Then there’s Mr. Modem’s Internet Guide for Seniors by Richard A. Sherman ($19.99, Sybex) that Paul Harvey, the radio personality, has hailed for taking the gobbledygook out of computers. It truly is an excellent guide because it answers all those questions seniors or anyone else might have. I would recommend this book to anyone who is contemplating purchasing their first computer or who has one and is still wondering what all the new terms mean and what options exist. I wish I had this book when I was just starting out.

For those who are contemplating starting an e-commerce enterprise, expanding a present business to the Internet, or just curious about what to do or not do, I recommend Anita Rosen’s The e-Commerce Question and Answer Book (19.95, Amacom). As one who has "been there" and made his share of mistakes, I guarantee you that this book is must reading for anyone in the opening stages of making these decisions. Moreover, Amacom is a leading publisher of business books, so you know that you’re getting the real deal. The author has provided a wealth of invaluable information.

If you’re like me, you grew up watching all the Star Trek television shows and enjoying the interaction between the humans and the computers that rang the starship Enterprise and others. Apparently Lois Gresh and Robert Weinberg were too because they have written The Computers of Star Trek ($22, Basic Books). The authors explore the attitudes about computers the show began with in 1967 and how they progressed. Is the future composed of computers like those on the shows? No, say the authors, but even the current shows are years behind what is happening in research labs today. USA Today recently took notice of this interesting book, recommending it, and so am I.

For an intellectual exploration of digital culture, you might find Cyberseduction: Reality in the Age of Pyschotechnology by Dr, Jeri Fink ($24.95, Prometheus Books). The author says that, since mankind’s days as cavemen, it has been has been "wired" to crave experiences beyond our daily existence. It began as fireside stories of slaying massive beasts and exists in the form of today’s disaster movies. Now virtual reality permits people to "drive" racecars, engage in war games, and all kinds of other experiences. A practicing psychotherapist, the author has penned an interesting book about the psychology of the blurring between illusion and reality.

In the Beginning Was the Command Line by Neal Stephenson ($10, Avon softcover) is by an author whose first books about the effects computers are having on our lives were hailed by reviewers at leading publications. Now he has written a humorous and insightful commentary on computer operating systems and the personalities of those who use them. For those whose lives are now lived off the Internet and through their computers, this is a commentary worth reading.

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By the way, Donald Trump has another book out these days, The America We Deserve, written with Dave Shiflett ($24.95, Renaissance Books). The colorful real estate titan holds forth on how to refinance Medicare, Social Security, and healthcare programs, shares his view on the educational system, calls for campaign finance reforms, and says the balance of trade is bleeding the country dry. Lively reading!

Inventing Money by Nicholas Dunbar ($29.95, John Wiley & Sons) is story behind the rescue of a hedge fund, Long-term Capital Management, in October 1998. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and fourteen others got together to bail out this fund to avoid having financial markets around the world from coming close to crashing. It is, in part, the story of three men behind LTCM who invented modern finance. From 1994 to 1998, using sophisticated scientific formulae, they amassed huge profits, but one day it all fell apart, losing up to 90% of a portfolio that, at one point, was worth more than $100 billion. Opps. The story is utterly fascinating and is a cautionary tale that also tells the story of money from ancient Babylon to the Civil War, to the heady days of the 1990’s.

What would you do if you won the lottery or came into a huge windfall of money? That’s the question David Brancaccio tried to answer in Squandering Aimlessly ($25, Simon & Schuster), a delightful, irreverent story of a cross-country trip by the host of public radio’s popular "Marketplace." In the process, he talked with a lot of people with a lot of spare cash. Among the things he discovered was that the average 50-uear-old has saved barely $2,300 for retirement. That 850,000 new businesses are begun in America every year and half fail. This is a book about money I would recommend to everyone.

From The Unofficial Guides, Inc., a series published by Macmillan, come two excellent books, The Unofficial Guide to Managing Your Personal Finances and The Unofficial Guide to Investing in Mutual Funds, both by Stacie Zoe Berg and both worth much more than their $l5.95 price. These books are jammed packed with clear, authoritative, and unbiased information and, along with others in this series, are among the best I’ve seen in a long time. From Avon Books comes a title that should prove helpful, Two for the Money: A Couples Complete Guide to Money Management by Mike and Jacqueline Powers ($13.50, Avon softcover). Marriages break apart over money and sex. Disagreements about money can become a point of contention and this book discusses how to avoid that problem with the kind of compromises that works for current and long term financial security. This is very practical advice.

My friend, Patricia Smith, has written Each of Us: How Every Woman Can Earn More Money in Corporate America ($l4.95, plus $2.50 S/H, Q1 Communicators, Inc., 30 Dillmont Drive, Suite 102, Columbus, OH 43235 or call 800-796-3222 to order it). The title says it all and the author says it well as she shatters the molds that prevent working women from reaching a higher income level, exploring the critical differences between men and women on the job and why they can keep a woman in a holding pattern while the men move ahead.

One of the less pleasant aspects of business is having to fly. Indeed, even if it’s just a vacation trip, flying has become a hassle, so let’s welcome Air-Ways: The Insider’s Guide to Air Travel by Laura Quarantiello ($17.95, plus $4.50 S/H, Tiare Publications, Box 493, Lake Geneva, WI 53147.) Every aspect from finding a parking space to getting an up-grade, reclaiming lost baggage, and last-minute ticket bargains is covered in this information-packed softcover. It will save you money and save your sanity.

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Given the extraordinary prosperity Americans are enjoying these days, it is not surprising they are less focused on public affairs, not engaged much in the current political campaigns. Important issues that have an affect on our lives when they become legislation are being ignored. However, in a democracy, everyone has a responsibility to be informed. That’s why Hard Green: Saving the Environment from the Environmentalists, A Conservative Manifesto ($25, Basic Books) by Peter Huber may just be one of the most important books published this year. It dispels the fallacy that conservatives do not want a healthy environment. Indeed, the very word suggests an emphasis on "conservation."

The American bison, for example, was saved from extinction by conservatives who rescued the remnants of the great herds. Timber companies conserve forests through careful management and massive re-planting programs. What Huber has done is dispel the myths surrounding the most vocal advocates of environmentalism, demonstrating how their programs often pose a threat to public health, private property, and the economic system, capitalism, providing our prosperity. Indeed, he says that free market capitalism is the only system that is effectively green. A look at the environmental degradation in the former Soviet Union and in communist nations is proof of that. Every page of Huber’s book will surprise and inform you.

My friend, Ron Arnold, has written a number of outstanding books debunking the organized environmental movement, demonstrating some astonishing and ugly truths, not the least of which is its attachment to Marxism. Clearly, the movement is extremely well funded, but have you ever wondered who, in fact, is providing the millions behind the movement? I recommend you read Undue Influence: Wealthy Foundations, Grant-Driven Environmental Groups, and Zealous Bureaucrats That Control Your Future ($16.95, The Free Enterprise Press, Bellevue, WA, distributed by Merrill Press.) Arnold’s book puts the spotlight on the way lots of money is cutting off the flow of natural resources from federal lands, expanding the vast holdings of land by the government, threatening private property rights, and controlling the media to put a Green spin on everything you read and hear.

At a time when Presidential Executive Orders are being issued at breakneck speed to bypass the Constitutional powers allocated to Congress, Presidential Machismo: Executive Authority, Military Intervention, and Foreign Affairs by Alexander DeConde ($40, Northeastern University Press) is a book that deserves to receive attention. The office of the President has been gaining powers well in excess of what the Founding Fathers anticipated or wanted. The author explores this in a book that should raise warning flags for the future if Congress does not exert the powers it was intended to exercise.

Today’s school texts are not instilling a respect for the fundamental principles of the nation, nor telling today’s students the truth about its leaders from the Founding Fathers and others who made significant contributions to our liberties. Classic Americans by Louise Lane and James Albert ($14, Windham Press, PO Box 292, 3 Quaker Ridge Road, New Rochelle, NY 10804) is one way concerned parents can remedy this. It provides brief portraits of 34 Americans such as Henry David Thoreau, Thomas Edison, Thomas Paine, Booker T. Washington, and others who can inspire young Americans.

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Americans are absolutely obsessed about their health, so it comes as no surprise that there are countless books devoted to this topic. From health tips to a serious look at the nation’s health system, here’s some excellent reading.

A friend told me about a book that has been around awhile, Natural Health Secrets From Around the World edited by Dr. Glenn W. Geelhoed, MD, and Jean Barilla, MS ($19.95, Keats Publishing), a thick compendium of time-proven treatments for things like arthritis, constipation, insomnia, and a host of other health problems, some 1,600 remedies from thirty different cultures that have worked for centuries, but been ignored by Western medicine up to now.

Keats is one of the leading publishers of health books and among its new titles are Herbal Medicine, Healing & Cancer ($2l.95) for people who have been diagnosed with cancer or related illnesses who want to explore alternative medicine and seek out holistic practitioners who use vitamins, herbs, nutrition and other treatments. Dr. Earl Mindell’s Secrets of Natural Health (19.95) has just been published and provides a wealth of information for people who want to manage their own health.

Stealth Health: Eating Right Despite Yourself ($12.95, Penguin Books softcover) is just out. Authored by Evelyn Tribole, MD, RD, it provides more than a hundred recipes and a thousand tips for those with an interest in good nutrition for a healthy life. The Unofficial Guide to Overcoming Arthritis ($15.95, Macmillan softcover) is among the three million "Unofficial Guides" sold to date. Written by Lisa Iannucci with Dr. Mark Horowitz, MD, it is jammed packed with good, solid information about this affliction that effects so many Americans. I would certainly recommend it to anyone with this problem or who may have a family history of arthritis and wants to take appropriate steps to control it.

Escape from Nicotine Country: How to Stop Smoking Painlessly by James Christopher is an excellent book for anyone who wants to break this habit ($l6.95, Prometheus Books) and I should be one of them. I have smoked and enjoyed cigars for years and keep promising myself to stop. After reading this book, I may just achieve that worthy goal!

Two books address the problems with our current health system which just costs too much and which the government wants to take over. Sorting out the facts and knowing what to do is the subject of What You Need to Know About HMO’s and the Patient’s Bill of Rights by Dr. Molly Shapiro, RN, MS, MBA, and Ed.D. ($ll.95, The Crossing Press, Box 1048, Freedom, CA 95019) Good credentials, eh? However, there is no patient’s bill of rights and there should be says the author. She says we have an antiquated and convoluted provider system that few people understand. To gain some control of this and the proposals the politicians are making, we need to know the truth and this books takes a giant step in that direction.

The great thing about books is the way there’s always one or more out there that will help answer all the questions that life poses as we move from one phase to another.

For example, marriage and child rearing. This is probably one of the greatest challenges anyone faces. Staying Connected in Your Marriage by Al Francis Lacki ($14, plus $2.50 s/h from Uplift Enterprises, Box 1612, Troy, MI 48099) is now in its second edition. It’s a collection of daily reflections by psychotherapist and marriage counselor whose firm belief is that couples can have the marriage they want. It is delightful reading with a surprise on every page. Then there’s Creative Parenting Made Easier: From Infant to Teenager to Adulthood ($14.95 plus $3 s/h from Missy Merchandise Publications, Box 1335l, Fort Wayne, IN 46856. Credit orders can be had by calling 800-973-7988). It is filled with practical information of the type that can avoid so many problems and get you through the predictable ones.

Donna Smallin has written 7 Simple Steps to Unclutter Your Life ($9.95, Storey Books), just published last month. If you are feeling a bit stressed of late, this book provides an easy to follow set of guidelines that will help reshape how you think about your life, assigning priorities to yourself and to accomplishing your goals while getting control over daily tasks. Having strong friendships are important and Audrey McCollum has written the story of two women from very different places and cultures. Two Women, Two Worlds ($16, Hillwinds Press, Etna, NH) tells of the author’s experiences in Papua New Guinea and her friend, Pirip Kuru, s native woman dedicated to leading her highland sisters into a brighter future. The story explores both the things they have in common and the differences. If you are intrigued by far away places and peoples, you will find this book of great interest, discovering that how the modern world is bringing about changes for everyone.

We’ll round out this segment with Forgiveness: Thoughts for the New Millennium by Pope John Paul II, edited by Alexandria Hatcher ($9.95, Andrews McMeel). Forgiveness is the main theme of the Vatican’s Holy Jubilee Year 2000. Hatcher has put together a book that focuses on four themes, sin, mercy, conversion, and salvation. It makes for inspiring reading. If religion is an active part of your life, you will enjoy Nelson’s Amazing Bible Trivia: Book One, edited by Brad Densmore ($9.99, Thomas Nelson Publishers) which is great fun, featuring a collection of more than 5,000 Bible questions and answers, top ten lists, and other challenges to your knowledge. A great book for beginner and longtime reader alike.

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Increasingly, publishers are seeking a special niche in which they can specialize and produce the best quality books possible. One example of this is Pleasant Company, a Wisconsin publisher that has developed a line of books called American Girl for preteens. Let me tell you, these are some of the best of their kind I have seen in many years.

There’s the AG Fiction that feature titles like A Ceiling of Stars by Ann Howard Creel, Going for Great by Carolee Brockmann, and A Song for Jeffrey by Constance M. Foland, all of which show great insight into the world of preteen girls. Then there’s the History Mysteries series with titles like The Smuggler’s Treasure by Sarah Masters Buckey, set in 1814 when America is at war with Britain, and The Night Flyers by Elizabeth McDavid Jones, set in 1918 during World War I. A terrific book is Welcome to Molly’s World – 1944: Growing up in World War Two America that teaches the history of that time in the most engaging way, combining facts and scads of photographic and artwork illustrations. If there’s a grandparent in your family who lived through that period, this is the perfect book to link the generations.

I find myself wanting to shout about how great these titles are. From the American Girl Library, there’s The Babysitter’s Handbook, Help! A Girl’s Guide to Divorce and Stepfamilies, Oh, Brother..Oh Sister: A Sister’s Guide to Getting Along, and Good Sports: Winning. Losing. And Everything in Between. This publisher has just introduced a new series to encourage self-expression and creativity with two "Amelia" books for girls aged eight to twelve. They are designed to be a journal with colorful illustrations that explore issues of friendship, loyalty, and self-image.