AS

This novel is one of hardship and hope; family and redemption. The narrator in the novel is a young boy who is caught in the middle of it all. He tells a beautiful story without coming across as pitiful. A touching ending makes this novel one of the most memorable that I've read this year.

1. History

2. Cards and the Martial Arts

3. Magicians and Card Scaling

4. Technique

5. Advanced Technique

6. How to Practice and Stay Fit

7. Self-Defense

8. Stunts to Impress One's Friends

9. Personal Anecdotes

10. Afterword

This books explains such card throws as the Boomerang Card, the Long-Distance Spinner, the Flick, the Back-of-the-hand Flick, the Finger Flick, the Foot Flick, Card Juggling, the Lethal Four Card Fist, the Butterfly Swirl, the Sea Urchin Spin, and the Dolphin Dart. Shows alternative throwing methods such as the Martin Lewis Method, the Thurston Grip, the Jay Grip, and the Herrmann Grip. This is the book that made Jon Wedd famous for his appearance on MTV's "Unfiltered" news show. Ricky Jay held the Guinness world record for card throwing in 1976. He also wrote the book "Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women"

1. History A brief account of the origins of playing cards with some subtle speculation as to when they were first thrown (Very Interesting)

2. Cards and the Martial Arts A reflective look at the shuriken and other deadly throwing weapons of the venerable Orientals with a lucid parallel to the modern card assassin. (Very Very Interesting)

3. Magicians and Card-Scaling Historical accounts of the scaling of cards into the far reaches of small theaters. A feat of skill included in the stage shows of famous magicians, with particular emphasis on Herrmann the Great and the Amazing Thurston. 4. Technique The basics of card-throwing (illustrated); the Herrmann method, the Thurston method, and the Jay method. The hand, the wrist, the grip, and the all important follow-through. 5. Advanced Technique How to throw a card and make it return to the hand. A simulacrum of the Australian boomerang. Also--fancy one-hand throws and catches for the serious student....

6. How to Practice and Stay Fit The hows and wheres of practice; technique to keep the fingers limber and a short medical study of card-thrower's arm and its relationship to tennis elbow, surfer's knobs, and Frisbee finger...

7. Self-Defense A prejudiced enquiry into the advatages of cards over more conventional weaponry. Special sections on self-defense against plastics and humans, and pertinent discussion of cards as pest control. Also, an added bonus: The secret fighting technique against multiple adversaries, the lethal "four card fist." And a second bonus: The consumer's guide to mechanical card throwing. (Very Very Very Very Interesting)

8. Stunts to Impress One's Friends An effective battery of crowd-pleasing demonstrations from the author's own repertoire. Included are award-winning throws such as: card over a building, the classic card through newspaper, and the kudo-copping "card-cuts-cigarette-in-mouth." (Very... Interesting)

9. Personal Anecdotes In which the author recounts with clarity and exaggeration how he has helped the elderly, abetted the police, and assuaged the plight of young damsels with the help of his trusty cards. (Interesting)

This Book would make a come back if Reprinted

I would also recommend "Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women" by Ricky Jay

However, the reason this book is in such demand is that the photographs reveal you (or of course your lovely assistant) need not wear clothes to scale cards. This what one reviewer here called "wonderful, eye-catching photographs." Fair enough, it's Playboy stuff.

Therefore, it is tough to know just how serious Ricky Jay is being here. (I have personally watched in magic shops, years ago, as young men magii tried to buy a copy of this book when it was in stock at its original list price. They failed due to the nude photographs.)

The used book prices of this title are crazy.

Written with perfect, tongue-in-cheek camp humor, the autobiography of Belle Poitrine is the perfect send-up of the best Hollywood autobiographies - hysterically self-absorbed, condescending and - best of all - full of absolutely hysterical photographs by the great Cris Alexander. Belle's rise to fame from her childhood black sheep status, mid-life trials and tribulations, countless marriages (most often ending in widowhood) and more are all represented - once you're under the spell of her life story, the book is impossible to put down. And, please, do not rush to find out the ending - it's utterly priceless, and worth the wait, but to get the full, hilarious effect, you have to read everything leading up to it.

Read at your own risk - if you do, you'll surely be telling everyone you know about it - the humor is most contagious, and you'll be compelled to share. Enjoy!!!

Parece mentira, pero ES TAN SENCILLO !
A mis dieciseis años, vivo conm las libertades y el respeto que se gana cualquier adulto !

The "divorce drama" leaves many of us feeling diminished and bereft. I've learned from my own experience there is no set timetable for recovery from divorce. After my divorce, while others advised me to "get mad and get over," my heart told me to embrace my loss and integrate it along with the pain into my new life. This is also the premise of Ford's book which, after several readings, has helped me move beyond a very painful place in my life. She encourages us to step into the storm of of our turbulent emotions, for "we can't heal what we can't feel" (p. 80). The painful experience of divorce represents "a sacred and significant time" in our lives that provides us with an opportunity to know our deepest selves (p. 80). In that respect, divorce is like a gift from the universe.

After an insightful Foreward by Neale Donald Walsh, Ford's book follows "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Divorce:" Acceptance (pp. 11-38); Surrender (pp. 39-56); Divine Guidance (pp. 57-74); Responsibility (pp. 75-126); Choice (pp. 127-66); Forgiveness (pp. 167-86); and Creation (pp. 187-210), showing us along the way, that the breakdown of one's marriage is for the highest good (p. 9), that suffering is really nothing more than the difference between what is and what we want it to be (p. 49), and that we have a choice in how we interpret our experiences (pp. 136-47). Ford encourages us to think of divorce as an enlightening experience, a spiritual wake-up call, and an opportunity for renewal rather than ruin. For anyone hoping to recover from a failed relationship, SPIRITUAL DIVORCE is a step in the right direction. And for anyone who has made the painful journey through a failed marriage, reading Ford's SPIRITUAL DIVORCE might just leave you wanting to send your ex-spouse a thank-you card.

G. Merritt

The inmates can very easily begin running the asylum if these concepts promoted here are taken in just about EVERY way that most people will take them.

If you don't want to mess with your kids' education but you still want the feel-good experience of telling your church friends that you homeschool, then let your kids learn what they want. But it is your job to mold them and train them. For example, they don't like certain foods until you train them to like them. But the unschooling concept has a problem with that concept.

You should approach this with grave caution.