Testimonials and Reviews

Your book may be intended for distribution among a small, select audience, including your company's associates, customers, suppliers and market. Or you might want your story to influence the larger public. Either way, your readers' perceptions are what ultimately matter.

Here are statements from readers of our books, including some very distinguished readers and from the clients who commissioned them.

The Builder

"A remarkable record of one man's determination to provide affordable housing in the United States, The Builder shows that it is possible to establish a commercially successful business and at the same time create an enduring legacy of caring and commitment."

-- President Jimmy Carter

"John Crosland is a superb leader and a true gentleman… a strong national voice for affordable housing. The Builder describes his unique journey to become a man of great vision and compassion."

-- Kent W. Colton, Senior Scholar, Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies; author of Housing in the 21st Century: Achieving Common Ground

"A fascinating look at the evolution…of one of the most influential real estate development firms in the Southeast. …a book of surprising honesty."

--North Carolina Builder

"You would have to look far and wide to find anyone more committed to affordable housing in this country than John Crosland."

        -- Paul Leonard, CEO, Habitat for Humanity International

 "John Crosland truly represents the term 'houser.' Ross Yockey has done a magnificent job capturing the essence of the man and the houser."

         -- Mark Tipton, former president, National Association of Home Builders

"Thanks for the wonderful contribution you made to the history of home building in Charlotte. …Your research and approach in The Builder have provided a valuable backdrop against which the city and the Realtor Association can be better understood and appreciated. Thanks for taking the time and interest to do such a thorough job."

         -- Susan Shackleford, Realtor Reflections

"The book has received great reviews. …The best way I can measure the success of the book is that so many people have heard about it and asked for a copy [of] a very readable and popular book. I'm enclosing several recent notes I received. …Many have commented that you did such a good job!"

         -- John Crosland Jr., Chairman of the Board, Crosland 

McColl: The Man with America's Money

"Hugh McColl is a true leader. What he has accomplished boggles the mind - a true builder, a man who revolutionized banking."

            -- President George H.W. Bush

"This is a fascinating deal-by-deal account of how Hugh McColl came to run the nation's largest bank - and in the process rewrote the rule book of American banking."

            -- Bill Gates, CEO Microsoft

"A terrific read…at times brilliant…packed with an all-star cast that includes Ross Perot, Bill and Hillary Clinton, David Coulter, William Seidman and many others… After reading this book, the reader has a full, three-dimensional portrait of the man said to have changed the face of American banking."

            -- TheStreet.com

"We were very happy with the results, and would engage Yockey Communica­tion again if the opportunity arose. Their style is unique and they have a quick grasp of the technical aspects of the business--which makes them REALLY unique. They will do what they say they will do, and will always be straight up about everything."

-- Chuck Cooley, Executive Vice President (Ret.), Bank of America

"McColl's willingness to bare his soul to Yockey is all the more impressive, given his love-hate relationship with the national press…. Yockey manages to get inside McColl's head during episodes that range from crucial merger negotiations to the harrowing near-crash of NationsBank's corporate jet a few years back."

            -- Business Week

"High drama, a compelling and exciting adventure tale by an excellent writer and storyteller at the height of his craft. …Barbarians at the Gate pales next to McColl."

            -- Mortgage Banking

"Enjoyable and entertaining…. an exceptional job of explaining the ins and outs of banking's most aggressive company while capturing the thoughts and emotions of the very real human beings involved. Inspiration can be drawn from this book for all walks of life."

            -- Financial Book Review

On Any Given Day

"Shining out from these pages are a man, his family, and a community of caring people in North Carolina who are finding new answers to the age-old search for meaning. Anyone who has enjoyed the writings of Norman Cousins and Viktor Frankl will discover fresh inspiration here."

            -- Presidential Adviser David Gergen

"A contemporary profile in courage. Joe Martin's quest for racial reconciliation, while he clings doggedly to life, proves again that fact is more inspiring than fiction."

            -- Hugh B. Price, president of the National Urban League

"On Any Given Day is a quick read and doesn't leave you down -- but instead deals with a tough subject -- living with a terminal disease -- with reality and purpose. You will learn how 'you can live like this.'"

            -- Avicena Group's Books We Like

"This book, like Tuesdays With Morrie, should inspire anyone and everyone. But while Morrie spoke as a dying man, Joe, with the same terminal illness, speaks with the vitality of a man truly living life to the fullest."

            -- Bookhills.com

"Unlike Tuesdays with Morrie, a book about a man dying with ALS, On Any Given Day is a book about a man living with the disease. This is both an inspiration story and a how-to book about contributing to life as a full human being, even when most of the basic tools of humanity are taken away. This is a book for anyone who's been tempted to stop hoping, a book on recovering hope and discovering possibilities. It is a blueprint for making the best out of every day, one day at a time."

            -- ALS Digest

A Century of Quality

"We are still getting compliments on the history book you put together for us several years ago. Thanks again for the excellent job you did on A Century of Quality. American & Efird, Inc. …today is ranked as one of the largest thread companies in the world! We are proud when we trace our history back to that one-and-a-half story cotton mill on Dutchman's Creek, and A Century of Quality is such an attractive, continuous reminder that it is our people who have brought us to our current prestigious position in the textile industry. Thank you for helping us showcase our company, our history, and our people in such a special way."

            -- Lorene Edwards, Communications Director, American & Efird Company

Between Two Rivers

"This is a book that lets us look back in awe at the success of a town and at the talented, hardworking, moral individuals who built it. It enables us to recognize that a century of opportunity, growth and progress have been built on the cornerstone of the vision they laid. And it shows us that as citizens of the City of Belmont, we owe it to our ancestors to guard that legacy, to expand it, to pass it untarnished to generations yet unborn."

           -- Kevin Loftin, former Mayor, Belmont, North Carolina