Finally, a Roth novel I like!
	This is the first novel by Philip Roth that I actually like.  Portnoy's Complaint was a good hundred-page novella, spread out over a three-hundred page book; the other pages were filled with the dross of his political opinions, and his kvetching about his parents.  Operation Shylock was also too pre-occupied with pushing a political agenda (but just what agenda, we are never sure).  This is Roth's primary fault as an author - he is too didactic.  I find that I really don't care much about what Roth's political opinions are.  Ironically, this is probably one of the attributes that make him a critical darling - it shows that he thinks "deep thoughts."

The Professor of Desire is blessedly free of politics.  In it, Roth sticks with the subjects he knows best: sex and relationships.  Young David Kepesh is a sexually frustrated young student.  That changes while studying abroad in Swinging London, where he finds that what they say about Swedish girls is true.  Things take a turn for the worse after the end of his disastrous marriage finds him crushed by loneliness in New York.  With the help of a psychiatrist, Kepesh tries to discover if he will ever be able to commit to anyone or experience happiness.

The Professor of Desire finds Roth at a more mature place in his career.  Gone is the odious kvetching about his parents that polluted so much of Portnoy's Complaint; the parents in this book are treated with sympathy.  At one point, a character points out to Kepesh that there is no point in mining the workings of a Jewish family for his fiction anymore.  He is also less homophobic in this novel - but not much so.  There are still things about Roth's style that take getting used to; I don't think there's anything profound in his refusal to offset dialogue into separate paragraphs - it just makes it harder to keep track of who is speaking.  However, The Professor of Desire is a short, lyrical novel that is the best of anything I've read of his so far.


Wow... what a b*(#h
	I am nearly finished with this book - I haven't been this mesmerized by a book in forever! I would certainly recommend it


Beware of superbookdeals seller
	If you want to buy the book, go ahead, just be careful of superbookdeals, they take your money but don't deliver and don't answer emails. Caveat Emptor


One of the best books of 1997- or any other year!
	Just when you think you've got Gemmell figured out, he turns the tables on you.  Fans of Gemmell and Jon Shannow might find the book a bit slow at first, and something of a retread of previous Jerusalem Man tales, but be patient...the master has got some great surprises up his sleeve!  Readers unfamiliar with Shannow are strongly advised to go back and read the previous Stones of Power books before this one.  You won't be disappointed.  Gemmell is one of the most important fantasy writers of the late 20th century


PSYCH-K is a wonderful tool for making big, positive changes in my life.
	I have spent my life wishing that I could change things over which I seemed to have no control.  Rob explains that the reason for this is that my subconscious mind is holding on to old beliefs that are limiting me.  He goes on to tell how PSYCH-K is a safe, powerful, and simple way to change those beliefs using balances that integrate the hemispheres of the brain.  It is prayer coming true for me quickly and lastingly.  I have followed up reading the book by taking the Basic and Advanced training workshops and am using PSYCH-K to find "peace" in my life and am helping others do the same in theirs.  This book is written so that it is easy to read and very informative for someone like me who is looking for ways to improve their life


A Look at the Death Penalty
	This book is not only interesting but gives a great deal of insight into life on "death row," at least in the state of Mississippi, and the appeals process involved with stays of execution and commutation of sentences.  It touches on activities of the Ku Klux Klan. It was my impression that the author leans toward those who favor the abolition of the death penalty.  However, some sympathy is found for the victims of crime.  The story centers on Sam Cayhall who is sentenced to death after several trials over a number of years following the crime.  Sam's grandson becomes his attorney during the last months of appeal from "death row." The latter part of the book leaves one wondering whether or not there will be an execution.  Meanwhile Sam shows repentance and response to the prison's chaplain.

I found it to be one of the better John Grisham books.


Powerful, but not one of Stephen King's best.
	I just finished the book today and I will start out by saynig that this is a very good read. I will not spoil the plot if you have not read this book. Oh, and this book is NOT scary, but it really is creepy. Give it a go


6 Stars and more really - wonderful cookbook and book
	This is wonderful! It is for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and also for those who are interested in historic cooking - from prairie and colonial days which have their basis in so many of the cultures which settled America in the early days, and adapted for use there

This book is a very happy blend of the Laura Ingalls stories and the food which was eaten, interspersed with the recipes and how they would have been prepared and cooked. Of course Laura didn't include any of the actual recipes in her book and so they have gleaned from similar cookbooks and so on of the day. It has been adjusted to modern need for exact temperatures and measures.

I found this book so lovely to read through, not just browse through. The interest factor is great - learning what things were available, and how they were used - baking soda, yeasts, how the oven was used, what cooking items they would have had access too as well as some of the stuff we should know but forget - seasonal food avaialble. But it is good as a simple recipe book. It is an incredible look at times gome past

one of my best reads in the last few years, I also bought a Prairie cookbook which I would highly recommend as well - it is more of a recipe book than this one, but a lovely complementary book to it


A very balance approach!
	We would expect a well balanced approach to writing about the work of the Holy Spirit in the church by the author who also wrote "Tyranny of the Urgent" and we get it!  In this book, Charles E. Hummel, former president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, first reviews the history and growth of the various Charismatic groups within both the protestant and Catholic churches.  He provides many valuable explanations of the meaning of related scriptures as well as observations of healings and prophecies that he himself has seen.  He later gives his recommendations for keeping the Holy Spirit "fire in the fireplace" of a biblical church body. I came away encouraged in my own Spiritual gifts and reminded that the more extraordinary Spirit gifts have not disappeared and that "to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.


Excellent Idea, Severe Omission
	Blanchard and Hybels and Hodges team up for an excellent perspective on leadership from a Christian point of view. While reaching out to the secular marketplace with valid concepts for servant leadership, they put together an excellent framework for leadership. The summary checklist, given on pp. 171ff., offer a helpful concise summary of the book. The glaring omission, and one that I can't believe that Hybels would make, is to clearly point out that following Jesus' style of leadership is absolutely impossible apart from first having a personal relationship with Jesus, in other words, you can't lead like Jesus if you don't have him in your life to help you. I can't believe that there wasn't at least an appendix for those who would like to pursue that issue further. I believe that the authors are posturing too much to get the secular audience to read the book. But for the Christian, it is an excellent book


My Favorite.
	This is my all time favorite book! I have never found myself going through so many different emotions while reading one book. It is definately one of Nicholas Sparks bests


Engaging look at a scary set of diseases
	Deadly feasts: tracking the secrets of a terrifying new plague by Richard Rhodes is one scary book. It tracks the discovery of prions, the mishapen proteins responsible for mad cow disease, scrapie, and Creutzfeldt Jacob disease. Following human cannibals in the jungles of New Guinea in the fifties, bovine cannibals of the British Isles in the eighties, and the bizarre history of sheep scrapie from the 17th century on, Rhodes does a great job of presenting the history and discovery of this bizarre group of diseases. I especially enjoyed the characterizations of the scientists, from the Noble Laureate who so enjoyed the New Guinea that he often regretted rejoining civiliziation, yet brought thirty natives back to the USA and helped them through school, to the hyper-competitive scientist who named the molecules even though he wasn't quite certain what they were.

But this isn't just a story of scientific discovery. As the foreboding subtitle blares, Rhodes explores some of the scarier aspects of prions. These include spontaneous formation, responsible for the known early cases of Creutzfeldt Jacob disease, trans-species infection, including mad cow disease and scrapie, the long long incubation period and lack of immune system response, and hardiness of the disease. One scary factoid: a scientist took a sample of scrapie, froze it, baked it for an hour at 360 degrees (celsius), and was able to re-infect other animals from this sample.

For all the uneasiness this book inspires, it certainly doesn't offer any answers. A condemnation of industrial agriculture, a warning that it's unknown whether vegetarians are even safe, and a caution against using bone meal for your flower garden do not make a recipe for handling this issue. To be fair, it was printed in 1997--perhaps things are under control now.


It's not too late for Bob.
	This book was very candid and well written. It shows that Bob primary goal was to build a business, and become rich and he succeed. The idea that he sold it as a media for African American pride is what got him in trouble.  Pulley shows that it was  quot;strictly business quot; Mr. Johnson need not so defensive, what he created made him rich, this book shows that wealth does not equal respect? Nevertheless he has $3 billion dollars and hopefully plenty of time to write a final chapter of which he can be prou


Excellent
	A good and clear illustrated guide to exercises with both machines and free weights. Also the best methods for each body type outlined. You even get sample workouts for people at all levels of fitness and exercise development.

The book shows exercises for each body part so you can develop your own routine and it also includes a log you can copy.

The book includes routines for seniors and weight loss. There are some 300 color photos and you'll learn how to do each exercise and what to avoid that may cause injury.

A good book for anyone at any level of fitness who needs a complete, handy guide. Being spiral bound it will go with you and you can easily use it daily.

My one complaint is that some of the routines are devoted to using machines only and many people don't belong to a gym but work out at home. For them, this creates a real problem


Excellent Book
	I use this book and/or refer someone to it almost every day in my line of work. I highly recommend it to anyone who works with color


From Beirut to Jerusalem
	Having spent the last year in the Near East, I found that reading this book gave me an incite that was most helpful to me and my collegues.  While this book was written about the Isreal-Lebanon issue during the 1970's-1980's, though it just reared its ugly head once again in the last few months, it was as I said a great help to me to understand or at least better understand the arabic way of life and culture.  With the world attention squarely on the Near East we all, weather American, European, or other cultures throughout the world, need to know and understand the Near Eastern mentality, culture, and to some extend how the Islamic Religion plays into the everyday life and politics of that area.  With this book being written by a Jewish American and with Thomas Freidman's understanding of the Near East way of thinking gives the book a credibility others could only hope for.  I recommend this book to anyone that is a student of the Near East, Politicians and Military Personnel, Religious Leaders, and anyone who wants a better understanding of the Near East in general.


A great book for all those people who still believe in true love..
	I just finished reading The Handyman's Dream, By Nick Poff. I was completely blown away! This is a great book. Its about 2 guys who meet one another in small town Indiana. After the first chapter you will want to have these fellas over for dinner. The story is very well written and has alot of innovative things in it that I havent seen in any other gay novels. I love the way the author integrates Music and songs into the story. From the Character Norma ( ed's Mother)and her quirky comebacks to the wonderful Mrs. Penfield, the novel will have you laughing and will touch a place deep inside you that few books do. This story also tells of the fears and struggles a gay couple had in the past, and one many still have today. I love the fact that its very g rated and a good read for not only gay folks but also straight folks...Anyone who believes in the power of love. I wish while growing up I would have had a book like this one to show me that there IS such a thing as good , healthy gay relationships.  I Highly recommend The Handyman's Dream.


The A-frame book I always hoped someone would write
	I've always thought someone should do a retro coffee table book on A-frames.  Someone did.  It's perfect.  The book has a great cover in cool 60s colors.  Inside is a detailed history with pictures, illustrations and everything one would ever want to know about A-frames.  Thank you Chad Randl!


Dave Barry's Genius
	Anything by Dave Barry is genius - full of insight, uncannily funny, entertaining, and thought provoking.  Dave Barry Turns 50 makes a perfect small gift for 50th birthdays (as does Dave Barry Turns 40 for those a decade younger.


Anyone who makes decisions should read this
	This is not a book about management.  It is a wonderful exploration about how and why groups of individuals can and do make better decisions than individuals.  It sets out some necessary conditions for this wisdom to be able to take place and then does some excellent analysis of why that happens.

What I got out of this book was some very important ideas about why collaborative decision making is important and how to assure that it is done well (If you want the other side Irving Janis' old classic on Groupthink is a good counterpoint.)

Unlike a lot of other big idea books this one is very literate and readable.  It is a joy to read but it also offers some very substantive ideas


Sanctuary-     By Nora Roberts
	Just LOVED this book!!!  Enjoy Nora Roberts books but this one is now at the top of my list. It is so suspenseful you can hardly wait to turn the next page to see what happens next. This mystery/love story is great and so well written. All the characters are so well developed they seem to come to life and just about jump off the page. Very enjoyable reading!!!!


A must for costumers
	If you're interested in reproducing authentic costumes, you won't find a better guide to hats and bonnets than this book.  I haven't found anything close to it.  Intended for collectors, it is full of photographs showing what women wore on their heads for the 200 year period covered.  Today a hat is usually something worn strictly to protect from inclement weather.  Until a generation or so ago, no woman felt dressed in public unless she wore some kind of hat.  It's a valuable addition to any costume library


Eye candy with excellent recipes
	To put this review into perspective for you, it is written by a serious student of cooking that has been actively studying food on their own for 25 years.  I have been focusing on Italian food for the last 10 years.  My favorite cookbook is "The Professional Chef" by the Culinary Institute of America.

If you are a serious home cook you will love this book.

The photography in this book is nice and the food styling is beautiful. If you love to entertain and/or you want the meals you serve your family and friends to be gorgeous you will get so many ideas reading this book.

The directions for the recipes are very thorough and well written.  I believe that a serious beginner could follow these recipes without a problem.

I have tried many of the recipes in this book all to rave reviews.  I particularly enjoyed the chapter on foams. The "cream whippers" are expensive, but they are extremely fun to use.

This book does not need to be used just for small bites.  It is as simple as just making fewer portions from the same recipe.

This book is highly recommended for anyone that is serious about cooking.


This book was the best educational book i've ever read!
	Syl Sobel is my nextdoor neighbor.  This book is a wonderful resource for the whole family.  It is illustrated, has a glossary for those hard to know terms and an index!  Buy this book today!


"Frenetic" Watch
	With "Dead Watch", Sanford has delivered a political thriller that is fully worthy of mention alongside his popular police-procedural Prey series.  I share the Booklist reviewer's sentiment that Sandford has produced a D.C. intrigue reminiscent of Ross Thomas (a VERY good thing!).

My biggest beef with Dead Watch is the bland characterization of Jake Winter (though Sandford does do a good job of making Winter not be Lucas Davenport); nearly every other character has more personality-pizzazz.  Not to worry though, the Madison Bowe character and the breakneck speed of the story more than make up for that shortcoming.  If I'd been turning pages any faster, I'd have probably started a fire.


this book rocks
	this book sucks very badly! as soon as i was on the second page i threw it in the fire place!!


Flying High
	I saw the second title of this series at my local Borders bookstore, and decided to try the first title. Do not be fooled by the "Young Adult" category; this book is also appropriate for full adults looking for a good read. Though a little adolescent at times, this novel is still excellent, and I recommend it as a fun and fascinating fantasy


Mr. Lynch Shares More of His Expertise...
	When Peter S. Lynch speaks, wise investors will listen.  This book covers the famous fund manager's career at the helm of Fidelity Magellan from 1977 to '90, and post career into '92.  It's far more introspective than "One Up On Wall Street" and it was no doubt meant to be for this purpose.  For example, there isn't nearly as much fundamental principles for stock picking outlined in this book as the former.  My belief is that the reader would do best by reading "One Up On Wall Street" first and follow up with this title, as its the newer of the two, regardless.

Peter's style of writing (with John Rothchild) is no-nonsense and easy to take in.  To my knowledge three books have been published by the duo and all three have been entertaining and never dry.  The reader can comfortably take in some very important stock-picking principles from one of the greats without feeling intimidated at any point.  I think this is a sign of a well written book that covers a topic that isn't child's play (unless you like playing with money).

And although this book doesn't cover nearly as much technical information as the first, it still offers a lot of tasty tidbits for stock pickers.  I made plenty of notes while reading "Beating The Street", and I'm confident that I'll be well served by doing so.  Peter reiterates many of the guidelines he mentioned in his first best-seller, such as scrutinizing company earnings and the balance sheets, and he gives his wise opinion of picking bargain stocks that have lower P/Es than their growth rates.

Overall, this title definitely deserves four stars, and his first book deserves at least five stars.  Lynch and Rothchild have authored several investing books that will stand the test of time. You'll sleep better with your investment decisions by having these valuable classics in your collection.


A Sweet Little Story
	I purchased this book to read to my baby and it is just a sweet little tale about Mommies and their mischievious babies.  I can't wait until she is old enough to sit on my lap and really understand the story when I read it to her.  I highly recommend it


Use this with high school kids!
	Briggs has perfected the art of the wordless book, and this is a great title to use to teach older kids how to do storyboarding for video or movie-making. Compare the book to the video as a final "lesson" and students will see the intricacies of the craft. This newly reissued edition has a "sparkly" cover, and is sure to be a favorite for families with kids of all ages, as well.


witty and excellent
	this book sucks you in from page one!  it's entertaining and witty!  no need for more detail


The real story.
	This is the real story about wall street firms and the way they look at their clients. Beware that you may not like the way they look at you. It is a good wake up call for those who think their broker is always looking out for their best interests. Very entertaining with great stories. You won't want to put it down!


The possible plot
	This fiction of a plot against American Jews is very interesting. It is well written and it holds your attention. The little boy telling the story and the intricacy of politics attached to the story make this novel a book you cannot put aside. This is about an era of American history, and it is well documented. I recommend it to everyone: the older generation who lived thru it and particularly to the younger generation of people who are not familiar with this period; it teaches that history is constantly in the remake and cultural differences are still a problem in our world.


Excellent narrative of Billy Beane and his bean counter approach
	Lewis has written a fascinating study of the bean counter approach ,used by Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics to construct a team of moderately priced players chosen on the basis of ,primarily, on base percentage for everyday players and the number of groundball outs and strikeouts for selecting pitchers.
             This approach generated a number of divisional championships for Oakland in the weakest American League division,but no pennants and world championships.There are omitted variables and misspecification  problems in the sabermetrics(statistics) approach of Bill James used by Beane.First,James's system totally ignores the number of batter strikeouts.All outs are not equal.Hitting flyouts and groundball outs will many times advance the baserunner if any previous batters got on base.Hitting the ball also allows the baserunner to get on on an error.Strikeouts are thus the worst type of out.This omitted variables problem can be dealt with by simply deducting 1  to 1.25 points from the on base percentage for every strikeout over,say,100 for a regular,everyday player who gets 600 official at bats over the course of the season.The second problem is that the James system does not differentiate between walks due to the hitting skill of the batter and walks used by the pitcher to set up forceplays and double plays,especially if he is a pitcher who gets a lot of ground ball outs.Another category is needed-walks that are not followed by forceouts or double play groundouts and/or walks where the runner is able to steal second base.These walks are different from the walks given to a 40 homer player who strikes out 150+ times a year and hits .250 but has a .375 OBP.
        James's system needs to be adjusted to take into account these two factors


Great for aspiring inkers and comic fans alike
	I finally know what makes for good comic book inks after reading this book. Gary Martin comprehensively outlines all the elements of comic book inking including the various techniques, styles and methods that the pros  use. Plenty of samples from his own work and that of others. If you want to  learn how to ink comic book art or you just want to know what distinguishes  good inking from bad, I highly recommend this book. The production values,  art and cover are also very professional


Good Read
	I am a longtime Jance fan and wasn't disappointed with Dead Wrong.  Any complaints would be the overemphasis on Joanna's pregnancy with a concomitant under-emphasis on tension and suspense (great ending, though!).  Butch is effectively out of the way in this installment as he promotes his book, but  also comes across as overly self-absorbed, especially when his obnoxious parents show up and his wife is poised to deliver their child.  Jenny, too has little to add to the story.  But Joanna shines, as usual. Nice to see such a reliable, ethical, and strong female protagonist


Actually 4 1/2 stars
	Don't get me wrong this was a really good book.  And I am so close to giving it 5 stars.  It was just a little too short for me.  The story invloving the ball game was great and showed why baseball is so pure at its core.  The only thing that was lacking in the story was the story outside of the game.  You will fly through this book, it is a good story and you will feel satisfied after reading it, even after that mild short coming I mentioned.  Just my opnion, I could be wrong


Quick and easy to read
	I liked this book because it was quick and easy to read, but also had more in-depth information in the back.  Each month, there is a chart of symptoms to let you know what is important to go to the ER, call your doc, or wait 24 hours to check.  There were great decision guides that presented both sides.  I like that I know a reputable hospital stands behind the book, as well.  I have 6 pregnancy books, but this one is my favorite


Hurricanes, other killer storms   reporting on these to the public
	Background
	I read Isaac's Storm, by Erik Larson, around 1998. Recently I had occasion to thumb through it again which has prompted this review. Larson covered three killer hurricanes, two killer blizzards and one flash flood.

Galveston and related Hurricanes
	My first impression was that anyone who had read this book, about a major hurricane, would never consider riding out such a storm. Larson painted a frightening story of brick homes and brick schools being torn apart by the surging waters.
Isaac Cline was the U. S. Weather Service Chief at Galveston at this time. This book gives much detail on the Galveston storm. This hit the island in September 1900, with very little warning. Indeed it was the arrogance of the U. S. Weather Service in general, and Issac Cline, their station chief for this area, in particular, that essentially preempted any warning. "Cline was one of the 'new men', a scientist who believed he knew all there was to know about the motion of clouds and the behavior of storms." First, the U. S. Weather Service refused to pay any attention to any inputs from Cuba. The U. S. Weather Service had men stationed in Cuba who "said the storm was nothing to worry about." Cuban's "own weather observers, who had pioneered hurricane detection, disagreed." Secondly the U. S. Weather Service insisted that, any storm warning had to come from the Washington office, with absolutely no exceptions. Finally Isaac had the conviction, and public position, that no hurricane could ever hit Galveston, as they would be steered north before reaching as far west as Galveston. With such a position Cline had no motivation to try and influence headquarters.
	Larson cited two older hurricanes in his book.
* September 16, 1875 - "The storm raised an immense dome of water and shoved it through Indianola, pushing the waters of the Gulf and Matagorda Bay inland until for 20 miles the back country prairie was an open sea." This storm took 176 lives.
* August 20, 1886 - This storm completed the destruction of Indianola. So many residents were killed that the survivors abandoned the town completely.
	In 1891, "in the wake of a tropical storm that Galveston weathered handily" Cline  was asked to appraise the city's vulnerability to extreme weather. Isaac wrote: "The opinion held by some - - - that Galveston at some time will be seriously damaged by some such disturbance is simply an absurd delusion." He made this statement in spite of the fact that the maximum elevation of Galveston Island, at that time, was an almost trivial 8.7 feet above sea level. He made it also in spite of the two killer hurricanes hitting and destroying the town of Indianola, about 150 miles southwest of Galveston on Matagorda Bay.
	Cline had a "model" of Gulf hurricanes, namely that no hurricane could ever hit Galveston, as they would be steered north before reaching as far west as Galveston. His "model" of these storms was clearly fatally flawed, or politically influenced, and it resulted in 6,000 to 10,000 deaths.
	Larson suggests there was a "scent of boosterism" behind this article, and that he was writing an article that Galveston promoters would be happy to see. Could this have been a harbinger of things to come? Could Cline have been the first government weather scientist to prostitute himself by writing favorable papers on the weather for his sponsors?
	Then the storm hit. Both the U. S. Weather Service and Isaac Cline looked very arrogant before the storm, and also in defending their overall performance, after the storm.

Other extreme weather events
	Larson also covered two blizzards and one flash flood in his book in this book.
* Hail and flash flood, August 1885 - "a severe downpour near San Angelo, including hailstones the size of ostrich eggs, killed hundreds of cattle and created a flash flood with An escarpment of water that Isaac estimated to be 15 or 20 feet high."
* Blizzard, November 1888 - this surprise blizzard destroyed 150 vessels off New England, and caused the death of 450.
* Blizzard, January 1899 - "this blizzard swept much of the South. Icebergs 10 feet high flowed down the Mississippi past New Orleans." This storm even hit Galveston and piled snow on it's beaches and drove water out of the Bay into the Gulf exposing portions of the bay bottom.

Conclusion
	Isaac's Storm shows the incredoble wrath of hurricanes, 105 to 125  years ago. It also depicts the incredible spectrum of extreme weather events, also of the same vintage. All in all a most interesting and rewarding book, one that I would recommend highly.


Another winner
	Terrier will not disappoint Tamora Pierce fans!  The narration is done through first person, told as a journal.  This is particularily challenging for authors to do well as it is easy to loose the flow of the story, and difficult to account for actions the narrator hasn't seen. But Tamora has performed her usual magic, snatching up the readers' interest from the first page and holding it until the last (I even read all of the notes pages and the bio).  Readers may find it difficult to put down.  Once again it will be hard to wait for the next boo


Another awesome thriller by Grisham.
	This is the third book I have read by Grisham, and so far I have really enjoyed each one. Grisham really knows how to write a good legal thriller. This book does not have any courtroom/court-case scenes, which I really enjoy, but it still kept my attention very well. Grisham gives you just enough "inside details" to keep you guessing without actually telling you the answer. For example: at one point, the clues seemed to point to Fletcher Coal being involved in the killings, but that was way off the mark in the end. This characteristic of Grisham's writings makes for a very enjoyable read.
One of my few complaints about this book is the sudden romance between Gray and Darby. They had hardly even met before they seemed to become attracted, then it VERY quickly blossomed into an open show of affection, even though at the same time, Darby was supposedly mourning for Thomas. Even so, that is probably the main thing that seems wrong about this book, and it does not detract from the overall quality very much at all.

Overall, this is a very captivating, page-turner book that really holds your attention. I highly recommend it, as well as Grisham's other books. So far, I have found Grisham to be an awesome writer of legal thrillers. I promise that you will not be disappointed. Read and enjoy


A GREAT BOOK IF A LOVED ONE IS DYING
	I bought this book because my mother is dying and I needed to know more. Kessler has a wonderful way of delivering this knowledge.  He is thorough in imparting this knowledge and does so with total compassion for the dying and the living.  I underscored many passages in this work and especially appreciated someone telling me (chapter 8) what can I expect in the way of physical signs as mom goes through the dying process. This book is very user friendly having a very readable quality. I strongly recommend it


Humorous...if you think about it
	This collection of stories and essays by David Sedaris definitely contains a lot of variety.  Overall, I found the way the stories were dripping with sarcasm delightful.  Some stories were a bit dry, but others such as "SantaLand Diaries" and "Diary of a Smoker" had me laughing out load.  However, the best stories I found were the ones such "Season's Greetings to our Friends and Family!!!" which I had to think about before fully understanding and laughing at their humor.  I would definitely like to read more of Sedaris' works, especially those based on his real-life experiences as, overall, I found the collection of essays in this book more entertaining than the stories


Very fun!
	Guys and Dolls is a fantastic musical, and this vocal selections book is a good representation of it. Unfortunately, some songs like Marry The Man  Today, My Time Of Day, Follow The Fold and The Oldest Established have been  left out from the book, but that is the price you pay, or rather don't pay,  when you don't buy the full vocal score. However, this book will satisfy  fans of the show, complete with pictures from the original 1950 Broadway  production, the 1955 film, and the New 1992 Broadway Revival. Definately,  this book is a good buy


Left behind series picks up again after a lull
	Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

Nicolae Carpathia continues his reign of terror over the world, destroying any who dare to oppose him. Followers of Carpathianism suffer one indignity after another with their water supply being turned to blood and their bodies breaking out in hideous boils and sores.

Angels of God appear to believers all over the world to encourage them and keep their faith strong. The tribulation Force continues to resist Carpathia as they prepare for what is expected to come... the ultimate desecration of the Church by the false god.

This story started to pick up again after the two previous books failed to keep this reviewer's interest, who was glad to discover that continued determination to read the whole series was worth it. There are more examples in this installment of what attracted millions to the Left Behind series.

Characters continue along the lines drawn for them by their personalities, with readers taking pleasure in experiencing the continued adventures along with the Trib Force and Tsion Ben Judah. However, be forewarned, the culmination of certain characters' individual stories will make readers sit up and shout "What the heck was that?" or "THAT is what happens to them?"

The story continues with plenty of adventure for the players and the natural progression of their faith... or lack thereof. Desecration will captivate readers enough to make them hold on to find out what will happen next.

? Kelley A. Hartsell, January 2006. All rights reserved


Marvelous Story for WWII Navy History
	The author brought more than the story of the battle to light.  He was able to give insight into the lives of the sailors and their thoughts during the battle


Another great Kinsey mystery.
	quot;I quot; is for I think you would like this book if you read it.  It was a little bit wordy at the beginnig but each page gets better than the one before.  You will be glad you got past the first few pages because it gets a lot more interesting as you go along.  And the ending of this book is really something else, it makes the whole book well worth reading.  I really liked the book and I think you will too


Absitively a Great Read
	You know that guy down the street who acts awful snake-like?  What about the cashier at Walmart who is catty?  And there are always people in our lives that could easily be one of many species of monkeys.  Neil Gaiman shows through fiction that there may be more to these strange characters in our lives than we realize.   In this novel, gods (which represent animals) roam the earth in the bodies of humans.  The main character is the clever, trouble-loving spider who interacts with other animal-gods in everyday human life.  This book, along with other science fiction books, has given me an appreciation of the creativity of the human imagination.

The strong point of this novel is the humor employed by Neil Gaiman.  On par with Douglas Adams, the author of Anasi Boys fills the pages with quirky, pop-culture laden humor.  The main character, Fat Charlie, I found much in common with.  His awkward moments with friends, family and everyone else reveal a social insecurity that many are familiar with.  The story, however, isn't anything special.  I like witches and animal-gods as much as the next guy, but the plot is uninteresting.  It is a rare book that combines wit with plot, and this is not one of those rare books.


Inspiring! and Classy!
	Wow..I LOVE this book! The recipes are creative and the presentations beautiful. I love the simplicity of each recipe, which give the warmth and richness of traditional old fashioned taste with a twist of the class  amp; sophistication of today's refined culinary experience!  Sara's food philosophy and the atmosphere she has created in her market has been my dream. I'm living it through her cookbook right now


nifty development environment
	The use of an Integrated Development Environment [IDE] for a user to learn a language in, and to then program within, is well known. Microsoft has made powerful IDEs for its languages. And the open source Eclipse can be used for Java. Along these lines, Ducasse offers his book. It teaches Smalltalk using the Squeak IDE.

The twist is that Squeak uses the visual metaphors of robots and robot factory, to convey the crucial concepts of objects/classes. As Ducasse explains, Squeak can be directed at an audience that is perhaps of high school age or even younger. So a clear visual feedback between example code and what the student sees then happen is vital, given her limited background and possibly limited attention span.

Squeak uses Smalltalk in part because that is a very minimalist language. If you come from C++, Java or C#, you may be struck by its simplicity, compared to the oodles of classes and notational intricacies of those languages. Which of course also makes it easier for a young student to learn Smalltalk or Squeak itself.

I wonder a little about the book itself, though. A motivated high school student could easily use it. But for some younger students? In that situation, it may well be that the book could be best directed at a teacher, who can then instruct from it


Title says it all
	A very straight forward book by Jim Otto. There is a price when one wants to achieve or aspire to achieve glory on the gridiron. Jim Otto is that person and he candidly tells us what he was willing to sacrifice to reach that plateau. For the Raider fan at heart, or a football fan in general, this is the book to read


Great as ever
	Skeleton Man is another success for Tony Hillerman.  The usual well-planned mystery to solve, and more about three of my favorite characters, Joe, Jim, and Bernie who appreciate the desert so much


The Creation of the Underclass
	In this fascinating collection of essays, Dr. Dalrymple proposes a compelling thesis. Over the last twenty-five years a new type of underclass has emerged in western societies, an underclass that uses the welfare system in all its forms, subsidised housing, free by-weekly pay checks, child support and free medical benefits. From a liberal political standpoint, this support for the nation's "have nots" is a compassionate gesture to take care of its own poor. One would logically assume that providing the poor with life's essentials would bring the crime rate down and provide incentive for these people to further their standing in society. In fact, as Dalrymple proposes, it has had an opposite effect: crime in his native England has skyrocketed; drug use is at an all time high and domestic violence is a wide spread common occurrence. Why? Liberal values not economics has created individuals that deny any responsibility for their own lives, it is always the rich, the government or societies institutions that is to blame, thus crime continues to rise while England's Welfare State has grown into an unwieldy Goliath.

Dalrymple has worked in numerous countries and has been an attending physician and psychiatric consultant in London's prisons for many years. Thus his thesis is not born from some abstract social theory about human behaviour. He has treated thousands of victims of domestic violence, consulted thousands of prisoners who have been incarcerated for petty crime to murder. The common thread that runs through all these cases is a pathological denial of responsibility for their own circumstances or conditions.

As Dalrymple explains:

"Like so many modern ills, the coarseness of spirit and behaviour grows out of ideas brewed up in the academy and among intellectuals - ideas that have seeped outward and are now having their practical effect on society. The relativism that has ruled the academy for many years has now come to rule the mind of the population." (P.85)

In other words, this post modern notion that there is no high and low art, no good and bad, no subtlety and crudeness, only relative perspectives; taking this further, our behaviour too is not individually determined, but society and its oppressive inequalities that make me who I am, and a biological predisposition which causes me to steal from the old lady next door, beat my wife beyond recognition and consume drugs and alcohol like there is no tomorrow. The trickling down of these academic theories, biological determinism, Marxism and the post modern theory that there are no levels of hierarchical values, only difference, has created an underclass of victims who believe they should get something for nothing and commit crime because society has created them as victims as self-determinism does not exist.

Dalrymple provides numerous real life examples from his practice working in a hospital in London. His writing style is straight forward, at times literary but never sentimental. The arguments in these essays are persuasive and push the reader to examine the underlying modern ideologies that have created and sustain a well provided for underclass of criminal "victims".


If you enjoy history and psychology together....
	This is a pretty good book.  However, I would have liked it better if the focus would have remained on the effect of Lincoln's depression on his life and that of his family rather than a psychological perspective


How not to murder your wife
	A fraudulent marine biologist, whose wife is about to expose his cover-up of phosphate pollution of the Florida Everglades, tries to kill her by throwing her overboard from a cruise ship.  Unknown to him she survives and haunts him to punish him.
It's a wonderfully comic page-turner, although the plot runs out of steam towards the end and the practical jokes played on the would-be murderer become repetitious. A few ends are left loose. It challenged comparison with the Florida novels of Elmore Leonard, such as "Maximum Bob" and "Stick" but it does not quite live up to the master. Some of the humor contrasting weird and wacky Floridians with stolid Upper Midwesterners seemed to derive from David Barry (and Euripides, Ovid and Tasso used the maiden-rescued -from-sea-monster gimmick).
I thought this was his best since "Striptease." The intervening ones have been too incoherently plotted and (although I'm a tree-hugging whale- lover myself) overloaded with environmentalist politics.  Incidentally, isn't releasing alien snake species into the wild an environmental no-no?


easy to read and entertaining - trust me
	I really don't understand all the negative reviews about this book.  I found it an easy to read pleasant mystery, with a main character in midlife turmoil I wanted to sympathize with.  J. A. Jance did an excellent job keeping the pace reasonably fast, while not losing the reader with extraneous characters.


Escellent
	In the month that I have been puting the teaching into practice,I have felt better like I haven't felt in eleven years. My weight is going down and my energy is increasing. I am getting a lot of compliments, and someone told me I look more like 31 than 51 which is my real age


Heartfelt Tale of Women in Rural China
	This is a simple, yet heartfelt and elegant tale of the lives and struggles of women in rural China of the 1920s and 1930s. The story centers on Pei, who as a young girl, is sold by her parents to work in a silk factory.  The story evolves as Pei befriends other women in the silk factory, participates in a strike for fair working conditions, reconnects with her family, loses loved ones, and escapes from advancing Japanese soldiers. The plot is succinct and the characters are interesting, varied, and believable, if perhaps lacking somewhat in psychological depth.  Socio-cultural aspects of life in 1920s-30s China are elegantly woven into the plot.  Themes of friendship, love, and courage are convincingly presented.  Overall, the book is a captivating read, and strongly recommended.


off the shelf just in time
	This thing sat on my shelf, half-read for the longest time.  Only the notice of the upcoming release this November of Pynchon's next got me motivated enough to dig into it again.  It's not that it isn't brilliant.  No one else around can dazzle you with so much wit and wonder.  The first encounter with the talking dog is as magical as anything you'll ever read.

And it's not like this is the only Pynchon novel that takes some effort to get into.  There are plenty of folks who have had to to take a couple cracks at V or Gravity's Rainbow before catching the wave.

But Mason and Dixon is a lot of work, if for no other reason than the effort it takes dealing with the mid-18th century prose style.  (Can you imagine the effort it took to produce it?)  John Barth's Sotweed Factor is  similar, and yet somehow infinitely more accessible (and highly recommended!).  Pynchon's gift for rapid exposition is not necessarily suited to the constraint on verbal glibness.  Especially in a work this voluminous.

And yet the darn thing is consistently challenging, if one has the patience and energy to put into it.  It seemed to me that the beginning and ending were the best parts, but this could very well have everything to do to the enthusiasm one brings to a new book, and the emotional satisfaction one gain's when reaching towards the conclusion.  One thing for sure, for once Pynchon truly has plotted out and delivers a conclusion worthy of the whole work, as opposed to suddenly rushing out a trap door and leaving the reader in a state of suspension (which of course is also one of the many delights of his first three novels).  This time one gets the sense that the author has a good deal of affection for his featured players.

This book is a great as you want it to be, if you're willing to work at it.  I'm just looking forward to the next one being a little more nimble.  (Meanwhile, I've got a couple months to see if I can make more of a dent into The Recognitions.


It has already been said, but I will say it again
	This is a great book.  I will not go into so much detail as the previous reviewers, but I must give credit where it is due.  Having read many books on the subject of the Bush White House including, "Fiasco," and "State of Denial," I did not think I would learn much more from this one.  I bought the book a few days ago, mainly because I like David Corn.  When I read it I was pleasantly surprised at how insightful it is.  I think along with the two books I mentioned earlier, this trio make up the essential reading on Bush, Iraq, and everything that can be encompassed in those broad categories.  If you could only read one, I would call it a dead heat between, "Hubris," and, "State of Denial."  If pressed I suppose I would have to give the edge to Hubris, as the writing was much less tedious I thought.


Now Make It A Screen Play
	This audio-book was fantastic. It took off like a horse out of the starting gate at the Kentucky Derby and never let up.

Vincente Callabrese is a part time enforcer/collector for the mob and part time movie producer student. When Vincente is asked to produce one of his classmates screen plays this is a start of a new career for Vincente.

First a name change, from Vincente Callabrese to Michael Vincent. Then it's off to Hollywood where he rapidly becomes one of the hottest producers in the movie business.

Unfortunately, Michael has a hard time shaking his past. When he tries to buy the movie rights to a novel and is refused, he asks his old friend Tommy Povenzano for help. Tommy assures Michael the he will help. This is the start of all of Michael's problems.

In typical Woods fashion this novel is a mover. Though this novel isn't full of excitement, it will keep you on the edge of your seat wanting to see what happens next. It doesn't take long between incidents.

The bottom line here is that this is a book not to be missed.

Choke
Dead In the Water
Orchid Beach

These are all other options by Mr. Stuart and I would recommend any of them.

Though this book has not won any awards Mr. Woods won the Edgar Alan Poe award in 1982 and was nominated again in 1992. Once you have read or listened to this book you will understand why.


An excellent first choice
	I fail to understand the complaints of two previous reviewers. This beautiful glossy volume is an excellent compendium of previosly publisned Cook's Illustrated  recipes. In style and format it would make an excellent first choice for anyone wishing to be introduced to a selection of the best of the best recipes from America's Teet Kitchen (i. e. Cook's Illustrated) without the tediousness of having to wade through lengthy descriptions of how the recipes were arrived at.

The cooks at America's Test Kitchen test each recipe up to fifty! times, often in several versions before arriving at the what they (and their taste testers) feel is the very best recipe. No other cookbooks offer this degree of security to the home cook.

Chapters include: Starters and Salads, Soups and Stews, Vegetables and Side Dishes, Eggs and Breads, Pasta, Meat, Poultry, Seafood, and Desserts. Throughout, are guides and charts to everything from grains to the best bakeware (also kitchen tested). The recipes range from familiar comfort food (e. g. Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, Glazed Meatloaf, and Deep-dish Apple Pie) to "show-off" company fare (e.g. Baked Brie en Croute, Grill-roasted Chinese Style Duck, and Dark Chocolate Mousse).

If your looking for recipes that work everytime, do yourself a favor and purchase any Cook's Illustrated cookbook, including this one. You won't be dissappointed.


China Inc,
	The book was very well writtem with great information on the amazing economy of China. The book is a must read for anyone interested in business or economy fields.


The Best Study Bible I've Ever Seen - great for 35 and under
	This Bible blew me away when I went hunting for one a few months ago to give to a youth who had come into my life.  I was so impressed, I  bought one for myself.  This Bible is many things, but the first thing that I noticed, quite honestly, is that the colors were bright, the print readable, and the illustrations far less serious and far more engaging than your typical Bible.  Without growing to an unwieldy size, the editors manage to throw in a wealth of study information, written in a modern, friendly style, that helps make even the dryest or most confusing parts of the Good Book both understandable and relevant to today's society.  That is what makes it perfect for someone, like my young friend, who is unfamiliar with religion, Christianity, or just plain old Bible study.  It's less intimidating that most Bibles and all material is presented in such a manner that you don't feel "unprepared" if you pick it up cold.  Catholics are often les familiar with the Bible than many Protestant denominations, as we have a wholistic focus that is both valuable and worthwhile--however, a better relationship and understanding of the Word can only enhance one's spiritual life and experience as a Catholic.  If that applies to you (which, I have to admit, it did to me) this is a wonderful way to get your feet wet in Biblical translation, discussion, interpretation, and modern relevance.  Who won't like this Bible?  1 - Those more familiar and attached to more formal translations such as the King James Version 2 - Those already familiar with intensive Bible study, IF not working with youth or those less familiar 3 - most Protestants...the discussion is from a very clear Catholic viewpoint...not really controversial, just Catholic 4 - and traditionalists who are offended by the idea of making the Bible "accessible" and "relevant" through use of the lingo/parlance and point of view of today's under-25 set.  I believe one reviewer felt that the Bible didn't need to be made culturally relevant, finding the sidebars on race, cultural differences, modern morality, and varying interpretations to be just another extension of the "Political Correctness" movement. I couldn't disagree more.  The Bible should be the one book that everyone can "see themselves" in should they seek such a thing.  This Bible does that for a new generation of Catholics and for a new, hesitant group of explorers.  I'd ballpark the appropriate age for this version at around 13-35 years


The United States of Europe
	I handsold so many copies of this book that my local bookstore accused me of emptying out the warehouse so they couldn't order any more.  Reid strives for a journalistic impartiality here but he is so excited by the current evolution of political life in Europe that he carries you along.  I especially love the story of little Portugal, which has unilaterally decided that drugs are no longer a criminal matter but a medical one.  The US could learn from that example, and from many other European examples in this book.  When you read the story about GE and Honeywell, you'll realize we're going to have to, because they're going to teach us whether we want to learn or not


Great Package! - THIS ONE WORKS.
	I have purchased probably 5 business plan books and software packages over the last 8 years. None of them were clear enough or easy enough to get me through the process of writing a good, complete business plan. This one really works. I sat down with the book and software, and over the course of a week, wrote a business plan that has received great results. Every business owner needs a business plan and this is somethig that you really do have to do for yourself. Unfortunately, writing a good business plan does not come easily to many people. This book will get you through the process, and you will end up with a good plan.
My only complaint is that the software is windows only


Hannah Coulter
	The book was excellent, as I knew it would be because I like the author, Wendell Berry.  And the service could not have been better: the book is in excellent condition (like new) and came in an amazingly short time


service and quality
	My order arrived quickly and for a used book it was in excellent shape, looking like new. I won't hesitate to order from this company again. Thank yo


I'm impressed
	Best of the series so far. Alternating the action between the two older siblings in one chapter and Sunny in the next really worked for me


Listening to Isaac's Storm
	I listened to Isaac's Storm on CD while painting a room, and it made the time fly!  The CD rendition was clearly spoken and had excellent production value.  That said, I also loved the story.  I am a weather-hound, and I enjoyed the detail of the way in which the nation maintained it's weather bureau.  (I had recently read "The Children's Blizzard" and I would consider this as a nice companion book for we weather-hounds.)  The descriptions from survivors was threaded effectively along with a panoramic view of the Galveston tragedy.  I have not read the book, but I found the CD riveting.


Must Read on a Neglected Topic
	In his book Trading Risk, Ken Grant draws upon his experience as a risk manager for Tudor Investments and SAC Capital to create an insightful and surprisingly non-technical guide for traders and portfolio managers.  As Director of Trader Development at a large proprietary trading house, I have been impressed with the role risk management plays in the success of the firm and its individual traders.  Moreover, this is a scalable difference: risk management very much impacts the outcomes of individual trades, results of trading days, and performance across entire quarters.  Where I believe Grant has admirably succeeded is in documenting that risk management is much more than simply "cutting your losses".  Trading Risk systematically breaks down elements of the process of managing trades, from the establishment of concrete objectives to the allocation of risk capital to specific trades and the use of correlation analysis in evaluating trading results.  His discussions of adjusting portfolio exposure and evaluating the risk components of individual trades are highly practical and encourage a rigor of self-analysis that is rarely practiced.

Perhaps an example from my own work with traders that overlaps Grant's ideas might be illustrative.  I encourage traders to keep a log of all their trades that tracks time of day, position taken, position size, holding period, and profit/loss (P/L).  Changes to the position are also documented, as traders scale into or out of trades.  From this record, we can evaluate a host of performance statistics, such as position sizing as a function of market volume/volatility, the correlation of profitability with trade size/holding period, and patterns of activity within the trading day.  While Grant's background is with portfolio management-appropriate to a manager who is holding a basket of positions in a variety of equities-his ideas are easily adaptable to the intraday trader who is trading a single instrument.  By viewing each trade during a day as an element of that day's "portfolio", we can ask important questions about the mix of position sizes, overall directional bias, and the management of volatility as a function of trade capital/loss limits.

Written in an engaging style with bits of humor interspersed, Trading Risk ends with a practical chapter that summarizes the book's major points.  He explains the importance of developing and modifying trading plans, defining one's trading "edge", judiciously allocating risk capital, and improving performance "at the margin".  This latter point is a particularly neglected element in risk management.  For the active, large trader, the ability to squeeze the extra tick out of trades is frequently the difference between a winning day and a losing one.  Superior traders have an ability to read the very short-term patterns of price change and momentum to determine when it is prudent to hit the bid or let the market go offer in exiting a position.  At such points, good risk management and good trading are indistinguishable.

I have few reservations about Grant's book.  A text of 250 pages is not going to provide many workbook-like examples, something that would help the more mathematically challenged master the ideas of value-at-risk and correlation analysis.  Small retail traders who trade only occasionally will probably find the risk metrics less compelling than larger, active traders or portfolio managers, though the basic principles emphasized in the last chapter certainly apply to any serious trader.  Considering the absence of serious discussions of risk management in the popular trading literature, Trading Risk is a major contribution and a worthy addition to a library.  I plan to use it as a core reading in our training program for new traders, perhaps the best endorsement I can give.


A nice ride
	Once again I am amazed by the amount of controversy associated with a book addressing a religious subject.  I bought this to get a better feel for the Old Testament [operative word is "feel"].  As a Roman Catholic, the Old Testament is addressed in the first reading at Mass, but then brushed over for the most part in a cursory manner.  It is particularly confusing, hard to read, and difficult to understand in proper context, without some help.  In fact there are portions of the Old Testament that just seem cruel and ridiculous.  Davis's book helps to demonstrate that it was written by people, in a certain time and place, and within a historical milieu.  It may not maintain the historical accuracy some may like, but it is sufficient to be effective.

It is just too simplistic to look to the Bible for all answers; as if it were some sort of statutory code, with the answers to all questions.   The search and answers for truth are never ending, and the Bible is a beginning.  I get more from Catholic writers who explore the Bible and the traditions of my religion relative to our world, than I do from the book itself.  Davis is throwing in his spin, as well as a pretty accurate assessment of the Bible in historical context, which I found quite helpful.

Take it for what is worth, a spin in a convertible through the Bible.  A nice ride, but nothing more.


An essential book for art lovers!
	I was fortunate enough to have seen the now-legendary Vermeer exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. during the winter of 1995-96.  21 out of the 35 (or 36) extant paintings by Vermeer were included in the show, offering a unique opportunity to see the bulk of Vermeer's amazing works in a single space, something that no one has experienced since 1696, when @20 of his paintings were auctioned in Delft.  Given the rarity and fragility of Vermeer's works, it is unlikely that such an event will ever be repeated. All who were unable to make it to the show, however, have this splendid book as a document of this unique event.  This book will remain the standard work on Vermeer for many decades, and represents the fruit of several years' labor by art historians on two continents. Because so little is in fact known about Vermeer the man (in truth, we have no idea at all what Vermeer's education, interests, and personality were like), the catalogue essays fill this gap by contextualizing Vermeer's work within the history of Dutch painting, the development of perspective, and the fascinating tale of Vermeer's  quot;rediscovery quot; in the 19th century and his richly-deserved rise to worldwide fame. The essays and catalogue entries may be too technical for some readers, as the authors have expended a lot of effort to reconstruct Vermeer's exact technique, something which can only be gleaned from careful study of the paintings themselves (no drawings by Vermeer have survived, nor have any statements he may have made about painting).  This extensive scholarly apparatus, while illuminating and occasionally even riveting (the essay dealing with Vermeer's rediscovery is a great detective narrative!), tends to obscure the strange, even uncanny emotional charge that his images are suffused with.  Vermeer's personal world - so limited in content yet unforgettably haunting and evocative - is one of stillness and peace suffused with tension.  Each image contains remarkable spatial and temporal ambiguities that make simple scenes like a lady writing a letter while her maid looks away or two people standing near a piano (The Music Lesson) vibrate with dramatic tension.  Sadly, the somewhat passionless writing encases the pictures (all of which are superbly reproduced) in a rhetoric that does not address the fundamental issue: What is it about these paintings that is so powerful that their maker was rescued from total obscurity and has inspired poetry, novels and countless studies?  I was hoping to find some discussion of the psychological meaning of these images, but the traditional (overly scholarly and dry) art history within did nothing to help me understand my passion for the  quot;Sphinx of Delft. quot;  That said, the book is a masterpiece of empirical research on the artist (barring some new discovery, it is unlikely that we will ever have any more facts about Vermeer and his world than can be read here), exquisitely designed, and distinguished with beautiful reproductions.  The volume is certainly one of the few bestsellers in the field of the art book - when I attended the show, the paperback print of the book was totally sold out and the hardcover was flying off the shelves (it is odd that the book has not been reprinted in paperback).  Johannes Vermeer is THE text to have on this artist and is unlikely to be superseded anytime soon.  Immerse yourself in Vermeer's world and you will be transformed.  Seeing this exhibition changed my life, and I treasure this book as a means of recapturing the awe and joy that overwhelmed me at the time.  I hope you will enjoy this book as much as I have


Though-provoking treatise on human dependence on dogs
	In the "New Work of Dogs,"author Jon Katz expands his scope from focusing on his relationship with his dogs---a topic he has detailed in previous books---to examining the canine-human relationship on a broader scale.

Informed by arduous research (a two foot stack of papers, books, journals), he sets out and succeeds in making a case that dogs, by-and-large, are doing different work from their traditional herding, hunting, and guarding. We have pushed our canines into new territory as emotional companions, therapy dogs, even extensions of our egos to help us cope with an increasingly complex world.

The notion that we are growing increasingly isolated as a culture is not new, but seeing how humans are using dogs to cope with a society that no longer maintains the cultural bearings of "the greatest generation" is new (at least to me).

Mr. Katz visits with many dogs and their owners of various social economic strata who inhabit the enclaves of Montclair, New Jersey.  More often than not, he found that dogs are being used as emotional surrogate, a classic situation noted in attachment theory but hitherto mostly applied to other people. Many of these dogs are pampered, untrained, and confused. Others are abused to some extent, whether through deliberate actions or through negligence.

The stories are alarming and informing. I see many of the mistakes I made with previous dogs laid out before me and wonder if my two Australian shepherds are as well-adjusted as they seem.

Many reviewers have commented, and correctly, that anyone planning to own a dog needs to read this book. Sadly, I think Mr. Katz will largely reach those people who already possess a great deal of knowledge about dogs---those who train their dogs, who buy or adopt breeds suitable for their living conditions or schedules, and who treat their dogs with consistent, loving authority.

Mr. Katz does not make harsh judgments on any of the circumstances he depicts but instead concludes by noting how many dogs are dumped in shelters where they languish or die. The numbers are staggering.

And he takes matters a step further with the thought-provoking idea that if we have dog rescue groups, how can we not also have their counterparts to reach out to those of our own species in dire need.


Quirky and creative pictorial portrayel
	Quirky and creative pictorial portrayel of man's best friend.  Makes the reader feel warm and fuzzy.  A great gift book.  Arlene Millman, author of BOOMERANG - A MIRACLE TRILOGY (The tale of a remarkable Boston Terrier)


Diffrent  Aproach
	lIKE A MYSTERY NOVEL AT FIRST THEN LIKE A FICTIONAL JOKE BUT CRAZY AS IT SOUNDS IT WORKS. It is intresting to apply the guidlines Bob recommends for getting out of the rut of lifes financial strifes and other problems of life. I found it easy to understand and even if it challenges your lifes beliefs keep reading . Good Stuf


Typical Steel!
	I loved this story.  It was written in true steel fashion...exciting, interesting, and fullfilling


One of the few books to discuss what we can ALL learn from  the Cirque du Soleil creative process
	While this book had some minor flaws (I'll discuss those briefly later), it is worth owning, especially since it is one of the few books to truly discuss the creative process of Cirque Du Soleil and how the rest of us can learn from what the performers do every day- the type of risks they take in hopes of creating magic, the beauty and spiritual resonance of their performances.

There is another book out there that explores one man's experiences with one performer and it is also intriquing but this new book reveals more about a wider variety of artists, directors, designers, etc.

    And, for all those who've watched and been entranced by a Cirque du Soleil performance...wouldn't we all like to create a little of that magic in our lives? Wouldn't we all like to ignite our own creative fires, even if they come out in different ways, perhaps in writing, perhaps in our work lives or the time we spend with our families or while alone.

   One of the main lessons I got from this book is that being fully open as possible to one's imagination, hopes, dreams and aspirations can lead in wondrous directions and affect even the most "practical" or mundane tasks of life. It just takes the willingness to take the risk, to accept failure and setbacks in return for spiritual and emotional growth and lifechanging experiences.

   This is more than a book geared to artists and peformers. It truly is for the rest of us. It can change your life.

    Having said that, I found myself wanting more, felt myself not quite fully satisfied by this book. I felt some of the sections were a little too pat or formulaic. But these are minor quibbles when the book offers so much and is one of the few  books that really explores the Cirque du Soleil creative process. Until a better one comes along, I'd consider this a MUST for anyone wanting to know more about the secrets and techniques of the Cirque du Soleil "spark", a spark that can affect us all.


Flawed but Enjoyable
	Yes, it's cliche. Yes, the plot is lifted directly from Star Wars. Yes, there are obvious references to Anne McCaffrey, Tolkien and other fantasy writers. But who cares?

Eragon is, above all else, an enjoyable read. Despite underlying flaws in the writing, Paolini effectively tells a rewarding good-versus-evil story in a clearly-defined world, with a well-thought-out magic system and a realism Tolkien could never muster. Sure, Eragon has its critics (mostly aspiring writers that have not enjoyed Paolini's success), but if you can ignore their blustering and simply take the book at face value, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Although not as epic or impressive as some of the older fantasy works, Eragon is nonetheless, a great read


Freedom, Freedom, Freedom!
	Give up dieting forever! I have and I am now losing weight eating anything, yes anything, I want.  Can you imagine eating anything you want and not being frightened?  This is the book that will set you free, this is the book you need. Has it struck you that dieting is unnatural?  Don't eat this, don't eat that, count this, count that, measure this, measure that, I can't have this, and I can't have that, ad nauseum.  Which diet guru are you going to believe?  Can you reall stay with a low-carb diet or a high-carb diet or calorie counting the rest of your life?  Most importantly, do you want to stick to a restricted diet the rest of your life?  The first day of my new eating pattern I ate two meals.  The second day, I woke up with no hunger, no reactive hypoglycemia (nausea and shakes from hunger)!  What a miracle.  I have shifted to an apple for lunch and anything I want for dinner (I love to cook and desire to eat with my family).  At maintenance, I may end up eating two meals a day; I don't know and it certainly isn't something to  quot;worry quot; about.  The diet gurus that say one meal will cause you to overeat later, etc., are wrong, wrong, wrong.  Maybe it sounds theoretically correct, but it does not work that way.  Listen, I have found out the less you eat, the less you eat.  I do eat to satisfaction at dinner and it does not stretch my stomach.  By the way, Dr. Dean Edell stated on his radio show that he only eats one meal a day himself.  He says there is NO scientific proof that X number of meals are better than one.  Also, I want you dear readers to know that I have four friends who are  quot;naturally quot; slim (adult women - 30's and 40's). Two of them eat a small amount for lunch (like a small hamburger) and a good dinner (they are sizes 3 and 6).  One gal eats at 2:30 PM, a huge amount, and a snack at night (she is size 7).  One gal does nibble all day, like a potato chip here and there (no thank you, personally).  Oh, and a relative who is size 4 eats breakfast and dinner, never lunch.  Remember my comeback for sabotagers:   quot;Slim people don't need much food, even if we exercise.  Who says a certain number of meals a day are better than one or two? quot;  The only negative thing I have to say about Diane's book is that I felt she took scripture out of context.  God fed the Israelites manna 2X a day; they were supernaturally filled and nourished.  He does not feed anyone manna today.  Also, biblical gluttony is not overeating (I do believe a lifestyle of overeating is sin, but not gluttony).  Biblical gluttony refers to the Roman-type parties where people overate, overdrank and went on to commit more sin.  On the positive side, I do believe Diane tries steer away from legalism and authoritarianism.  This book is an answer to prayer.  You won't be sorry if you buy this book


Very very good
	I really liked this one because of the characters... and of course the background being about wine.. and the lifestyle of those who create it :)  I definitely recommend this one.


Page turning
	James Patterson at his best. 5th in a series and I can't wait for the 6th.Page turning with characters I can relate to


A marvelous grounding in popular history
	This book provides the reader with a clear, basic understandingof the grounding of popular opinion regarding gay life during the last50 years.  While the history is too rich and detailed to be dealt within a book with this scope, this is a remarkably readable and valuable thumbnail of the currents of the public discourse on gay life, and should provide any reader with an understanding of how crucial and new gay civil rights really are.  I only hope that it will inspire others whose experience of being gay is a relatively new one to realize how important political activism and community still is.  Not only that, a very engaging read


Very reflective, wonderfully descriptive and entertaining!
	Loved it. Highly suggest it. Couldn't put it down


Massive and masterful!
	With over 1000 recipes, this cookbook is going to take some time to truly put through it's paces, but I've had great results with the few dishes I've tried so far.  The Turkey Wraps with Chipotle Mayo rocked, with a gem of a condiment included - pickled red onion.  I'd use that on any sandwich, anytime.  The sauces for Halibut with Spicy Asian Vinaigrette (really a sambal vinaigrette) and Wasabi Cream were awesome.  Veggie dishes like Asparagus with Shallot and sesame seeds add a special touch to everyday dinners.

Granted, I haven't even put a dent in the vast amount of dishes represented in this massive cookbook - but so far so good!  I picked this up a few months agao as a remainder and paid about 10.00 for it - about a penny a recipe!  What a deal


The best diet book I have ever read
	if you ever eat fast food after reading this book, you obviously didnt read it. it covers how the fast food industry has changed america for the worst. how they manipulate kids into eating fast food. the conditions of the animals that are raised to be eaten. the diet of the animals. what goes on in the slaughter houses. how they have made the farmers go out of business. how the restarunts are run. fast food in schools and much more


Excellent
	I think this is really an excellent book, one that I would highly recommend. Everyone should read this and realize the words of wisdom.  The authors do an EXCELLENT job of talking about why it is so important to eat well about all the benefits of proper diet and the dangers of improper diets.  And so on, and so forth.  Get the book and educate yourself


Insightful
	Ever since Tuesdays With Morrie I have been intrigued by ALS and the ways that people cope with its devastating debilitation. Morrie has given us so much with his aphorisms and insights regarding living life


Even a cooking idiot (ME) can dazzle!
	I am admittedly a terrible cook, so I follow recipes to the letter, often with nonmagical results. With Julia Child in my kitchen, however, things are looking up! Her recipe for roast chicken was so exact that even I could not mess it up. That and the sauteed beef steaks are now my go-to dinners because they are easy and reliable.  I've also had great success with the quiche and biscuit recipes and look forward to trying breadmaking for the first time.  This book is essential for anyone out on his or her own for the first time, newlyweds, or people like me who just don't get it (but really want to)


A Must Read... Study
	This is the best book on creating wealth that I've ever read. Study this book. It's full of action points... not a bunch of fluff


Two books in one! First covers networking. Second covers three types of small businesses and Internet marketing.
	What a wonderful book this author has written. It talks about developing interpersonal skills, public speaking skills, prospecting skills, networking etiquette, sales skills, marketing principles, and even customer service. It mentions the power of the Thank You note, and of giving more than you receive. It also devotes a chapter on some things about home-based businesses. And a chapter about the opportunities available through network marketing, and also a chapter on mail order and direct marketing as a business opportunity. I'm not sure the mail order chapter should have been included. Quite frankly, I think the author should have written another book about what he discusses in chapters 12 to 14 instead of including those chapters here. And I think Chapter 15 should have been saved for its own book, and not included in this book either. But who cares! Anybody interested in the main thrust of the book (endless referrals) is going to be interested in chapters 12 to 15 - and they are well written and informative.

What I liked the most about the book was the chapter summaries at the end of each chapter. I did not have to wade through the book the first time through. I just had to read the summaries. The other thing that was really nice about the book was the "recommended reading" sections at the end of chapters 12 through 15 and the one at the end of the book. Those booklists were very thorough and helpful. 5 stars


A much needed focus
	'Conservatives Without Conscience' does nothing less than expose the matrix of political illusion with a comprehensive framework of science.  There is much more that could be said about the authoritarian character structure and the history of the science, but John Dean does a good job of explaining the basics, and how it applies to our modern political landscape.

	 This is not new information, it has just been sequestered in the hands of academics and the Carl Rove wing of the Republican party.  The academics keep measuring and refining their understanding, and Carl Rove and his party keeps using the information to manipulate the american public.  Finally, someone mainstream has laid it out for all to see.  Knowledge is power, so everyone should read his book.  However, one lesson to be learned from this book is that closed mindedness is a hallmark trait of the authoritarian character, so this is not a book written to convert anyone with strong authoritarian character traits.  They don't tend to read books much anyway.  It is a book  for the open minded, that will put into context our mean spirited political landscape,  the by any means necessary tactics of many named players, and the proto-fascist movement that has hijacked our country.

	John Dean pulls no punches.  He names names and kicks butt.  He gets a little dry when trying to define his wing of conservatism as opposed to neo conservatism, but even that is well worth the effort.
 If you have a shred of unease about the leaders of the Republican party and those who  unquestionably support them, then read this book.  It is an eye opener


A Must Read for EVERY Woman.
	This is a must read for EVERY woman married or single who desires to have a better relationship with the men in their lives.  We all have men in our lives husband, father, brother, son, friend or coworker with whom the relationship is worth improving.

Keep in mind this is neither a marriage book nor a psychology book.  It is a book about men written for the women who truly care about them and the relationships they have with men.  There is a companion book written about women for men appropriately titled, "For Men Only."  Perhaps those who were offended by this book should give that one a try.

I found this book to be both touching and challenging.  Very Good book!!!


Very Educational
	This book gives insight to how the mind with a purpose (of being a millionare)looks at everything he does. An easy read and highly recommended


Buy 10 Copies of This Book!
	I have bought many books in my life, but Randy Gage's "Why You're Dumb, Sick and Broke" is the first time I ever bought a book with a parental advisory warning for explicit language. Gage does things a little differently than anyone else, which is something I quickly discovered when reading this book. This book is brash, to the point and filled with insight and inspiration. I thought that Gage presented his points in a well thought out manner that really took the establishment on head on.

Many points presented in the book are in other personal development books. However, I don't know of any book that has all these points in one book. Even Gage himself admits in an interview that this is a combination of Think and Grow Rich, The Secret, Ayn Rand and several other books and cd's.

A lot of it you have heard before, like if you say you are broke, then you will always be broke. However, I didn't realize how much the mainstream media and the political establishment are contributing to our negative, broke thoughts. Most frightening of all, I learned why the establishment needs us to be broke in order to keep their power. I am taking Randy's lead and watching less TV, especially the news. That's the worst of all!

There is also a nice introduction to Libertarianism and the works of Ayn Rand. As a Libertarian myself, I was delighted to see this included in the book. With recent reports circulating about Britain on the verge of becoming a police state, this warning about big government couldn't have come at a more appropriate time.

As expected, Randy does make a plug for MLM, but this is by no means an MLM book. The MLM plug is just a few short pages. However, it is still a nice resource for MLM people to use for third party credibility. He also mentioned real estate and information marketing as good businesses as well. I must be smart, healthy and rich, as I am already involved in all three.

I found myself nodding in agreement to this book. I also found a lot of places where I was thinking, "Oh, I'm not the only one who this this way. Why hasn't this been mentioned before in the press?" Other times, I thought, "Oh my god, I am being really manipulated here." While he was "preaching to the choir" with me, I'm sure that many people with more "mainstream" views will feel more challenged reading this book.

Bottom line, if you love MLM get 10 copies of this book, if you support the Libertarians, get 10 copies of this book. If you are like me and love them both, get 25 copies.

About the author
Carlos Scarpero is the host of the Network Marketing Minute podcast and the creator of the Success Duplicator downline building system. [...


Good Reading
	King did an excellent job keeping you guessing in this one.  There were some areas that could have been condensed and were sometimes confusing.  For the most part, not bad.  Would make a good movie


Excellent
	The authors map out clear, effective and proven strategies for rewarding parenting in this excellent well-written guide. An imaginative approach was called for when my 16 year old boy Jonathan threatened to barricade himself in his bedroom using just twigs, leaves, and his own spittle and dung, and this guide provided just that. There's nothing wrong with setting parameters, the authors say, just as long as that are not arbitrary or capricious and they are clearly articulated - and for crying out loud why should he be allowed to act like a nesting African Hornbill under my roof


The Navajo Landscape
	Tony Hillerman once again takes us into the world of the Navajo with Jim Chee and the legendary Joe Leaphorn of the Navajo Tribal Police. I read this for the first time some years ago, and this entry in the long-running series is very exciting. It has a lot of atmosphere and Leaphorn and Chee are fleshed out more than usual in this terrific read.

Both Chee and Leaphorn are dealing with personal issues as this one begins. Chee hasn't quite figured out how he feels about Mary leaving him because he could not leave his Navajo way of life behind and move to the city with her. He is smitten with a pretty Navajo attorney named Janet but she's with someone else. Leaphorn meanwhile, is on terminal leave and retiring after the unexpected death of his beloved wife Emma. Niether he or Chee can explain his obsession with finding a missing pot hunter named Eleanor Friedman-Bernal. No Navajo would be involved, as stealing pots like this would make one a "Thief of Time" according to Navajo tradition.

Chee's letting a rather large backhoe get stolen right from under his nose will have ties to Leaphorn's investigation, and once more Chee will be helping Leaphorn all across the Navajo territory. This one will stretch all the way into Utah and down the San Juan River. Leaphorn will be reminded of a young boy's death by drowning before this one wraps up, and it will have unexpected ties to his search for Eleanor.

It seems Eleanor was looking for pots made by the Anasazi, a tribe that simply vanished from the face of the earth. Pictographs and petroglyphs of Kokopelli, the "Watersprinkler," will play a vital part in this mystery. But Eleanor's interest is also anthropological, and someone thinks what she's discovered is worth killing for.

Leaphorn and Chee will be hundreds of miles apart when they reach the same conclusion in this complex mystery. One will have to race to the other as things turn ugly, and two very different men will find commom ground when Leaphorn asks the unexpected of young Chee.

Hillerman's descriptions of the thousand foot cliffs along the San Juan River at night, under a sky filled with Navajo mystery, will enthrall you. This is a good mystery and quite possibly the best in the series. You don't want to miss this one


I'll Make This Short
	Mark Levine really, really, really knows his stuff.
Mark Levine is really, really, good at explaining what he knows.

Note: This book is not for beginners, but if you're ready to expand your jazz skills, there is no better book I've seen (except for his Jazz Piano book!)


Must Read to Catch-up on Islamist History
	The position enjoyed by Mohammed as a prophet of God is disputed by his unprovoked attacks on innocent people - Islam was spread by use of the sword.  Because Americans are poorly educated on religious history in general and Middle Eastern History in particular, this book is a must read.  It is a single source for how Islam became as powerful as it is today.  The Editor uses multiple sources to document the facts necessary to allow the reader to support the assertion that Islam is a violent religion


War and Peace: Both Inscrutable
	Reading WAR AND PEACE is an immense undertaking, which has less to do with page numbers and more to do with addressing some very fundamental questions about what it means to be human. The first time that I read it, I read it as a novel, for entertainment. Years later, I picked it up again but this time my task was more ambitious. I sought to know how Tolstoy could justify the ways of God to man.  During this second reading, I was able to examine the Russian names, characters, events, and historical occurrences which occupied me the first time through. What I saw was that each of the hundreds of individuals was very much linked to the concluding Epilog, which I scanted then but studied now. Most readers of WAR AND PEACE find this part heavy going, which it certainly is, but in it, Tolstoy creates a key for unlocking the reasons who we are and why we do things the way we do. In essence, each human being is like an atom of gas floating in space, with one atom colliding at random with another, but when a sufficient number act in concert, such as Napoleon's invasion of Russia, their force is irresistable. When Tolstoy introduces world leaders like Napoleon or the Tsar, he does so in such a way as to depict them as no more than one more free floating atom, who can not see the Big Picture any more clearly than anyone else can.  The tragic decisions of these misguided leaders are based on a collective illusion that they and they alone can use divinely inspired reason to affect lasting change.  But when human beings act as if they acknowledge that their powers of reason are both limited and self-deluding--as when General Kutuzov relies on looking inward toward instinct rather than outward toward other circling and equally misguided atoms, then they are drawing closer to a universal "one" with nature.  This "one" Tolstoy invests with religious overtones as synonymous with God. Tolstoy does not say that human beings are preprogrammed robots held in thrall by that "one" or any other deity, but he does say that history, time, and man are all part of a universal flow that swoops along all in its path, and that if any intelligent atom wishes to know which way the flow is likely to go, then he might wish to emulate General Kutuzov, who at least knows that humbleness in the face of chaos is the first step in finding a rational basis for who we are and where we are going.


Timeline
	Marvelous story with historical concepts and involment leading the reader to intrigue and fascination.  Buy this book.


The Truth hurts.
	(W is not really number one.)

Ritter's book is best summed up by Ritter in these 4 paragraphs from the Epilogue;

"The notion of the war in Iraq resulting from an intelligence failure is very convenient for all parties involved. The intelligence community can simply say that intelligence is a tricky business, and sometimes you get it wrong. This, of course, provides a convenient excuse for the politicians, and compliant media, to contend that they were simply acting in the public interest based upon the information they were given...

...In the end, to accept the concept of Iraq as an intelligence failure, one must first accept the premise that the USA was implementing, as its primary objective for Iraq, the Security Council's resolutions on disarmament. This argument is simpy not sustainable. The behavior of the United States government and its intelligence agencies during my time as an inspector was not that of a government that was serious about disarmament. Support for UNSCOM's mission was, at best, tailored to the political imperatives at any given time. There was a total willingness to compromise the integrity of UNSCOM (and with it the whole notion of multilateral disarmament) for short-term tactical advantages in the battle between the US and Iraqi regimes. Towards the end of the inspections era, elements of the US government actively sought to make UNSCOM's job more difficult by cutting it off from intelligence sources. Disarmament was simply not the USA's principal policy objective in Iraq after 1991. Regime change was.

The CIA was designated as the principal implementer of this policy. Therefore, when one looks at the March, 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent removal of power of the government of Saddam Hussein, the only conclusion that can be reached is that the CIA accomplished its mission. Iraq was, in fact, a great intelligence victory, insofar as the CIA, through its manipulation of the work of the UN weapons inspectors and the distortion of fact about Iraq's WMD programs, maintained the public perception of an armed and defiant Iraq in the face of plausible and plentiful evidence to the contrary. We now know that both the US and UK intelligence services had, by July 2002, agreed to 'fix the intelligence around policy'. But the fact remains that, at least as far as the CIA is concerned, the issue of 'fixing intelligence around policy' predates July 2002, reaching as far back as 1992 when the decision was made to doctor the intelligence about Iraqi SCUD missile accounting, asserting the existence of missiles in the face of UNSCOM inspection results which demonstrated that there were none.

As an American, I find it very disturbing that the intelligence services of my country would resort to lies and deceit when addressing an issue of such fundamental importance to the security of the USA. Intelligence, to me, has always been about the facts. When intelligence is skewed to fit policy, then the entire system of trust that is fundamental in a free and democratic society is put at risk. Iraq, and the role of the CIA in selling the war with Iraq, is a manifestation of such a breach of trust."

We've been had. On the Grand Scale. The problem of "politicization of intelligence" is clearly a bi-partisan issue.

I'm recommending this book for anyone who seeks the truth about Iraq's WMD's. I'm giving this book 5/5 stars just for delivering up the truth, damn the consequences


Layered plot with plenty of twists and turns...
	It's been awhile since I had a really good crime mystery read.  Therefore, I was excited when The Cold Moon by Jeffery Deaver arrived at the library.  The latest Lincoln Rhyme novel delivered just what I was looking for...  twists, turns, and plenty of forensic work.

The plotline here starts out on two tracks.  A killer nicknamed The Watchmaker is murdering people using slow torture techniques.  His signature is leaving a particular clock style at the scene. Rhyme and Amelia Sachs, his partner, are put on the case in order to solve it before more people die.  Sachs is also running her own case involving an apparent suicide that really turns out to be a murder.  The murder points to a run-down bar where a group of cops meet on a regular basis.  There's a strong chance that the cops are corrupt, so Sachs has to step carefully as it's not clear who she can trust.  The two cases converge when The Watchmaker is captured but the reality of his killings turn out to be a carefully staged plan to expose the corruption that Sachs is investigating.  But the layering of deception goes even deeper than that, and Rhyme has to continue to dig through each apparent motive and story to finally get to the core truth behind The Watchmaker...

If you want plot twists and turns, this book will definitely satisfy.  There are a number of scenes that appear to be transpiring in one fashion, only to be something else entirely.  The layering of plots by the killer never seems to end, and each new revelation ends up being the start of a new level of distraction.  A couple of the twists seemed to be a bit over the top, but not so much as to put me off the story.  It's a book I really didn't want to put down, even though I had other things I should be doing..


The point of unlimited possibility
	This was the first book by Johnson I read, though my mentors and teachers spoke of him often. The information about the mandorla was particularly helpful, giving a visual and archetypical model for holding the energy of the apparently opposite forces in a space of new possibility.

Johnson writes that if I can be with the opposites, at the point of their intersection and stay with my conflicting thoughts and impulses long enough, the two will teach each other something and produce an insight that serves both... produce something utterly new instead of win, lose or compromise.

The key appears to be that every real solution has to grow from the unique situation I face. Formulas, how-to's, devices and processes can never be enough in such moments. Referring to my own past for an experiential reference or to another's experience or advice can't do it, either, because it prevents or sidetracks the point of unlimited potential that wants to appear in and emerge out of each unique encounter.

I liked what Maria had to say in her post: "Meet your shadow", dated November 22, 2003. She said she gave it only 4 stars because he doesn't tell how to DO that is described as possible in the book... I felt a little of that, too. And I have since appreciated the blessing of not being told how until I've done a bit of my own struggle with my own opposites in many life situations.

A book I found to be a perfect companion to this one is "I of the Storm - Embracing Conflict, Creating Peace", by Gary Simmons. I highly recommend it in addition to this book. It addresses some of the questions I felt about the nature of conflict after finishing Owning Your Own Shadow, in a way that shed light into my life. I am very appreciative of both books.