Block

I have to start this review by complimenting the author on his
enthusiasm and depth, his coverage of breaking tricks and his useful coverage of an unrelated topic: fighting strategy. For that, 5 stars. For the propagation of old information, 1 star.

Most of the "strength" training information provided is actually that used by body builders to increase muscle mass: medium high
weight, 10 reps/set, 30 secs rest between sets, train to failure. Powerlifters do not train this way, but narcissists do. The author mentions a few descriptions of strength
training, such as the paragraph on Gracie's weight lifting
and another instance of low reps/high weight/big rest training
program. Also, he mentions fast twitch muscle fiber development, but usually in the wrong training context,
such as endurance training. Fast twitch fibers deliver a high
force output over short durations and are quickly exhausted.
You can't train for endurance *and* power without sacrificing
the other.

The author also presents a forearm exercise routine
to increase grip strength. That's just mean. This makes me doubt that this book was written from personal experience.
He does write one paragraph on brick holding to increase
pinch grip power, but WAY more should be written on
finger and hand strength in a book on power training.
Check out John Brookfield's book on grip training.

Wrist weight and dumbbell air punching is just plain ol' backwards and dangerous. You really want to avoid training
muscles to slow down additional weight. So, you would train
either to throw the weight or have it decelerated by a target
such as a heavy bag. This external deceleration is the entire value of heavy bag training, and the author should know better.
Dumbell punching is the opposite of heavy bag training. To give him credit, the author does mention the use of punching weights into a heavy bag and throwing weights.

The routines provided will increase your power, but not as
efficiently as other methods. The author should
study modern strength and conditioning and update his book.
_Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning_ by Baechle and Earle . I anxiously await his second edition.

I liked this book. I've incorporated several of the exercises over the last six months and have improved in my punching and kicking. My backfists especially have gotten stronger from the lying backfist/tricep extension exercise. My front and roundhouse kicks have really improved power wise and, to my surprise, Ive added some nice muscle in my thighs.

Good book.

Buy this book! Its well written, down to the point. This guy knows what he is talking about. And I really like the thing that he looks like an average beer drinking martial arts teacher who spends lots of time with his family. He doesnt claim to be a champion or anything, he is just great!
The knowledge you get from this book and the results you will get from training these exercises are invaluable!!!

This is not your typical book on management or leadership. If you are familiar with the previous works of these two authors you will know they intended it to be dramatically different. They succeeded well with Freedom and Accountability at Work. Peter Block starts this journey by writing the introduction. His task is to create a context by which his colleague's writings can be used to understand the dynamics of the modern workplace. Many of the concepts and ideas found in Freedom and Accountability at Work are taken from two previous books written by Koestenbaum. Both The Vitality of Death and The New Image of the Person were written by Koestenbaum in the '70s. These two philosophical books are at the heart of this new publication. This book is written on the premise that it is time to bring philosophy into the world of business by helping others find answers to their questions about the real purpose of work. It includes ways to bring ethical and spiritual values into the workplace.

Block encapsulates this thought when he writes, "Philosophy is really about a universal form of leadership and the possibility open to each person to shape or create an environment that supports the pursuit of meaning and purpose, rather than our current obsession with financial security and material wealth." Freedom and Accountability at Work provides discerning and near tangible ideas about anxiety, freedom, suffering and death. The authors maintain that viewing the purpose of work from the lens of a philosopher can provide a unique shift in mental perception. They believe that by rising above the mental traps that typically ensnare us, we can make our work places more humane and experience the accountability and real freedom we all want. The authors also provide potential solutions to those whose are presently struggling with personal suffering and depression. They encourage the reader to engage in this profound degree of change that will help one to overcome the cynicism that comes from superficial change. It is their contention that leaders need to ask these deeper philosophical questions to become better role models today and to acquire the enabling vision to lead tomorrow.

This book is a collaborative work by a philosophy professor (Koestenbaum) and a management consultant (Block) that examines an array of philosophical and psychological subjects and ties them to the role of leadership and the nature and experience of work. At its core, it is about what it means to be human in the real world. The purpose of the book is to explore the ideas of existential philosophy, and associated ideas in psychology, in the context of everyday life, particularly at work. It covers such topics as freedom, anxiety, death and evil, and links these to how we think and act. The main theme is what it means to be free and the linkage to accountability. This is not your typical book about work or management. It is about the way each of us encounters the world, experiences living, and defines ourselves. It has deep implications for personal transformation and our interaction with reality. The book is intellectually challenging, mind-expanding, and very thought-provoking, providing fundamental implications for managing people, guidance, counselling, and personal growth.

I have learned from this book! I have learned about Existential Philosophy, human beings and myself. I have affirmed my belief in freedom, human potential and the Grace of God but this book has nothing to do with religion. I have affirmed my belief in my power and responsibility to shape the world. I have learned much about the human condition. I have helped others with the knowledge that anxiety (of the existential kind as opposed to the neurotic kind, the latter being the denial of anxiety) is actually a positive state since if acknowledged it can lead one to a rebirth. I have utilized the information in this book to face conflict in relationships by bringing them into the transcendental realm where we all have a stake. I have realized that failure or the threat of death, in the form of rejection or job loss is not a threat; no one can threaten you with the inevitable. I have affirmed that I can be an idealist while being realistic.

There is much to be explored in this depth of writing; it is a heavy book both in weight and content but by reading it, you can become stronger. There are some parts of this book after first read that I admit I don't quite understand or maybe I am preventing the understanding; I will read this book again. I will continue to explore the depths of my being to bring meaning to my life and hopefully the lives of others. This is how I feel about this book; read it and discover how you feel!

If you are rebuilding your chevy motor in stock form, this book is for you. If you plan on modifying your motor to any extent, it is too outdated and its suggestions for machining and assembly do not apply.

Written from this guys personal experiences. Could use more details/options for the rebuilder and less of his personal gabbing. Otherwise, it's a great book to start with.

I have used this book in my business for about 10 years. It is used both as a reference and a training aid for my customers. It is indispensible and there is no other book in my extensive library to compare with it. I highly recommend it to both the novice and professional.

This was a good, fast-paced Scudder novel, but not much of an ending.

"Out on the Cutting Edge" follows the two best novels in the Matthew Scudder series, "8 Million Ways to Die" and "When the Sacred Ginmill Closes." It is also the first novel in which Scudder conducts a case (in this instance two cases) while not in an alcoholic stupor. We catch up with Scudder a few years after he joined AA. He has a sponser and has managed to recover control of his life. His day to day existence, meanwhile, hasn't changed much. He still lives in a residential hotel and still conducts cases off the books as "favors" for friends.

The two cases are interesting. One is for pay; a family wants to know the whereabouts of their missing daughter. One is personal; an AA companion apparently commits suicide just before he is ready to confess his sins to Scudder. Both take Scuder in some unlikely directions and the payoff is typically messy. Meanwhile, author Lawrence Block introduces one his most interesting side characters to the series, the Irish gangster Mickey Ballou. Overall, this is a solid Scudder novel that is not quite on par with the best of the series. But any Scudder novel makes for excellent reading.

Once again Lawrence Block has managed to blow me away with another fantastic Matt Scudder book. This one is about a guy who is looking for his daughter, who went off to New York to try and find fame. He hires Scudder to find his missing daughter, but the only problem is, there arent many leads. He searches and goes through all the motions and has stumbling blocks in his way, but manages to get around them. I wont tell you the rest, because I dont want to ruin the book for you, but I will just say this. THE ENDING WILL SHOCK YOU!!!!!

There was a point last year where people who knew me would cross the street when they saw me coming because they were afraid I would start talking about SMALL TOWN by Lawrence Block yet again. I accordingly viewed Block's follow-up, THE BURGLAR ON THE PROWL, with at least some mild trepidation. How was he going to follow SMALL TOWN? How could he? Actually, I wasn't all too worried about the latter issue. Block has been writing, and writing well, for decades now, with no appreciable hint of a slowdown. It is a tribute to his literary prolificacy and a sad comment upon our general literacy to note that Block has by himself written more novels, total, than most people own, regardless of who wrote them. So does THE BURGLAR ON THE PROWL on the prowl match, or even perhaps surpass, SMALL TOWN? No. Is it, on its own terms, a resoundingly well-written novel, worth losing a night's sleep over? Yes, most resoundingly, yes.

THE BURGLAR ON THE PROWL marks the return of Bernie Rhodenbarr. Rhodenbarr is the owner, proprietor, and sole employee of a used bookstore in Manhattan --- as Bernie would put it, a whole lot smaller than The Strand. That's his day job. He is, on occasion, a burglar by night. He is a good bookstore proprietor, and a master burglar. The voice of THE BURGLAR ON THE PROWL is Rhodenbarr's, and while the story is not lighthearted, it has a light touch. One gets the feeling that everything will turn out okay; you're just not sure how.

THE BURGLAR ON THE PROWL explores some of the themes that Block explored in SMALL TOWN, the primary one being that New York City, or at least the Manhattan portion, is a small town, with the degrees of separation between individuals being very few if not nonexistent. It begins with Rhodenbarr's friend Marty Gilmartin asking Rhodenbarr to perform a burglary not for lucre, but for malice. Crandall Mapes has aroused Gilmartin's ire, and Gilmartin wants the cad taken down a peg or two. Rhodenbarr agrees, checks the place out, and begins making arrangements to do the job the following Friday.

In the meantime, Rhodenbarr has the jones and can't resist pulling off another job in the interim. Before that night is over, he has been present during a rape --- an attack which he is powerless to prevent --- and is accused of being involved in another burglary and a double murder in the same neighborhood. Rhodenbarr has a hard time establishing an alibi. He can't say that he didn't commit the burglary/murder because he was busy committing another burglary elsewhere, and besides, his image has been captured on a number of surveillance cameras in the area (note to Bernie: there is no right to privacy in a public place). Now Rhodenbarr has attracted the attention of the police; he has also attracted the attention of the real burglars, who think that he has somehow acquired what they were after.

In fact, Rhodenbarr has multiple problems. He needs to dodge the real burglars/murderers and the police; he feels very motivated to do something, anything, to the rapist who committed the dastardly act right in front of him; he'd like to help the victim out; and, oh yeah, there's that burglary for Gilmartin that he has to commit on Friday. Now...would you believe me if I told you that it all ties in together, and that the common denominator is not Bernie Rhodenbarr? And that it ties together plausibly? I wouldn't believe it either, but it does. And all in one setting.

Block has been at this for awhile, and he goes after the readers who say to themselves, "I'm going to read just one more chapter and then stop." No, Block's chapters are like literary M & Ms. You start with one, and then have another, then another, and you're not going to stop until the bowl is empty and the book is done.

Is THE BURGLAR ON THE PROWL perfect? No. Block made the ending just a little more complicated than it really needed to be --- I really didn't need three hypotheses when just the actual solution would have been fine --- but the first 314 pages, and the last four, of this 320 page book were so superbly written that it seems like a pissant's quibble to even bring it up. So I won't.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

If you are a Bernie fan, run out and grab one of these books today and you will feel like you did when you discovered your first Bernie novel, it is that good. Not to be overly critical of the last couple of Bernie books, but they cannot hold a literary candle to The Burglar on the Prowl. I felt like Mr. Block was starting to rest on his laurels a bit like Tom Clancy has started to do of late and just throw fans a weak effort at a Bernie novel every now and then. But, as if to restore my faith, along comes The Burglar on the Prowl! This is what a Bernie book should be...it was a sheer pleasure to read. The wit is back Mr. Block. Stay off the cruise ships when you write and go to Ragsdale and repeat this process again and again. It has produced a winner! I laughed aloud at least 5 times by the beginning of Chapter 4! The wit of Bernie and Carolyn combined with all the wonderful metaphors, word plays, and well-researched literary (and other) references plus the tie-in to the earlier 'Ted Williams' book made this new read seem like an old friend right from the start. Welcome back Bernie! Welcome back Lawrence Block! Well done!

I so look forward to each installment in the Bernie Rhoddenbarr series. This book lived up to my expectations. It is well written with all the usual characters and many others thrown in. Bernie himself has to be one of the more interesting characters in literature. A burglar that runs a bookstore and has a soft spot in his heart. I finished the book in under 3 days and enjoyed ever bit of it.

I read the other reviews before I wrote this, and I couldn't help but notice that NOT ONE of the "reviewers" said anything about the recipes. Why? Because they are terrible! Let me explain: I am a cookbook reader, collector, cook and baker. I read/review and try cookbooks ALL THE TIME. This cookbook is terrible! The recipes just do not work - and I've tried a lot of them.
As far as ideas go, if you want to get really chummy with your neighbors, then buy this book - that's where it gets 2 stars from me.

My family recently moved into our first home in the suburbs. We're on a very busy street without sidewalks so none of the kids on the block knew each other. This book has really helped us learn how to connect to our new neighbors. We started throwing neighborhood parties for all occassions, and the kids on the block finally know each other.
This book has so many fun and inventive ideas, adorable drawings, and easy recipes that work well for crowds. Three new families have moved in this year and the book has given us wonderful ideas to welcome them! (We now bring welcome baskets that include a list of important places in the area.) I wish someone in the neighoborhood had read this book before we had moved in!

Not only am I a new neighbor, but I am a terrible cook, and Peggy Allen's book is full of fun and super-simple recipes that I cannot wait to try out on the folks next door! It's also well laid-out and enjoyable to glance through. Flip through it, you'll see what I mean.

I needed to get my resume straightened out for applying for jobs as a science educator at a college level or as a disability/deaf rights activist, or maybe going back into Neuroscience which my MS from med school is in. I found this book was okay for people with high school, work experience, and a first degree from college, but not for someone like me who has 3 degrees and numerous experience in speaking to groups and writing for a variety of mediums. This resume definitely is not for those who need to write something closer to a curriculum vitae, but is adequate for everyone else. Needless to say I was somewhat disappointed because it came highly recommended. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

I found this book very helpful. I am director of sales, and found a good balance of examples and tips. Most of the resumes are geared toward business professionals, with an emphasis on how to develop your resume with the hiring company in mind. This is important in our industry from a sales perspective, and they teach you the same approach in presenting yourself to the customer, meaning the hiring manager/company.

I found this book to be very helpful, and include more variety than others on the market. The online section was good - brief and to the point. I think this is a book for the future on getting your foot in the door.

Hiney's book has absolutely beautiful samples of foundation-pieced blocks that I have not found anywhere else. The quilt and wall-hanging examples that are in the book are beautifully done, and most could easily be done by someone who has had some experience foundation piecing. However, for those people who like to pick a quilt out of a book and make it exactly, this may or may not be the book for you. About a third to half of the blocks are only shown in singles (not in an actual quilt), so you may have to experiment a bit with them in order to find how they will look when assembled. If you are a quilter who likes to make up her own designs, but needs a little help designing the basic blocks, this book is a must have!

I was amazed that this was Mary Jo Hiney's first foundation piecing book. The patterns she drew were more complex than her peers (example: Carol Doak), but they are not necessarily harder to re-create. One can only fold paper in so many directions, but Mary comes up with some very unique subjects. I've used her sunset pasttern with my own hand dyed fabrics. That's what I like about the book too; there's room for your own interpretation... (Although there are very easy patterns in the book, this shouldn't be your very first try at paper piecing. But the book is a must.)

As I gazed through this book, my mind just kept seeing a variety of projects that each of the patterns could be used for. The instructions are very exact and detailed. Each pattern is just what I needed for ....project. The photos are very clear and the color palette is pleasing. This is a book that I will be adding to my collection.

This book is an excellent design source for anyone interested in older quilt patterns. The book features color photos of 800 quilt blocks with captions giving the name of each and the approximate size of the original block. Included are patterns and piecing diagrams for 200 of the blocks. The blocks are all pieced with vintage fabrics for anyone who is interested older fabrics. Just a wonderful book!

If you are interested in quilt history or in the names of traditional quilt blocks, this book is an invaluable tool. Carrie Hall sewed and collected various quilt blocks along with their names in what is now an encyclopedia of quilt history. I have used this book both for inspiration in my own quilt block making and also for historical interest (which blocks were named after political events, etc). Definitely one to have on your quilt book shelf.

This is an excellent resource book for those interested in quilt history. The more than 800 blocks were made between 1900-1935. Both pieced and appliqued blocks are shown in color. The pattern section of more than 200 blocks range from easy level to difficult. The template section is very easy to use. Each block is shown in color and then in sections with all template numbers listed. All blocks in this section have been converted to more standard sizes and could be converted to other sizes with relative ease by any quilter. A fantastic book and a must for any quilter's personal library!

small book full of knowledge.if you are a painter,will find answers and solutions for creative blocks. comments on "the studio"(the space for your work), copying, sources and others. read this book ,and feel secure the next time you face a blank canvas.

What a wonderful book - I go back to it again and again. While "Art and Fear" is a great source of information, it is a little dry. I truly enjoy reading "The Blank Canvas", because it is a concise and witty source of inspiration. I wish I had read it sooner!

Excellent

The Blank Canvas is an excellent guide for visual arts students. It is concise, insightful and packed with practical suggestions for 'getting started', nurturing ideas and developing one's painting/drawing. All of this valuable advice, plus insights from other painters and illustrations in a little over 100 pages. It's a small treasure. I like this book a lot!. I highly recommend it. Another wonderful, very special book for visual artists is Roberta Weir's The Artist's Way of Seeing.