looks like him to me.”

From what I recall grandpa was a metal worker who installed bronze on the windows and even on the top of the building. There was some sort of difference of opinion between my grandfather and his employer so somehow his name was omitted from the list. That is family lore that I would love to verify. My uncle Ted Wicks worked high up on the building for about one day as I recall. I’ve seen that photo too. They we standing on the girders at who knows how high. Very high!

About 10 years ago, I went on a quest for more information and found a great book that lists every detail of the daily operation. How many pounds of this or that. How many windows, how many doors. How many trucks of concrete were poured each day. These are typed construction notes that were lost for decades. They would make great resource material for an architectural student even today.

The managers of the project even installed a commissary so that the laborers did not waste time leaving the site. It was if not the first, it was one of the first of its kind. The project is incredibly interesting considering they removed the Victorian era Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and completed construction all within an extraordinarily short time frame. Today we take almost that long to do the site prep work for a single family home. OK that is a slight exaggeration but still relatively speaking there are few projects that compare. The elaborate organization it took to build the Empire State Building was very well orchestrated.

So check out the book with the bright red cover or any of the many others that describe this feat in building the world’s first sky scraper.

Don’t forget to visit MyWholeFamily.com for children’s books. We have a few that we know you child will enjoy. Learn more about your families history by searching online.

Dress Thin! 330 Tips from Jeannie Dallman

Marcy McCann — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:35:07 +0000

Jeannie Dallman and her mother Rose Mary Dallman offer very interesting advise in Dress Thin! 330 Tips, How to Use Clothing and Accessories to Flatter Your Figure. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jeannie recently and learned quite a bit about their publishing process. On the cover is an English Proverb that states “Good clothes open all doors.” I can believe that.

Dress Thin! Authors Rose Mary Dallman and Jeanne Dallman

Although I’m not sure I agree with the “stay away from the bikini” I did find many tips that were easy to adopt. It is an easy read and actually might serve well kept in the walk-in closet or at least close at hand for a quick review.

Don’t forget to check out MyWholeFamily.com for books for children. We have a nice selection of books for blended families too.

Elmdea Bean author of Liberating Incarnations speaks with Marcy McCann

Marcy McCann — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:23:06 +0000

Through my radio interviews for WSVG in Mt. Jackson, Virginia I’m privileged to explore the lives of a variety of interesting people, some of whom don’t realize just how valuable their experiences are to others. Elmdea Bean on the other hand helps people discover not only valuable aspects of their current lives but also valuable aspects of their past lives!

Elmdea Bean author of Liberating Incarnations

Elmdea Bean also brings life coaching skills into the discussion along with information on how to simplify and un-clutter your life. Before long we will be posting the interview on the “Listen to Marcy chat with interesting people.” section of this site. Meanwhile take some time to catch up on previous interviews you might have missed.

WIDOW’S WALK: Misty Cove Series by Nikki Leigh

Marcy McCann — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:25:22 +0000

I met Nikki Leigh author of Widow’s Walk a couple of years ago at a BookEm event in Waynesboro, Virginia. We were seated next to each other and she was a delight. Her outgoing personality and enthusiasm was infectious. The cover art on her books evokes a sense of beauty and mystery at the same time.

Nikki Leigh writes mystery novels

The product description:
“Lizbeth is a woman of uncommon strength and determination and that’s one of the things that her husband William, loves about her. When an unexpected turn of events cuts Lizbeth’s happiness short, that strength is tested in ways she never imagined. Her children are growing up in a time and place where death and loss are a common part of life. While she struggles with her own fears, she must help her children find their way through an uncertain future. Lizbeth keeps an almost obsessive vigil from the lighthouse catwalk. This makes her the ideal choice for the new lightkeeper for the Stormy View lighthouse. She must decide if she’s ready to move forward. Misty Cove residents are concerned about whether Duncan, the assistant lightkeeper, is hiding a dark secret? What long-buried secrets will challenge Lizbeth as she makes the journey through the pages of Lady Lightkeeper?”

In addition to designing websites and being a partner in a construction firm near Albemarle County of Virginia Nikki also runs a small consulting business promoting authors. Widow’s Walk comes highly recommended as one can see by reading the reviews on Amazon.

2009 Book ‘Em Event, Join Me There!

Marcy McCann — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:13:03 +0000

I am so excited to participate in this very exciting book signing event. This will be the 3rd in Waynesville, VA. I do hope you will drop by to see the great variety of books and interesting authors on hand to speak with you about their writings. It’s very informal and the traffic is usually great. Drop by my table for a bit of candy and a chat. If you are into animals there are always a few who writes their own books. Those particular authors usually bring a human along just to make life easier.

Authors appearing Charleston, SC

Make plans now to attend the 2009 Book ‘Em Event, to be held on Saturday, October 17, 2009 from 9:30AM to 4:30PM at the Kate Collins Middle School in Waynesboro, Virginia.

This ground-breaking Book Fair highlighting the connection between illiteracy and high crime rates features dozens of authors who will be signing their books and giving talks on writing, the publishing industry, and other topics of interest throughout the day. We will update the site with authors attending in 2009 very soon.

Click http://bookemfoundation.org/