D-A Books

In all the reviews I am surprised no one has mentioned Poe's short story "William Wilson," the very definition of doppleganger in literary prose. Here in "City of Glass' we have the same thing, even Auster uses the name William Wilson.

This novel brings back true literature in a culture devoid of anything that smacks of indepth thinking on the part of the reader. Allusions, allegory, symbol, puns, linguistic twists, irony, shifting narrators...it's all here. The play on initials between Don Quixote and Danial Quinn is exquisite; the continual movement of Stillman and the paradox of his name speaks volumes about the craft of the author; the quick syntax of detective fiction when Quinn is Auster is beautifully reminiscent of Phillip Roth; the Socratic philosophical dialogue between Stillman and Auster makes me smile with joy that an author encapsulated the form so subtlely and let the audience 'get it' on their own.

As a reader, the beauty of the style and form shines through without me having to be told by the author what he is doing. That is priceless in a contemporary literary world where stunted, choppy, rough prose has eclipsed mastery. I am so glad I have a copy of City of Glass; it is the best book I have read in years.

City of Glass is a graphic novel interpretation of Paul Auster's well received book, originally published in 1985. Halfway through the graphic novel I picked up the original book to see how some of the wild imagery was portrayed in written form. I was surprised (though should I have been?) that there seemed to be greater depth to the literary version, which supplemented the imagery as I continued to move deeper into the graphic novel.

The only reason I didn't give this work a better rating was due to the storyline building up in a way that insisted more in the end. I enjoyed the graphic novel, but after reading it I realized I would have appreciated the original even more. I feet it would probably be best to read the original novel and then try the shorter graphic version again...but I honestly have some difficulty committing myself to a detective yarn when I already know how it will end.

Not knowing the book, I bought this comic by chance and was not at all prepared. I've never read a comic like this in my whole life. It goes so deep...it's a miracle.

The real magic here is that, in reworking Paul Auster's original novel, Karasik and Mazzucchelli have produced a true literary adaptation in comics form. This is no "Classics Illustrated"; this is a comic that strengthens its source material rather than diminishing it. The original book's concern with the gap between language and meaning is given further depth and resonance in the comic, which finds a visual language equivalent, and does it in a way that no other medium could have. This is no mere illustrated text, but comics as a formidable language and medium in itself. Interestingly, when the original book and the comic are read together, the comic itself almost becomes a physical character, another in the story's proliferation of literary doubles.

"City of Glass" is not a simple adaptation from the original book, but a real translation, from literature to sequential art. Mazzuchelli's drawings provides a very good trip to Auster's universe, his unusual characters, enlarging at same time the limits of comics language. One of the best comic books ever!

The Complete Angler - Izaak Walton and Chalres Cotton

This book deserves a place in a collection of great angling books, such as those of John Geirach, Henry Middleton and Scott Waldie. It is really two books and an odd sort of middle section on property rights and fishing (funny how some issues have not changed much since the late 17th century). It has some wonderful discourses on not just fishing but the lifestyle and philosophy of fishing. There are some sections and descriptions that can be tedious but they minor compared to the overall wonderful dialogue of the majority of the book.

The first section is written by Izaak Walton and, to me, was Canterbury Tales-esque, is it's older English language (which is entertainingly preserved) and its format. Three travelers - a fisherman (angler), hunter and falconer meet. In the course of discussing the merits of their activities the angler convinces the hunter to come along fishing with him (after seeing a hunt with hounds). Over the course of a few days on the rivers of England, the angler turns the hunter to the quiet joys of angling. He goes through the fish in England and all the baits and methods of fishing for them as well as how to prepare each of them. I had never through of carp of chubs and fish to eat, but after some of the descriptions in this book, I may have to give the a second look someday. The first book is as much of a celebration of the social and contemplative nature of angling as it is descriptions and methods of fishing. Interspersed are encounters with the local farmers, milker and inn-keepers as well as the talking over of the days activities among friends. But the highlight of this first section, and in my opinion the entire book, is the parting words of the angler to the hunter of how angling is a life philosophy that departs sharply from the hustle and bustle of the capitalist life. The first book is replete with references to early Christianity and its admonitions against looking to wealth for happiness.

There is an odd middle section about property rights and fishing which serves as a rather odd bridge to Charles Cotton's section. This book focuses on fishing for trout and graylings in a small section of England. If found the wordy descriptions of the flies by month to be tedious and the lack of philosophical discussion of fishing to be a little disappointing of an end.

Five days of fishing along the river Lea which joins the Thames near London is the background on which the cheerful narrative of The Compleat Angler is laid. The splendid civil conversation of Latin named Piscator, Venator, Auceps, Viator, and Piscator Junior is a joy to hear. Shakespeare was just publishing his first work when Izaak Walton was born in 1593 in Stafford. Walton retired in his early fifties and traveled about rural England visiting friends, fishing, and writing in his easy-going fashion. After publication of The Compleat Angler in 1653 he continued to add to it in his leisurely way for the next quarter century. Samuel Johnson praised the book in the eighteenth century and later Charles Lamb recommended The Compleat Angler to Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 'It breathes the very spirit of innocence, purity, and simplicity of heart,' he noted. 'It would sweeten a man's temper at any time to read it; it would Christianise every angry, discordant passion; pray make yourself acquainted with it.'
The Compleat Angler is a true classic of English literature that owes it's esteem not to advice about fishing but to Izaak Walton's pre-occupations and exquisite manner. Subtitled The Contemplative Man's Recreation the pages glow with delight in the hills and dales, woods and streams of the beloved countryside. Walton conveys a message of meek thankful fellowship and peace to all "honest, civil, quiet men". 'The Compleat Angler is not about how to fish but about how to be,' said novelist Thomas McGuane. 'Walton spoke of an amiable mortality and rightness on the earth that has been envied by his readers for three hundred years.'

Three hundred fifty years ago Izaak Walton wrote of the curious blend of inner peace and giddy excitement which the amateur naturalist finds at streamside. He invites us to stroll with him through the countryside, discussing the mythology, superstition, and the science of England's aquatic fauna. It is an unrushed journey, though we often arise at sunrise, and the author introduces us to many of the local inhabitants. Indeed, if our fishing is successful, we might exchange our catch for the song of a pretty milkmaid. The Compleat Angler is a brief book, and Walton's intent is to hook the reader, and encourage him to try fishing for himself: "I do not undertake to say all that is known...but I undertake to acquaint the Reader with many things that are not usually known to every Angler; and I shall leave gleanings and observations enough to be made out of the experience that all that love and practise this recreation, to which I shall encourage them." Interestingly, Walton starts off on the defensive, since the fisherman's passion was even then caricatured. By the end the reader has joined the "Brotherhood of the Angle," making artificial flies and enjoying the poetry of fishing: "The jealous Trout, that low did lie, Rose at a well-dissembled fly." To the modern ear Walton's literal belief in naturalists' old wives tales may seem humorously anachronistic, and it comprises a remarkably large part of his affection for his subject. We are also frequently reminded of the book's timeline with comments such as "...the Royal Society have found and published lately that there be thirty and three kinds of Spiders," while we now know that there are thirty thousand species of Arachnids. And the Brotherhood of the Angle is a genuine fraternity to Walton, "...I love all Anglers, they be such honest, civil, quiet men." The prospective reader must also be disabused of the misconception that Walton was a purist for artificial lures; he strongly recommends worms, minnows, and live flies. In Walton's watery world there is no dry humor, only fresh. Following his description of the twelve most effective artificial flies he says, "Thus you have a jury of flies likely to betray and condem all the Trouts in the river." And here he compares the beautiful coloration of a living trout to...well, you'll see: "Their bodies [are] adorned with such red spots, and...with black or blackish spots, as give them such an addition of natural beauty as, I think, was never given to any woman by the artificial paint or patches in which they so much pride themselves in this age." At the risk of taking some of the surprise out of the book, I here present a sample of Walton's fishing secrets: "Take the stinking oil drawn out of Polypody of the oak by a retort, mixed with turpentine and hive-honey, and anoint your bait therewith, and it will doubtless draw the fish to it." I would guess that Walton wasn't much of a cook, however, and I do not recommend his recipe for eel (partially skinning it, packing the viceral cavity with nutmeg and anchovy, cutting off the head, slipping the skin back over the body, and sewing it together where the head formerly was, then barbecuing it on skewers). Walton's affection for fish and fishing extends beyond the aquatic nobility of trout and salmon, to the often ignored commoners: gudgeons, sprats, bleaks, herns, tench, roach, umber, loach, and sticklebag. And as for the importance of fishing in Walton's world: "I envy not him that eats better meat than I do, nor him that is richer, or that wears better clothes than I do; I envy nobody but him, and him only, that catches more fish than I do."

This is surely one of the earliest books available to the modern angler. But it's worth distinguishing 'anglers' from 'fishermen'. I take 'anglers' to be people who go after fish for fun or sport or pleasure and 'fishermen' to be people who go after fish for work.

The first thing to be said about Izaak Walton's book, is that it is a play followed by a text book. The second thing, is that it's in a foreign language even to the English, because it was first published in 1653 when the author was 60. A ripe old age in England in those days.

Walton was essentially a biographer. He got paid for it - often commissioned as a good artist might. He wrote 'The Life of Donne' - a poet who even I've heard of. He's alleged to have been a prosperous merchant, but it doesn't really matter. Great angling writers like Richard Walker were engineers. Old school writers like George Skues, were public school educated solicitors in London practices who took the train to the chalk streams of Winchester in Hampshire at weekends, tying flies as they went.

The play concerns three people who meet by chance and get into conversation about their interests. They're travelling at a walk, and so they lighten their journey with convoluted conversation. Before long, it develops into a bit of a competition. Walton is the angler (Piscator). Another gentleman is keen on falconry (Venator) and yet another is keen on hunting (Auceps).

If you tire of 17th century banter, skip forward to the chapters on each particular species of fish, which will ring true immediately. To me it's a revelation that these friendly old fish will still fall for the same tricks as Walton was playing on their ancestors over 350 years ago.

Walton uses the perspective of an enthusiastic angler to promote a lifestyle of reflectiveness, gentle humor, and appreciation for nature. The book is easy to read, despite being first published in the 1600s.
The Coachwhip Publications reprint edition (ISBN 1930585209) is inexpensive and contains Cotton's "Part 2," written at Walton's request for the fifth published edition of "The Compleat Angler."

I frequently buy instructional books about basketball, and this is the best one I have ever encountered. It is very thorough and covers all aspects of the game.

More for coaches or for parents of players. My kid didn't read it, but I did and found it helpful in explaining points of the game. Good buy, but don't expect the kids to read it.

This book is a must for all coaches. It will improve you skill as a coach and help your players be winners. I love this book I will share with the others.

Stan Caldwell
GERMANY

I really liked how the book was layed out. Easy to find the information you wanted. Very informative, easy to read and understand.

As a basketball coach who reads a lot of books, coaching materials, and so forth for personal use and for my hoopsu.com reviews, I have read many so-called 'guides to basketball'. Some are decent, but most of them are so basic and watered-down that you could learn more watching an 8-year old in her driveway. The Complete Guide To Girls' Basketball is not one of those books.

The Complete Guide To Girls' Basketball is far and away the most complete book I have read on the basics, fundamentals, and strategies of basketball. This is a great book for coaches at all levels; girl's or boy's. Coach Mullaney didn't just slap some notes between a book cover; he obviously put forth a lot of time and effort writing this book. It is extremely well organized, easy to read, and simple to understand.

The main thing I like about this book, in comparison to many of the other 'guides', is that it goes well beyond the basic cookie-cutter information. The basics are discussed, but Coach Mullaney goes further and describes more in-depth and pertinent topics, ideas, and drills. That is why this book is not only great for the first-time coach, but also for even the most experienced of coaches at all levels of play.

I also really enjoy Part One of the book, where Coach Mullaney guides you through developing your own plan, philosophy and communication skills. This is an area I would have found invaluable when I first began coaching.

The Complete Guide To Girls' Basketball also details offense, defense, and special situations by breaking down all the skills involved and teaching how to perform them effectively. The drills section is also very well put together with over 200 exceptional drills - with easy to follow diagrams. All facets of the game are touched on so you can use these drills to help prepare yourself or your team.

The title says, 'The Complete Guide to Girls' Basketball', which it most certainly! If you coach girls basketball, this book is must-have addition to your library. If you coach boys basketball, I also recommend this book...there are so many great ideas in here it is worth checking out! If you want to improve your coaching knowledge and coaching skills, The Complete Guide to Girls' Basketball deserves a look!

This book was extremely helpful in finding out exactly what the Course is all about.

When someone asked me last week what I thought of "A Course in Miracles", I realzied that although I had heard the name for years I knew *nothing* of what it was, where it came from, or what it taught.

Mr. Miller's book did a good job of explaining what the Course is, and the gist of it's message. In the course of this, he convinced me that Helen Schuckman had a genuine spiritual experience -- something I was prepared to doubt, before.

I am not a "seeker" -- I have an active & fulfilling spiritual life, that does not include the Course. And I have neither the time nor desire to read The Course as a primary text, simply to learn *about* it.

Because of this, I found Mr. Miller's book invaluable.

This book was extremely helpful in finding out exactly what the Course is all about.

When someone asked me last week what I thought of "A Course in Miracles", I realzied that although I had heard the name for years I knew *nothing* of what it was, where it came from, or what it taught.

Mr. Miller's book did a good job of explaining what the Course is, and the gist of it's message. In the course of this, he convinced me that Helen Schuckman had a genuine spiritual experience -- something I was prepared to doubt, before.

I am not a "seeker" -- I have an active & fulfilling spiritual life, that does not include the Course. And I have neither the time nor desire to read The Course as a primary text, simply to learn *about* it.

Because of this, I found Mr. Miller's book invaluable.

This book does a good job of orienting an ACIM student to most that has been written about it minus Gary Renard's two books. For me it was a little boring at first simply because I had previously read Ken Wapnick's "Absence from Felicity" which in my opinion IS the complete story of ACIM. Mr. Miller starts with ACIM "light" material and progresses to the more intense material to include the Wapnick material. I enjoyed the critiques of ACIM. Specifically Needleman's reference to jumping into an inner transformative spiritual practice before one experiences an outer spiritual practice...."You could compare the esoteric core of a religion to a very pure, high-octane fuel. Put it into a Volkswagen, and the car will go like hell for a mile before it blows apart." What I really took away from this book was located in chapter 6. Roger Walsh's & Frances Vaughan's analysis of the world's great religions and what they have in common with ACIM. This part of the book offers what I consider great wisdom. Finally it just continues to fascinate me to read about the ruthless ACIM haters from the fundamental Christians. They are the ones who fear ACIM most. It is ironic that the one they worship as the Son of God is the same one who wrote ACIM. They fear a Divine thought system of forgiveness and that is exactly why He was crucified over two thousand years ago.

This is a wonderful book, extremely well written by an informed, and talented author. He answers all the pertinent questions from history to heresy. If you're interested in the Course, read this book. If you've tried and failed to get through the Course, read this book. And if you think you're NOT interested in the Course, then by all means, read this book!

(I am adding this note a couple of years after the initial review. When I first wrote this I was unfamiliar with Mr. Miler.)

D. Patrick Miller is the guy who published Gary Renard's The End of the Universe, which I believe to be a remarkably successful fiction and a real disservice to spiritual seekers. A Course in Miracles is a book. Given that it's simply a book and far from an easy read, anyone can present their interpretation.

If you have a fresh coloring book you can fill it in with whatever you want. You don't even have to stay in the lines. The book can't defend itself. That doesn't make your 'contribution' to it either Art or Truth.

Having said that, let me go on to say that this is still a fine book, with good writing and good reportage. But don't do as I did and take this honest book as evidence of sincerity in regard to the author's involvement with anything beyond these two covers.

With this book Mr. Miller has done something for which Course students will be thankful for generations to come, detailed the unusual and complicated history of "A Course In Miracles." He has also interviewed and profiled the key players in Course commentary: Kenneth Wapnick PhD and Gloria Wapnick (founders of "Foundation for A Course In Miracles"), Marianne Williamson (author of "A Return to Love"), Gerald Jampolsky (author of "Love is Letting Go of Fear"), members and former members of Endeavor Academy are interviewed, and Tara Singh (author of "How to Learn From A Course In Miracles") is mentioned. Though not interviewed, the two Course co-scribes, Helen Schucman and William Thetford, are profiled as well (with a picture of them, the only picture in the book, included).

The Course is not easy to classify. It has Christian themes and terminology, but it's not Christianity. It has the compassion of Buddhism, but it's not Buddhist. It has Hindu-like non-duality, but is not Hindu. It has the Freudian analysis of the ego, yet it's not pure psychoanalysis. It was "channeled," but it's not Edgar Cayce. It is currently embraced mostly by those within the "New Age," but it contains no rituals or crystal gazing, no mention of UFOs or planetary alignment, no aura work, no meditations, no chants, no laying-on-of-hands, no directions for group work, no lessons on the development of psychic powers, and none of the "positive thinking" and prosperity consciousness that is the hallmark of most New Age paths. In fact, since the Course's aim is removing the blocks to the awareness of love's presence, Kenneth Wapnick has commented that the Course could even be termed "negativism" because it encourages its readers to look at, and not deny, the mess they have made of their own lives and minds. What category, then, does the Course fit into? None. It will have to define its own genre. This will be a long time coming; but by writing this book, D. Patrick Miller has aided in creating the category the Course must define for itself.

A fascinating thing about D. Patrick Miller is that while he is a student of the Course, he admits that there are aspects of the Course that he is not completely comfortable with - the Christian language of the Course being one, the exclusive use of male terms to refer to the Divine being another. Mr. Miller has even stated that the Course, and its origin, sometimes just seems "too strange" for him to believe. This frankness adds a dimension of honesty that any reader would appreciate. Mr. Miller is a beautiful writer, and this book not only details the interesting history of the Course and how it was scribed, it also gives a brief introduction to Course theory and metaphysics and how it compares to other religions. One of my favorite sections of this book is the "personal stories" section where "students" (to be a student of the Course simply means you read the three books [recently published as a three-in-one volume]) relate how they found the Course, how it has effected their lives, and how much of the Course theory they accept or reject (some students accept the Course theory completely, some accept only aspects of it, some mix the Course with other spiritual teachings).

As is my usual custom with books that touch me, I wrote to the author to thank him for his work. Mr. Miller kindly replied to my letter and even aided further in my understanding of Course theory. I am very thankful for the aid he gave me, and I am thankful that he wrote this book. I continue to reference "The Complete Story of the Course" from time to time and I am always amazed to find interesting passages that I seemed to have missed before. I always recommend this book to people interested in the Course, either as potential students or people simply curious about the phenomenon.

I found the basic knowledge for understanding the computational fluid dynamics. If you have "computational fluid dynamics, Hypersonic and high temperature of gas dynamic" and a software for solve linear system and EDO( like Mathenatica), you could make computational fluid dynamic.Also clarify "Time-dependent approach to the steady state","classification of quasi-linear partial differential equations","Implicit and Explicit methods","Boundary-fitted coordinate","Time and space marching".

In my opinion, this is the best book I have read in all my engineering life. The beauty of this book is in the author's ability to exactly understand what the students difficulties could possibly be and also help in removing the difficulties. NOBODY must read any other cryptic CFD book before he ventures into this superlative text. While reading this book I had a feeling of some professor standing in front of me, teaching with love in a simple and clear language. Believe me, you can finish the entire book in one sitting if you have some background in Fluid dynamics since it is downright clear, conveying and interesting.

I personally have not found a teacher better than this book.

This is a very easy book to read. Anderson not only explains the computational methods, he covers the basics and explains the relevance of the equations and terms. This book addresses the needs for people with little background on this subject. I recommend it for any novice interested in obtaining a basic introduction to CFD.

If you want to learn CFD from the beginning, you must buy this book. It is simply the BEST, and I hadn't enjoyed reading a technical book since long time ago.

I am presently in my 4th year of a PhD in Astrophysics. While my background in the analytic portion of Fluid Dynamics is strong my understanding of how one discretizes and solves these equations numerically is somewhat lacking.

I picked this book up as a starting point to more complicated methods and found it to be, hands down, one of the best texts I have ever read. It presents the material in a concise, clear, and physically motivated fashion which makes learning the topic incredibly straightforward.

While this book is only a 'kicking off' point for more advanced techniques I think it is a must read for beginners and intermediate users. For the first timer to CFD the book will get you started down the right path armed with all the preliminary tools. For the more advanced user it will put aspects of the topic into an easier to understand light and perhaps shed more light on fundamentals that were presented poorly elsewhere.

I'd give it ten stars, it's allowed me to crack into the code I'm using and really understand why it works as well as having set me down the path to a more advanced level of understanding of CFD.

Very good book. One of the few places you will a lot of trees published

I own and operate a nursery using both of these books as a primary resource when purchasing conifers from growers. When customers refer to these books at our library, they comment on how beautiful the many conifers are available. My only wish the book had w/b zone hardiness and growth habit. Buy it. ProGardens, Inc. East Amherst, New York.

This set of 2 books has an enormous amount of photographs. In fact, what is meant by an Illustrated Encyclopedia is that it is composed solely of photographs. There is no text other than the captions. Photograph quality is generally good, although some are of juvenille specimens and don't show mature form. It is also clear that culture plays a large part in the mature form in many cases, and it would be nice to show various specimens rather than just one. Still, this is an essential resource to have in your library if you want to know about garden conifers. You'll just need additional resources as well.

Two world authorities compiled this outstanding conifer book featuring 2347 excellent, sharp photos reproduced beautifully on high quality paper. Each picture was taken at the proper distance to show the tree's outstanding detail. Captions are a sentence or two with location often included. For detail use a good companion book such as the Manual of Cultivated Conifers by Krussmann. Imperative for landscapers and a joy for tree lovers -- a bargain at the cover price. A quality book clearly at the top of my list of favorites.

pictures are great !!butlacks the necessary info on growing,care,climate zones&changes of sasons on the plants.but i love it for all it's visual contents

I was surprised how little I enjoyed this book. I had been wanting to read a book on the topic for years, and finally got this one at a greatly reduced price...only to be bored by it for the most part. It is over 700 pages, and that is a big plus, in my opinion; but between the massive historical accounts, and the current personal accounts, I was left simply...bored. Nothing in it seemed particularly touching or intriguing. Maybe it's just me...maybe I'm not as interested in the subject matter as I thought I was at one time.

If you are looking for a resource on premortal existence, and how the belief in such is found in virtually every culture in the world - then you have to read this book! At first the book is very overwhemling, but as you get into it you see how the Carmans didn't miss a thing. I'm not sure if I've ever seen anyone cover a subject quite as in depth. Every once in a while a book comes along that you know you will refer to for years and years to come, and this is one of those books! I am happy that I found it, and it will always hold a special place in my library. Again - WELL DONE!

A counterpart of the Near-Death Experience is the conscious memory of a spiritual pre-existence that may occur mainly among young children. Elizabeth and Neil Carman have produced a very extensive and richly illustrated overview of more than 700 pages of anything related to this topic. They give attention to the most diverse cultures and thinkers. Of course many authentic experiences surrounding a pre-existence are included as well.

The mere fact that a concept is almost universal obviously does not mean that it must be true. Almost any ethnic group used to believe that the sun revolved around the earth rather than the other way round. For this reason, the book continually combines personal experiences with ancient traditions. These often overlap, e.g. in stories among the Australian Aboriginees about spirits in the Dream World that try to get in touch with possible future parents. If a father does not dream about his children-to-be, his wife will not be able to get to pregnant.

During NDEs people may also get impressions of souls who want to be born and sometimes they are reminded of the task they accepted to make this possible. This matches so called announcing dreams in cases of children who - after birth - recall a past life. I particularly liked a survey of traditional theories that might explain why most of us do not have any conscious memories of a pre-existence (anymore).

Based on their study of the relevant literature, the Carmans conclude, just like e.g. Pim van Lommel, that human consciousness and memory may exist independently of brain activity.

An example of memories of another world concerns Katarina (pp. 522-526). As a child she recalled that she had come from a world of pure light where she used to enjoy the freedom of not having to endure the limitations of a physical body. In this world she decided to choose for a particular life and a specific family. Another example is that of two-year-old Alan (pp. 550-551). When his aunt Lida died, he asked his mother who had 'taken' her. His mother told him that it was someone his aunt had known. 'Alan's face lit up. "Oh I know what it's like! Grandpa Clark brought me when I came to you. He'll probably take me back when I die."' In this life, Alan had never met his Grandpa Clark, as the latter had died 10 years before his birth.

Books are never perfect, and of course this book is no exception. The authors sometimes refer to cases that don't possess a lot of evidential value. Also, they close the book with sometimes odd spiritual tips, especially where they recommend avoiding loud music, rap and rock and roll (p. 663). However, I certainly hope that the subject of a spiritual existence prior to earthly life will become a lot less exotic through the admirable efforts of Elizabeth and Neil Carman.

I gave this book five fully earned stars because it is such a magnificently crafted exploration of claims that premortal spirits contract with birth parents, laying out life plans and even the infant's name. This impressively assembled book, reporting wide-eyed wonders world-wide, is thus a towering tribute to the robust wellness of human gullibility across our planet, there still being an obviously huge demand for the a-scientific thinking which this book so beautifully displays. It will have profound appeal to the irrational masses of wishful wonderers absent of knowledge of genuine psychology, devoid of knowledge of genuine genetics. One must sincerely admire the physical and mental stamina of authors capable of devoting so much time and meticulous attention to dorky detail of trivial tripe, reveling in the thick of thin things, celebrating the sin of sensibleness and exulting in our eternal appetite for abject absurdity.

Fascinating! The Carmans asked the pre-life questions, then painstakingly did the research, their information is not just from the West, but from worldwide cultures. This book is a goldmine! Beautifully organized and compiled.

An excellent, if somewhat dated book. And here in the South Pacific - complete with its coups and mutinies now - Luttwak seems downright wrong in a number of respects. Perhaps our region is different from 60s Africa. Still, an immensely readable and frighteningly enjoyable book

Edward Luttwak's first and finest work, Coup d'Etat is the product of the close study of how dozens of governments around the world were successfully overthrown.

By examining the successful and failed strategies and tactics of those who staged the coups, Luttwak synthesizes a step-by-step guide to oust a regime and install a replacement. The political technology he develops, like military hardware, is value-neutral - like a firearm, anyone can employ it for ends good or evil.

As long as there are tyrannical regimes, there will always be a need for good people to be able to stage or sponsor successful coups d'etat. This volume is a practical handbook of immense value to the planning, execution, and long-term success of a regime change. Likewise, it provides a real-world aid to devise defensive means of protecting a government against a coup d'etat.

Advances in information technology since the book was written enter new variables into the formula, but Luttwak's basic concept remains fundamentally sound. As long as there will be coups d'etat, there will be a need for students and policymakers to study and master this book.

Perhaps my impression is wrong but it seems to me that there have not been as many coup d'etats in the past decade as there were in the fifties and sixties. Nonetheless the subject remains one of perennial interest. Luttwalk here provides a kind of step-by- step guidebook for any would be coup-ist. He teaches that , "the coup d'etat uses precisely those parts of the state apparatus which are the prime target of revolutionary war: the armed forces, the police and the security agencies. The technique of the coup s the technique of judo : the planners of the coup infiltrate and subvert a small critical part of the security apparatus, which they then use with surgical precisionto displace the political leadership from its control of the rest of the state bureaucracy"
Luttwalk in this book describes and details the intelligence techniques required before the coup, the military techniques required during it and the propaganda techniques required to provide it with legitimacy afterwards..
He says it has no ideology behind it.
This is a compact richly informative work which makes use a variety of examples to establish its principal points.

With Coup d'Etats continuously occurring all over the world, this book is more relevant than ever in dealing with the subject. For example, using the framework developed in this book, it is easy to understand why the many recent coup attempts in Venezuela have failed (both by Chavez and the more recent one against him). Every time there is a coup I find myself referring back to the book in order to determine if there were any telltale signs to predict whether the coup will be successful or not.

His basic framework involves timing, media control and popular support, and government organizational structure. With these factors in mind, the author examines a large number of coups, both successful and failed. The inner stories of many of these coups is fascinating by itself, yet the author does a good job of telling the tale while drawing the main lessons from it.

I ran into this book at the age of 12. When I realized how much fun this book could be (a few years later) it had disappeared from the local library. Looking for years at many university libraries, later I found out that even when it was listed it turned out to be stolen!
Bought it on-line, read it and enjoyed it. Nice for an intercontinental flight and beyond.

A door opener, maybe, but also very basic. I needed something slightly more advanced than this picture book text. If you have no experience with web pages and limited experience with computers, this might be the book for you. For me, it was a waste of my money.

Creating Web Pages Simplified, the best book of web page creation I ever read. This book will clearly show you how to create a basic web site, to a great state-of-the-art web page. Why buy another web page creation book when this one has it all? Graphics, incredible exaples etc. This book is a must. I recommend it.

The full color photos and easy to follow instuctions make this a great book for the experienced and inexperienced computer user alike. I would recomend this book to any one who wants to learn how to build a web page or wants to learn more about building web pages.

Some of those commenting here are teenagers; here's a comment from an almost-50 Mom. This book provides a great overview. I've been in computers for 25 years, but never had occasion to create my own web page. This book gives a good overview of the various parts of a web page and how the pieces fit together.

Those of you who are mainframers will laugh your heads off when you see that the internet has made Script cool...

This book is a door-opener for those who want to learn to use HTML. This book teaches you the basics, and gives you room to expand, and learn more by practice and trial-and-error. The best book for learning HTML!

DANGEROUS DILEMMAS WAS A GOOD BOOK I WAS SHOCKED ON HOW MUCH I ENJOY IT.GOOD JOB TO THE AUTHORS

Wow! This was my first book by Katherine Jones. I'm so sorry that she is not around to write other stories. I loved this story about Kayla and Cole. The story was so well written! I will be reading all of her other books in the future.

I am several months late when I read about the death of Mrs. Katherine D. Jones. A tribute will be conducted at the Romance Slam James in Chicago (04/30/08) for one of my favorite romance writers. I am truly sorry to hear of her passing and am shocked to learn that 10 days (05/07/07) after her last blog entry online that she had died on 05/17/07. It's never too late to say a prayer, so Mrs. Jones family will be in my prayers.

The books just keep getting better and better and I love the fact that
Bee & Speights are not teenagers nor are they in there 20's and thirty's they are 40 plus and I like that someone thinks that the marvelously mature still knows romance altho this is the last book in the series and I hate to see it come to a close this book is pulitizer prize material.
It's hard hitting from the very begining to the end. I shall miss the the sec but they will live on in our hearts. And so will Katherine who will be dearly missed in our hearts.

Serious writers of fiction should always savor the initiative taken to be flexible in writing in other venues outside of their areas of expertise. The late author Katherine D. Jones had taken much more than this initiative in her debut book for an upcoming series entitled DANGEROUS DILEMMAS. From the beginning this book is hot! Do we have control over whom we fall in love with? This is a question asked for the benefit of group discussions for this book, but I found the question a perfect lead-in to giving an analogy to this superb page-turning delight. Set in the idyllic location of Hilton Head, South Carolina, this is a perfect backdrop for romance, and a bit of suspense to boot! Let me set the stage for the drama...

Kayla Williams is the owner of her family's successful restaurant where secondary characters and a plan to upgrade is much more than she ever realizes. Complicating things, and surely adding to the plot is the contrast between past and present lovers. David Sutton her ex-boyfriend, whom is adamant and jealous of her aspirations suddenly reappears with an agenda all his own; Cole Lewis, the sexy and alluring patron to the restaurant throws his hat into the ring of romantic interlude. Sexual fantasies notwithstanding, Kayla experiences trials and tribulations trying to deal with the advances of both, while fielding the steady recipient of angst not reminiscent of the wise counsel always given by her erstwhile parents. Headstrong and determined, she attempts to find balance to her quest, and still remain true to her heart. But can she? What price would she pay trying to resolve mind over matter? Who gets the upper hand to her heart, Cole or David? Cole the savvy, owner of Full Flava Magazine, is on a mission and knows a winner when he sees one. Counter to his new found desire is opportunistic ex-girlfriend, Shelia Pickwell who has plans of her own in furthering her career. A calculating alliance with someone close to the both of them proves to be the catalyst that may have a bearing on who gets whom, and why. The dangerous dilemmas that Cole, David, Kayla, and Shelia face are par for this course, just to see which one will have the final score to settle, or run win with.

I truly enjoyed this book inasmuch as most romance suspense novels tend to lean more to the romance side as opposed to adding more mystiques to storylines. The author did an outstanding job in entangling a maze for readers to weave while realizing that his may be the best book that they would read this year. Strong words from me, but then again, I know a good book when I read one! I also loved how her love scenes were real and believable with just the right amount to elicit being there! That element coupled with a good storyline, setting, and back-story lends credence to a story that is sure to delight readers in demanding more of this author's works. I recommend this book for many reasons not expressed therein. Katherine D. Jones in no longer with us, as the Lord has called her home. There's definitely no bias in my prior affiliation as a friend as it is in me giving you just one more outstanding book to your shelves! Read it and know her to be the writer as I did!